No one's happy about the record. That's been made clear by Hue Jackson for weeks and weeks, and again Monday when Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown met with reporters.
But one aspect of the plan, the first step, to build a consistently winning franchise has borne some fruit throughout the past few months, Brown said. The positive culture cultivated by Jackson and practiced by Browns players is a tangible source of encouragement, Brown said. He reiterated that point multiple times in interviews with electronic and print media because its importance can't be understated.
"There is no complacency in the building. We want to win every opportunity we have and go out and compete every week. We know that if we trust in our plan and our process and our people, the winning will follow," Brown said. "That is the hard thing to do right now is to stay together, but that is being done. I think for those of you that are here in the building every day, you can feel that there is an energy here that is positive.
"That it is not 'Woe is me.' Our guys know that this is our task. Only we can dig our way out of this hole, and we will."
Wednesday after Wednesday, Browns players have returned to the facility with an attitude and approach that has impressed their head coach. Asked about their positive approach, players often credit Jackson, who has admitted he's had to coach himself up through an experience he never dreamt of but has stayed positive because of his strong belief in the direction Cleveland is headed.
This time, it happened on a Monday, as the Browns worked through an extra practice because of last week's Thursday night game.
"We are not here to have the record we have. We are all disappointed and probably to a person a little embarrassed by it. Don't like it, but I think we all understand the only people that can change our circumstances are the guys in that room," Jackson said. "We have six more opportunities to do it. I think the guys walked in the room today and that is what we are focused on and that is what we are going to try to accomplish. I think they are more determined than ever to do that. We know those six games are tough games, too.
"There are no games in there that probably people will even give us a chance, but at the same time, the guys in the room will determine that and we will keep working at it."
Brown said he's heard positive feedback from people outside of the organization, whether it be other team's coaches and players or various media members, about the team's attitude and approach in spite of the non-ideal circumstances. It's served as further validation to what he's seeing and experiencing on a daily basis.
"We really needed to more than anything else change the culture of this locker room, the culture of this building," Brown said. "I give Hue and his coaches a ton of credit. A lot of that credit also goes to the players and their makeup and character in terms of what they have put out on the field in terms of effort, buy in and focus."
