Prior to last season’s breakout, the most improved Browns offense of the decade was in 2002. Though they ranked just 23rd in total yards, that was a far cry better than the dead last ranking of the previous three years. They snuck into the playoffs but bowed out with an epic collapse at Heinz Field.
Still, hopes were high for continued improvement from a youthful unit that featured four second-round picks at wide receiver (Kevin Johnson, Quincy Morgan, Andre Davis, and Dennis Northcutt), the top runner drafted in ’02 (William Green), and what seemed at the time to be two fairly decent quarterbacks, Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb.
We all know how fast those hopes wilted, of course. But just think of the odds you could have gotten back in early 2003 on the notion that the only member of that playoff offense to hit the Berea practice field in the summer of 2008 would be … tight end Steve Heiden.
In today’s NFL, five years is a lifetime and a half. Any guesses how many Browns from the 2007 offense will be here for the 2013 training camp? Think of all the guys still 25 or younger, including Thomas, Edwards, Quinn, Anderson, Cribbs, Winslow, Harrison, Vickers, et al. If even four of them endure, we’ll be extremely lucky.
My motto for the 2008 Browns and their fans: Don’t Blink.
