Ace Davis' Cleveland Browns weblog

Sipe versus McCoy, by the numbers

2011-11-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

Can Colt be the guy? Frankly, I just don't know. I really hope so, as he's the most likable Browns quarterback since Kosar. He also comes very cheap for a starting quarterback, being just a third-round pick in the front half of his rookie contract. But no, he hasn't lit the league on fire or led the Browns into the realm of respectability. How much time is enough to evaluate whether a QB is a keeper? In this case, he deserves to play out the season in its entirety (if he survives the pounding) so that the front office can judge how much to invest in another quarterback in the draft.

For a bit of perspective, here are McCoy's stats compared to the early-career numbers of a similarly-sized QB that did end up making it good:

	Sipe	McCoy
Years	1974-76	2010-11
Age	25-27	24-25
Wins/starts	9/19	5/16
Completions/attempts	282/508	312/530
Completion percentage	55.5%	58.9%
Passing yards	3143	3340
Yards per attempt	6.2	6.3
TD/Int	19/24	16/15
Sacked/yards lost	39/322	43/234
Fumbles	16	9
Rush att.-yds.-ave.	43-175-4.1	64-252-3.9

Colt, though younger and with less time in the league (Sipe was a 1972 draftee), stacks up pretty well against a guy who later turned into the league's MVP and one of the top three quarterbacks in Browns history.

Both QBs played for subpar Browns squads and endured coaching changes during their early careers. The biggest difference is that Colt takes better care of the ball. When he can't find a receiver in time, he's more likely to tuck it in and gain what he can (or at least not lose as much in sack yardage).

Of course, the eras differ, with today's rules much more offense-friendly and protective of quarterbacks. Sipe won more games during this period, especially in 1976, the second year under head coach Forrest Gregg. The Browns actually had a 9-5 record despite being outscored by 20 points on the season. Sipe just had that intangible quality of, well, magic.

Colt could have it too. He's a tough, smart, charismatic leader. With more time, development, complementary players, and luck, he could become a stalwart behind center in Cleveland. It's just a bit too early to say.

Leaps in bounds!

2011-09-26T09:24:00.000-04:00

It was heartpounding, it was inches from agony, it was slow and sloppy and a sliver-thin in its final score.

Yes, it was a characteristic Browns win, a 17-16 home squeaker over the Dolphins.

No doubt that the Browns' defense kept them in the game by keeping the Miami backs and receivers in front of them. No rushes longer than 11 yards. Only three passes that gained more than 16. Five sacks!

But surely the most ironic facet of this win is this: both Browns touchdowns came from fantastic leaping catches in the end zone by wide receivers, the team's most maligned unit. And both Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi had missed most of the practice week with injuries. Yet they came up big to bail out Colt.

Montario Hard-too-see emerged for the first time in his young career as the go-to feature back, with the illness to workhorse Peyton Hillis. Hardesty was not hard to watch though. The big back showed a bit of a burst and proved reliable enough to not only avoid fumbling but to earn the call as the target of a critical fourth-down pass on the game-winning drive.

Thee 2-1 first-place Browns will next host the Titans, who will likely be without their best receiver, Kenny Britt. His knee injury yesterday may very well cost him the balance of the season.

I really like what I'm seeing from the Heckert draftees. Luvauo and Pinkston helped keep McCoy from getting sacked. Skrine had nice coverage during the 'Fins failed last gasp. Taylor and Sheard are key starters on a surprisingly effective D-line. Haden kept a stud receiver in check. And the Colt-to-Little combo came up with three connections during the all-or-nothing final drive.

The GM's penchant for finding instant contributors gives me even more hope for next year, when the Browns have two first-rounders in hand. Their extra pick, of course, will depend on the record of the Atlanta Falcons, who fell to 1-2 yesterday when the Bucs stopped 'em.

Is it so hard to make a "T" sign with your hands? Anyone?

2011-09-11T18:52:00.004-04:00

We Browns fans are used to this. Losing home opening games. Blowing fourth-quarter leads. Inventing new ways to add to the annals of suckitude.

I'd be inclined to give the Browns a pass here. New coaches, young team, abbreviated off-season and all that.

But I'm not. Football is a bottom-line game. This was a highly-winnable division game, in Cleveland, against a substandard opponent in the Bengals. The Browns were just too sloppy in all facets of the game.

The key play, of course, was the 3rd-and-11 defensive collapse. With the Browns nursing a four-point lead with just 4:31 remaining, they failed to line up in time. Ex-Brown Bruce Gradkowski lofted the easy go-ahead touchdown pass to A.J. Green, who made the most of his first NFL catch.

Why didn't they line up in time? Rookie head coach Pat Shurmur believes his team should have been given time to make substitutions, since the offense did. That is a rule, and he may have a point. But football is a bottom-line game. The Browns are ultimately to blame.

At least one player said the defensive play call was too late in arriving. Apparently so.

Still, they could've called a timeout, either from the field or the sideline. They should have.

Instead, the 2011 Browns already have on their permanent record a hideous piece of video bespeaking discombobulation, unreadiness, and failure.

If this is the baseline from which to measure subsequent progress, let's just say that a gargantuan amount of progress will be required for this program to turn into any sort of success.

Ex-Browns who made the cut elsewhere

2011-09-07T11:30:00.002-04:00

Lots of news pegs going into this weekend's season opener, but now that rosters around the NFL are down to 53 men, here's a list of former Browns who made the cut (and didn't) with other teams.

It's interesting to reflect on our past moves and compare previous expectations with the current assessment of the league's personnel decision-makers. Who do you miss? Are any units of ex-Browns better than those on our current roster?

Ex-Browns on other teams' active rosters

QB Luke McCown (2004) -- named Jaguars' Week 1 starter
QB Bruce Gradkowski (2008) -- Bengals
QB Derek Anderson (2006-9) -- Panthers
QB Brady Quinn (2007-9) -- Broncos
QB Richard Bartel (2008 no games) -- Cardinals

RB Jerome Harrison (2006-10) -- Lions
FB Lawrence Vickers (2006-10) -- Texans
FB Corey McIntyre (2005) -- Bills

WR Lance Moore (2005 pre-season) -- Saints
WR Braylon Edwards (2005-9) -- 49ers
WR Chansi Stuckey (2009-10) -- Cardinals
WR Donte' Stallworth (2008) -- Redskins

TE Kellen Winslow (2004-8) -- Buccaneers
TE Mike Sellers (2001) -- Redskins
TE Martin Rucker (2008-9) -- Cowboys

C Jeff Faine (2003-5) -- Buccaneers
G Rex Hadnot (2008-9) -- Cardinals

DE Kamerion Wimbley (2006-9) -- Raiders
DE Israel Idonije (2003 PS) -- Bears
DE Antonio Garay (2003-4) -- Chargers
DT Shaun Rogers (2008-10) -- Saints
DT Corey Williams -- (2008-9) -- Lions
DT Gerard Warren (2001-4) -- Patriots
DE Amon Gordon (2004-5) -- Chiefs
DT Shaun Smith (2007-8) -- Titans
DL Nick Eason (2004-6) -- Cardinals
DT C.J. Mosley (2009) -- Jaguars
DE Kenyon Coleman (2009-10) -- Cowboys
DE Clifton Geathers (2010 pre-season) -- Cowboys

LB Matt Roth (2009-10) -- Jaguars
LB Andra Davis (2002-8) -- Bills
LB Jason Trusnik (2009-10) -- Dolphins
LB Blake Costanzo (2009-10) -- 49ers

CB Eric Wright (2007-10) -- Lions
S Brodney Pool (2005-9) -- Jets
CB Leigh Bodden (2003-7) -- Patriots
DB Abram Elam (2009-10) -- Cowboys
DB Sean Jones (2004-8) -- Buccaneers
DB Chris Crocker (2003-5) -- Bengals
CB Brandon McDonald (2007-9) -- Lions
DB Hamza Abdullah (2008 no games) -- Cardinals
DB Sabby Piscitelli (2010) -- Chiefs
SS Larry Asante (2010 PS) -- Buccaneers

P Dave Zastudil (2006-9) -- Cardinals
K Billy Cundiff (2009) -- Ravens
K Shaun Suisham (2010 off-season) -- Steelers

Ex-Browns on other teams' Injured Reserve

G Floyd Womack (2009-10) -- Cardinals
OL Scott Kooistra (2009-10 no games) -- Vikings
WR Yamon Figurs (2009) -- Titans

Ex-Browns on other Practice Squads

OL Casey Bender (Lions)
OL Eric Young (Chargers)
DT Swanson Miller (Saints)

Ex-Browns recently released by other teams

C Hank Fraley (Rams)
LS James Dearth (Patriots)
CB Don Carey (Jaguars)
LB Kevin Bentley (Chargers)
OL Kirk Chambers (Lions)
T Cliff Louis (Cardinals)
DL Jovan Haye (Titans)
QB Brett Ratliff (Titans)
LB David Veikune (Broncos)
FB Charles Ali (Cardinals)
RB Mike Bell (Lions)
RB Chris Jennings (Jets)
WR Paul Hubbard (Bills)
OL Isaac Sowells (Lions)
RB James Davis (Redskins)
DT Louis Leonard (Broncos)

Ring 'n the Ghost

2011-08-11T19:25:00.003-04:00

Not often at all will you find a pair of players at the same position, traded for each other straight-up, who then hit free agency and sign with the same third team on the same day.

From even comparison to direct competition.

The second pre-season game is when many such roster skirmishes and depth chart decisions come into sharper focus. And that focus will be in Cleveland, where Jerome Harrison and Mike Bell may very well tag team against their old team with their jobs on the line (or behind the line, perhaps).

Maybe not big enough to sell tickets to glorified practice, but an interesting potential storyline to follow next Friday.

The Delegacy

2011-07-28T16:06:00.004-04:00

He's surer than I am that Delhomme won't be back, but TheOBR's Dave Kolonich makes an interestingly good point about Jake's brief term as a Brown, concluding:

Over the last brutal decade, Delhomme is the only Browns’ quarterback who didn’t set the team back or break our hearts.

Simply put, he was never meant to do so.

Debatable whether his salary cap hit counts as "set[ting] the team back," but Delhomme did seem to be a mensch at least.

A fresh and frantic start

2011-07-26T19:54:00.002-04:00

With a new labor agreement all but inked, it's suddenly football season. A burst of signings and player movement has begun.

Before I get into what this all entails for the Browns, I want to applaud the clause that ends the emergency quarterback designation and sets game-day rosters at 46.

This will help

--get developing QBs into more games, perhaps for limited packages (e.g. Wildcat)
--reward contributors at other positions who could also fill in as a second or third QB
--reduce incentive for starters or backups to play through an in-game injury, allowing adequate time for diagnosis/treatment.

Browns bibliography

2011-03-22T19:49:00.000-04:00

Football seasons come and go, but good books endure. Below is the most comprehensive list anywhere of books related to the Cleveland Browns -- journalism, memoir, history, biography, photography, reference and more -- even true crime and fiction. (Media guides, yearbooks, and books for juvenile readers are not included). These 70 titles are sorted by year of publication.

Click the links (Powell's and Amazon affiliate) to learn more and add to your own library or to that of a fellow Browns fan. My general survey of Cleveland Browns books appeared in the January 2008 issue of the Orange and Brown Report Magazine, and I have been reviewing individual titles in recent issues.

Whether it’s a fresh title or one out-of-print and overlooked, a Browns book has to be a better gift than a Tim Couch jersey, eh?

I update this page periodically, so feel free to bookmark it, and please send along your tips on upcoming titles, recommendations, feedback, and corrections.

Classic Browns: The 50 Greatest Games in Cleveland Browns History by Jonathan Knight, 2008

Powell's Amazon

Paul Brown: The Man Who Invented Modern Football by George Cantor, 2008

Powell's Amazon

Paul Brown: The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Football's Most Innovative Coach by Andrew O'Toole, 2008

Powell's Amazon

Cleveland Browns Trivia Teasers by Richard Pennington, 2008

Powell's Amazon

One Moment Changes Everything: The All-America Tragedy of Don Rogers by Sean D. Harvey, 2007

Powell's Amazon

Browns Scrapbook: A Fond Look Back at Five Decades of Football, from a Legendary Cleveland Sportswriter by Chuck Heaton, 2007

Powell's Amazon

Playing For Pizza: A Novel by John Grisham, 2007

Powell's Amazon

Jim Brown: The Fierce Life of an American Hero by Mike Freeman, 2006

Powell's Amazon

Heart of a Mule: The Dick Schafrath Stories by Dick Schafrath, 2006

Powell's Amazon

The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns--Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty by Andy Piascik, 2006

Powell's Amazon

Sundays in the Pound: The Heroics and Heartbreak of the 1985-89 Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight, 2006

Powell's Amazon

Browns Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan! by Mary Schmitt Boyer, 2006

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Browns Glory: For the Love of Ozzie, the Toe, and Otto by Alan Ross (ed.), 2005

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Cleveland Browns History by Frank M. Henkel, 2005

Author Powell's Amazon

For Browns Fans Only! by Rich Wolfe, 2005

Powell's Amazon

The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam, 2005

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False Start: How The New Browns Were Set Up To Fail by Terry Pluto, 2004

Excerpts Powell’s Amazon

Tales From the Browns Sideline by Tony Grossi, 2004

Powell’s Amazon

OttoMatic by Duey Graham, 2004

Publisher

Best of Hal Lebovitz: Great Sportswriting from Six Decades in Cleveland by Hal Lebovitz, 2004

Powell’s Amazon

Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys: 101 Colorful Characters from Cleveland Sports History by Bob Dolgan, 2003

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Kardiac Kids: The Story of the 1980 Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight, 2003

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Browns Town 1964: The Cleveland Browns and the 1964 Championship by Terry Pluto, 2003

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Cleveland Browns A-Z by Roger Gordon, 2002

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From Ghetto to God: The Incredible Journey of NFL Star, Reggie Rucker by Reggie Rucker and Nadine McIlwain, 2002

Amazon

Brown’s Town: 20 Famous Browns Talk Amongst Themselves by Alan Natali, 2001

Powell’s Amazon

Rugged and Enduring: The Eagles, the Browns, and 5 Years of Football by David Cohen, 2001

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First and Last Seasons: A Father, A Son, and Sunday Afternoon Football by Dan McGraw, 2000

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Back Home: The Cleveland Browns by Tim Graham, editor, 1999

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On Being Brown: What It Means to Be a Cleveland Browns Fan by Scott Huler, 1999

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Cleveland Browns Facts and Trivia by Roger Gordon, 1999

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The Cleveland Browns: The Official Illustrated History by Ron Smith, 1999

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Cleveland’s Browns (Photo Highlights of the First Fifty Years of the Cleveland Browns) by Paul Tepley, 1999

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The Cleveland Browns: The Great Tradition by Bob Moon, 1999

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Total Browns: The Official Encyclopedia of the Cleveland Browns by Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, John Thorn, 1999

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The Best of the Cleveland Browns Memories by Russell Schneider, 1999

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The Browns: Cleveland’s Team by Richard Shmelter, 1999

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Legends by the Lake: The Cleveland Browns at Municipal Stadium by John Keim, 1999

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Tim Couch: A Passion for the Game by John McGill and Dave Baker, 1999

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When All the World Was Browns Town by Terry Pluto, 1997

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Glory for Sale: Inside the Browns' Move to Baltimore & the New NFL by Jon Morgan, 1997

Powell’s Amazon

Fumble: The Browns, Modell, & the Move by Michael G. Poplar with James A. Toman, 1997

Powell’s Amazon

Cleveland Stadium: The Last Chapter by James A. Toman and Gregory G. Deegan, 1997

Powell’s Amazon

City of Champions: The Story of the 1948 Cleveland Barons, Browns and Indians by Kevin O’Connell, 1997

Amazon

Browns Memories: The 338 Most Memorable Heroes, Heartaches & Highlights from 50 Seasons of Cleveland Browns Football by Tim Long, 1996

Powell’s Amazon

The Toe: The Lou Groza Story by Lou Groza with Mark Hodermarsky, 1996

Amazon

Deadly Goals: The True Story of an All-American Football Hero Who Stalked and Murdered by Wilt Browning, 1996

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The Cleveland Browns: A 50-Year Tradition by Steve Byrne, Jim Campbell, Mark Craig, Bob Moon, 1995

Powell’s Amazon

Cleveland Stadium: 60 Years of Memories by James A. Toman, 1994

Amazon

The Cleveland Sports Legacy Since 1945 by Mark Hodermarsky, 1991

Amazon

Behind the Lines by Don Strock and Harvey Frommer, 1991

Amazon

Out of Bounds by Jim Brown and Steve Delsohn, 1989

Amazon

Pressure by Sam Rutigliano, 1988

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I Went Both Ways by Don Paul, 1988

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Cleveland Browns Trivia by John F. Grabowski, 1987

Amazon

Football’s Gentle Giant: The Blanton Collier Story by Kay Collier Slone, 1985

Amazon

Day By Day in Cleveland Browns History by Morris Eckhouse, 1984

Amazon

Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, the Story of a Heisman Trophy Winner by Robert C. Gallagher, 1983

Amazon

Sam, Sipe, & Company : The Story of the Cleveland Browns by William V Levy, 1981

Amazon

PB: The Paul Brown Story by Paul Brown and Jack Clary, 1979

Amazon

The Cleveland Browns: Power and Glory by Chuck Heaton, 1974

Amazon

Cleveland Browns: Great Teams, Great Years by Jack Clary, 1973

Amazon

They Call It a Game: Shoulders the NFL Stands On by Bernie Parrish, 1971 (reissued in 2000)

Powell’s Amazon

My Greatest Challenge by Bill Glass, 1968

Amazon

Get in the Game! by Bill Glass, 1965

Amazon

Return to Glory: The Story of the Cleveland Browns by Bill Levy, 1965

Amazon

Off My Chest by Jimmy Brown with Myron Cope, 1964

Amazon

Confessions of a Gypsy Quarterback by George Ratterman and Robert Deindorfer, 1962

Amazon

Football Scouting by Robert C. "Sarge" MacKenzie, 1955

Amazon

T Quarterback by Otto Graham, 1953

Amazon

Cribbs carries

2010-09-06T12:15:00.004-04:00

Quick fact of the day:

No non-quarterback in pro football history with at least as many career rushes as Josh Cribbs has gained more yards per attempt.

(Number of former or current Browns in this stat's top 100: Eleven.)

Blind faith, no. Open mind, yes

2010-09-06T10:04:00.004-04:00

Few football observers expect much out of the Browns this season. The general consensus is that their ceiling -- if all goes right -- is seven or eight wins.

But as Rick Gosselin, one of the best columnists in the business, writes, a quick start to the season can, and often does, build into a surprise season. With two very winnable games to start the schedule, maybe Cleveland will be the 2010 version of last year's Saints, 2003's Panthers, 2004's Falcons, or the '99 Rams.

In a parity-driven league, you see it almost every year. A team on no one's radar storms through September unbeaten. It begins thinking it's a good football team, then it starts playing like a good football team and, finally, it becomes a good football team.

That will happen again in 2010. It may be the Cleveland Browns...
On any given Sunday, any team can rise up and beat another. In any given season, a team can rise up.

Sometimes all that team needs is a dose of confidence. Win the opener and that confidence starts to build. Every win thereafter becomes a log on the fire. By season's end, that team is ablaze with confidence.

I'm making no predictions here, but many of the elements of a potential playoff team are already here. Lots of questions marks too, no doubt. But with some better luck on the injury front and some quick-start momentum, there's no reason right now to limit what a successful Browns season might bring.

Justice for Jake

2010-09-05T19:40:00.002-04:00

Apparently it's not only Browns partisans who believe that the NFL's $7,500 fine of Lions DT Ndamukong Suh for his flagrant foul on Jake Delhomme was woefully inadequate.

Here's Detroit columnist Drew Sharp arguing that his hometown guy should've been suspended for that "irresponsible cheap shot."

[T]he NFL can't blow off his on-field thuggery simply because he tried to decapitate a quarterback nobody really cares about.

My take: Suh should've been fined $50,000 but not suspended. He also should have been assessed for two personal fouls on that play: one for grabbing the facemask and another for unnecessary roughness on the subsequent throw to the ground.

The "New" Browns MVP

2010-09-03T20:27:00.003-04:00

I think Pete's just trying to be provocative, but since he diminishes #16 as merely a special-teamer and, oblivious to the irony, deems Phil Dawson the new Browns' MVP, I'll go on the record here with my list of the most valuable players to wear the brown and orange since 1999. The criteria are inherently subjective, so I'll just keep this humble list short and sweet:

1. Joshua Cribbs
2. Joe Thomas
3. Orpheus Roye
4. Daylon McCutcheon
5. Phil Dawson
6. Dennis Northcutt
7. Jamir Miller
8. Andra Davis.

With no offense to some decent contributors, I can't think of anyone else that deserves to be a serious contender.

Malberta Hard-to-see

2010-09-03T19:23:00.005-04:00

So the Browns trade up to get back into the second round to fill a position of need. Then the draftee tears his ACL and misses his entire rookie year.

Where have I heard this before?

This is just the kind of sad, uncanny coincidence to stir an old Browns blogger out of hibernation.

But if Joe Haden breaks his leg this month trying to recover an onside kick, I'm outta here.

Way over the top

2010-04-02T10:12:00.005-04:00

In the woulda, coulda, shoulda spirit of Browns fandom, we're game for this P-F-R counterfactual replay of the strike-torn 1987 season.

In a nutshell, labor unrest resulted in the cancellation of Week 3, followed by three weeks of replacement players. But what if that strike had never happened?

The cancelled Browns game was a home Monday nighter against the Broncos. Given that Earnest Byner was healthy and the team was not drained by a double-OT thriller the week before, it's plausible that Cleveland would've won that rematch of the previous season's AFC Championship (aka "The Drive").

That very well could've led to another conference title matchup against Denver, but this time at home, rather than in the Mile High City, site of "The Fumble."

Maybe it's better if I let the author (a Jets fan) take it from here:

[T]he Browns fielded perhaps their best team since the merger in '87, and home field advantage may have been enough to send them to the Super Bowl.

Take a step back and imagine the hype for a Cleveland-Washington Super Bowl. ...

The Browns were the better team, and it's easy to envision them winning Super Bowl XXII.

That leads to an entertaining shark-jumping exercise on how such a wrinkle in football history might have become a full-fledged shredding of everything we thought we knew about the nature of the sport -- i.e., that the Browns must deliver only heartbreak. Indeed, the post is tagged both "History" and "Insane ideas," and ultimately backs off from what started as a reasonable alternative course of history.

Man. Can't even win in the rewrite.

Which safety? It's a given

2010-03-31T09:29:00.002-04:00

To heck with all the pseudo-scientific analysis of the upsides and backsides of every potential draftee. There's no doubt which of the top safeties the Browns ought to draft. My evaluation system is simple and elegant:

Do you want a safety named Eric or one named Earl?

Top 10 Browns of all time

2010-03-17T09:56:00.004-04:00

NFL Network showed their rundown of the top 10 Browns of all time. You can watch here, but if you don't want the preceding commercial, here's the list:

10. Mike McCormack
9. Dante Lavelli "AFC"
8. Gene Hickerson
7. Leroy Kelly
6. Bill Willis
5. Lou "The Toe" Groza
4. Ozzie Newsome
3. Marion Motley
2. Otto Graham
1. Jim Brown.

All Hall of Famers. Which leads me to check out which Browns HOFers got snubbed. Len Ford, Frank Gatski, and three who spent major chunks of their careers with other teams: Paul Warfield, Joe DeLamielleure, and Bobby Mitchell. (Eight of the 10 NFLN picks played every down of their pro careers with Cleveland.)

Here's a link to a P-F-R player ranking by Browns career Approximate Value, which adjusts for differences in era and position, among other things. Sadly, it doesn't include AAFC stats, which affects the franchise earliest greats, and it undercounts special teams.

Even so, Lou Groza tied Jim Brown at the top. He and Graham would've both exceeded Brown in career AV had their first four years been factored in.

I don't have any serious complaints with the NFLN top 10, but all things considered, I think Graham should be at the top. The Toe should rank ahead of Oz for sure and probably Motley too.

Pairing the roster

2010-03-14T18:23:00.007-04:00

Dizzy from the swirl of off-season transactions? The helpful handle I grab is to match incoming and outgoing players by position. Such an at-a-glance view makes it easier to analyze the net effect on the roster, while also signaling where the next moves might come. Unmatched outbound players indicate a probable positional need yet to be filled, primarily through the draft, but potentially through free agency and trades. Unmatched inbound players presage the possible departure of a familiar name. So let's see how Holmgren's moves stack up so far.

Departing player ==> Arriving player My analysis.

QB Brady Quinn (traded to DEN for Peyton Hillis, 6th in 2011, conditional pick in 2012) ==> QB Jake Delhomme (UFA, CAR, 2-year deal) Biggest decision so far: deciding Quinn wasn't worth building around, then banking on a 35-year-old to man the helm until the next great Browns QB emerges. May not be popular, but I do see the logic. I'd like to see that heir apparent though.
QB Derek Anderson (cut) ==> QB Seneca Wallace (acquired from SEA for conditional 7th in 2011) DA's contract was an obvious albatross. Wallace is an experienced backup with wheels. Could also help as a spot sub on, say, third-and-three. Good move, though he's only signed through this year.
OL Hank Fraley (cut, signed by STL to 3-year deal) ==> OL Tony Pashos (UFA, SF, 3-year deal) Fraley gets props for stabilizing the center position after the Bentley disaster and contributing even after Alex Mack arrived. Pashos is expected to upgrade the right side of the line.
OLB Kamerion Wimbley (traded to OAK for 3rd) ==> ILB Scott Fujita (UFA, NO, 3-year deal) The unexpected trade follows the arrival and emergence of several LBs last season. Gumby was decent and durable, but the tweener didn't quite grow into the well-rounded star you'd expect from a 13th-overall pick. He's also not locked up long-term. Fujita is a solid starter for the Super Bowl champs. Might be better to think of it as Roth making Wimbley expendable, and Fujita potentially replacing Barton.
TE Steve Heiden (cut) ==> TE Ben Watson (UFA, NE, 3-year deal) Nice upgrade here. Heiden is the third best tight end in Browns history, but was slowed by injury. Watson and Evan Moore should catch 60 passes between them, many in the red zone and on third-down conversions. With Royal as the blocker and special-teamer, this position appears solid.
RB Jamal Lewis (cut) ==> RB Peyton Hillis (acquired along with draft picks for Quinn) Lewis achieved more as a Brown than I expected, but the speed that set him apart among big backs was gone. Hillis is a popular pounder with career averages of 4.9 yards rushing, 11.0 receiving, and he's under a cheap contract for two more years. I'd hoped the Browns would draft Toby Gerhart from Stanford in the second for this role, but since there's no guarantees, I'm just glad to see this particular hole filled.
CB Hank Poteat (UFA) ==> CB John Bowie (UFA, signed to reserve/future contract) Poteat performed as expected as the nickel corner: terribly. If the speedy Bowie can stay healthy and make the team, all's the better, but the Browns need at least another starter at this position.

Other departing players

DL Corey Williams (traded with 7th-round pick to DET for 5th) This seems like a low return for a former franchise tag designee that just two years ago was acquired for a second-rounder. But another one of those excessive Savage-era contracts, along with Williams' game not meshing well with the defensive scheme, dictated this move.
G Rex Hadnot (UFA, signed by ARI to 3-year-deal) He was actually one of the better right guards since the Browns' rebirth, but that's not saying much. I'm OK with letting him go, but as it stands today the interior line lacks experienced depth. Pursuing RFA guard Rob Sims makes sense, even beyond his Holmgren and Ohio connections (his dad is a former Brown), as his signing would require only 4th-round compensation.
OL Ryan Tucker (retired) One of the Browns' best veteran free agent signings of the decade, but he started just 71 games in eight years. Health problems of all sort played a role in his decline.
WR Donte' Stallworth (cut, signed by BAL, 1-year deal) If you had to blame one single player for the Browns' descent from 10-6 to 4-12 and 5-11, this would be the guy. Think they couldn't still really use a veteran wideout with the speed to stretch the field? He was everything you don't want from a free agent: ridiculously expensive, fragile, a bad influence on teammates (to the point of physically disabling them), and an off-the-field disaster.
S Brodney Pool (untendered FA, signed by NYJ, 1-year deal) Concussion problems scared the new regime from re-signing him, so you can't blame them, though Pool was a capable starter and safety is like micron thin.

Other Browns UFAs: WR/S Mike Furrey, TE Greg Estandia, TE Michael Gaines, OL Billy Yates.

Browns re-signed: MVP Joshua Cribbs. DB Ray Ventrone, another key special-teams player, reportedly got a three-year deal (though he's now absent from the official site's roster).

RFAs tendered 2010 contracts: LB Jason Trusnik (signed), LB Matt Roth, LB D'Qwell Jackson, RB Jerome Harrison, FB Lawrence Vickers, S Abram Elam. If any sign with another team and the Browns opt not to match, Cleveland would receive a 2nd-round pick.

Glenn in the 'Cooler has a nice, current rundown of the Browns' draft position.With more FA signings, trade possibilities, and a dozen draftees to pick, look for Holmgren and crew to focus on (in order of importance):

a starting safety (perhaps shoot for STL's former franchise designee, O.J. Atogwe, and/or draft Eric Berry)
a quarterback of the future (Round 2 or 3, I hope)
a starting cornerback better than Brandon McDonald
a deep threat at WR
interior offensive line depth
a defensive lineman
another safety and/or corner.

Browns stats you probably haven't seen, with good reason

2010-02-19T09:02:00.003-05:00

Each year I update a little spreadsheet of Browns stats since their 1999 return. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's so I can, in excruciatingly exacting detail, understand just how it is that I am still waiting for a return to championship football, and just how soon that glorious, as-yet-mythical campaign might manifest itself on the grid.

While we're here, we might as well pass along some of least uninteresting notes unearthed in this annual update on the "New Browns" (a phrase still offered, though with increasing currents of sarcasm):

Brady Quinn's career passer rating actually rose slightly in 2009. The glaring statistical negative: he was sacked on 6.9% of his dropbacks last season, compared to 1% in his limited action in '07-'08.

Derek Anderson ranks 7th and and Quinn 8th in Browns career passer rating among the 12 QBs with 50+ attempts since 1999. Top gun? Kelly Holcomb.

Brodney Pool's four picks ties him with Daylon McCutcheon and Leigh Bodden at 12 for fourth on the New Browns interceptions list, led by Earl Little with 18.

Eric Wright doubled his career interception total, tying both Pool for the season leadership and Brandon McDonald, his fellow 2007 draftee, on the career list with eight.

By scoring just once in 2009, Jamal Lewis would have broken a four-way tie for third most total touchdowns (15). Instead, he'll forever share that stat line with Quincy Morgan, Dennis Northcutt, and Andre' Davis.

Josh Cribbs, with 14 TDs, is now the Browns' active career leader.

Braylon Edwards was traded 139 yards shy of Kevin Johnson's New Browns career record of 3,836 receiving yards.

That list, by the way, includes Steve Heiden in 6th place. Assuming the veteran tight end doesn't return, Mohamed Massaquoi, fresh off his 624-yard rookie year (13th), would be the Browns' active career leader in receiving yardage.

Before getting reinjured, Heiden did score once in 2009, forever taking the lead from Kellen Winslow in touchdowns by tight ends (12).

In 11 years, 11 rookie WRs have gained at least 100 receiving yards. Brian Robiskie barely made that list.

Lewis leads all New Browns in rushing yards with 2,806. Jerome Harrison's late-season surge vaulted him to 5th, just 14 yards behind 4th-place Jamel White. Josh Cribbs' ranking went from 16th to 8th after he more than doubled his career rushing total in 2009.

Last season was only the second time in 11 years (first since 2003) in which four Browns rushed for at least 200 yards.

The Browns' fifth-leading rusher last year, Brady Quinn, would have ranked second on the 2005 team.

2,087 rushing yards in 2009 was the most of any New Browns team. Still, they surrendered 14 yards more per game to their opponents on the ground.

Kamerion Wimbley took the lead on the sacks list, topping Kenard Lang and Jamir Miller. The top five names on that list were all first-round draft picks.

Even if he never again can answer the bell, Brodney Pool should be glad to know that he is the only defensive back in all of Browns (official) history to sack a quarterback in four different seasons.

The 2009 team's ten interceptions were its lowest total since the expansion squad of 1999 managed only eight.

Sure, the Browns' 2009 passing attack wasn't much. But was the first time in these 11 years that as many as nine players gained 100 or more yards receiving.

On the other hand, 220 receiving yards by Harrison was enough to rank second on the 2009 team. That's way beneath the previous low for the team's second leading receiver (428, Kellen Winslow, 2008).

Gimme five: new life for sudden death

2010-02-11T06:39:00.006-05:00

Sudden death overtime was a great idea for its time. The invention of former commissioner Bert Bell (who, incidentally, suffered his own sudden death at the first game he attended following the epic 1958 NFL championship) added excitement to the sport by reducing the all-too-common kiss-your-sister anticlimax of two teams slugging it out for 60 minutes and then heading home having tasted neither victory nor defeat.

It worked well back in the age when field goals were much dicier propositions than they are today. But now, teams play overtime just to get into field goal position, scarcely risking a deeper advance toward a touchdown when any points will do.

That diminishes the drama and the platform for competition. It also deflates fans who held fast for four quarters of even battle, then often see their team lose the coin toss, surrender a few first downs, and start shaking hands after the ball flies over the crossbar.

My quick research shows that the Browns have taken 31 games into overtime, going 16-14-1. Of those contests, just eight ended with a touchdown.

Those rare game-ending TDs have included a fake field goal, three interceptions returns, and a flea-flicker.

While sudden-death has increasingly become a jockeying for field goal position, the system does have the advantage of being straightforward. So how best to improve the spirit of full, fair competition without unduly doctoring or lengthening the game?

Here's my proposal:

-- The winning team would be the first one to score five points in overtime.

-- For regular season games, if neither team scores five in the 15-minute overtime, whichever team is ahead wins. If neither team is ahead, the game would end in a tie.

-- Rather than tossing a coin, the visiting team would get first choice of a) kicking off or receiving, or b) picking which goal to defend.

-- In the regular season, the entire overtime would have the same clock stoppage rules that apply during the final two minutes of the first half and five minutes of the second half (i.e. going out of bounds keeps it stopped until the next snap).

-- In the regular season, rather than getting two timeouts, teams would carry over whatever timeouts remained from the second half. The two-minute warning would remain.

Such a system would greatly increase the incentive for teams to go for the gusto rather than settle for field goals (especially before fourth down). Eliminating the coin toss and the automatic two timeouts would help mitigate the lengthening of the game caused by requiring more points and stopping the clock on out-of-bounds.

These changes, unlike the NCAA's artificial system, would still involve all phases of the game -- offense, defense, special teams, and coaching (including clock management). They would improve the odds that each team would have an offensive possession, while keeping fan interest alive throughout, as any single play could still be the game's last.

And that last play, more often than not, would be a touchdown.

The no-go logo

2010-02-10T11:16:00.004-05:00

Nice piece of Browns history research here, with images you've likely not seen before, concerning the legendary "CB" logo that might've maybe almost nearly adorned (or befouled) the Browns' orange helmets in 1965.

In his pursuit of the story, the author interviews former quarterback Frank Ryan, one of my favorite Browns-I-was-too-young-to-see-play. See him in action here:

What this win changes

2009-12-11T10:02:00.003-05:00

It can't be the Browns' worst season if they beat Pittsburgh.

Three games remain before we can say where the 2009 Mangini weenies will rank alongside 1975, 1990, 1995, and the six teams winning five or fewer games in the latest decade. Could they still be the worst squad in the Browns' long history?

Nah.

This win changed that.

We ran and stopped the run.

We made very few mistakes, in turnovers, sacks, blown coverages. Connecting with the wideouts was challenging, but the Browns never gave away the field position with a gaffe.

Josh Cribbs amply showed why he's not only one of football's best ever returners, but also one of the sports most exciting and likable players. We've known that for five years now, and in terms of the Browns pantheon, I put him right up there in the Dub Jones, Bobby Mitchell, Eric Metcalf neighborhood. With five more healthy years as a Brown, he would deserve consideration as one of the team's top 10 players in history. He's already the MVP of the "new" era, hands-down.

It was Rob Ryan's defense and not Dick LeBeau's that was more consistent and creative.

The Browns just played harder. Harder than the Steelers, and harder than they've played all year.

-----

In games they have won, the 2009 Browns have more QB sacks on defense than completed passes on offense.

The Browns have not won a game in which they have allowed a touchdown since Nov. 17, 2008.

Cribbs now is #2 in Browns rushing yardage this season, leapfrogging Jerome Harrison. Gaining 305 yards at a clip of 7.3 per, he already has the highest total for any Browns #2 rusher since 2004.

Career QB rating: Quinn 69.2, Anderson 69.6. The six other Cleveland QBs to start openers since 1999 all had better ratings here.

Still scratching my head at Mangini accepting the holding penalty that gave Pittsburgh 3rd and 18 rather than 4th and 8 at the CLE 34. It worked out because the back dropped the checkdown, but really?? With the Steelers down 7, under 12 minutes to go, declining the penalty almost forces them to go for it, giving you a bigger upside if they don't convert. Pushing them back gives them an extra chance to either make something happen or pin you deep.

Gameballs to Cribbs, Alex Mack, Eric Wright, and Corey Williams.

Will this game become the signature win, marking the (delayed) launch of the Mangini Era of tough, smart, mistake-free football, capable of vanquishing even foe most foul? Or will it merely serve as the high-water mark for a mismanaged team due for new and better leadership? We'll see, but whatever it was, it was a fine and rare sight to behold.

Peeling back old 32

2009-11-27T19:03:00.003-05:00

A balanced look at Jim Brown, courtesy of America's Finest News Source.

Coaching up coach

2009-11-23T13:37:00.005-05:00

Being a Browns fan these days means awaiting the next, previously-unthinkable new way for a team to meet defeat.

Yesterday's worthy contribution to this panoply of pathos: blowing a three-touchdown lead to a 1-8 team and allowing a rookie QB to throw for five TDs and 422 yards, the third most ever allowed by the Browns.

Rather than detail all the defensive breakdowns, pan the performance of Terry "Bottlegate" McAuley and crew, or lament the deactivation of two second-round draftees and a back with a career rushing average 4.8 yards per carry, I'll just focus on the reappearance of something I've known for a few years now.

That Hank Poteat sucks? Well, that too.

But this time I'm talking about the dubious game-day management skills of Eric Mangini.

This caught my attention back on December 9, 2007, when the Browns beat his Jets, 24-18. After all, it's not often that a trailing team will opt for two field goals after the two-minute warning and still lose by 6. (Not impressed? Consider that the second FG, Mike Nugent's 35-yarder, came on first down with 50 seconds and one Jets timeout left, and was followed by a kickoff that went out of bounds at the Cleveland 3-yard-line.)

Now after the four years of Romeo Crennel's on-field follies, I thought even Mangini would be an improvement in those executive decisions made in the heat of battle: use of timeouts, kicking versus going for it, etc.

Yesterday makes me wonder. Call me a nitpicker, but this is a guy intolerant of player mistakes on or off the field, so it's only fair to point out the following:

In the second quarter, the Browns drove to the Lions' 22 and on first down with 58 ticks to go, Lewis ran up the middle for a yard. No problem with the play call. But Cleveland had two timeouts remaining. By the next snap, the clock was down to :25. A timeout should have been called.
After the second fourth-down conversion of that drive, the Dawson-to-Furrey fake FG, put the ball on the Lions' 11, there were eight seconds left, according to the video. The gamebook shows that timeout was called two seconds later. By the Lions. An astute clock manager, or at least an awake one with any interest in scoring a touchdown, would have stopped that clock pronto and taken a quick shot into the end zone against the league's worst pass defense.
Fourth quarter, Browns up 6, milking clock. Lions burn their timeouts, then the two-minute warning. Third-and-five. What's the call? The Browns go shotgun with an empty backfield. Can you telegraph a passing play any more than that? How about some play action? A bootleg, a rollout, an end around. Go wildcat. Or just stuff it in Jamal's gut again. Nope. Cue the blitz and an off-target, clock-stopping incompletion. Stafford takes over with 106 seconds to go, which proves just barely enough. Any running play in bounds would have drastically lowered the odds of a comeback.
After Poteat's pass interference puts the ball on the one with the Lions do-or-die play upcoming, their backup QB trots onto the field cold, since C.J. Mosley's hit knocked the starter out. For godsakes, let 'em sweat it. Make them beat you under pressure. Let the play clock tick. Nope. Mangini calls timeout to get his defense set. That allows Stafford back into the game, and he finds his tight end open between two Browns linebackers, who apparently were at least properly set.

I ain't a hater, and this is no personal attack, chief. Let's just smarten up out there, OK?

A premonition too preposterous to ... oh, wait!

2009-11-17T10:56:00.003-05:00

Guess I was too superstitious to post this earlier, but over the past two weeks the thought came to mind distressingly often.

What else could go wrong?

The Browns were already 1-7. A national laughingstock. An organizational Superfund site. A national storyline spun off the idiotic idea of a silly, self-aggrandizing fan (boosted by an owner with an otherworldly gift for empowering the unworthy). Both inside linebackers, the team's top two tacklers, lost for the season. The offense, bereft of speed and spirit, flip-flopping quarterbacks like live flounder flailing on a sizzling skillet.

What could make it worse?

I didn't dare put it into prose. Why reify the already ambient "woe-is-us" attitude? Why take the karmic hit if the fears came to pass?

Now, of course, the answer is brutally obvious.

What's the most natural extension (meaning, in Browns-speak, preternatural) of how this season could get even worse?

Josh Cribbs gets knocked out.

But not even my patent-pending catastrophic thinking module (honed over lo these decades of Browns fandom) would dare to specify circumstances so surreal.

Toward the stroke of midnight, it was. Browns are getting pasted yet again on national TV by those prodigal sons-of-bitches. This blogger, beset by a flu-riddled family, accedes to the nepenthe of slumber with mere meaningless minutes remaining.

Only in dreamland, where the constraints of logic and rationality are delta-waived, could the following be possible. Yet, I find this morning, it actually came to pass that

The Browns were apparently granted a fourth timeout, allowing the Ravens' otherwise clock-killing final possession to expire with 20 seconds to go.
The Browns offense, previously known for folding its tent at the first wisp of a cloud, suddenly finds itself, relieved of the theoretical possibility of actually winning the game, launching into attack mode.
Down 16 points, the obvious downfield target of Quinn on the first two downs is, of course, our beloved #16, Josh Cribbs.
Not satisfied with two incompletions, the fateful final fling at a 16-point conversion finds our sole superhero snagging a Quinn pass and flipping it to teammate Robert Royal for a final late-night comedy bit.
It turns tragic, as the Browns' heart-and-soul star, its never-say-die dude, somehow (again, I am sleeping through all this) uncharacteristically lets down his guard and gets jacked up by some Raven named (ugh) Edwards.
Out comes the stretcher and the ambulance trip to Cleveland Clinic.
Thus ends another fine chapter in Browns ignominy and pain.

Maybe he'll shake it off. Maybe its only a mildly traumatic brain injury. You can't get staph from treating a concussion, can you?

My stupid, silent fear was not actually False Evidence Appearing Real. It was just too preposterous to admit. Which means it fits perfectly into the narrative of Cleveland Browns lore.

Which begs the question: what's next?

Hmmm. The Browns next travel to Detroit to take on a team that has won exactly one game in its last 26. Ford Field is only 40 minutes from my house, tickets can be had real cheap, and a local TV blackout may well apply. Should I go and be a witness? It could be quite ... something ...

But without Cribbs?!? Whatever for?

However, if he's on the sidelines, in his concussed state, it's the perfect time for this man of many hats to wear one more.

Play-caller.

Stick a Sporcle in 'em

2009-11-14T10:26:00.003-05:00

Further documenting the woeful whirlwind of Browns football over the last decade, I hereby challenge you with my third Browns-related quiz. Name the 19 men who have led our offensive, defensive, and special teams units since the franchise's resurrection. Go ahead, you know you wanna feel like a winner, someway, somehow. You can do it faster than a Browns three-and-out.

Practice players to pluck

2009-11-11T12:27:00.002-05:00

Now that both of the Browns' leading tacklers, inside linebackers D'Qwell Jackson and Eric Barton, are shelved for the season, the active roster stands at 52, leaving one available job, even after this week's promotion of rookie LB Marcus Bernard from the practice squad and signing of veteran LB Josh Stamer as a street free agent.

I suspect that poobah-for-now Eric Mangini will round out the roster with another practice squad promotion or tryout player, and the news may come fast. But this is really an optimal situation for raiding another team's practice squad. All you need to do is keep him on the active roster for three weeks.

So who's out there? A consolidated, current list of NFL practice squads isn't readily available, so I had to visit each team's official site to get the names below.

Based on the positional make-up of the Browns' current active roster, I'd pay special attention to wide receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and linebackers, in roughly that order. Not that I'd expect any such newcomer to make an instant impact -- indeed, he'd probably be inactive on game day -- but it would provide the coaches a low-risk, up-close, extended look at a player who another team thought worthy of developing in house.

The one name that immediately stands out is OT Alex Boone (SF), late of Lakewood St. Ed's and Ohio State. Serious immaturity issues dropped the two-time All-Big Ten selection right off the draft boards last April. That would be a giant red flag to someone like Mangini (and me too), but maybe staying out of trouble for his first half year as a pro makes the risk seem less than the potential upside, especially given the Browns' need to secure a better long-term answer at right tackle.

Anyway, who should we snag?

Buffalo: Hall, Bruce RB, Mississippi; Harris, Cary DB, USC; Hawthorne, C.J. WR, Hawaii; Hennessey, Nick OL, Colgate; Huggins, Felton WR, Southeastern Louisiana; Mace, Corey DT, Wyoming; Ramsey, Andre OL, Ball State; Waters, Anthony LB 6-3 238 Clemson

Dolphins: Tristan Davis, RB; John Nalbone, TE; Nate Ness, S; Andrew Hartline, T; Kory Sperry, TE; Julius Pruitt, WR; Will Billingsley, CB; Ryan Baker, DE

Patriots: Titus Adams DT Nebraska; Bruce Davis LB UCLA; Rob Myers TE Utah State; Terrence Nunn WR Nebraska; Darryl Richard DT Georgia Tech; Isaiah Stanback QB Washington; Ryan Wendell G Fresno State

Jets: Kenwin Cummings LB Wingate; Jason Davis FB Illinois; Keith Fitzhugh S Mississippi State; Antonio Garay DT Boston College (former Brown); Marcus Henry WR Kansas; Matt Kroul DL Iowa; Ryan McKee T Southern Mississippi; Matthew Mulligan TE Maine

Ravens: Drew, Davon TE East Carolina; Gerard, K.J. CB Northern Arizona; Harper, Justin WR Virginia Tech; Mattison, Bryan G/T Iowa; Reitz, Joe T Western Michigan; Riley, Eron WR Duke; Rodgers, Stefan T Lambuth; VanDeSteeg, William LB/DE Minnesota

Bengals: Brown, Freddie WR Utah; Hill, Darius TE Ball State; Johnson, James RB Kansas State; McDonald, Clinton DE Memphis; Murray, Rico CB Kent State; Pope, Geoffrey CB Howard; Purify, Maurice WR Nebraska; Shirley, Jason DT Fresno State

Steelers: Bright, Eugene TE Purdue; Grisham, Tyler WR Clemson; Harris, Tuff S Montana; McLendon, Steve DT Troy; Redman, Isaac RB Bowie State; Shipley, A.Q. C Penn State; Vincent, Justin RB Louisiana State; Woods, Donovan ROLB Oklahoma State

Texans: Bing, Darnell LB USC; Crummey, Andrew OL Maryland; Foster, Arian RB Tennessee; Helms, Brett C LSU; Henry, Chris RB Arizona; Stenavich, Adam T Michigan

Colts: Giguere, Sam WR Sherbrooke; Gill, John DT Northwestern; Hall, Devon DB Utah State; Lambert, Terrail DB Notre Dame; Matthews, John WR San Diego; Smith, Taj WR Syracuse; Thomas, Jaimie OG Maryland

Jaguars: Bartel, Richard QB Tarleton State (former Brown); Bolen, Brock FB Louisville; Cox, Kennard DB Pittsburgh; Hughes, Nate WR Alcorn State; Navarre, Jeremy DE Maryland; Newton, Cecil C Tennessee State; Potter, Zach TE Nebraska; Stephenson, Cameron G Rutgers

Titans: Booty, John David QB USC; Durand, Ryan G Syracuse; Edison, Dominique WR Stephen F. Austin; Rivera, Mike LB Kansas; Schommer, Nick S North Dakota State; Velasco, Fernando C/G Georgia; Williams, Paul WR Fresno State

Broncos: Ball, Lance RB Maryland; Branson, Marquez TE Central Arkansas; Carter, Tony CB Florida State; Erickson, Mitch G South Dakota State; Johnson, D.J. CB Jackson State; Kelley, Braxton LB Kentucky; Powell, Carlton DL Virginia Tech; Willis, Matthew WR UCLA

Chiefs: Bates, Jackie CB Hampton; Favorite, Marlon DT LSU; Gales, Dion DE Troy State; Greenwood, Bobby DE Alabama; Harris, Darryl G Mississippi; Lawrence, Quinten WR McNeese State; Price, Ricky S Oklahoma State; Williams, Javarris RB Tennessee State

Raiders: Bodiford, Shaun WR Portland State; Boyd, Jerome SAF Oregon; Gunheim, Greyson DE Washington; Hubbard, Paul WR Wisconsin (former Brown); Nixon, David LB Brigham Young; Norris, Slade LB Oregon State; Reece, Marcel RB Washington; Schuening, Roy G Oregon State

Chargers: Banks, Gary WR Troy; Beckwith, Darryl ILB Louisiana State; Castille, Simeon CB Alabama; Clark, Corey T Texas A&M; Coleman, Andre DE Albany; Latsko, Billy FB Florida; Leman, J LB Illinois; Toledo, Joe OT Washington

Cowboys: Bright, Travis G Brigham Young; Carpenter, Rudy QB Arizona State; Chandler, Scott TE Iowa; Dixon, Marcus DE Hampton; Holley, Jesse WR North Carolina; Johnson, Manuel WR Oklahoma; Love, Jamar CB Arkansas; Washington, Chauncey RB USC

Giants: Anderson, Vince CB Webber International; Bender, Jacob G/T Nicholls St.; Bomar, Rhett QB Sam Houston State; Broughton, Nehemiah FB The Citadel; Coe, Michael CB Alabama State; Hendricks, Dwayne DT Miami; Pascoe, Bear TE Fresno State; Rashad, Shareff S Central Florida

Eagles: Collins, Dobson WR Gardner-Webb; Fanaika, Paul G Arizona State; Ikegwuonu, Jack CB Wisconsin; Langford, Reshard S Vanderbilt; Mailei, Marcus FB Weber State; Norwood, Jordan WR Penn State (former Brown); Reynolds, Dallas G BYU; Rucker, Martin TE Missouri (former Brown)

Redskins: Armstrong, Anthony WR West Texas A&M; Bowen, Alvin LB Iowa State; Holmes, Lendy S Oklahoma; Jackson, Rob DE Kansas State; Oldenburg, Clint OT Colorado State; Robinson, William OT San Diego State; Skolnitsky, J.D. DE James Madison; Woodson, Andre QB Kentucky

Bears: Asiata, Johan G UNLV; Basanez, Brett QB Northwestern; Bell, Kahlil RB UCLA; Marten, James T Boston College; Raiola, Donovan C Wisconsin; Smith, DeAngelo CB Cincinnati (former Brown); Ta'ufo'ou, Will FB Cal; Turenne, Woodny CB Louisville

Lions: Fowler, Eric WR Grand Valley State; Gerberry, Dan C Ball State; Gronkowski, Dan TE Maryland; Heckendorf, Kole WR North Dakota State; Henderson, Robert DE Southern Mississippi; Peerman, Cedric RB Virginia (former Brown); Word-Daniels, Jahi CB Georgia Tech

Packers: Brian Brohm QB Louisville; Patrick Williams WR Colorado; Kregg Lumpkin RB Georgia; Trevor Ford CB Troy; Cyril Obiozor LB Texas A&M; Anthony Toribio NT Carson-Newman; Ronald Talley DE Delaware

Vikings: Anderson, Colt S Montana; Brown, Patrick T Central Florida; Clark, Chris T Southern Mississippi; Johnson, Ian RB Boise State; Johnson, Tremaine DT Louisiana State; Mills, Garrett TE Tulsa; Perretta, Vinny WR Boise State; Wright, DeAndre CB New Mexico

Falcons: Bergeron, Troy WR None; Brock, Eric S Auburn; Bruggeman, Rob OL Iowa; Clark, Jeremy DT Alabama; James, Robert LB Arizona State; Lucas, Maurice DE Colorado; Smith, Antone RB Florida State; Valdez, Jose OG Arkansas

Panthers: Birmingham, Decori RB Arkansas; Cantwell, Hunter QB Louisville; Fry, Dustin C Clemson (former Brown); Ivy, Mortty LB West Virginia; Jackson, Dexter WR Appalachian State; Martin, Charly WR West Texas A&M; Pociask, Jason TE Wisconsin; Walker, Marcus CB Oklahoma

Saints: Parson, Mark CB Ohio; Herb Donaldson RB Western Illinois; Earl Heyman DT Louisville; Tim Duckworth G Auburn; Renardo Foster T Louisville; Jermey Parnell T Mississippi; Tyler Lorenzen TE Connecticut; Adrian Arrington WR Michigan

Buccaneers: Anderson, Brandon CB Akron (former Brown); Cook, Emanuel S South Carolina; Dile, Marc OL South Florida; Evans, Maurice DE Penn State; Huggins, Kareem RB Hofstra; Purvis, Ryan TE Boston College; Robinson, Lee LB Alcorn State; Urrutia, Mario WR Louisville

Cardinals: Barksdale, Rashad CB Albany State (NY); Canfield, Trevor G Cincinnati; Collins, Jed FB Washington State; Gant, Edward WR North Alabama; Harrington, Chris LB Texas A&M; Holmes, Antoine DT North Carolina State; Jones, Onrea WR Hampton; Renkart, Brandon LB Rutgers

Rams: Bradwell, Chris LDT Troy; Brown, Marcus RCB McNeese State; Butler, Eric TE Mississippi State; Moore, Jay MLB Nebraska; Ogbonnaya, Chris HB Texas; Parks, Cord LCB Northeastern; Walker, Sean WR Vanderbilt; Young, Eric RT Tennessee (former Brown)

49ers: Barton, Kirk T Ohio State; Boone, Alex T Ohio State; Burnett, Martail LB Utah; Finley, Joe Jon TE Oklahoma; Lattimore, Keon RB Maryland; Miller, Brit FB Illinois; Mitchell, Khalif DT East Carolina; Zeigler, Dominique WR Baylor

Seahawks: Goddard, Na'Shan T South Carolina; Heygood, Anthony LB Purdue; Moore, Devin RB Wyoming; Williams, Kyle T USC; Williams, Trae CB South Florida; Willingham, DeAngelo CB Tennessee

A Phippsian flop

2009-11-03T14:28:00.003-05:00

Via PFR, we find that Derek Anderson had the worst statistical performance of any NFL quarterback in the first half of any of the past 34 seasons.

Not since 1975, when the Browns' own Mike Phipps began the year tossing 10 interceptions with nary a touchdown, has the league witnessed poorer play at its premier position.

Assuming all eight Cleveland home games were filled to capacity (absurd, I know, but bear with me here!), how much would each ticket-holder have to chip in at each game to equal Anderson's 2009 earnings?

$11.10.

DA may suck, but who's the loser here?

Parody of parity update

2009-11-02T06:12:00.002-05:00

Yesterday's NFL margins of victory/defeat:

0-9 points: 4 games
10-19 points: 3 games
20-29 points: 5 games
30+ points: 0 games.

Slim chance of seeing a game that gets decided late between two equally-matched teams, but this is actually an improvement over last week. For most teams, anyway. As for the Browns, amateur hour continues. The owner glares at his charges in the tunnel and searches for answers. I still say: get ahead of the runaway PR and promise fans a coupon!

Give me victory or give me ... um, a coupon

2009-10-29T12:51:00.002-04:00

In the face of network blackouts and fan "brownout" demonstrations, I have a specific suggestion for Randy Lerner during this most disheartening time. Read the full piece here.

So here's my far-fetched but heartfelt proposal to the Browns brass: give me victory or give me ... um, a coupon.

Ridiculous? Maybe, but we're beyond that now. Besides, Randy Lerner's an old credit card guy. Just call it a Loyalty Reward. Fans attending the games regularly shell out more than is delivered back to them. So if the team can't do it on the field, the front office ought to do it through the mail.

Here's how it could work: whenever the Browns lose at home in regulation and fail to score even a single touchdown in the process, the team should recognize that fans did not get anything passably close to what they paid for. Fourth-quarter scores that don't narrow the deficit to within 14 points don't count. Ticket stubs should be redeemable for $30 toward a future ticket purchase.

Parody of parity

2009-10-26T06:23:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's NFL margins of victory/defeat:

0-9 points: 2 games
10-19 points: 4 games
20-29 points: 2 games
30+ points: 4 games.

Average score of a 2009 Browns game:
Cleveland 10, Anyone Else 26

Average NFL ticket price: $75.

Browns fandom: a birthright, like jaundice

2009-10-22T20:12:00.001-04:00

Nice ESPN Page 2 special here.

All joking aside, I love the Browns. They cause me near-constant frustration and heartache, but that's the price you pay when you become attached to a pro sports team to which you have only an imaginary philosophical connection. I won't bail and support another team just because mine sucks, only to come back once we experience a modicum of success. What do I look like, a Patriots fan?

Browns by number

2009-10-13T22:34:00.003-04:00

You'd think that after driving 11 hours round-trip and investing a weekend and $200 or so to witness the Browns win their first game in 11 months, a blogger like me would have something to say about the experience. Well, I just might. But first, another Sporcle quiz. If you've got 10 minutes, test your knowledge of Browns roster history here.

Orange Alert: NFL return records under threat

2009-10-06T11:34:00.004-04:00

In 2007, Joshua Cribbs gained 1,809 yards on kickoff returns, second best in NFL history. This season, he is on pace for 1,848. That's pretty darn good, especially considering that he has only one return of more than 40 yards.

The new prohibition against wedges has hurt him, but the return unit is lately figuring out how to give Cribbs the crease he needs to power through. He's proven good for at least one TD a year, and given that Browns opponents are bound to be kicking off aplenty, he could very well break MarTay Jenkins' league record of 2,186 set in 2000. And with his next trip to the house, he'll tie the NFL record for career kickoff return touchdowns (six).

Even more impressive are his punt returns. He's projected to shatter his career best of 405 yards, also set in that amazing 2007 season. Through four games, his 237 punt return yards already eclipses last year's total of 228. Cribbs' current pace would yield 948 for the season, which would top Desmond Howard's 875 (in 1996) for the most in NFL history.

Typing in the trenches

2009-09-30T06:16:00.003-04:00

Disturbed at how much of your brain force you've devoted to the Browns over the past decade? Well, at least you can click here to quantify the depth of your descent into die-hard depravity. This Sporcle quiz thing is all the rage, so here's my first contribution. (See also this quiz created by a fellow Browns blogger.)

Follow the money

2009-09-29T11:51:00.004-04:00

While we wait another day for the Mangenius' QB Roulette Wheel to slow down, this factoid may steer the smart betting onto 3 rather than 10:

If over 30% of the Browns' offensive snaps this season are taken by someone other than Brady Quinn, the Browns will save $11 million over the next two years that Quinn remains under contract.

Keeping him tied up in an very team-friendly contract, ala Josh Cribbs, may just be this regime's M.O. Figure they'll dump DA after '09 (saving another $9.5 million) and thus have the budget to draft Mangini's vision of a true franchise QB.

slavishly loyal to an undeserving organization?

2009-08-26T11:39:00.003-04:00

Been a while, but the Browns' offense has awakened me by actually -- egad -- scoring! Anyway, this piece concisely traipses through the fallout of the curse of The Move. Worth a quick read.

A seven-for-one stunner

2009-04-27T09:22:00.005-04:00

The new Browns braintrust gets an A for the sheer number of holes they plugged on draft weekend.

Just how well all those holes were plugged will take longer to figure out.

I winced as the Seahawks snatched Curry just ahead of the Browns. But that's because I had already abandoned hope for a trade down.

Now just imagine that Seattle had turned a different direction. We'd have Curry. He'd have $23 to maybe $30 million guaranteed. The Browns would be going all in on one tackler among 11, a single set of knees.

Instead, the Browns parleyed that precarious pick into no fewer than seven players:

Alex Mack, the draft's top interior offensive lineman, a brawns-and-brains Berkeley Bear
David Veikune, who follows Mel Purcell from the Hawaii defense to Cleveland to gin up the pass rush
Coye Francies, a corner with two superfluous Es in his name
James Davis, an appropriately-timed late-round running back with promise
Kenyon Coleman, a late-blooming 30-year old DE signed through 2011 at about $3 million per.
Abram Elam, the young veteran safety, filling the chasm Sean Jones left
"The Other" Brett Ratliff, who fits the bill for the QB the Browns needed now

Seven positions of need. Most will contribute. Almost certainly, at least two will start Game One.

Add in four other draftees and assorted rookies to the myriad mid-level free agents already aboard, and the Mangini/Kokonis duo has definitely deepened both sides of the ball.

Thanks, Seattle. And good luck to Aaron Curry.

But I'll take this way instead. I like the emphasis on heady, motivated characters and the move away from the diva types and prime-dime signings.

Yes, we've still got Braylon and DA for that matter, but that only supports hopes that 2009 won't be a lost transitional year.

So maybe there were a few minor reaches. Maybe an overreliance on known Jets. No matter now.

At least we didn't just bust the bank. The top pick, Mack, might get $8 to $11 million guaranteed, a more hopeful sign for fans awaiting new long-term commitments to core guys such as Josh Cribbs and D'Qwell Jackson. (Brodney Pool, Jerome Harrison, Lawrence Vickers, Leon Williams, and, oh yeah, Edwards, are among those, like Jackson, entering the last year of their contracts.)

The roster is stocked for the season. How good the ingredients are depends deeply on the next major phase: turning them into a team.

Pocketing passers

2009-04-24T07:12:00.006-04:00

Heading into this weekend's draft, the Browns have needs aplenty: safety, wide receiver, and outside linebacker, for starters. But how exactly will the new regime staff the sport's most important position?

Fortunately, Cleveland now has two quarterbacks capable of starting. But this is no luxury. In today's NFL, successful teams absolutely need a backup who can snap on his chinstrap at a moment's notice and run the offense, be it as a mid-game injury sub or a season-long replacement.

Furthermore, the third QB cannot be a mere afterthought. He must be either a veteran with some track record of NFL success or a developmental player with the potential become a starting-caliber signal-caller.

As it stands today, the Browns are supposedly entertaining offers for either Quinn or Anderson, though they already lack a viable third-string candidate. (No offense to former street free agent Richard Bartel of Tarleton State.)

Even without a draft-day QB trade, I fully expect the Browns to select a quarterback at some point this weekend. How this comes to pass will be one of the many gripping storylines in coming days.

All this talk of trading Brady Quinn is folly. I don't want them to do it, and I don't think they will. Local ties aside, there's simply no compelling reason to offload a young, capable former first-rounder who's still under an affordable contract for three more years. He's a heady, athletic leader who could become a star in this league.

Even if they received a first-rounder in exchange, the Browns would need to spend a high pick in hopes of drafting a replacement. For a trade to pass muster, Cleveland ought to receive an established, quality starter at some important position, plus at least a high second-rounder. Not gonna happen.

Dealing DA is more plausible but only slightly less dicey. His contract is an albatross, with nearly $10 million in salary and bonuses scheduled for 2010. They could trade him now to realize some value, but what are the odds of converting that into a player of his level?

Better to keep him around for another year, even if they have to release him for financial reasons after this season. But if they trade him and somehow manage to acquire a quality backup immediately (without using their #5 overall pick), I guess I'm on board. Big Three could still be a decent starter for somebody, but his head can't keep up with his arm, so he's not the long-term answer for the Browns.

Given the team's myriad immediate needs, fitting another quarterback into the draft puzzle may seem absurd at first glance, but it's essential for the long term.

For one thing, you can't just sign a street free agent and expect much better than we saw from Ken Dorsey and Bruce Gradkowski last fall. J.P. Losman and Rex Grossman are the best veteran QBs still looking for work. No thanks.

So which QB might they draft who would serve as the third QB this year and the #2 thereafter?

Investing their top pick in USC's Mark Sanchez is unwise for several reasons, unless the Mangini/Kokonis make the mistake of trading Quinn.

One prospect who has visited Berea is local boy Brian Hoyer. Don't shoot me for daring to compare him to Tom Brady, but they were both experienced starters for a Big Ten school, seniors entering the draft, projected as second-day picks due to concerns over arm strength. No way am I predicting a similar stellar ascention -- indeed, even sharing the roster with Quinn could prove problematic -- but if he's on the board for the Browns' 4th-round pick (104th overall), don't be surprised to hear his name called. If Cleveland wants to set up a West Coast-style offense with Quinn at the helm, Hoyer's game fits that mold.

Curtis Painter of Purdue is more of a DA-style player, but if the Browns miss out on Hoyer, you might want to brush up on his scouting reports before they're on the clock in the sixth round.

Ball State's Nate Davis is another oft-mentioned sleeper in this year's lackluster QB draft class, but a Wonderlic score of 11 for an NFL quarterback makes his selection a non-starter for me.

In short, quality quarterbacks are a valuable asset not easily acquired or developed. The Browns' new regime would be well-advised to retain the two on hand and add more talent as the opportunity arises.

Sandwich Browns

2009-03-24T07:25:00.005-04:00

At the risk of treating a player like "a piece of meat," I bring you this list of "sandwich" Browns, those who have taken two tours in Cleveland, interrupted by a stint with at least one other team.

Quality standards require sandwichers to have played in at least one regular season game at each stop, so incoming CB Corey Ivy, a 2000 training camp cut, doesn't make the grade. Nor does Gern Nagler, a 1953 Browns draftee who didn't take the field in brown and orange until 1960.

Newly-signed David Patten, if he sticks on the '09 roster (a solid bet, given the current WR depth chart), would be the first player to return after leaving the "new" Browns. (Jereme Perry didn't quite cut it last summer.)

So best as I can slice it, here's the all-time Browns sandwich board:

Paul Warfield
Ernest Byner
"Turkey" Joe Jones
Jim Ninowski
Jack Gregory
Mike Baab
Jerry Ball
Orlando "Zeus" Brown
Antonio Langham.

New regime churn rate

2009-03-18T08:33:00.006-04:00

The sole remaining Brown acquired in the PHD era (2001-04) was one of his most ridiculed choices, long snapper Ryan Pontbriand. The last pre-Butch player is kicker Phil Dawson.

It's natural that a roster turns over as players age and as new regimes gain control of player selection. But how much churn is too much?

I pored over the opening day rosters for the first games of the previous two regimes to see how many of those 53 men were brand new to the Browns.

In Butch Davis' first game in 2001, the figure was 24 (45% of the roster). That included nine of the 22 starters, three of whom were rookies.

In the Savage/Crennel debut in 2005, 27 Browns (51%) were new to the team if not the league. That included eight starters (no rookies).

So it's fair to guesstimate that in September Mangini's first Browns club will be about half new. A third at the least.

In this season of churn -- each vet cut to save his roster bonus, each comfortable little depth signing, each possible first-day draftee -- we can hope each sometimes strange move might trend again with more wins, as the '01 Browns went from 3 to 7 wins and the '05 bunch gained by two to win 6.

King's treat

2009-03-16T14:56:00.003-04:00

Steve King, now writing for the OBR, types a tremendous piece, Deja Bill, among the best Browns articles I've ever read. Useful connections attach two generations and set the stage for Eric Mangini's turn as the Browns' head coach.

Apt conclusion too:

"And considering how similar Eric Mangini is to Bill Belichick, then and now, that’s a good thing. You just never know what else -- or who -- may fall off."

The fifth pick: Junkin territory

2009-03-15T18:23:00.002-04:00

I've made my pick in the updated version of the Interblog Mock Draft, featuring bloggers representing each team. Unlike last time, when I drafted Curry and Clay with the Browns' first two picks, I have my misgivings. Plus, I made my pick before the latest shenanigans, including Kevin Shaffer's release, so maybe I'd better brush up on those tackles after all. Anyway, here's my write-up:

5. Browns - Malcolm Jenkins (DB) Ohio State

Cleveland has needs aplenty, and I would've taken Curry or Crabtree here in a heartbeat. I'm not thrilled about the remaining options for this high-stakes pick. This draft seems pretty deep but not front-loaded with difference-makers near the top. Maybe some team jonesing for a quarterback would trade up here, but I'm not banking on it. The past decade's Browns have been the first team to take a QB, DE, DT, RB, C, TE, WR, OT, and even long snapper in their respective drafts. This year, the linebacking needs are legion, but I'm not sold on Orapko, Brown, or the USC trio quite this high. Orapko, the Texas tweener, might help mount a pass rush, but his injury history scares me. So I'll settle for the nation's best defensive back (and no, I am not and have never been a Buckeye fan) and debate later whether he'll be a cornerstone cover guy or a slick safety. Truth is, the Browns need both.

You say Poteat, oh?

2009-03-10T05:33:00.003-04:00

Browns teams of recent years have featured certain repeated stock characters. These include the Illusory Rookie Rushing Phenom (Hill, Prentice, Gay, Green, Barclay, Thomas), the Receiver Who Used To Be A Quarterback (KJ, Frisman, Alston, Cribbs), the Special Teams "Demon" Who Lacked At Linebacker (Lenoy Jones, Brant Boyer, Mason Unck, Kris Griffin) and the Thirty-Something Fill-In Cornerback.

Playing the part in the latter category -- following in the lost footsteps of Antonio Langham, Ray Mickens, Ralph Brown, Kenny Wright, and Terry Cousin -- will be Hank Poteat, formerly seen as the foremost victim of Kelly Holcomb's 429-yard aerial effort in the Browns' sole playoff game of the decade.

The significance of this signing? On a roster without a single Bill, James, Tom, Dan, or Mark, (or Ty, for that matter) your 2009 Cleveland Browns will sport a spiffy pair of Hanks, born just three weeks apart.

I'm being patient, but I can't help hankering for something more.

Dealing Wheelie

2009-02-27T18:29:00.004-05:00

The first bombshell of the Mangini/Kokinis era has fallen, and Wheelie will be soldiering south.

It's sad in a way, because he's a premiere talent, the best skill position player the Browns have had since, say, Eric Metcalf. (The Detroit Diva is close but has one more year in Cleveland -- maybe -- to prove himself.) Besides his ultra-competitive streak, Winslow has a set of hands as fine as you could ever hope for a tight end. Right up there with Oz.

But there the comparisons end. Whereas Newsome never really missed a game, Wheelie played in just 55% of the Browns' contests during his tenure. We all know about the broken leg, the devastating bike flop, the staph infections. But let's take a step back to review a most remarkable five-year run.

He arrived as a brash big name, costing the Browns a high first and second round pick to secure in 2004. Butch had already overplayed his hand with the draft-day trade and was desperate for an immediate turnaround. Winslow held out for top dollar just as he was turning 21, eventually inking the biggest deal of any tight end ever.

Then... No, wait, wait. I'm don't want to rehash all this again. Let's just put it this way: when he got on the field, Winslow was a gamer, a go-to guy. But for all his talent, he was far from a complete player. His blocking was inadequate. While he caught everything in sight, he just couldn't bust through tacklers even as well as Aaron Shea once did. And he committed way, way too many penalties.

The average stat line for Winslow's 44 games: 5 catches for 56 yards, .25 TDs, .09 fumbles.

Lots of heart. But his head? If you followed last season's dramatics at all, it's clear that it was not aligned with the best interests of the Browns' organization.

Trading Wheelie gives the new regime one less headache, $4 million or so more cap space, and a few draft picks to help recoup those spent on the heir apparent, Martin Rucker, among others.

Beyond the $16 million already banked, Wheelie wanted to get more bucks. Now the Bucs got him.

Before his body and/or his attitude totally breaks down, the Browns have cashed out on the risk that the uncanny Curse of 80 bites them even harder. While the loss of a gutsy playmaker, a face of the franchise, always goes down hard, this deal makes sense.

In keeping with the secretive streak of the new Browns brass, the exact picks were not disclosed. But the PD reports that it's a second-rounder (#50 overall) this year plus next year's fifth.

That's about 421 points on the draft value chart often used to assess trade values, figuring the year's delay on the lower pick is worth about one round less in today's terms. Compare that to the 2,030 points it took to draft Winslow in the first place.

In more human terms, here are the last nine players drafted 50th overall:

Calais Campbell DE Miami (Fla.) Arizona Cardinals
Chris Henry RB Arizona Tennessee Titans
Marcus McNeill T Auburn San Diego Chargers
Ronald Bartell CB Howard St. Louis Rams
Devery Henderson WR Louisiana State New Orleans Saints
Bruce Nelson C Iowa Carolina Panthers
Chester Pitts T San Diego State Houston Texans
Dominic Raiola C Nebraska Detroit Lions
Barrett Green LB West Virginia Detroit Lions.

A few good ones, no doubt. A few names who might be there this time: S Patrick Chung (Oregon); WR Brian Robiskie (Ohio State); CB Darius Butler (Connecticut). But there's no sure thing in the NFL. Not even for a player more highly touted than his Hall of Famer father.

Instead, he ends his tour of duty here as a much beloved and reviled figure -- all for good reasons -- and as the third best tight end in Cleveland Browns history.

Curry and Clay, if I had my way

2009-02-21T12:45:00.002-05:00

A Seattle-based blog is running with a good idea: a mock draft chosen by bloggers from each team. Though some of the choices so far are pretty wild, I am pleased to be able to represent the Browns and select linebackers Aaron Curry and Clay Matthews III in the first two rounds. If only it would really turn out that way.

Click through to follow the entire interblog mock draft. Here's what I wrote about Curry and Matthews:

5. Browns - Aaron Curry (LB) Wake Forest

Among the disturbing revelations laid bare during Cleveland's 2008 catastrophe was the team's paucity of quality depth. Early injuries to DE Robaire Smith and OLB Antwan Peek devastated the 3-4 defense's front seven much more than they should have. One solution to a talent-thin roster is versatility, and that's why I favor Curry.

New coach Eric Mangini will have many holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but upgrading the linebacking corps demands utmost urgency. Elders Willie McGinest and Andra Davis are all but gone, Peek's return to form is doubtful, and ILB Leon Williams has proven unready for full-time duty. That leaves only ILB D'Qwell Jackson and OLB Kamerion Wimbley as viable starters, with 2008 second-day picks Beau Bell and Alex Hall as possible contributors.

This Butkus Award winner would do more to solidify the Browns' subpar pass rush and run defense than any other player, though USC's Rey Maualuga and Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins are tempting options here. Adding to his outstanding aggressiveness, speed, and strength, Curry is durable, bright, and mature. He's just the best all-around choice to lead the Browns into their next era. His goal is to be drafted in the top five, so here's hoping he just barely makes it.

36. Browns -- Clay Matthews III (LB) Southern Cal.

No sentient Browns fan will fail to recognize the name. After all, his father played more NFL games in the orange and brown than any other man and remains the team's all-time sack leader.

While that alone is no reason to draft the son, this pick actually fills some of the Browns' most critical needs: restocking the linebacking corps, ginning up some sort of pash rush, and instantly intensifying the coverage units. Matthews may not cut a ferocious figure or stun the combine with pure athleticism, but through tremendous determination, he's grown into a very effective football player.

Incoming head coach Eric Mangini clearly seeks a certain chemistry in the Cleveland locker room, beginning with guys who obviously love the game. "The words that I told you would go up in the draft room are up: smart, hardworking, competitive, and selfless," Mangini said. The trajectory of Matthews' career at USC illustrates that this description fully fits the latest prospect from a proven pro bloodline. The positive PR that would arrive with this pick, while much needed, would be great gravy.

Trivia reader note

2009-01-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

This site's trivia tag is best viewed with max results set to 100 and browsed upward from the bottom of that page. The contests themselves are now expired, but comments (including requests for answers) are welcome.

Phil's roster: how much better is it?

2008-12-29T21:26:00.003-05:00

So Randy swung his big axe, and the first cut was the Player-Picker-in-Chief himself, Phil Savage. The strained forced marriage of Savage and Crennel in the end devolved into dysfunction all around.

Few doubt that the departing duo are both knowledgeable guys, but each lacked certain management skills. Savage's focus on hands-on scouting became an organizational deficit in Berea that John Collins noticed early, along with his thin skin. Eventually players and many others, including a certain insulting fan, caught on.

As for RAC, I respect his long knowledge of the game and even his steadfast stoicism, but he didn't get the most out of his rosters, didn't rebrand the expansion Browns as a team that finishes and wins, and didn't improve enough with his slow and shaky game management decisions.

Obviously lots more to say, but at this fulcrum, let's look back at what players this regime inherited and now leaves behind. There's also a column for players Phil both brought and let go. The chart excludes some minor names at the camp fodder/practice squad level.

How much did the roster really improve in these four years? Check out the era's sheer volume of churn. Count how many holes remain (or will soon emerge) in the starting and key backup roles (* = headed for unrestricted free agency). Remember the upcoming draft picks in rounds 3, 5, and 7 are already spent. Enjoy the circle turning around once again.

Phil Savage and the Browns Roster
Position		Inherited from '04	Bequeathed in '08	Came & went
QB	starter	J. Garcia	B. Quinn	T. Dilfer
	backups	K. Holcomb*	D. Anderson	C. Frye
		L. McCown	K. Dorsey	D. Johnson
		J. Harris	B. Gradkowski	L. Campbell
RB	starter	W. Green	J. Lewis	R. Droughns
	backups	L. Suggs	J. Wright*	C. Barclay
		A. Echemandu	J. Harrison	T. Thomas
		S. McCullough	A. Patrick
FB	starter	T. Smith	L. Vickers
	backups	C. McIntyre	C. Ali
		B. Miller
TE	starter	K. Winslow	K. Winslow	B. Miller
	backups	S. Heiden	S. Heiden	P. Irons
		A. Shea	M. Rucker
		K. Heinrich*	D. Dinkins*
		C. Mustard	B. Cieslak
OL	starters	R. Verba	J. Thomas	J. Andruzzi
		E. Demar	E. Steinbach	C. Coleman
		J. Faine	H. Fraley	L. Bentley
		K. Garmon	R. Tucker	N. Dorsey
		R. Tucker	K. Shaffer	L.J. Shelton
	backups	M. Fowler	R. Hadnot	M. Spears
		J. Gonzalez	S. McKinney*	K. Butler
		K. Chambers	I. Sowells	D. Yovanovits
		P. Zukauskas*	S. Young	J. Dunn
		D. Cook	L. Friedman*	B. Hallen
		C. Beasley	E. Young	M. Pucillo
WR	starters	A. Bryant	B. Edwards	L. Moore
		D. Northcutt	D. Stallworth	B. Rideau
	backups	A. Davis	J. Jurevicius	T. Wilson
		R. Alston	J. Cribbs	T. Carter
		F. Jackson	P. Hubbard	C. Brewster
		A. King*	S. Steptoe
		C.J. Jones	S. Sanders
DL	starters	C. Brown	S. Rogers	J. Fisk
		G. Warren	C. Williams	T. Washington
		O. Roye	R. Smith	S. Fraser
		K. Lang	S. Smith	E. Kelley
	backups	E. Ekuban	A. Rubin	B. Oshinowo
		T. Rogers*	L. Leonard	J. Parker
		A. McKinley	S. Thomas	J. Haye
		A. Gordon	M. Purcell	O. Harris
		N. Eason		A. Hoffman
		M. Myers		C. Pittman
		C. Jackson
LB	starters	A. Davis	A. Davis*	M. Stewart
		C. Thompson	D. Jackson	D. McMillan
		W. Holdman*	K. Wimbley	N. Speegle
		K. Bentley	W. McGinest*	J. Kurpeikis
	backups	B. Gardner*	A. Peek	O. Ruff
		M. Unck	B. Bell
		E. Westmoreland*	L. Williams
		B. Taylor	A. Hall
		S. Coates	K. Griffin*
		B. Boyer	S. Orr*
			T. Brown
DB	starters	A. Henry*	E. Wright	B. Russell
		D. McCutcheon	B. McDonald	G. Baxter
		R. Griffith	S. Jones*	K. Wright
		E. Little	B. Pool	R. Brown
	backups	M. Lehan	M. Adams*	A. Harris
		L. Sanders*	T. Cousin	R. Mickens
		S. Jones	T. Daniels*	P. Hunter
		C. Crocker	N. Sorensen	J. Perry
		M. Jameson	G. Lawson	J. Hamilton
		L. Bodden	H. Abdullah	D. Minter
		D. Carter	D. Holly*	A. Perkins
Spec.		P. Dawson	P. Dawson	S. Player
		D. Frost	D. Zastudil	K. Richardson
		R. Pontbriand	R. Pontbriand	P. Ernster

Unholy Toledo

2008-12-21T20:07:00.003-05:00

I've long pined for the day that a former Toledo Rocket would take the field with the orange and brown for the first time in my memory.

There was rookie GM Phil Savage's clever 2005 offer sheet to Chester Taylor, which the Ravens opted to match, retaining their restricted free agent running back for another year. Soon after, a smallish receiver with the great name of Lance Moore was one of Cleveland's last training camp cuts. His current stats -- 71 catches and 8 TDs for New Orleans -- would easily lead today's Browns.

Little did I expect that the first appearance of Rocket-turned-Brown in the regular season since Mel Long in 1974 would be street free agent Bruce Gradkowski, mopping up as the fourth quarterback in a desperate, desolate situation. Honestly, there was more production from my blogging today, and that ain't saying much.

Instead, my lasting memory from today's game will be Ken Dorsey going deep for the Detroit Diva, who high-hurdled the intercepting Leon Hall, thus allowing his former Michigan teammate to return his third pick of the game 27 yards.

No single play better represents the wreckage of this Browns season.

Orange alert

2008-12-21T19:25:00.001-05:00

Historically, nothing has ticked off Browns' management more than losing to cross-state rival Cincinnati, the team founded by the exiled Browns' coach and namesake, Paul Brown. Let's review:

1984: Art Modell fires avuncular head coach Sam Rutigliano after the Browns lose 12-9 in Cincinnati to fall to 1-7.

1990: Bud Carson's second year at the helm ends with a franchise worst 3-13 record after a season-ending 21-14 loss to the Bengals. He is promptly relieved of his duties.

2004: Pressure following a string of losses proved insurmountable to Butch Davis following a wild 58-48 loss in Cincinnati. He struck a deal and resigned with five games remaining.

2008: Romeo Crennel falls to 2-6 in the I-71 rivalry, which includes getting shut out twice at home. The Bengals now lead the all-time series, 36-35. This time, owner Randy Lerner is expected to wait one more week before swinging the axe on the man who already has a worse record than any of the predecessors mentioned above.

Cancel the ambulance, call the mortician

2008-12-21T12:16:00.004-05:00

While schedule strength and rancid response to raised expectations contributed mightily to the Browns' dropoff from a year ago, it is injuries -- and the subsequent failure to adequately backfill the roster -- that account for much of the difference between 2007 and 2008.

This season is more of a failure than last year's was a success. The following in no way argues that Romeo Crennel should get a pass -- indeed, it's obviously time to move on -- but just take a look at what injuries have wrought to each positional group through just the season's first 11 games, after which the team stood at 4-7, effectively extinguishing any post-season hopes.

Wide receiver: The Detroit Diva missed most of the pre-season, breaking any momentum he may have had to build on his stellar 2007 success. Joe Jurevicius, last year's clutch third-down option, missed the entire season. Donte Stallworth, signed as a viable #2 receiver, missed five of the first eight games and was hampered in the others. Josh Cribbs' pre-season ankle sprain further set back the scoring threat, as he missed Opening Day and was not his usual super self early on. One other incoming veteran who might have helped -- Kevin Kasper -- went on injured reserve in the summer.

That left the receiving corps with the likes of undersized Syndric Steptoe all too often setting the edge on running plays, a role Jurevicius handled much more ably last year.

Defensive line: The loss of starting end Robaire Smith in the second game was devastating. Corey Williams, himself hampered all year by shoulder problems, was forced to play more than he should have. Shaun Rogers stepped up big time, but even he has been dinged and less effective of late. Another key rotational guy, Shaun Smith, missed four of the first 11 games.

The unit, never deep to begin with, was forced to rely on the inexperienced Louis Leonard, Santonio Thomas, and Ahtyba Rubin (himself inactive for four of the first 14 games). Also, one-time project Chase Pittman was waived due to injury in the pre-season.

Offensive line: The unit key to 2007's success was disrupted by several injuries. Rugged run-blocker Ryan Tucker played in only the Giants game (the season's highlight, not coincidentally). Stalwart Eric Steinbach has been limited as well, missing games 3 and 9 entirely. Right side protectors Kevin Shaffer and Rex Hadnot also missed a game apiece. Lennie Friedman, a key reserve and special-teamer, went on IR before the season kicked off. The Browns knew better than to count on LeCharles Bentley's return to health, so his June release, while distracting, was practically pre-ordained.

Quarterback: Derek Anderson's pre-season concussion proved costly, as the cobwebs were a long time in clearing. When Romeo finally turned to Brady Quinn, he hurt his hand in game 10 and was ineffective the next week before getting yanked and shut down. Thus, any hopes for a miracle finish were snuffed.

Running backs: Jamal Lewis' pre-season injury was a factor in limiting his production. Fullback Lawrence Vickers was also hurt and missed games 8-10.

Defensive backs: The off-season losses of Daven Holly (knee), Leigh Bodden (trade), and Kenny Wright (legal) were never adequately replaced by the likes of Terry Cousin, Travis Daniels, and Gerard Lawson. The two young starting corners were essentially left to fend for themselves covering receivers that enemy QBs had too much time to find. At safety, Sean Jones missed most of pre-season and games 2-5. The other starter, Brodney Pool, missed the opening game with a concussion. The team's best remaining nickel back, Mike Adams, also missed two games. Before the season even started, safety candidates Gary Baxter and Justin Sandy were released due to their injury problems.

Linebackers: The key blow here was to pass-rusher Antwan Peek, who played hobbled last year and missed 2008 entirely. Top rookie pick Beau Bell played in only four games, to little effect. Veteran Willie McGinest missed games 3-4.

Tight end: Wheelie's staph infection and its aftermath was a major midseason bummer on several levels. Rookie Martin Rucker didn't see the field until the 12th game.

So every single group on offense and defense suffered seriously through attrition. All this doesn't fully explain the calamity that is the 2008 Cleveland Browns, but I can't help thinking that a few less injuries, especially early on, might have drastically changed the complexion of this sad season. And a more aggressive pursuit of quality replacements might have stanched the bleeding.

Record picking

2008-12-16T07:08:00.003-05:00

Amid this broken season, we can at least add one positive break. Brandon McDonald's 122 yards on interception returns last night broke the franchise record of 115 set by Bernie Parrish back in 1960.

I'm not exactly doing flips about it, but it's something. And it breaks the longest TD drought in team history.

Lost cause: Mouths of Babes edition

2008-11-24T14:02:00.003-05:00

So on Sunday I drove my family from Michigan to New York for a Thanksgiving Week visit to the in-laws. We stopped in Cleveland to break up the trip, visit friends, and watch the game.

After one of the many lamentable plays fouled up by the Browns (I can't recall which, there were so many), nine-year-old Lydia quipped, "That's why most of my school is Steelers fans."

Yep, that's right. A fourth-grader living and learning in Cleveland proper is surrounded by classmates who actively disfavor the hometown tradition of the orange and brown. Rather, the very epicenter of the Browns fan base -- the pool of all future support for this historic civic institution -- is blackening with the garb and the gab of the dreaded Pittsburghers.

Really, what else could better illustrate the pitiful plight of the Browns' franchise?

Another Monday Night delight

2008-11-18T14:11:00.004-05:00

I won't rehash. You saw it, didn't you? Here are a few statistical reflections and such:

No running back who gets the ball at least once a game has a higher rushing average than Jerome Harrison. He also ranks fourth among backs in receiving average (five catch minimum).

When the Browns run the ball, it's been Jamal Lewis 71% of the time. Exclude the QBs and its 79%. Yet the big man has just 61% of the team's rushing yards. Even fullback Lawrence Vickers has a higher per-carry average than the Browns' workhorse.

Phil Dawson had some amazing kicks last year, but 2008 is clearly the best of his ten seasons. He's perfect within 50 yards, and he's made three 50+ kicks, twice topping his career long. Plus, nearly one in five of his kickoffs results in a touchback, the best ratio of his career.

Brady Quinn has thrown his first 79 NFL passes without an interception. The record to start a career is 162 by Tom Brady.

The Browns managed to win this game despite

not sacking their quarterback
possessing the ball less than 45% of the time
no big returns from Josh Cribbs
cornerback Eric Wright leading the team in solo tackles
no screen passes
negative net yardage from Donte Stallworth
outscoring the Bills in only one of the four quarters
scoring fewer touchdowns
terrible team tackling

The Browns managed to win this game because

The Detroit Diva caught more than he dropped
Dawson scored 17 points
Brady hung tough enough
Plus-4 in turnovers oughta eke you out a two-point win.

Tough trivia #56

2008-11-14T06:05:00.000-05:00

What feat do Greg Pruitt, Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, Ray Renfro, Bobby Mitchell, Eric Metcalf, Brian Brennan, Kevin Johnson, Herman Fontenot, and Willie Miller have in common as Browns players?

Answer to #55: While the "new" Browns lost 100 games within their first decade of play, the original Browns did not lose their 100th game until 1974, their 29th season.

Tough trivia #55

2008-11-13T06:03:00.000-05:00

The Browns have now lost 100 regular-season games since returning to the NFL in 1999. How many years did it take the original Browns, beginning in 1946, to lose 100 games?

Answer to #54: Gary Collins, who pulled double duty as a receiver and punter, ran twice from punt formation in a 27-7 win over the Eagles in 1966, gaining 38 yards and two first downs.

Tough trivia #54

2008-11-12T06:02:00.000-05:00

Which Brown once ran fake punts for first downs twice in the same game?

Answer to #53: Milt Plum threw 208 passes without an interception in the early '60s, a record since eclipsed by Bart Starr and currently held by Kosar with exactly 100 more.

Tough trivia #53

2008-11-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Before Bernie Kosar, which Brown once held the NFL record for most consecutive passes without an interception?

Answer to #52: Oklahoma's Kurt Burris was the Browns' first-round pick in 1955 but never signed a contract due to impending induction into the Navy. He later played in the Canadian Football League.

Swept up

2008-11-03T09:10:00.003-05:00

Ugh. What a letdown. Up two TDs in the second half. Couldn't finish. Offense off-kilter. Defense beaten. Swept by a dreaded division demon.

Against a tough rookie, Joe Flacco, the Browns brought pressure early, stuffing many a run, but they couldn't reach the QB enough. They didn't force any substantial mistakes.

The offense stuffed it in Jamal's gut a bit too much. Try, try again -- he wasn't going far up the middle. More misdirection against their aggressive lot might've helped. Play-fake and flip it to Cribbs in motion. Set up a rollout screen or two. Stretch handoff to Harrison bouncing it outside. Challenge the secondary. Ya know? Three starting DBs out, and this?

At the season's quick halftime, Cleveland's late collapse puts them down at 3-5. According to Football Outsiders' playoff odds report, the Browns had a 5.2% chance of reaching the post-season. Before the Ravens game. Now it's hope against hope...

Given DA's inconsistency, the near futility of the season, and a key playing time incentive now unlikely to cost cap cash, the case for Brady Quinn to start soon is stronger than ever. Give 'em each half the season, and decide directly an off-season personnel strategy for long-term championship quarterbacking.

Thursday's Denver game at home would be just fine with me. I don't buy the logic against it due to the short week; RAC has always said Quinn needs to be ready at any time.

It's time.

The 3-4 Browns

2008-10-27T07:04:00.003-04:00

The beleaguered and wildly inconsistent Browns have now won three of their last four games, putting them in the thick of the playoff hunt.

It came right down to the last play, but in defeating Jacksonville, 23-17, they just knocked off a solid playoff team on the road.

Somehow, after a week of internal strife between a certain hotheaded tight end and a secrecy-obsessed front office, the team kept its wits about them in the latest of a continuing string of must-win games.

How did they do it?

Mistake-free football. No turnovers. Only one penalty, that being a forgivable act of commission by the dominant Shaun Rogers. With very few exceptions (e.g. the awkward early handoff to Vickers), the execution was crisp as this morning's air.

Big Three's big three. The season's slow start was marked by the utter absence of long-gainers. Against the Jaguars, a trio of Derek's daggers proved fateful: the gutsy play-action to Heiden (who made a great overhead grab) on 4th-and-1 to gain 51 yards; the perfectly-thrown deep sideline route to the Detroit Diva to gain 43; and the clutch 3rd-and-7 shot to Syndric Steptoe, who pinballed his way 53 yards downfield to set up the go-ahead points.

The man in the middle. Good 3-4 defense demands a stout nose tackle, and the Browns finally have him. Shaun Rogers notched nine tackles, including a sack, plus a block of a game-tying field goal. What can we call him? I've heard Big Baby, and "beast" fits the bill too. How about Middle Girth? He keyed an uncharacteristically strong rush defense, which limited Jags' RBs to just 53 yards (less than they gained on Garrard's scrambles). Rogers is really the only odds-on Cleveland candidate for the Pro Bowl so far this season.

The game plan on both sides of the ball was pretty close to the vest. Not much razzle-dazzle on offense: no Cribbs carries and not much from the Ghost either. The defense played off the receivers, blitzed less often, and focused on shutting down the run. It's encouraging that they can win this way, because future opponents will be less likely to predict exactly how and when the Browns will attack them.

Also encouraging was the apparent lack of further injury. Corey Williams, beset by a bad shoulder, played but was a non-factor. When Shaun Smith and Mike Adams return, we'll rely much less on Santonio Thomas, Terry Cousin, and Nick Sorensen on defense. Get Wheelie back on offense, and maybe Ryan Tucker too, and the weapons chest becomes more lethal.

And hey, we even saw some sideline emotion from RAC, dropping the F-bomb after the offense failed to kill even 30 seconds off the clock following Beau Bell's forced fumble on the kickoff return.

So it was a good win, not perfect by any means, but few games are. It will all amount to nothing if they can't handle the Ravens at home next Sunday, but the Browns again showed they can take it to anyone, anywhere. If they don't self-destruct, they can absolutely accomplish what their coach ever-so humbly intones. Compete. Hang in. Represent. Have a chance.

Tough trivia #52

2008-10-24T06:01:00.000-04:00

What Heisman Trophy runner-up was drafted by the Browns but never signed?

Answer to #51: Frank Minnifield twice picked off the Oilers' Oliver Luck, a former Cleveland St. Ignatius star playing for the benched Warren Moon, in the overtime period of a 13-10 Browns win in 1986.

Tough trivia #51

2008-10-23T06:00:00.001-04:00

Which Brown once intercepted two passes in an overtime period?

Answer to #50: Bernie Parrish of the Browns and Lemar Parrish of the Bengals were both Pro Bowl defensive backs coached by Paul Brown.

Tough trivia #50

2008-10-22T07:58:00.001-04:00

What last name was shared by two Pro Bowl defensive backs who played for Paul Brown?

Answer to #49: The Kardiac Kids season of 1980 is the only time that a single player threw all of the Browns' completed passes. Brian Sipe was the league's MVP that year.

The booted booting call

2008-10-19T19:21:00.005-04:00

Before we delve into the fuller dimensions of today's costly loss to Washington, I again need to take Romeo to task for his game management.

Let's look at just one decision: trying for a game-tying 54-yard field goal on 4th-and-10 with 32 seconds to go.

What choice did he have? Go for it, obviously.

The chance that Dawson makes that kick are pretty low. Granted, he was 7-for-10 career from 50+ yards, but the longest of those was just 52 yards, that coming five years ago. Let's put the probability of him making that kick on FedEx field at 18%.

Compare that to the probability of converting the fourth down and then making a much shorter kick. I'd say the Browns could gain the ten yards three times out of ten, 30%. Then, Dawson could tie the game with a kick of up to 44 yards, which is about a 70% shot. So, the combination of those two necessities (.3 x .7) would occur 21% of the time.

That's why going for it was a better bet.

Of course, my estimates are just that, mine. You may rate the odds differently and thus defend the call. That's OK. But going for it also carried a non-zero chance of actually winning in regulation, so at least I've got that going for me.

Not that it's the worst decision of Romeo's career. Or even of that game. And it's not the main reason they lost, not by a long shot.

Just thought I'd get it on the record that trying to do something that's never been done before was not the only way the Browns could have expressed their desperation and ended this embarrassment.

Giant killers

2008-10-14T00:23:00.003-04:00

Must be a full moon.

But, hey, those come every month. When's the last time the Browns upset the Super Bowl champs by 21 points?

Hell, when's the last time they beat anyone by three TDs?

The answer: November 20, 2005 -- Browns 22, Miami 0. Only four Browns starters that day remain on the team. Big Three was the emergency QB.

Now, he's the re-emergence QB, lighting up the Cleveland sky, and the Giant defense, brighter than Earth's natural satellite did on this night of its maximal waxing.

And a waxing is just what the Browns gave to the very team that set them back so far in the pre-season.

It wasn't a perfect performance, but it was perfectly timed. Big-time hook-ups between DA and the Detroit Diva helped give the Browns enough of a lead that the daunting New York ground game become somewhat irrelevant.

Three picks from three young defensive backs, returned for a total of 139 yards, kept a thin D-line off the field and, in the case of Eric Wright's long fourth-quarter TD, iced what still remained a tenuously-held game.

Those turnovers, and the return of balanced potency to the Browns' offense, were the stories of this season-saving success.

Not often a team gains 112 yards in a single drive. But that's what happened to most of the third quarter, as Cleveland overcame five penalties and opened up a 13-point lead at the dawn of the final period.

We saw a flash of the Flash package for Josh Cribbs, the first taste of a true Number Two receiver in Donte Stallworth, 81 yards and a score from the two backup tight ends, and a career-high game for The Ghost -- 67 yards on just four touches.

Not once did the Browns turn the ball over, suffer a sack, or even need to send their punter onto the field.

When Jamal Lewis rambled for two first downs to run out the clock, it punctuated the fact that the Browns didn't just steal some fluke of a win. They finished off the consensus best team in football with a powerful certainty that was a joy to see.

And they did it without Wheelie, without Shaun Smith, without Sean Jones -- all of whom should rejoin this now resurgent Browns team soon.

I'll save the warts for another day. This one was a special win, maybe a pivot point to what might still become a special season. Had they lost, even with spotless execution, this season was sunk. Now, with a memorable Monday night highlight, there's more than just the shouting.

Tough trivia #49

2008-09-29T07:24:00.000-04:00

In which season were all of the Browns' completed passes thrown by the same player?

Answer to #48: Kellen Winslow, taking a desperation pitch from Derek Anderson, tried to throw but was sacked by the Ravens' Bart Scott in 2006, Winslow's only appearance on the stat sheet as a passer.

An ugly unloss

2008-09-29T06:47:00.003-04:00

Funny, the Browns win their first game in 273 days, and I have little to say. The 20-12 victory in Cincinnati was as unimpressive as it was necessary.

Yesterday confirmed that the Browns are a talented team prone to underperform. I have little doubt that Carson Palmer would have beaten the Browns soundly had he been healthy.

Instead, the Bengals lost this game even more than the Browns won it. Mike Brown can start rubbing nickels together to pay for an inevitable top-three draft pick.

Rather than basking in one-handed TD catches, five turnovers forced, and 134 rushing yards, I'm left feeling that it's about damn time.

And as for the non-appearance of Brady Quinn, I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I'll be shocked if he doesn't take the field at some point in October.

Nice to see:

Cribbs running away from his wedge and breaking a 44-yard return
Aggressive defense -- DBs flying into the backfield, both OLBs forcing fumbles, stifling their rushing game (28 yards for Chris Perry)
Harrison's speed incorporated into the game plan
Jamal establishing the run early
Wheelie free in the secondary

Troubling themes repeated:

Behavioral issues from the Detroit Diva
Poor clock management near halftime
Several putrid passes from the beleaguered Big Three
Lack of containment on QB scrambles
Plentiful pre-snap penalties

Yes, the season has faint hope, but you won't find me waxing poetic on the remaining glimmer of promise, mostly mathematical anyway. Maybe mix in another two or three starters returned to health, filter out some of the sloppiness, and pull off the upset the Bengals nearly managed, that being the toppling of the Giants.

Then we'll talk.

Tough trivia #48

2008-09-28T07:23:00.000-04:00

Which Brown appears in the team's passing statistics only because he was once sacked for a 14-yard loss?

Answer to #47: Most rushing yards by a quarterback. Mike Phipps' 395 yards on the ground in 1973 is the most ever for a Browns QB. He outgained all but one of his teammates and led the Browns with five TD runs. Remarkably, his average per attempt was higher rushing than passing.

Tough trivia #47

2008-09-27T07:22:00.000-04:00

What single-season franchise high was set in 1973 and remains unbroken to this day?

Answer to #46: 1993. Eric Metcalf returned two punts for scores in a memorable win over Pittsburgh. Mark Carrier returned a Rams punt 56 yards for a touchdown in a 42-14 romp in December of that year.

Tough trivia #46

2008-09-26T11:21:00.000-04:00

What was the only season in which two different Browns scored touchdowns on punt returns?

Answer to #45: Rookie QB Terry Luck, making his only NFL start, was on the receiving end of a trick play, catching a four-yard touchdown pass from Greg Pruitt during the 1977 season finale, a 20-19 loss in Seattle.

Browns-Bengals: a do or dialogue

2008-09-25T08:30:00.006-04:00

Once again, I've traded thoughts about the upcoming game with a gentleman named Sportz Assassin over on AOL Fanhouse. Here's a brief preview of Sunday's pivotal Browns-Bengals matchup:

Sportz Assassin: The Battle Of Ohio. Can we still say "throw the records out the window when these two get together?"

Ace Davis: Definitely. Several of the most entertaining games in Browns history have been against the Bengals, whatever their records at the time. The Browns have deep-seated rivalries against each of the teams in their division, and whenever Paul Brown's two babies do battle, there's a special energy in the air.

Sportz: The Browns offense has looked horrible thus far. Is it the underachieving offense line, injuries to Braylon Edwards or is it mainly Derek Anderson's fault.

Ace: It's been a team-wide disappointment, but no doubt Big Three is rattled and way off his game. The Donte Stallworth leg injury that came up just before the Dallas opener and has now kept him out of three games has had a cascading effect on this unit. Without that viable deep threat to complement Edwards, Winslow and Lewis, defenses have keyed on the remaining playmakers and jammed the line. The Browns have been slow to adjust.

Sportz: How short of a leash do you think Anderson will be on.

Ace: I doubt that the Browns will let him lose this game. If he's not sharp, the Brady Quinn era will begin, midgame if necessary.

Sportz: Here in Cincinnati, fans are looking forward to playing the 0-3 Browns and (maybe) finally getting into the win column. Is the feeling mutual up in Cleveland?

Ace: It's not so much eagerness to face a winless team. It's more like intense exasperation that the Browns, 10-6 last year and much hyped in the offseason, haven't won a game of any kind in 2008. They'd damn well better beat the Bengals or the whole season is shot. How many "must-win" games can you lose in a row? Each one is another bullet hole in the parachute.

Over here, the knives are out for Romeo Crennel after this 0-3 start. Is Marvin Lewis in control of his team and secure in his job?

Sportz: First off, no, Lewis isn't in control of this team. As for his job security, that is up for debate. It isn't like owner Mike Brown to fire a coach that he owes a lot of money too. However, bringing back Chris Henry really undermined Lewis' authority. If that is a sign that the owner has had enough of Lewis, then maybe his job is in jeopardy.

Ace: Did the near-upset of the Giants give the team hope or take the air out of their sails?

Sportz: It showed that Cincinnati can be better than what they showed against the Ravens and Titans. If you think about it, the Bengals opponents this year are a combined 8-0. It was nice to see Carson Palmer actually make some plays. But there is no moral victory in the NFL. It was a "positive loss" to some fans, but everyone else was heartbroken.

These Bengals-Browns games tend to get out of hand. Last year, the Browns used a 51-45 shootout win to get on a roll. I actually attended the 2004 game where Cincinnati won 58-48. With both teams' offenses playing so bad thus far -- yet potentially explosive -- could we see another game like that on Sunday?

Ace: You'd think with two head coaches with backgrounds in defense, their teams would've assumed that kind of identity by now, but it hasn't worked out that way. Another shootout is possible, but not likely, I think. Both defenses really try to keep things underneath and prevent the big play. And neither offense has registered a play longer than 36 yards so far (24 in Cleveland's case).

The Browns snapped up Shaun Smith from the Bengals as a RFA a year ago, then traded for Shaun Rogers after Cincinnati wouldn't pay his roster bonus sight unseen. What's the situation on the Bengals' D-line now, and might this be just what the doctor ordered for a struggling Cleveland offense.

Sportz: It's bad. They've recorded a grand total of one sack this year. Their rush defense was exposed against the Titans and Ravens (though it was a bit better against New York). It has been a long time since the Bengals have had a decent defensive line.

Ace: Is there any player we should watch out for -- someone who has flown under the radar.

Sportz: The only name I can come up with is Keith Rivers. The rookie linebacker from USC has done a fantastic job so far this season. He isn't perfect, but he's smart, disciplined and has a great work ethic. With that sad front line of Cincy's, you can expect to hear Rivers' name called quite a bit on Sunday.

What advantage do the Browns have over the Bengals?

Ace: If Stallworth plays (he should), Jerome Harrison gets worked into the game plan, and Josh Cribbs is healthy enough to unveil some of the "Flash" package they have for him on offense, Cleveland might do some damage, especially if they find early success running the ball. Also, if Quinn plays, more than a few of his teammates will be amped up, and, obviously, it will be the first time the Bengals have seen him up close.

Sportz: I agree fully. If Cleveland can move the ball with Jamal Lewis ... and they can against this Bengal defense ... then they will have all kinds of advantages popping up. Cincy's defense is improving, but it still can be dominated.

What advantage do the Bengals have over the Browns?

Ace: Cleveland is thin in the secondary, slow at linebacker, and ineffective disguising their blitzes, while the Bengals still have multiple receiving threats and a talented QB. Also, the Browns are prone to penalties (tied for most in the league), and that can be an issue on the road.

Sportz: I think this is the one area that the Bengals can excel. Despite how bad everything else is, you still have Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Browns haven't been able to stop anyone, so maybe those three can start getting onto the right page.

Hello, yellow

2008-09-24T16:14:00.003-04:00

Among their other dubious distinctions, the Browns are tied for the league lead in penalties. Last season they were third, behind only Arizona and Oakland.

Let's break this down a bit. Here's the details on all 31 infractions, including those declined and offset:

by number...

4 -- Seth McKinney
3 -- Braylon Edwards, Brandon McDonald, Shaun Rogers, team/unspecified
2 -- Derek Anderson, Mike Adams, Rex Hadnot, Joe Thomas, Shaun Smith

by unit...

offense: 16
defense: 8
special teams: 7

by type...

false start: 8
illegal formation/shift: 7
offsides/neutral zone: 4
defensive holding/illegal use of hands: 4
personal foul/face mask: 3
other: 5 (offensive PI, illegal block, holding on kickoff return, delay, tripping)

Nothing smells "out of sync" or defines "self-defeating" quite like failing to even begin a play properly 20 times in just three games. That's downright inexcusable, even moreso when two of those games were at home.

Tough trivia #45

2008-09-23T04:01:00.000-04:00

Which Browns quarterback caught a touchdown pass in his only NFL start?

Answer to #44: Huddles.

Pointed points

2008-09-22T10:19:00.003-04:00

What conclusions can be drawn about a football team, and its coach, by analyzing its scoring pattern?

Quite a bit, if the team scores and allows points throughout the four quarters in an uneven distribution. Let's start with the following assumptions:

A high net point margin in the first quarter reflects especially well on the game planning and the players' ability to execute.
Success in the second quarter is partially a function of the team's ability to manage the clock and its timeouts.
The third quarter is when the coaching staff's in-game adjustments should reach maximum effect. Motivation coming out of the locker room also reflects on the team's leadership.
The fourth quarter, while potentially decisive in any given contest, is deceptively insignificant in the aggregate due to the high variation in the types of games (close scores versus blowouts in either direction). However, it may be possible to make inferences about a team's conditioning, particularly defensively, and (like the second quarter) game management.
More overall plays and points are expected in the second and fourth quarters due to clock stoppage rules and the situational finality of the halves.

That said, are you ready for the data from Romeo Crennel's 51-game reign? Here goes:

The obviously significant variation is that this team does much worse in the third quarter (particularly defensively) and the first quarter (particularly offensively). These are the two quarters when the reflection shines more on the coaching than the players.

It is also worth noting that Crennel's Browns have scored 44.8% of the points in their games, but they have won just 39.2% of the games. The obvious hypothesis is that there are management factors which have cost the Browns about three games over the past three-plus seasons.

One might be tempted to charitably dismiss this last point as mere statistical noise. That is, perhaps the higher point percentage can be explained by a few blowout wins, meaning that the team hasn't necessarily underperformed its potential in the other games.

But the facts indicate otherwise: the team is just 1-9 in games with a margin of 15+ points, the sole victory (over Miami in '05) being by 22 points. That is, the Browns' points/wins discrepancy comes despite stat-skewing losses by 41, 30, and 27 points.

In short, the players have changed, the coordinators have changed, but the man who most definitely has not changed, head coach, Romeo Crennel, is as much to blame for the team's underperformance as anyone. In fact, more.

Mind-numbing numbers

2008-09-22T08:07:00.002-04:00

No team in the NFL has committed more penalties.

Only one other team besides the Browns has yet to go for it on fourth down. (The league-wide success rate is 52%)

The Browns are one of just five teams that have yet to recover an opponent's fumble.

The Browns are the only team who has not forced a single fumble.

Cleveland's offense is the worst in the league: dead last in points scored, yards per game, yards per play, passer rating, rushing touchdowns (0).

The Browns have the NFL's worst kickoff return average (16.8), after leading the league last season (27.0).

After 159 plays from scrimmage, the team's longest gain is just 24 yards.

Oddly significant oddity: Both last year and this year, a Browns' loss to Pittsburgh was sandwiched by games with identical scores. In 2007, it was 33-30 overtime wins over a non-conference playoff team (Seattle) and the Ravens. This year, it's 28-10 losses to a non-conference playoff team (Dallas) and the Ravens.

Wallow away...

De-generation

2008-09-22T07:31:00.001-04:00

So my four-year-old son, wiped out from an afternoon frolicking at a birthday party, settles onto his dad's lap during the third quarter of yesterday's Browns game. He knows I like the Browns. He wants them to do well. He's even a member of their Kids Club.

But of course he doesn't understand the game at all. That's fine with me. I'm more than happy to patiently explain the basics to him as they unfold together before our eyes.

The very first play we behold is DA getting picked clean by Ed Reed for that touchdown the other way. "OH NO!" I yell, alarming him.

"What, Daddy?"

So I tell him what happened, and that it is Very Bad, especially because it's the Dreaded Ravens. (He may not yet get the concept of first-and-ten, but he can relate the story of something being taken away from you.)

For several minutes, I try to translate the calamity occuring on the screen into a calm, simplified lesson on the basic structure of football. Elliot wants me to name all the different penalties. I want him to grasp how the Browns are trying to move the football into the end zone and stop the Ravens from doing the same.

It isn't really working. "Is it kind of like wrestling?" he asks.

Well, yes and no. I want him to see the Browns push the Ravens out of the way to move the ball downfield or protect the quarterback so he can play catch with another Brown.

It isn't working at all.

I fear the main lesson he is absorbing is that the Browns are losing again. There are much better things to do than witness abject failure.

I suggest he might want to go outside before dinner is ready. His feet happily patter toward the door.

Tough trivia #44

2008-09-22T04:00:00.001-04:00

What was the name of the Browns mascot who greeted players during introductions from 1982-1988?

Answer to #43: The Browns under Crennel are just ~~1-8~~ 1-9 in games decided by 15 or more points. Cleveland's last win by such a margin came on November 20, 2005, a 22-0 home victory over Miami.

Tough trivia #43

2008-09-21T03:59:00.000-04:00

In what games do Romeo Crennel's Browns have a record of just 1-8?

Answer to #42: Four different Browns had 100-yard rushing games for the 1951 Browns (Dub Jones, Ken Carpenter, Emerson Cole, and Marion Motley). In only four other seasons have the Browns had as many as three different players rush for 100 yards in a game.

Tough trivia #42

2008-09-20T03:58:00.000-04:00

What rushing feat accomplished by the 1951 Browns is unmatched in team history?

Answer to #41: It wasn't until Paul McDonald in 1984, the team's 39th year of play, that the Browns' passing leader would claim that title for only one season. By contrast, the Browns have had six different passing leaders in the past six seasons.

Tough trivia #41

2008-09-19T03:57:00.000-04:00

Who was the first quarterback to lead the Browns in passing yards in a season only once?

Answer to #40: Cleveland's 18th-round pick in 1966, Charley Harraway, was primarily a blocking back who had his greatest success as a Washington Redskin.

DA's leading indicators

2008-09-18T19:56:00.003-04:00

It must be acknowledged that, whatever his virtues, Derek Anderson is not a top-notch intellect. Not that it's required for success as an NFL quarterback (right, Marino and Bradshaw?), but it is a factor to consider.

Intelligence being such an elusive concept, comprising a variety of skills and aptitudes, I hesitate to open the topic at all, but it's germane at this time. Here we have a 25-year-old gunslinger, having tasted success, now needing to establish himself much further than he's shown in recent games.

Clock management snafus and all too many fruitless possessions indicate that DA has yet to find his comfort zone in '08. He certainly has not taken the proverbial next step in his development.

Just how far and how fast can he climb the learning curve? That would depend greatly on two factors: his raw mental ability and his diligence toward improving the mental aspects of this most pivotal position in a highly strategic sport.

The measures I have at hand are, unfortunately, rather gross ones: his Wonderlic scores and his academic record.

The Wonderlic test, now administered to virtually all pro prospects, is designed to measure the ability to learn and solve problems. Anderson's score was 19, significantly below the average for a quarterback, or in society at large, for that matter. It happens to be the same as just-benched Tarvaris Jackson, but lower than Michael Vick (20), Tim Couch (22), Jamarcus Russell (24), and Ben Roethlisberger (25), none of them known for their smarts.

Scrolling through the list, I noticed only two current starters (Garrard and McNabb) with lower Wonderlic scores than Anderson's. By contrast, Brady Quinn scored 29 and Ken Dorsey 25.

As for diligence, let your perceptions guide you as to the degree that DA has immersed himself in the mission to become a better quarterback. I'm not close enough to the situation to speak authoritatively, but my sense from various reportage is that Anderson, while no slacker, is somewhat laid-back by nature. It's no knock on him. It's just that he hasn't stood out as an especially determined student of the game, doggedly digging into the nuances of the craft.

This is in line with the fact that Anderson, despite attending four years at Oregon State, did not graduate. Again, this isn't unusual and isn't necessarily a criticism, but it is evidence that speaks to diligence.

I'm not for a second doubting that Anderson is a hard worker or that he possesses adequate intelligence. And I'm definitely not arguing that his greater strengths -- the bazooka arm, the 6-foot-6 frame -- are outweighed by these less tangible factors.

But the fact is, the Browns need to decide on DA based on this year's performance. Will he remain a somewhat streaky talent who might light it up when all systems are in sync? Or will he grow into a consistent leader who adjusts to adversity and takes command by confusing defenses rather than vice versa?

If Anderson ultimately succeeds as a Browns quarterback, he'll do so in with a far different style than Graham, Sipe, Kosar, and Ryan. If anything, he'll resemble Vinny Testaverde, another big, physical talent with a low Wonderlic (17). It took him most of a decade to reach his pro potential. We can't wait that long for DA.

Tough trivia #40

2008-09-18T06:56:00.000-04:00

Which Browns running back, who ended his career with 4,323 yards from scrimmage, was essentially discarded by the Browns, picked up by Vince Lombardi, and played in a Super Bowl?

Answer to #39: Legendary fullback Marion Motley gave the Eagles great field position by fumbling in Browns' territory in their 1950 NFL debut. When Philadelphia drove to the Cleveland 3, Motley, inserted at linebacker, stalled the drive with three straight solo tackles. The Browns dominated the two-time defending NFL champs, 35-10.

Tough trivia #39

2008-09-17T15:55:00.000-04:00

Which Brown once atoned for his fumble by making tackles on three consecutive plays?

Answer to #38: QB Otto Graham, in 1950, had over 85% of the Browns' rushing yards in the thrilling 30-28 win over the Rams, gaining 99 yards on 12 carries.

More winces than wins

2008-09-15T19:45:00.002-04:00

When Romeo got his contact extension last January, guaranteeing him something like $16 million over the next four years, I pretty much shrugged.

If Savage and Chud were getting theirs, far be it from me to protest Crennel getting a little more gravy. So what if he already had two years left on his original five-year contract and is already the NFL's oldest coach?

After all, it's not my money. It doesn't count against the salary cap. So it could only be for the better, further stabilizing a program that showed growth and promise in delivering a 10-6 season.

Now, this could get really ugly.

Turns out that growth may have been a mirage. The winning record of 2007 may have had more to do with a rare respite from injury, a new offensive scheme taking the league by surprise, and a stellar special teamer who shares his initials with a certain deity incarnate.

Yes, Romeo deserved some credit too. He's a level-headed, reliable leader. I'd rather have an honest, if unrevealing, coach admired by his players than a dissembling egomaniac responsible for poisoning the psyche of a generation of Cleveland Browns. (If you don't understand the comparison, you probably don't remember what PHD used to stand for around these parts.)

But here's the thing: while Romeo is every bit the high-character guy that I was glad to see hired back in 2005, he has not sufficiently grown in some of the critical skills required of an NFL head coach.

Almost four years ago, I identified some criteria by which fans could evaluate a head coach. Apply the first section, "Coaching Ability," to what you know about Romeo, and see if he merits a passing grade.

In the meantime, consider the bottom line: he's 0-7 against Pittsburgh. His overall record is 20-30, a worse percentage than his predecessor (you know, the one sent packing within a year of his own contract extension).

Granted, he doesn't get to choose his players. He's not even in full control of his coaching staff. But look at some of the choices he did make. Mo Carthon. Frye over Anderson. The underuse of Jerome Harrison.

More importantly, look at what's clearly under his ultimate control: strategy and game management. Whether it's kicking versus going for it on fourth down, or when to throw the challenge flag, or getting the most from each tick of the clock and time out, or his team's overall sense of on-field discipline and organization, Romeo Crennel continues to come up short.

If I could bear it, it would be easy to find dozens of dubious decisions, more than a handful of which are so head-scratchingly ill-advised as to be inexcusable. There's no good way to estimate what this costs the Browns in wins and losses. Maybe a well-run two-minute drill would've netted another play or two, but DA might still throw a pick. And who's to say whether they could've converted on fourth-and-seven last night (even if a failure would've given the Browns' defense more time and better field position than they got doing it Romeo's way)?

The point is, his basic conservatism and decision-making acumen are unlikely to change. And now that starters are again dropping at the weekly rate we're accustomed to, the margin for error is even thinner. Lose to Baltimore or Cincy and the wheels might just come off this baby.
Lose 'em both and Romeo deserves to go.

Tough trivia #38

2008-09-13T14:26:00.000-04:00

Who had the highest percentage of Browns rushing yards in any of the team's winning NFL championship games?

Answer to #37: Former and current Steeler Orpheus Roye, playing for Cleveland, tackled Jerome Bettis in the end zone on Veterans Day 2001, the last time an individual was credited with a safety in a Browns game.

Unsound at safety

2008-09-12T09:12:00.003-04:00

And you say, "What's mine?"
And somebody else says, "Where what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God
Am I here all alone?"

Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

-- "Ballad of a Thin Man"

Less than two months ago, the Browns had one of the better up-and-coming safety tandems in the NFL. In Sean Jones and Brodney Pool, they had two young players with ample starting experience, each just starting to enter their prime.

The situation now is just one more awkward tackle shy of catastrophic. Brodney Pool is nursing yet another concussion, and the league is increasingly aware of their cumulative consequences and the special dangers of repeated blows suffered in close succession. Frankly, this history does not bode well for the long-term future of the 24-year-old safety.

Yet it is his return to form that might be the last strand of hope for controlling the Steelers' potent offense this Sunday. That's because Jones is now on the shelf indefinitely getting some damaged knee cartilage surgically repaired.

The problem first surfaced over a month ago with swelling after the August 7 preseason game, but Jones opted against arthroscopic surgery at the time. ''I was trying to push through it so I could get through the season and maybe do it after the season."

He played in the next preseason game, then shut it down in preparation for Dallas. Now he's probably out for at least a month. If he ever returns to his near-Pro Bowl form of 2006, it won't happen until close to Thanksgiving.

It makes me wonder whether his contract situation had anything to do with his decision to hold off on surgery until it was inescapable. While Wheelie, the Detroit Diva, and JC all made different noises about wanting new deals this offseason, the first in line for an extension should have been Jones.

He's in the final year of his five-year rookie contract, earning $2.145 million and counting $2.415 million against the salary cap.

Back in July, when high-status scribe Terry Pluto called Jones the Browns' most important defender and the key beneficiary of the coordinator switch, he reported thusly:

He has 10 interceptions over the past two seasons and is capable of making some big plays. He's not done it consistently. He was on the field for 100 percent of the defensive plays a year ago. The Browns have had some preliminary contract talks, but nothing serious. They probably will wait until after the regular season before deciding how to handle Jones' contract for 2009 and beyond.

My question is: why nothing serious? He's clearly a core player and just 26 years old. Was this a final tryout year? Did Jones' agent indicate a demand for much more than his proven worth? Does Phil Savage figure he can just slap the franchise tag on him for 2009 if necessary?

Picture yourself as the player in each of the two positions: in the contract year versus just signed to a long-term deal. Does your reaction to preseason knee swelling change based on those incentives?

It might. Multi-millions hinge on his performance in 2008, so it's understandable he'd be reluctant to opt for surgery any earlier than absolutely necessary. But had he been signed, a rehab period of a month or two is not such an obstacle. It's easier to accept an August surgery if that puts you in position to come on strong as the season extends perhaps into January. It's the difference between short-term and long-term thinking.

Now the Browns have lost Jones for the short term, beginning right in a crucial stretch of regular season division games.

And they may have lost him for the long term as well.

Tough trivia #37

2008-09-10T01:14:00.000-04:00

Who was the last player to score a safety either for or against the Browns?

Answer to #36: Marty Schottenheimer's Kansas City Chiefs, on September 30, 1990, embarrassed the Browns, 34-0, a score which included two touchdowns on blocked punt returns. Amazingly, the Browns would be shut out by worse margins twice more that season.

The Dallas debacle: medicine or microcosm?

2008-09-09T09:12:00.002-04:00

Much as it pained and disgusted me to watch the Browns get trampled by the Cowboys on their own back forty, that game may be of remarkably little import in the season-long sweep of things.

That's one reason Joshua Cribbs got an extra week to rest his ankle. And, shameful as it was, it's one reason that the coaches didn't pull all the strings on the field to try to get back into the game. Remember announcer Troy Aikman summarizing his pre-game conversations? "It almost seemed like they were building in a lot of excuses in case they didn't play well."

That's troubling to hear. But this team was so dinged up, even one in-game injury would create a hole Dallas could exploit to victory. Little could anyone imagine that the injury would happen during warm-ups!

Hoping and assuming that Donte Stallworth's leg injury is minor, it appears the Browns escaped with a loss on only the scoreboard and not the depth chart.

In retrospect -- and this sounds bizarre for a home opener against a marquee team -- it felt as if the Browns were looking past Dallas and gearing up for the Steelers and the rest of their daunting schedule.

I don't like that posture, but I understand it. Dallas is a non-conference game, the least important when it comes to tie-breakers. The Cowboys will take on Pittsburgh, Cincy, and the Ravens in due time, and the Browns' loss only really hurts if a division rival picks up a game against this tough common opponent.

Let's hope that before next Sunday night, the Browns get healthier (e.g. Pool, Cribbs, Tucker, et al), scrape off more of that oxidized ferrous metal (Edwards and Anderson particularly), and open things up on both sides of the ball. A win over Pittsburgh will more than erase the memory of the pitiful preseason and the Dallas debacle.

A loss will make for an uphill climb the rest of the season. The Browns will either scrap tenaciously toward the final week's rematch in Pittsburgh, or they'll do what we saw on Sunday: get tired and sloppy, then punt and kick useless field goals in a vain attempt to salvage respectability.

Tough trivia #36

2008-09-08T00:13:00.000-04:00

Which team blocked two punts and returned them for touchdowns in one game against the Browns?

Answer to #35: Quarterback Dan Simrell, drafted in the 14th round in 1965, later returned to his alma mater, Toledo, and by 1989 had won more games than any other Rockets head coach.

Old dawg, no tricks

2008-09-07T22:06:00.004-04:00

This is not why we lost the game, but it is an easy and important point to make: Romeo remains a victim of the overly conservative mindset of too many NFL coaches. Here is how he chose to conclude the Browns' only possessions of the second half.

The situation: 21-7 Dallas with 11:26 left in the third quarter. Browns with fourth-and-two from the Dallas 43. The decision: Punt. The result: Dallas drives 86 yards to take a three-touchdown lead.

The situation: 28-7 Dallas with 5:20 left in the third quarter. Browns with fourth-and-four from their own 39. The decision: Punt. The result: Dallas drives down the field for another eight plays before Eric Wright intercepts Romo in the end zone.

The situation: 28-7 Dallas with 10:13 left in the game. Browns with fourth-and-three on the Dallas 17. The decision: Field goal. The result: Three meaningless points for the Browns, followed by the Cowboys running down the Browns' throats and the entire clock.

These decisions accomplished the following:

Assured the end of the Browns' offensive drive without scoring meaningful points
Took the Browns' best playmakers off the field
Put the potent Dallas offense back on the field against an ineffective and increasingly tired defense
Sent what must have been a demoralizing message to his players by not giving them every possible chance to win

It's not the end of the world, but now that the regular season has returned, some of the same things I was hoping to forget that bothered me last year are back: dropped passes, porous defense, excessive penalties, and, well, unhelpful strategy by the head coach.

Tough trivia #35

2008-09-06T02:11:00.000-04:00

Which Browns draft pick later became the winningest head coach in the history of his Ohio university?

Answer to #34: Gary Danielson and Greg Landry, former teammates in Detroit, came to the Browns in 1985 as the starting QB and QB coach, respectively.

Cowboy colloquy

2008-09-05T16:38:00.005-04:00

In advance of Sunday's big opening game, I exchanged email with a Cowboys blogger on AOL Fanhouse today. He posted the result here. I'm posting it here:

Sportz Assassin: Cleveland certainly was a pleasant surprise in 2007. What are your expectations for 2008?

Ace Davis: My philosophy is that expectations should remain high. If you're protecting your heart from pain even before the first game is played, you're not fully into the fan game. No sense accepting "reality" before it unfolds on the field. So I expect them to win in 2008. Period. However the Browns get into the playoffs is fine with me. 9-7 division champ? Sure. Anything can happen from there.

Sportz: Talk about the QB situation. Is Derek Anderson the future (or even the present) and do you think Brady Quinn could be a better option?

Ace: QB controversies aren't rare in Browns Town. But having two good, young options behind center sure is. DA will get every opportunity in '08 to handle big-game pressure and some top-notch defenses. I'll give him about a 65% chance of surpassing his Pro Bowl-worthy stats of a year ago. If he does that and the Browns do some damage in January, Quinn will probably be dealt. But if Anderson doesn't improve his overall game, he won't be back. The way the contracts are set up virtually ensures one or the other heading out of town after this season. Quinn could eventually develop into an above average starter. I'm confident he's already among the league's top backups.

Sportz: Stuffing the Dallas offense is no easy task. How can Cleveland hold up against Tony Romo, T.O. and company?

Ace: The short answer is that they won't. The Browns' defense may be improved, but it's unproven. To be honest, the only way the Browns win on this side of the ball is if they get an early lead and then force turnovers. From what you know about the Cowboys' offense, how might the Browns get effective pressure on Romo?

Sportz: Dallas' line is just so good. Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald are going to have to do a great job holding down Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton and Jason Witten and give Cleveland the time the front seven needs to get to Romo. Even then, Romo seems to be able to feel the pressure and prolong plays. I think the best way to do so is changing coverage schemes and confusing Romo enough that he makes the mistakes.

Ace: Dallas has been in the limelight quite a bit recently, even for them. Any sense of how all the attention might distract from their game?

Sportz: I think the Cowboys are one of those rare franchises that can deal with being over-pressed (Yankees and Lakers, included). I think the fact that there are so many players who are in the limelight so much, there really isn't any resentment toward them. Still, Romo hasn't shown that he can handle the ultimate pressures yet ... so maybe there is something there.

What advantage do the Browns have over the Cowboys on Sunday?

Ace: Winslow might do some damage up the seam. It's also a home game, and that energy can help too.

Sportz: I agree. I think Kellen Winslow will be a huge factor in this game. Dallas has done poorly with covering tight ends and KW3 is one of the best in the business. If he can get going and disrupt Dallas' defense, it opens Braylon Edwards up down the sidelines. Now, what advantage do the Cowboys have on the Browns?

Ace: Even with their troubles, the Cowboys are a lot healthier heading into this game. In-game injuries anywhere on the field would probably be traumatic for Cleveland, especially on the offensive line and in the secondary.

Sportz: Dallas is deep everywhere but QB and receiver. This offense is so explosive with T.O.'s abilities and Romo's leadership. And we haven't even mentioned Marion Barber! For the Browns to win, they have to get into a shootout.

Ace: Who could be the breakout player for the Cowboys this year?

Sportz: I think it will be Felix Jones. The rookie from Arkansas won't be as gameplanned as the rest of the Cowboys offense and I think he brings a huge dimension to the team. Not only do you worry about Owens' getting a big play on you ... and Witten and Barber killing you softly ... but Jones turning a stretch run or a screen pass into a 50-yard gain. How about a breakout player for the Browns?

Ace: Well, most of the breaking out took place last season. This season, ILB D'Qwell Jackson could get a bunch of tackles playing behind a beefed-up D-line. WR/KR Syndric Steptoe might surprise a few people out of the slot. But I'll go with RB Jerome Harrison. He really was a ghost his first two seasons, but he'll get more touches in '08 and will prove to be a nice complement to Jamal Lewis.

Browns ala King

2008-09-04T06:53:00.005-04:00

If you haven't checked out the latest Sports Illustrated and Peter King's feature-length article on the Browns, carve out 10 minutes and click here. (For better readability, click Print to get it all on one page, then increase the text size.)

Even compulsive Browns-watchers will learn something intriguing about the Browns' off-season, draft and pre-season. Get into the head of Savage during the tense Sean Rogers deal.

ON HIS WAY to work, Savage called Millen. "It's too much for us," Savage said. "I think you're going to have to count us out." He hoped Millen's next words would be, "O.K., I'll take a fifth-rounder and Bodden." They weren't.
"Don't worry," Millen said brusquely. "I've got a deal with Cincinnati."

Hear more from Braylon "Detroit Diva" Edwards about what his QB still needs to prove and why 16 receiving TDs won't be enough this year.

Great writing, great reporting. Dig in.