The Cleveland Browns secondary has come under scrutiny due to their performance this preseason. In Weeks 1 and 2 of the preseason, the much-maligned secondary made two no-name receivers, David Clowney (Jets) and Domenik Hixon (Giants), look like a couple of All-Pros. Yet the two receivers combined for 226 yards receiving and four touchdowns against the Browns defense. That was then.

By weeks three and four, the Browns' secondary showed signs of improvement, but some of the team's critics are still skeptical of the unit's ability to get the job done for an entire season.

Young players

During a phone interview with Browns starting cornerback Brandon McDonald last Wednesday, a day before the team's final preseason game against the Chicago Bears, the player shed some light on the problems that surrounds the team's secondary.

"We have a group of young guys in the secondary who are trying to learn the system," said McDonald.

"We had a couple of guys who were hurt and the other guys had to step up, and we got picked on a couple of those games. We really didn't get picked on. We were just making mental errors. It wasn't so much what the other team was doing, but more so what we were doing to ourselves.

"As far as people going around saying that the secondary is in question, that's just part of the game. You just have to pick it up and roll with it."

Confidence high

McDonald said that he is going to try to be more consistent with his play on defense.

The cornerback wasted no time answering the call registering two tackles and an interception in the game against Chicago.

McDonald is entering his second year in the league and will be counted on heavily to hold down one of the starting cornerback positions. He appears to be up for the challenge.

"It's very important for me to perform," McDonald said. "I've been given the opportunity to become a starter and I'm just trying to take advantage of it. I'm usually a guy with a high confidence level and I expect to do the right things and make a lot of plays. I think that attitude as well as the way I go about preparing myself week-to-week, I should be able to make a lot of plays."

McDonald started two games his rookie season and accounted for 24 tackles, 10 pass defenses and two interceptions.

Repairing mental errors

The Browns coaching staff believes that the young corner is transitioning well. McDonald is getting a lot more reps at the position than he did last year and has a better understanding of what is taking place around him.

"I take it personally if any receiver is having a good day on our defense. Whether I'm covering him or not," he said.

McDonald insists that all the mishaps in the secondary this preseason were based solely on mental errors and not a lack of ability to cover.

He said the group is trying to iron out some of those mental issues and the secondary will turn some heads this season.

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