According to the ratings system devised over at the P-F-R blog, the 1984 Browns rank first among all teams since 1970 in the inequality of their offense and defense, among teams with better defenses than offenses. In other words, no team since the merger had a better defense compared to their offense — or, more accurately, a worse offense compared to their defense — than the ’84 Browns.
Of all the possible things to blog about, why did this catch my eye? It because of the potential parallels between that team and today’s:
- The ’84 Browns were quarterbacked by a former mid-round draft pick, Paul McDonald, who displayed flashes of ability but a propensity to alternately eat the ball and miss receivers disturbingly often. He was eventually succeeded by a first-round blue-chipper of local origins.
- That team had a very iffy receiving corps, with the exception of a premiere tight end.
- The offensive line figured to be a strength, with several established veterans, but for one reason or another, neither the rushing attack nor the pass blocking was up to par.
- The team ran a 3-4 defense whose greatest strength was the linebacking corps.
- A young, aggressive secondary started to emerge and show tremendous promise.
- Of course, that team got off to a tragically slow 1-8 start, and the head coach was replaced mid-season by the defensive coordinator.
I’m certainly hoping that this analogy won’t go that far. That Jamal Lewis has more in the tank than Mike Pruitt did. That Braylon Edwards can exceed the receiving totals of the top two, and maybe three or four, of the ’84 WRs. And that the QBs, however that plays out, won’t get sacked 55 times.
Perhaps 1985 will prove to be the better point of comparison (though I hoped for that before, to no avail). The rookie gunslinger took over midseason. The rushing attack combined power and agility. A new O-line (only the center was a returning starter from the previous year) took shape. And they beat all three division opponents at home, sneaking into the playoffs for the first of a memorable five-year run.
