Coach Romeo Crennel said he will pick the starter after practice Saturday. McDonald is still troubled about the way he played against the Ravens and Broncos.

Crennel is convinced starting Daniels will take some pressure off McDonald, the 2007 fifth-round draft choice from Memphis. Crennel is trying to balance that goal with making sure McDonald's confidence is not shattered beyond repair.

"He does have good ability," Crennel said. "He has been competing. He competed in the (Denver) game. A couple choices weren't very good choices.

"These guys are all competitive; they have been playing the game for a long time. They understand that there are good plays and bad plays and you have to work through it. You go back to your fundamentals, your basics and get to the point where you have confidence again."

McDonald will likely be the nickel back if he does not start. He leads the Browns with 13 pass breakups. He was playing well until he was burned for a 47-yard touchdown pass by Mark Clayton of the Ravens on Nov. 2. Then against the Broncos, he tried to break up a pass to Eddie Royal and missed. The play went for 93 yards and a touchdown. He gave up the winning touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall when he slipped.

--Brady Quinn was given a very limited package of plays in his first start, and most of them called for him to throw short passes.

Seventeen of Quinn's completions went to tight ends and backs, and the only time he really looked downfield was when he escaped the rush and threw on the run.

This might not please Braylon Edwards, but it was successful. Offensive coordinator did not want Quinn to try to do too much, and he used a very conservative game plan.

This is typical of Romeo Crennel. He does not ask a lot of young players, but expands their roles when they prove they can handle things.

Quinn had a high completion rate, and looked comfortable running the offense. He's always been a quarterback who threw short.

He now has to prove he can throw down the field as well. If he doesn't, teams will squeeze the field on him and make those short throws that much more difficult.

BY THE NUMBERS: 4.7 -- Opponents rushing average per carry against the Browns.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We just have to pull together as a team, weed out those guys, and play the rest of the season out." -- Special teams star Josh Cribbs on unnamed Browns who don't give full effort.