First there is Romeo Crennel. After 25 years as a loyal assistant and coordinator in the National Football League, he will be the head coach in a game for the first time.
After practices, Crennel has said it felt awkward not coaching a position. Instead, he would move from area to area or stand off to the side in team drills. When the preseason kicks off at 8 p.m. in Cleveland Browns Stadium, though, he'll be wearing the headphones and have the offensive and defensive coordinator barking in his ear. He'll be the one with the red challenge flag in his hip pocket.
"If I win the game, it will be special," said the low-key coach. "If I don't win, it won't be special. I have a nephew on the staff here (Carl Crennel, offensive quality control coach). He said, 'Are you excited?' I said, 'No. If we win, I'll be excited.' That's the way I am."
Then there's Trent Dilfer. He is viewed by some as a bridge to the next quarterback, maybe Charlie Frye, and he is viewed by others as a winner who just might be able to throw the Browns on his back. The safest best of the season is he will not whine about the offense the way Jeff Garcia did last summer. And last fall.
"I'd be shocked if anybody complains about anything this year," quarterback Trent Dilfer said. "We're going to be a group that doesn't complain and doesn't let anything bother us."
Dilfer has been on the money with his passes, particularly when he chooses Antonio Bryant as his target. Something to watch for tonight, though, is Dilfer has not had the likes of Giants left defensive end Michael Strahan rushing him in practice.
For William Green, tonight might be his best chance to prove he should be a part of a three-headed monster at running back, to use Reuben Droughns' term.
Lee Suggs and the starting offense will play one quarter, Crennel said. If the offense has the ball as the quarter ends, the switch won't be made until the next offensive series.
Reuben Droughns is unlikely to play because of a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice for a week until Thursday. That means Green will be the second running back in the game, not the third as he would be if Droughns were healthy. Crennel has said repeatedly he has not selected the starter, even though Suggs has been running with the first team all camp.
"I try to work extremely hard and focus," Green said after practice Thursday. "Anything I do wrong I take notes on in meetings and try to correct it. I want to let the coaches know I know the offense.
"I feel like I'm running pretty well. We still haven't tackled yet, but I feel like I'm doing well."
Kenard Lang is part of the plot. Tonight, he will line up as a linebacker for the first time since he played the middle in high school 14 years ago. He is the second-team left outside linebacker, playing behind Matt Stewart.
For Lang, being on the second team is almost as foreign as playing linebacker. Since 2001 he has started 60 of the 62 games he played, all as a defensive end.
"It doesn't bother me," Lang said. "Sometimes you have to fight for the last biscuit on the dinner table. If you don't have to do that once in a while, you don't learn how to fight."
Gary Baxter, the cornerback signed to a $30 million deal in the offseason, talked about going against other receivers for a change. At times this summer, the secondary has looked shaky at best, and more than once it was Baxter being burned. Crennel said mistakes by the secondary and a soft pass rush are the reasons the Browns quarterbacks have had success going deep.
Players and coaches talked about winning to turn the mood around. For Crennel, a victory not only would get him excited, it also would validate what he has taught throughout the offseason and training camp. But Crennel said he will stick with his planned rotation of players and not go back to the starters just so he can win. More important to him than winning is evaluating his team.
"I want to find out who I can depend on, because in four weeks it's going to count," Crennel said. "It's important to win, but not at all costs. You have to work your plan. You play the starters for one quarter and then you put everybody else in and see how they can play."
Had things gone differently, rookie Braylon Edwards would be a sub-plot tonight, but Crennel said it is doubtful Edwards will play. The wide receiver from Michigan has not practiced because he did not sign his contract until late Thursday afternoon. Edwards missed 14 days of camp and 22 practices during his holdout.
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n When: 8, tonight
n Where: Cleveland Browns Stadium
n Broadcast: Television - WOIO: Radio; WMMS-FM 100.7
