Browns coach Eric Mangini plans to keep embattled cornerback Eric Wright in the starting lineup, the *Cleveland Plain Dealer* reported Tuesday.
Wright gave up three touchdown receptions to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Anquan Boldin -- and appeared badly out of position several times -- during the Browns' 24-17 loss Sunday.
"Eric didn't have a good day, and when you don't have a good day against a really, really good player [Anquan Boldin], it ends up being a bad day," Mangini said. "I can tell you this, that Eric Wright has played a lot of good football for us all throughout last year, matching up against the best receivers, doing an outstanding job. He was disappointed, and my expectation is he'll play a lot better next week."
The Browns next play the Cincinnati Bengals and their receiving tag team of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens.
"(Wright's) going to be out there. He's going to be playing," Mangini said.
Wright blamed himself for the loss and said he reviewed tape of the performance to understand what went wrong.
"Everybody played well enough to win except me," Wright said. "I didn't play the way I expect, and it hurts to let my team down.
"I went back and watched it. I had to. I don't feel like they were picking on me. I made it so easy for them that they threw to the guy who was open."
Fellow Browns cornerback Sheldon Brown said nobody on the team pointed fingers at Wright.
"It wasn't his fault, and no apologies need to be said," Brown insisted. "It's a team game."
A blitz left Wright in single coverage on Boldin's final touchdown, an easy 27-yard catch that put Baltimore ahead 21-17 with 5:41 to play. Mangini and safety Abram Elam said the play came within a whisker of being a sack on Joe Flacco instead of the go-ahead score.
"I was really close, about a half step away," Elam said.
Mangini said that's the risk of blitzing.
"Any time you blitz, there's trust on two fronts," Mangini said. "You trust your secondary to hold up and you trust them to get there.
"We didn't disrupt Flacco enough, and he has a lot of weapons."
Flacco completed 22 of 31 passes for 262 yards, including first-half touchdowns of 8 and 12 yards to Boldin.
As disappointed as he was in Cleveland blowing a lead for the third consecutive game, Mangini enjoyed watching the offensive line push around Baltimore's vaunted defense. It helped Peyton Hillis run for a career-high 144 yards.
"The line turned some medium plays into big plays, and we moved the ball efficiently," Mangini said. "This is important in showing the progress we have made and what we are capable of doing -- with a conscientious and determined effort to correct mistakes."
"You see a teammate make big plays and you get fired up," Mack said. "That was a taste of what we want to be like. We're close (to winning). We had to hang on in the fourth quarter. It was a tough game to lose, but we took a lot of good out of it."
Fullback Lawrence Vickers believes the Browns made a statement against the Ravens' rugged defense.
"That's exactly what you're going to see, smashmouth football," Vickers said. "I'm going to bring it every week, Peyton is going to bring it every week. That's just how our group is. Our O-line is going to bring it, I'm very passionate about it."
With 4:05 to play and facing a third-and-2, however, quarterback Seneca Wallace decided not to try and pound the ball for a first down, or even attempt a short pass. Instead, he missed a long pass attempt to Josh Cribbs.
"Seneca liked the matchup and took a chance," Mangini said. "It was not a bad decision, but we needed a better throw."
Notes: Mangini said he anticipates five key starters back to practice as the Browns prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals in another AFC Central matchup. Starting quarterback Jake Delhomme (ankle), running back Jerome Harrison (thigh), wide receiver Brian Robiskie (hamstring), and linebacker Marcus Benard (ankle) and defensive lineman Shaun Rogers (ankle and hip) were all inactive at Baltimore.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
