CLEVELAND - Maybe a later wake-up call would help.
How about no cell phones allowed the night before the game?
Browns coach Pat Shurmur has to find the formula for a fast start. In winning two of their first three games, the Browns have yet to score a point in the opening period.
The Browns, who host the Tennessee Titans today at Cleveland Browns Stadium, are improved when compared to last season, but the difference isn't enough that they can just show up and expect to win. This team isn't yet built for come-from-behind wins on a weekly basis.
"As a unit, as an offense, we talked about it last week, we need to start off faster," quarterback Colt McCoy said. "We didn't play well through the first half. When we got in the second half, I felt like we executed pretty well, especially there at the end of the game. We found a way to win.
"We know we can play better. I think we just aren't being as consistent as we can be. We're making a few mistakes here and there. It's not just everybody, just a few guys here and there, but we're okay. It's nothing to panic about."
Facing the 2-1 Titans might not be the answer. The Titans, under the direction of first-year coach Mike Munchak, have the NFL's top-rated defense. They're second against the pass (172 yards a game) and eighth against the run (89 yards).
Gone are the days when the Titans had big-name defenders like ends Jevon Kearse and Kyle Vanden Bosch and linebacker Keith Bulluck. The most noticeable player on defense is feisty cornerback Cortland Finnegan.
"From the time you turn on the tape and you keep studying and keep preparing for them, you watch first, second down and then you get into some third down, they're just really sound," McCoy said. "You can tell they're well coached. They play well together, and they have some guys that are really good, especially in the secondary. We feel it's going to be a huge challenge for us. There aren't really many quarterbacks that have played well against them, and the run game is tough too, so we'll have our hands full."
On offense the Titans have received dividends from quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who signed as a free agent last summer. Hasselbeck has a 102.2 passer rating, completing 69.6 percent of his passes for 932 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Shurmur undoubtedly received advice from Browns president Mike Holmgren on how to defend Hasselbeck. Holmgren coached Hasselbeck for eight seasons in Seattle. The two teamed to win the NFC Championship in 2005, but the Seahawks lost to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.
"I've talked to coach about Matt at other times," Shurmur said. "We haven't had too much conversation about that. We've had some small conversations about what he's good at, and I think the important thing is we know what he is and how he's wired from Mike's years with him. But, when you watch Matt you have to really watch him now in his new system and his new setting, and he's playing extremely well."
The Browns are coming off an emotional 17-16 win over the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins led the entire game until McCoy led the way on a 75-yard drive that produced a 14-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mohamed Massaquoi with 43 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Shurmur said he learned a lot about certain players on that scoring drive. McCoy was certainly among them.
"When it comes down to that situation, it's kind of on you to get your team in the end zone, and that's how it is every week," McCoy said. "When it comes down to that situation, you have to make plays, and I thought the guys around me did a tremendous job.
"They were showing us some different looks and bringing different blitzes. They were doing everything they could to stop us. It was great to come back and watch, and you feel good after the game."
Now the trick is to play better just after 1 p.m.