Brady Quinn hurried from the shower, dressed quickly and hustled out of Cleveland's locker room so he wouldn't be late for yesterday's team meeting.

"Sorry, guys," he said to reporters after taking only a few questions.

Quinn was on the run, and the Browns' popular backup quarterback could soon be moving up the depth chart.

With his team off to an unexpected 0-3 start and Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson coming off another rough performance, Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel said he is assessing his team and considering personnel changes leading into Sunday's game against the winless Cincinnati Bengals.

"The thing we have to do is evaluate what we've done so far and who can give us the best chance to win," he said.

Crennel was asked if quarterback would be one of the spots where he would consider going in a different direction.

"We have to look at all of the positions," Crennel said. "We'll definitely try to get the other guy ready and get him ready to go and we'll see how it progresses from there."

The other guy is Quinn, the former Notre Dame star, first-round draft pick and perceived face of a franchise that until a few weeks ago seemed to have finally put more than a decade worth of misery behind it.

Cleveland was thumped, 28-10, in Baltimore on Sunday, when the Ravens intercepted Anderson twice to score 14 points in a 50-second span early in the third quarter to turn a three-point halftime deficit into an 11-point lead. Anderson finished 14 for 37 for 125 yards, three picks and had a woeful QB rating of 22.9.

Clearly, the 25-year-old wasn't the only reason that the Browns, who have been ravaged by injuries on both sides of the ball, lost their third straight game. But Anderson's inability to rally them in the second half as well as his third consecutive sub-par outing have prompted Crennel and his staff to ponder benching him.

Crennel said no decision has been made yet on Sunday's starter.

"I've told Quinn all along that he's one play away," Crennel said. "That's the way he has to approach it. He prepares himself every week like he's the starter and like he's going to get playing time."

REDSKINS

TAYLOR TO MISS GAME

What seemed like an annoying kick in the calf turned into a significant medical issue for Washington defensive end Jason Taylor, who underwent a 20-minute emergency procedure yesterday and will miss next week's game against Dallas.

"He's going to be fine," coach Jim Zorn said. "Our problem is that he's going to be out for this Dallas game for sure. I can't tell you beyond that."

The injury will end Taylor's consecutive games streak at 133, the seventh longest among active players. He hasn't missed a game since 1999, early in his career with the Miami Dolphins.

Taylor was kicked in his left leg in the second quarter of Sunday's 24-17 victory over Arizona. He finished the game, but the leg became painful and sore Sunday night.

SAINTS

SHOCKEY OUT 3-6 WEEKS

Tight end Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans' second-leading receiver through three games, is expected to be out for three to six weeks because of a sports hernia.

Shockey, who was acquired from the New York Giants in a trade shortly before training camp, has 16 receptions for 151 yards. He played Sunday in New Orleans' 34-32 loss at Denver, catching five passes for 56 yards.

A sports hernia is the weakening of muscles or tendons in the lower abdominal wall. For Shockey, it's the second serious injury in as many seasons. He broke his left leg last December and missed all of the Giants' postseason run to a Super Bowl championship.

ELSEWHERE

Lions: A day after Detroit lost at San Francisco, falling to 0-3, Lions vice chairman Bill Ford essentially said he'd fire team president Matt Millen if he had the authority. "I think the fans deserve better and if it were in my authority, which it's not, I'd make some significant changes," Ford said yesterday. The Ford Motor Co. executive chairman is the son of William Clay Ford, the franchise's owner since 1964.

Panthers: Carolina rookie linebacker Dan Connor will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Connor was injured in Sunday's loss to Minnesota and was carted to the locker room.

Eagles: Brian Westbrook limped around without crutches yesterday, and could be back to running and slashing this week. The All-Pro running back is day to day after suffering a strained ankle Sunday against Pittsburgh.

Packers: Green Bay cornerback Al Harris underwent additional medical tests yesterday amid a report he might have ruptured his spleen in Sunday's loss to Dallas.