The other day the Cleveland Plain Dealer asked its readers: “Are the 2009 Cleveland Browns — 1-7 at midseason break, masters of turnovers and arm-tackling, with a most offensive offense — the worst ever?”

The newspaper, having obviously written off the 2009 season, asked fans and ex-fans who would win if this year’s team played the 1999 expansion Browns, who went 2-14. Two-thirds of the readers picked the 1999 team, even though some of those players would be in their 40s today.
Meanwhile, Eric Mangini, coach (for now) of the 2009 outfit, announced that he would start Brady Quinn at quarterback Monday night against Baltimore because Quinn “has worked hard since the first transition was made.”
The first transition? That’s code for Quinn’s benching after losing his first three starts. Who knows how long it will be before the Browns go back to Derek Anderson for — drumroll, please — the second transition!
Wreck/Record/Last Loss/Next Loss
1. Cleveland/1-7/Idle/Baltimore
2. Oakland/2-6/Idle/Kansas City
3. Kansas City/1-7/21-24, Jacksonville/Oakland
4. Washington/2-6/17-31, Atlanta/Denver
5. Bay (Tampa)/1-7/def. Bay (Green), 38-28/Miami (Fla.)
6. Detroit (1-7); 7. St. Louis (1-7); 8. Miami (Fla.) (3-5); 9. Buffalo (3-5); 10. N.J. Giants (four-game losing streak).
Crummy Monday night game of the year: Baltimore (4-4) at Cleveland (1-7).
Rout of the week: New Orleans (8-0) at St. Louis (1-7).
Special citations: NFL individual statistical leaders include Buffalo’s Terrell Owens (most dropped passes, seven), Oakland’s JaMarcus Russell and Houston’s Steve Slaton (most lost fumbles, five each), and Carolina’s Jake Delhomme (most interceptions, 13).
Dept. of low finance: After Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Ochocinco jokingly tried to bribe a ref with a dollar bill, Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon wrote: “The NFL should return in kind and fine Ochocinco ... one dollar.”