Brad Childress addresses play-calling delays for Browns offense

Communication issues between Browns head coach Pat Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress cost Cleveland three timeouts during its 25-15 loss to the Ravens two weeks ago. With a road date against the Cowboys coming up, Childress says those issues have been resolved.

"We just talked about the tempo with which (play calls) has got to get in, at what point it's got to get in and how were going about doing that," Childress said. "(Also) who is talking on the line and when they are talking on the line, those types of things."

The Browns were forced to take two timeouts in the second quarter and one in the third quarter against the Ravens because they could not get plays in quickly enough. Childress denied that the issues have been a regular occurrence this season, but he admitted that they caused problems against Baltimore:

"I think we had communication issues," Childress admitted Thursday. "Whether it be a little indecision, or I wasn't speaking clearly or Pat [Shurmur] wasn't speaking clearly, or we were caught on the last play."

The Browns have stumbled to a 2-7 record this season, and offensive struggles have been a concern. Cleveland averages 312.0 yards and 18.8 points per game, ranking 28th and 25th in the NFL, respectively.

The Browns and Cowboys meet Sunday at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised by CBS.