National Football League

Mangini believes mistakes mask Browns' progress

Published Sep. 27, 2010 10:43 p.m. ET

foxsports

Eric Mangini sees progress with the Cleveland Browns despite another late-game loss.

The second-year coach liked the Browns' aggressive response to playing in a hostile environment in Baltimore on Sunday, but pointed out penalties kept them from avoiding a 24-17 loss to the Ravens and dropping to 0-3.

''We fought throughout in a physical game,'' Mangini said Monday. ''I want (the team) to understand the positives - and there were a lot of them - but to get the mistakes corrected.''

Mangini said no apologies were necessary, but better play is expected from Eric Wright, who was burned by Baltimore's Anquan Boldin for three touchdowns. He admitted the cornerback had a poor game, but is not in jeopardy of losing his job.

''Eric did not have a good day,'' Mancini said. ''You do that against a good player and it turns into a bad day.

''It's not about saying you're sorry, but about not doing it again.''

Wright blamed himself for the loss and said he reviewed tape of the performance to understand what went wrong.

''Everybody played well enough to win except me,'' Wright said. ''I didn't play the way I expect and it hurts to let my team down.

''I went back and watched it. I had to. I don't feel like they were picking on me. I made it so easy for them that they threw to the guy who was open.''

Fellow cornerback Sheldon Brown said nobody on the team pointed fingers at Wright.

''It wasn't his fault and no apologies need to be said,'' Brown insisted. ''It's a team game.''

A blitz left Wright in single coverage on Boldin's final TD, an easy 27-yard catch that put Baltimore ahead 21-17 with 5:41 to play. Mangini and safety Abram Elam both said the play came within a whisker of being a sack against Joe Flacco instead of the go-ahead score.

''I was really close, about a half step away,'' Elam said.

Mangini said that's the risk of blitzing.

''Any time you blitz, there's trust on two fronts,'' Mangini said. ''You trust your secondary to hold up and you trust them to get there.

''We didn't disrupt Flacco enough and he has a lot of weapons.''

Flacco completed 22 of 31 passes for 262 yards, including first-half touchdowns of 8 and 12 yards to Boldin.

As disappointed as he was in Cleveland blowing a lead for the third straight game, Mangini enjoyed watching the offensive line push around Baltimore's vaunted defense. It helped Peyton Hillis run for a career-high 144 yards.

''The line turned some medium plays into big plays and we moved the ball efficiently,'' Mangini said. ''This is important in showing the progress we have made and what we are capable of doing - with a conscientious and determined effort to correct mistakes.''

Center Alex Mack said the line regarded the Ravens as a big challenge. A 48-yard run by Hillis in which the running back bulldozed tacklers really got them going.

''You see a teammate make big plays and you get fired up,'' Mack said. ''That was a taste of what we want to be like. We're close (to winning). We had to hang on in the fourth quarter. It was a tough game to lose, but we took a lot of good out of it.''

Fullback Lawrence Vickers believes the Browns made a statement against the Ravens' rugged defense.

''That's exactly what you're going to see, smashmouth football,'' Vickers said. ''I'm going to bring it every week, Peyton is going to bring it every week. That's just how our group is. Our O-Line is going to bring it, I'm very passionate about it.''

With 4:05 to play and facing a third-and-2, however, Wallace decided not to try and pound the ball for a first down, or even attempt a short pass. Instead, he missed a long pass attempt to Josh Cribbs.

''Seneca liked the matchup and took a chance,'' Mangini said. ''It was not a bad decision, but we needed a better throw.''

Notes: Mangini said he anticipates five key starters back to practice as the Browns prepare to face Cincinnati in another AFC Central matchup. Starting quarterback Jake Delhomme (ankle), running back Jerome Harrison (thigh), wide receiver Brian Robiskie (hamstring), and linebacker Marcus Benard (ankle) and defensive lineman Shaun Rogers (ankle and hip) were all inactive at Baltimore.