Just as quickly as it was learned that former Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Holmgren was interested in the vacant Cleveland Browns’ general manager position, now there’s a report from Mike Florio over at Pro Football Talk that former Houston Texans GM Charlie Casserly is interested in the vacancy.

It could be that Casserly’s interest allows the Browns to increase the number of potential candidates so as to not move all the attention on Holmgren. Personally, I find it comical that the Browns would even express even an ounce of interest in Casserly.

This is the same guy who managed to find a way to mess up the Houston Texans by his actions up in their front office. Which is exactly why he needs to remain in the studios of NFL Network, because that’s where he does his best work – which is a contradiction in terms, actually. If Randy Lerner (the Browns’ owner) wants to be taken seriously, he would wise to cross off Casserly from consideration for the GM post.

But regardless of who eventually takes over, he may want to assess head coach Eric Mangini’s situation.

Holmgren did not say if he would like to coach again, but indicated he would be welcome the chance to take on a rebuilding project like the 1-8 Browns. Holmgren was Seattle’s GM and coach for four seasons. He stepped down as coach after last season.

Earlier, Hall of Famer Jim Brown said Lerner had met with “one of the great football minds in this country,” and hinted that person may have been Holmgren.

Cribbs was strapped to a backboard and carted off the field after the last play of the Browns’ 16-0 loss to Baltimore on Monday night. He was briefly hospitalized with a possible neck injury and concussion. “I anticipate Josh playing all of the roles he normally plays this week,” Mangini said.

Mangini says all of the measures taken with Cribbs were precautionary and that all the tests came back negative. Cribbs remains listed as questionable on Thursday’s injury report.

I think he is a receiver we can build around. But, overall the unit is a mess and I would expect at least a few of the 11 draft picks we have next year to be used to infuse the line with talent and youth.

The defense plays good in spurts and seems to be developing chemistry. But, the majority of picks next year need to be spent here. If I were to find one bright spot on that unit to get excited about though, it would be rookie linebacker Kaluka Maiava. Last night he registered a career-high eight tackles in what was his second start of the season. Mangini got this one right. This guy is a gamer.

Don’t be surprised if the most popular jersey sold in this town over the next few months will have his name and number on it. The guy represents everything Browns defense was about pre-1999. He is strong, fast and a hitting machine.

In the mold of some of our greats like Matthews and the Johnson’s, Maiava is a gritty player, the kind who carries his “lunch pail” to work each day. His time at USC prepared him well. Not only for the challenges, but for long term success once the team turns this around. I can see him becoming a cornerstone in the rebirth of this Browns team and a fan favorite for years to come.

So, as disappointing as Monday Night Football was to watch it is important that we find the diamonds in the rough. Only time will tell if Massaquoi will pan out, but with Maiava the gemstone is there, it just needs to be cut and polished.

I have not given up on the season yet, and although in secret I just pray for us to score a touchdown, out loud I boast that the team has a few wins in them. While I wait, I will keep my eyes on #56, because he is one of the things I love most, a player who never quits and wears the Browns uniform in a way that can make fans proud. Go Browns!

· Wide receiver Joshua Cribbs recorded 18 punt return yards to become the fourth player in Browns history to amass 1,000 career punt return yards. Cribbs has racked up 1,002 career punt return yards.

· With 10 carries today, running back Jamal Lewis became the 20th player in NFL history to accumulate more than 2,500 career rushing attempts. Lewis has 2,507 career carries.

· Linebacker David Bowens finished with a season-high nine tackles and tied a career high with two sacks. He has 2.5 sacks on the season and 35 in his career. Bowens also registered two sacks at Oakland on November 27, 2005, as a member of the Miami Dolphins and against Arizona on September 28, 2008, as a member of the New York Jets.

· Defensive back Brandon McDonald recorded his second sack of the season in the third quarter. It was also the second of his career.

· Defensive lineman Shaun Rogers blocked his second extra point of the season and third of his career in the third quarter. Rogers has 16 career blocked kicks, with three this season.

· Wide receiver Mike Furrey hauled in a season-high six passes for 30 yards. Furrey has recorded a team-high 21 receptions on the season.

· Rookie linebacker Kaluka Maiava registered a career-high eight tackles in his second start of the season. His previous best was six tackles at Pittsburgh on October 18, 2009.

· Long snapper Ryan Pontbriand appeared in his 100th career regular season game.

· Offensive lineman Joe Thomas has started all 41 games at left tackle since joining the Browns in 2007.

Cribbs caught a pass from Brady Quinn on the final play and lateraled to Robert Royal. Following the pitch, Cribbs was hit hard under the helmet by nose tackle Brandon McKinney. As Cribbs was on the field, players from both teams knelt in prayer around him.

After he was treated by Cleveland trainers, he was put on a stretcher and driven to the locker room. Cribbs was taken to a local hospital. There was no immediate word on his condition.

In 13 offensive drives, the Browns had a grand total of 9 punts, two picks, and they also had the ball at the end of the half and the end of the game. They put up 160 yards of offense, as new/old/new quarterback Brady Quinn did nothing to make people forget about Derek Anderson.

In making his third start of the season, and first since week two vs the Ravens, Quinn was 13-for-31 for 99 yards with two picks, one returned for a score, and a QB rating of 23.5. Considering that the leading pass catcher was Mike Furrey with six catches for a whopping 30 yards, it tells you the type of night it was for the Browns lackluster offense.

About the best play on offense was their first one, a run up the gut by Jamal Lewis for 14 yards. It was the longest run of the night for the Browns, as they put up 86 yards rushing on 26 carries, an average of 3.3 yards per carry. Rookie Chris Jennings had 7 carries for 18 yards.

The defense actually stepped up and stopped the Ravens most of the night. The game was scoreless at halftime, and Baltimore managed 274 total yards. Joe Flacco was 13-for-18 for 15 yards and a long of 41 yards. Ray Rice was the leading rusher with 89 yards on 20 carries including the only offensive TD of the game, a 13-yard run that put the Ravens up 7-0 at the 12:28 mark of the third quarter.

Any thoughts of a Browns comeback were quickly dashed, as Quinn was picked off by Dawan Landry on the next offensive play, and he took it back 48 yards for a TD. Shaun Rogers blocked the extra point and it was 13-0 Ravens. Their awful kicker, Steve Hauschka was able to boot a 44-yard field goal later in the quarter after Quinn’s second pick to close out the scoring at 16-0.

A lot of people seemed to think that playing at home on Monday night, getting time off with the bye, and the thoughts of the upset over the Giants last year would be enough to make this a game. They were wrong. Over half of the crowd, which by the way didn’t protest as they talked about, were gone after the pick six to make it 13-0, and about 85 percent were gone midway through the fourth quarter.

The team will take on the equally as bad Detroit Lions (1-8) Sunday in Detroit at Ford Field at 1pm.

Here is what the site says:

1.) Browns – Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame: Mangini, or the Browns new coach, decides to choose his own quarterback to rebuild around.

Click HERE to read the entire mock draft

The season is not the time for two-a-days and three hour practices. “You’ve got a lot of guys around here that are big-time players and can make big-time plays, but at the same time you’ve got to be ready on Sunday, or Monday” he said.

I am not really ready to jump into Mangini’s corner and defend him. I do understand that during the season, practices should be more mental in preparation than physical, especially early in the week as players heal from Sunday. But, most teams actually can play some semblance of organized football. This team is in shambles.

Eric Mangini came into a situation where discipline was at a minimum. The Romeo Crennel country club mentality had infected the team and players were not being held accountable. With numerous new players, a handful of rookies just drafted that needed to perform right away, and a quarterback situation that was up in the air – practice is the first and foremost thing this team needed.

Especially when it comes to fundamentals like tackling. Jamal Lewis may have a point, but Eric Mangini is in the first year of a reclamation project that midway through the season is teetering on the precipice of failure. If these guys don’t know what is expected and have the repetitions to deliver, no way they will pull out of this tailspin.

If players have reached the point where rest during the week is needed and they could make a solid case that it would be beneficial to have, then Lewis’ comments about it being “his [Mangini’s] show” are a cop out. Lewis is a captain. He is a veteran brought in to help this organization turn this thing around. That is why the coach has captain’s meetings, in order to motivate or get the pulse of the team as a whole. This is the very forum, not the media, to express the need for lighter practices.

Overall, let’s not forget that these guys are professional athletes and they get paid millions of dollars to play football. As of right now, this team is not playing football. They are an embarrassment. I find it hard to believe that their poor performances are generated because they work too hard in practice. I would be surprised if a little extra work wouldn’t pay huge dividends.

That being said, they’ve had two weeks off with the bye and a Monday Night Football game coming up against their rivals from Baltimore. We’ll see if the rest pushes them over the top, or if Tuesday requires another three hour practice.

“You can work as hard as you want. You can work all day seven days a week all the way up until Sunday in practice. At the same time, if you’re going to work like that, maybe on Sunday you’re not going to get what you want out of your players.”

Seems that at this point, Lewis, who has already said he is retiring after this season, simply wants to walk away. The Browns are 1-7, he’s not playing well, and the offense is awful and going back to Brady Quinn at QB this Sunday. If he thinks he’s going to talk his way out of the Browns locker room, won’t happen. But he’s not making many friends in the front office after these comments.