The off season rumor mill: Kevin Kolb

The rumor mill is hot and heavy that the Browns and Eagles are talking trade. Could QB Kevin Kolb be in the Brown's future? One thing is crystal clear, Derek Anderson is a goner.

Holmgren on the QB situation

This link has an interesting article from today in which Mike Holmgren gives insight into how he evaluates a QB and where the Brown's QBs stand right now. Holmgren correctly refuses to show his hand but the comment that Anderson throws too many interceptions would seem to indicate that the Browns will very likely cut Derek Anderson before March 19, the date on which he has a roster bonus due. On the other hand, Holmgren states that Quinn hasn't proven himself but he still might have time. My guess is that Holmgren will make a move for a new QB before the 2010 season.

One thing is for sure, Holmgren has a long and successful record with quarterbacks, so for once, Brown's fans can feel comfortable that this guy won't screw it up.

Brown's history: Dino Hall

Working under Art Modell put enormous constraints on Brown's head coaches. The most imposing of those limits was that Browns coaches were almost certainly forced to cut players who had earned a position on the 45 man roster based on their play but whose salary was too high. The evidence of this is simply overwhelming.

Modell was cheap but he wasn't a fool. With the exception of Tom Skladany and Jack Gregory, Modell usually did not apply salary pressure to the most critical roster positions. Instead Modell likely forced coaches to make do with lesser talented players in those positions that were less visible but nontheless important. In particular backups were systematically diluted year after year to pad Modell's pockets. Modell's self imposed salary cap clearly contrasted with winning teams especially during the 1970's and it's the prime reason the Browns rarely made the playoffs in those years. One need only site the Steelers and recall that whenever an injury hit a key player, a very able backup was ready to stand in. I can recall the excellent Dirt Winston stepping up for Jack Lambert when Lambert was injured and the Steelers more than holding their own. Tony Dungy was a very good defensive backfield bench player and the Steelers defensive line was 6 deep with a great player like John Banaszak in reserve. This contrasts Modell's Browns and that lack of depth in 1978 and 1979 hurt the Browns as the season progressed and those inevitable injuries that every team suffers piled up. It's the only reason the Browns missed the playoffs those years.

As I study Brown's history, one coach who wears very well with time is Sam Rutigliano. The reason I admire Rutilgiano is that he was very creative in coming up with strategies to deal with the realities he confronted. One of those realities was Art Modell. Previous to Rutigliano in the 1970's, the coaches who toiled under Modell, when forced to cut superior players, stuck with conventional wisdom when selecting the players that Modell was in fact willing to pay for. Rutigliano on the other hand, bucked conventional wisdom in several cases. If you have to put a player on the roster at league minimum salary, why not pick a brilliant athlete who for some reason was not appreciated by others? Dino Hall was a perfect example. Hall was way too short and didn't weigh nearly enough, but he was a fantastic athlete and a great football player. Even at 5' 6", Hall made real contributions to the success of the Browns in that era.

I've often wondered what might have been the result had Rutigliano gone with this intuition a bit more often, especially on defense. In particular the 1979 Browns had an offense that was Super Bowl caliber but their defense was so full of holes that as the season wore on, they folded completely as did the Brown's playoff hopes. Perhaps a few undersized defenders who were great athletes might have patched enough holes to get the '79 Browns into the playoffs.

Vintage Browns: 1979 Monday Night Football vs. the Dallas Cowboys

Those of us who watched this game will never forget it. Monday evening September 24 1979 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium vs "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys. Staubach and company came to town and conventional wisdom was that the Cowboys would manhandle the unproven Browns, who despite the fact that they were 3-0, had not convinced the experts that they were for real.

The series in the Youtube video is culminated by a long touchdown pass from Sipe to Ozzie Newsome. It's classic Kardiac Kids. On third and one, the Browns decide to break tendency and pass. Sipe manages to avoid a sack and spots Ozzie who gets open deep behind the Dallas zone. The result is a long touchdown and a 13-0 Browns lead in the first quarter. The blow out was on and the Browns won the game 26-7, giving Browns fans an absolutely unforgettable evening.

This game was our first sign that the Browns of that era were legit. Specifically it shows how important Ozzie Newsome was to the success of the Browns in that era. Ozzie was frequently able to capitalise on his speed and get deep behind a zone. It's surprising, but it really did take NFL teams over 3 years to adjust to the fact that Browns tight end Ozzie Newsone had blazing speed.

The 1979 Browns gave us many thrills. Of course as the season wore on, the lack of depth caused primarily by Art Modell's not so deep pockets, proved costly, but on Monday September 24, 1979, Brian Sipe, Ozzie Newsone and company let Browns fans dream just a little.

CUT

Why? Playing ability? Reading the quotes from Eric Mangini and Jamal Lewis it would appear that the real reason Lewis has been cut is that he didn't kiss Mangini's ass.

Why we love the Browns: Municipal Stadium

It was cold, dirty, and there was hardly a good seat with a good view in the entire stadium. But Municipal Stadium had one secret, it held generations of memories.

I WANT THAT!

The Saints did it. I am happy for them. Euphoric New Orleans fans will cheer and thank their hometown team at their championship parade in the very streets that were flooded less than five years ago. What could be more heartwarming? But my pangs of envy cannot be denied. While watching Who Dat Nation celebrate, I could not help but feel that the Browns are farther away from winning a Super Bowl than ever. It was difficult to watch the elation. I want that! So while I am dreaming, I decided to make a list of other things I want but probably will not happen. Here they are in no particular order.

I want to buy the Baltimore Ravens and move them to Ft. Wayne.

I want Slayer to perform at halftime of Super Bowl XLV.

I want Rex Ryan’s stomach to be penalized 15 yards for being too far out on the field.

I want Shannon Sharpe to use his inside voice even when he is outside.

I want Ed Hochuli tested for human growth hormones.

I want a hamburger…no a cheeseburger…

I want to see irrefutable video evidence of Ben Roethlisberger sexually assaulting a goat.

I want LeBron James to stay in Cleveland and QB the Browns.

I want to lock Chad Ochocinco and Kanye West in the same room and see who drops dead first from lack of attention.

I want former Florida State WR DeCody Fagg to make an NFL team and line up against CB Randall Gay. And I want to hear the announcer call that matchup without snickering.

That’s ten. What do you want?

Brown's history: Otto Graham

Otto Graham played 10 seasons of professional football for the Cleveland Browns.
In his 10 seasons, the Browns played in the Championship game 10 times and won 7 titles.
Nothing more needs to be said.

Vintage Browns: The 1980 Kardiac Kids

This short video shows a key drive in game 7 of the Kardiac Kids 1980 season vs the Green Bay Packers. The two play sequence reveals an essential element of the Kardiac Kids 1980 success, creating mismatches in the passing game. This game was in fact a turning point in the Kardiac Kids 1980 season. First, the Browns were 3-3 at that point and a loss would have put them at 3-4 nearly halfway through the season. More importantly is that the team after this game started to get a sense of the fact that they had the talent and playbook that would allow them to beat anyone at any time.

The video contains two long pass plays both of which tell much of the story of the 1980 Browns success. Take note on the first play, where number 35 Calvin Hill lines up in the backfield. He is actually split outside the offensive tackle Cody Riesen by almost a yard. Not the normal spot for a running back to line up but as we know, Calvin Hill might have lined up in the backfield, but he carried the ball only once all season, he was on the field of play for one reason, to catch the ball. On the snap, Hill shoots straight out into the pattern and it is number 56, Green Bay linebacker Ed O'Neil, who has the unfortunate responsibility to try to keep up with him. Hill already has 5 yards on O'Neil when Sipe's pass lands in his hands and he gains over 50 yards on the play.

The next play is a touchdown pass to Ozzie Newsome, the Browns tight end. For today's football fans it might seem amazing that a tight end could get that wide open but let's remember back in 1980, the only tight ends who could get deep were Ozzie and Kellen Winslow. On this particular play, Green Bay was in a zone but surely their focus were on the outside wide receivers as they still hadn't digested the fact that Mr. Newsome could move his body 30 yards in a few seconds. 7 points in about 30 seconds, not bad!!! The next offensive series was even more delicious, classic Kardiac Kids and I will bring you that one in the next few days..!!!

Vintage Browns: The 1980 Kardiac Kids

With the Super Bowl almost upon us, The Brown Log peers into the off season knowing that we'll need to dig deeper for material . Thanks to the incredible website youtube, I believe we have found a few ways to do that. So Brown Log fans, we introduce another regular feature of the Brown Log, "Vintage Browns"

There is a gentleman from Ohio who has placed countless years of videos of Brown's games he videotaped onto youtube. I discovered this youtube page a few months ago and endlessly have enjoyed viewing games that I haven't seen in 30 plus years. Using the videos from this gentleman's youtube page, we will dissect some of the greatest seasons in Browns history.

Anybody who has followed the Browns for longer than 30 years, will very fondly recall our 1980 Kardiac Kids. For those who enjoy reading, Jonathan Knight did a great job breaking the 1980 Browns down, week by week, in his book "Kardiac Kids". If you haven't read it, I highly recommend that book as a great bit of easy reading and escapism. We will try to give your eyes and ears a taste of that classic season and point out what made that team so special.

The first video presented is a Monday might game at Municipal Stadium against the Chicago Bears, in which Mike Pruitt breaks the game open late with a long touchdown run. The 80 Browns were one of the first teams to recognise that new rules that favored the passing game would forever change the face of the league. Credit has to go to Sam Rutigliano who clearly recognized that the NFL was evolving towards the pass, and he recognized that he already had some of the talent needed to take advantage of this. First of all, Rutigliano saw that Brian Sipe had what it took to lead a pass driven attack. Rutigliano also did something that was fairly unconventional in that era. He put Ozzie Newsome, a wide receiver in college, at Tight End, and he put running backs into pass patterns instead of keeping them in to block. This was an era before defenses adapted to five highly skilled receivers attacking the defensive secondary. As a result Sipe often found Greg Pruitt, Calvin Hill or Mike Pruitt matched against a slow, hapless and helpless linebacker. This in turn opened opportunities for Newsome, Rucker and Logan up top. And as you will see in this video, the fact that the 1980 Browns passed to set up the run, often created huge opportunities for Mike Pruitt.

This team can be studied in so many ways, I'm looking forward to that over the next few months.