Kosar on the Brown's wide receivers

Bernie Kosar sounds off in this linked article, about the Browns main problem, their wideouts.

Here is a key snippet from the article:

"Of all the guys, Josh [Cribbs] is probably doing the best job at receiver," said Kosar. "He is making a lot of progress. He's using his hands to get open. He doesn't get shoved off his routes."
What is happening to the offense in the second half?
"I don't think it's so much our lack of adjustments," said Kosar. "Eric [Mangini] and his staff are starting games with some really good schemes. The other teams adjust to us, and then it comes down to talent -- man-on-man. You can't out-scheme the other team for the entire game."

Browns history: Dolphins 1985 playoffs

In Browns folklore, this playoff loss does not rank with the most heartbreaking, however the game truly was a sign of things to come under Marty Schottenheimer. With a 21-3 lead and 11 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, Marty choose to try to run the clock out against Dan Marino. In effect, he played into Don Shula's hands who dared Marty to pass the rest of the game. With a young Bernie at the controls, a few first down passes might have locked this one up for the Browns but Marty had to play it by the book right up to the bitter end. There is no doubt that during the regular season, Marty's obsession with playing the percentages was in fact the smart approach. But come playoff time, you simply gotta roll the dice sometimes. It turned Schottenheimer's stomach to take risks, even in the playoffs, and the price paid was that during the prime of Kosar's career, the Browns never made it to the Super Bowl. If we had to label this game for it's infamy, the best title I can come up with is "foreshadowing the drive" because it was the same fear of winning the following year, that led Marty to play bend but not break when we had Elway pinned at the 3 yard line with 5 minutes left.

Vintage Browns: Bernie's passing accuracy

Was there ever a passer in NFL history as accurate as Bernie Kosar? Kosar's lifetime stats rank him the 13th most accurate passer in the entire history of the NFL. 13th all time is damn good but those of us who watched him thread the needle at the peak of his career will argue that nobody topped Bernie in precision when he was at the top of his game. This video from 1986 contains one of many examples of Kosar's amazing accuracy on long bombs. Kosar's pass to Herman Fontenot, who is on a dead sprint towards the end zone, travels 53 yards in the air and lands perfectly in Fontenot's hands.

Vintage Browns: Kosar runs to daylight!

1989, Bernie does his Jim Brown impersonation.

Brown's history: Bill Nelson

To be honest, I don't remember much about Bill Nelson but I hold onto one very fond memory. In 1971, when I was in second grade at Meister Road Elementary School in Lorain, Ohio, Bill Nelson visited our school and I got his autograph. It was certainly my first interaction with a Browns player and I was hooked for life.

Other than being nice to kids, Nelson led the Browns as a starter at QB for 4 seasons, from 1968 until 1971 and he is generally viewed as the fifth best quarterback in Browns history behind Otto Graham, Bernie Kosar, Brian Sipe and Dr. Frank Ryan

2010 NFL Draft: The Browns are trying to move up!

The St. Louis press is speculating that a trade is in the offing that would allow the Browns to move up to the number 1 pick and choose highly touted QB Sam Bradford. If these rumors were not coming out of St. Louis I wouldn't give much weight to them but consider too that the writer of the article is Howard Balzer, a very well connected gentleman....

This might sound like typical pre-draft hyperbole, but consider that Mike Holmgren is really sold on Bradford and the reason is that Bradford has an arm like Elway with Bernie Kosar like accuracy. That is one helluva combination that has Super Bowl written all over it (watch the highlight film below to get a feeling for how far and how accurately Bradford can wing it). The only question mark with Bradford, and it's a major one, is whether or not he will be durable enough for the NFL. Watching the highlight film it's clear that this guy has a Hall of Fame arm, but he lost most of his senior year to an injury and that's not a great sign that the kid can take the beating an NFL quarterback must endure.

The rumor mill should keep getting hotter as 20 April nears, look to The Brown Log to keep yourself well connected to Draft 2010.

Mike Holmgren's Report Card: March 2010

I personally am quite impressed to date with the Browns off season moves. It's apparent that Mike Holmgren has been working very hard. Most Browns fans would agree that Derek Anderson is not a Super Bowl quarterback and now he is gone. It also appears that Brady Quinn is not viewed favorably by Holmgren, and while I have a lot of sympathy for Quinn, I don't get the same sensation watching Quinn that I had years ago watching Sipe or Kosar at the beginning of their careers. Granted Sipe had two years on the taxi squad in which he could learn and mature but from the first instant Brian Sipe stepped on the field in 1974 at 25 years old, you could tell he was a winner. Quinn often looks lost.

QB Seneca Wallace is unproven, but in his 5 NFL years as a backup he has made an impact. More big plays than mistakes and his career numbers would indicate this guy just needs a chance to play full time. Clearly Holmgren himself believes in Wallace but Holmgren also thinks Wallace needs some time under his guidance. This as witnessed by the visit of 35 year old Jake Delhomme to Browns town this week. But if Holmgren signs an older quarterback, it appears his role will be to buy time.

The signings of TE Ben Watson, LB Scott Fujita, and offensive lineman Tony Pashos all bring skilled veteran players to the Browns, two of whom, Watson and Fujita, wear Super Bowl Championship rings.

If you have to give a report card for the month of March so far to Mike Holmgren, the result is A+

Why we love the Browns

In the 1990's, after Art Modell cut Bernie Kosar, I found myself questioning why I was a Browns fan when the owner of the team was a man whose values were the complete opposite of my own.

The fact today remains that when we honor the Cleveland Browns, we honor the legacy of it's founder, Hall of Famer and Ohioan Paul Brown. No matter how horrible a scar Art Modell left on the Browns, no matter the fact that we have doubts about the current leadership, nothing can stain the legacy of Paul Brown.

Loyalty: Bernie Kosar

There is a lot of negative talk about Brown's great Bernie Kosar lately as he has demonstrated himself to be a human being, not a God in the last few months. For Brown's fans, the only conclusion we can make is to express our solidarity with this truly great man and warrior. I like to talk about what makes an Ohioan, and of all the qualities we believe in loyalty tops the list. Nobody has been more loyal to the Browns and Cleveland fans than Bernie Kosar. What has he gotten in return for his loyalty? Art Modell cut Bernie Kosar to save money. "Friends" or better stated, hangers on, took advantage of Kosar's generosity but one thing is for sure. Kosar is a winner and in the game of life, it's only halftime. Bernie will come out on top.

Here is a video of Bernie leading the Dallas Cowboys on a touchdown drive in the 1993 NFC Championship game. After winning this game, the Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl, giving Bernie the Super Bowl ring he could have never gotten under the incompetent ownership of Art Modell.