Brown's history: Milt Morin

Before Ozzie Newsome changed the tight end position, the typical NFL tight end was a big bruising blocker with good hands but rarely used like Newsome was as a long range threat. Tight ends like John Mackey and Mike Ditka typified the position. Milt Morin was Cleveland's tight end in the late sixties and early seventies. He was a consistent presence who could block and was always a threat to catch a short pass and gain 10 - 15 yards while bowling over some poor defensive back.

NFL History: How to win a Super Bowl

The choice to retain Eric Mangini as Head Coach has puzzled legions of Brown's fans. Our disappointment is driven by the fact that Mangini has yet to show the first signs that he is a coach capable to lead the Browns to a Super Bowl championship.

When searching for answers, The Brown Log likes to study history and NFL history is filled with lessons on how to win the ultimate contest so let's dig into Super Bowl history.

Analyzing how teams managed to win Super Bowls in the past, three distinctive approaches emerge:

1. Competence: The most common way to win a Super Bowl is competence. Simply stated, pick the best players and drive them to a Championship using standard strategies of that era. This approach requires judgement, leadership skills, planning and execution. The Green Bay Packers of the 1960's are a great example. Vince Lombardi filled his team with great athletes, and lead them to two Super Bowl wins.

2. Technical innovation: As the NFL has evolved the rule book over the last 40 years, a select few coaches deeply studied those changes and designed innovative new schemes that created additional advantages versus the rest of the league. Joe Gibb's Ace formation in Washington is one example of a new innovation. The Skins won 3 Super Bowls under Gibbs thanks in much part to this simple but innovative formation. Perhaps the best example of technical innovation is when Bill Walsh took Don Coryell's passing system and evolved it to what is today called the "West Coast Offense". Walsh's 49ers racked up three Super Bowl wins while the rest of the league caught up to them. Yet another example would be Bill Cowher, who recognized the potential in Dick Lebeau's innovative zone blitz scheme and unleashed it to counter the era's seemingly unstoppable passing games, bringing yet another Super Bowl win to our hated rivals in Pittsburgh.

3. Cheating: Bill Belichick proved dishonesty pays by implementing what many believe to be the most sophisticated cheating scheme in NFL history and leading the New England Patroits to 3 Super Bowl wins. Some NFL fans believe that "everyone cheats" thus the Pats cheating was justified, however rumor has it that New England went well beyond the normal gamesmanship of stealing signals. Some believe that the Patroits systematically filmed and studied opponents signals and used their knowledge of those signals in gameplans and playcalling, including the Super Bowl wins. The New York Times was alarmed and reported on the fact that the NFL destroyed all the film evidence of the Patroits cheating. The Times article clearly implies an NFL coverup, and in fact since their cheating was uncovered, the Patriots have not won another Super Bowl. No more talk of dynasty surrounds New England but they do get to retain their three Super Bowl rings.

Why does the Brown Log believe Mangini is the wrong man to coach our Browns? Simply stated, Mangini has not demonstrated competence in any area that NFL history shows will lead to a Super Bowl win.

Has Mangini chosen the right players? Hardly. His first move with the Browns was to trade key players because he did not like them personally. Maybe Braylon Edwards or Kellen Winslow are immmature kids, but they are playmakers. Mangini showed poor judgement in moving these talents out of Cleveland and those personel decisions stifled the Browns offense all season.

Has Mangini come up with innovative schemes? Running the ball 80% of the time was standard practice back when Red Grange and Jim Thorpe played in the NFL.

Has Mangini managed to successfully cheat, building on lessons learned working for Bill Belichick? Thankfully no although Mangini did rat out Belichick after he left the Patriots.

So what the hell was Mike Holmgren thinking when he retained Mangini?

We have to acknowledge that Mike Holmgren has won a Super Bowl and that accomplishment merits our respect.......... BUT WHY CHOOSE MANGINI????

The only conclusion The Brown Log can muster is that the young Mangini has not had the benefit of a senior mentor to guide him thus far in his career and Holmgren must have been impressed enough with Mangini to believe that under his guidance, Mangini can lead the Browns to a Super Bowl win. Based on Super Bowl history, Mangini however has yet to provide even the first clue that he is up to the challenge so unless Holmgren is planning to lead Mangini around by the nose, it's hard to imagine a Super Bowl win during the Mangini era.

We Don't Get Fooled Again

Mangini still the coach? Josh Cribbs demanding a trade? The Who sum it up the best with slightly revised lyrics.

We'll be dancing in the stands
With our beers in our hands
And the stiffs that we worship will be gone
And the men who brought us shame
Now play in UFL games
They really sucked and hated us fans

I'll tip my hat to the new czar of football
Take heed next year, we will surely win ‘em all
Smile and grin at the change all around
Raise my foam finger and cheer
Just like yesteryear
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from 4 wins, that's all
And the standings look the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause Coach Mangini’s still here

I'll tip my hat to the new czar of football
Take heed next year, we will surely win ‘em all
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my beer and drink
Browns in the playoffs, I think
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

I hope Josh Cribbs will still be on our side
He gets his cash and smiles at the sky
If the Browns happened not to lie
I know you can pay the man, yes you can
Can’t ya?

There's nothing on the field
Looks any different to me
And the stiffs are replaced, by more stiffs
And the holding on the left
Is now holding on the right
And the future does not look near as bright

I'll tip my hat to the new czar of football
Take heed next year, we will win ‘em all
Smile and grin at the change all around
Raise my foam finger and cheer
Just like yesteryear
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

Oh no!

First chink in the armour of Mike Holmgren who decides in two days that Mangini is the best man for the Browns head coaching job. How many more people are going to be fooled by the siren song???

The Brown Log continues as a voice of the loyal opposition.

You're fired!

Mike Holmgren has arrived to the Brown's headquarters and according to various sources he plans to speak to the press tomorrow. I know one phrase that most fans hope Holmgren says to our coach tomorrow....

Madden Football Champs

I once was given the gift of EA Sports Madden Football. After no time at all I discovered that can you dominate this game by working the clock once you get a lead.

The Browns won 4 straight to close the 2009 season at 5-11 but does anyone really believe that running the ball 49 times while passing it 11 times as the Browns did vs Jacksonville, is the formula for winning a Superbowl?  Soon "coach" will retire to computer football games because there's no doubt that Mike Holmgren won't buy that gameplan either!

A sure bet?

The Browns are pick em vs Jacksonville tomorrow. With the Browns on a roll and at home, and Jacksonville playing badly, is taking the Browns a sure bet to win?

Who knows? Last year at this time, with the Jets fighting for their playoff lives, our leader, the Coach "forgot" to follow NFL rules and neglected to report that Brett Favre was seriously injured. Mangini was later fined $25,000 for this violation.

Character or competence? Does it really matter?

Coaching Trees

So far, Bill Belichick disciples have not exactly caught the world on fire. Their combined record as head coaches is 94-109. Message to Mike Holmgren: Please stay away from the Belichick tree!








Charlie Weiss: Notre Dame - 2005-2009: 35-27
Fired after the 2009 season

Romeo Crennel: Cleveland Browns – 2005-2008: 24-40
Fired after the 2008 season

Josh McDaniels: Denver Broncos – 2009: 8-6

Eric Mangini: New York Jets – 2006-2008: 23-25
Fired after the 2008 season
Cleveland Browns – 2009: 4-11
Fired after the 2009 season???

The Browns are heading in the right direction

Nice defense for the third straight week together with the continuing
emergence of Jerome Harrison garnered our Browns their third straight win vs Oakland. But if we are trying to drop forever the heavy burden of losing, we have only just started the journey.

Brown's history: Paul Warfield

Who was the greatest Ohio born player in Cleveland Browns history? One could argue for several notable players like Bernie Kosar, Thom Darden, Dante Lavelli, Bill Willis or others. My choice would be Warren, Ohio and Ohio State great Paul Warfield. A student of the game and a great athlete, Warfield knew how to get into the endzone. The deciding factor for me is that Warfield was a member of the last Cleveland franchise to win a championship, the 1964 Browns.

Unfortunately Warfield spent only 8 of his 13 NFL seasons with the Browns because Art Modell in his infinite wisdom saw fit to trade Warfield, in the prime of his career, to Miami for Mike Phipps. Warfield was a key playmaker on the Dolphins, where he won 2 Super Bowl championships, including the undefeated 1972 team.

Thank you Randy Lerner

USA Today summed it up best in an article today. The Browns have hired a proven winner and taken a critical first step in moving this franchise towards it's first Super Bowl. A Merry Christmas to all!

The Playmaker: Josh Cribbs

Hats off to Josh Cribbs for an NFL record breaking performance and the Browns for a fantastic show yesterday. It's playmakers that win games in the NFL and rarely has that been more on display than yesterday.

3 wins in 2009 assure that the Browns likely will not finish with the worst record in the NFL this year however the goal of all Browns fans is not to avoid complete humiliation, it is to return Northern Ohio's NFL franchise to a level of football that honors our football tradition. Our expectations are to win our first Super Bowl championship. This won't happen in 2009 but as we march forward, the Browns have to put more playmakers on the field. That logically will require leadership in the front office and on the sideline. The rumors of Mike Holmgren's arrival are a reassuring sign, as he is a proven leader and winner. Let's cross our fingers..

Brown's history: Brian Sipe

Ask a Brown's fan who grew up in the 1970's their favorite Brown's player and you are quite likely to hear the name Brian Sipe. Compared to that era's best QB's like Dan Fouts, Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach, Sipe was relatively small in stature and while Sipe had great velocity on his throws and was accurate, he certainly couldn't wing it 70 yards like Bradshaw. Instead what made Sipe a consistent producer were his leadership skills, a lion's heart and his ability to read defenses as well as any quarterback of his generation. In few words, Sipe was a playmaker and a winner.