Head Coach Romeo Crennel said quarterbacks Trent Dilfer and Charlie Frye again shared the reps 50/50 during practice Friday and he is not yet sure who his starter will be Sunday vs. Jacksonville.

He said his decision would probably be made closer to game time. He said he doesn’t want to tip the Jaguars as to who is quarterback might be.

“Even if I did know, why would I tell Jacksonville,” Crennel said. “Every little advantage you can get, you better take it. If they have to wonder who it’s going to be and prepare for two guys, why not let them prepare for two?”

Meanwhile, Dilfer said Friday he is slowly improving from the knee injuries he sustained during last week’s loss at Minnesota. He’s inching closer to being able to play.

“I’m feeling better,” Dilfer said. “I’m making improvements each day, which is good. Today will be a good test to see if there are any lingering effects. I keep telling my trainer he’s a genius. (Browns head trainer) Marty Lauzon is a genius. If anybody can get me ready, he can.”

Crennel added, “He looked a little better than some people thought he would look. He was about to throw the ball and run the offense.”

While he didn’t announce his starter, Crennel did, however, confirm, Dilfer would be either the No. 1 or No. 2 quarterback. He also said he is planning on giving Frye multiple series to play.

HEADING INSIDE—After practicing outside in the cold on Wednesday and Thursday, the team moved practice inside on Friday.

“We’ve been outside for two days and it’s been cold and snowing, so we’ll go inside today,” he said. “You need to get the feel of the weather, so we’ve been outside for two days. So we can go inside today and hopefully we won’t lose much.”

Crennel did, however, say he was happy to see snow with a Florida team coming to town Sunday.

“We hope it’s an advantage for us because they’re not used to the weather and the conditions,” he said.” They’re out there practicing in 68-degree weather and here it’s 32 and the wind is blowing a little bit and there’s snow on the ground. Psychologically, if nothing else, it should be an advantage for us.

“Mother Nature is cooperating by giving us a little snowfall. We appreciate that. Hopefully we’ll get the fan support and they’ll be with us also.”

EYES ON WINNING—Crennel said Friday, despite the fact the team is clearly rebuilding and not where it needs to be yet, it’s not about to write off large portions of seasons and play for the future, even if the club isn’t vying for a playoff spot.

Winning still supersedes any other objectives the team might have.

“Part of rebuilding is letting the guys know you’re playing to win and that you want to win and that winning is important,” Crennel said. “Once they start thinking winning is not important, so many other problems begin to creep into it. (They might say), ‘If the coach doesn’t want to win, why do I need to be on time for meetings? Why do I need to practice hard?’

“This team, I don’t’ know that we need that. We need everybody pulling in the same direction and everybody preparing very hard everyday to try and win a game. I don’t know about everyone else, but I know I feel a lot better when we win a game.”

QUADRUPLE FIGURES—Crennel said RB Reuben Droughns reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the season would be significant for both the Browns and the city of Cleveland.

“It is a big deal probably for the situation we’re in, for this team and this town,” Crennel said. “It’s been 20 years since it happened. When it does happen, it’ll be a big deal.”

Droughns is 59 yards away heading into the game Sunday.

“Reuben runs very hard and tries very hard every time he gets the ball,” Crennel said. “The line understands and appreciates that so they try to block for him. And some of those second-effort blocks you need to spring a guy, they’re doing some of that. The combination of those guys working together puts us in a position where he can get 1,000.”

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