CHARGERS 26, BROWNS 20 With the Browns bedecked in their orange jerseys, Tim Couch turned into a pumpkin. Playing scared behind a patchwork line, he failed to puncture the league’s second-worst defense. His two interceptions returned us to the distinctly painful impression that he looks more like an overwhelmed rookie than a franchise-quality field general. […]

Nice feature in today’s PD portraying the true twisted, tortured nature of Browns fanaticism. “When Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore, in 1995, the family ties between the Browns and fans were ripped apart. Eight years later, the relationship is that of a married couple trying to patch things up after one spouse has […]

Sad to say, the injuries to the offensive line have claimed another victim. This time it’s training camp sensation C.J. Jones, who was cut today to make room for backup lineman Craig Osika. Center Jeff Faine and guard Shaun O’Hara are each expected to miss two games with knee injures. If all goes well, they’ll […]

I don’t usually aid and abet companies that promote their own products by boasting of their beneficience. Campbell’s can use its own PR budget for that. After all, it earned $626 million in profits last year. But their trademarked “Click for Cans” drive, part of the huge food conglomerate’s trademarked “Tackling Hunger” effort, at least […]

SMALL WORLD: Yours truly has an indirect connection with the newest member of the Cleveland Browns. Not too long ago, I used to work with a nice woman named Kathe, and some of the lunchtime chat would focus on her son, who wanted to play football in college. She was very proud of Noah when […]

DOUBLE DING: Word’s out that two more offensive lineman will be sidelined this weekend. Center Jeff Faine and left guard Shaun O’Hara reportedly will miss the San Diego game, though the team has yet to confirm their injuries. If true, that means Melvin Fowler will play center, and someone else (Beasley, DeMar or Gonzalez) will […]

FLIGHTS OF FLEMISTER: The illustrious era of tight end Zeron Flemister is over before it began. His career Cleveland stats: no fumbles, no holding penalties, no missed blocks, no arguments with fans. Last week, the Browns signed him, flew him in, set him up, cut him, told him to wait around, and then failed to […]

Ah yes, the quarterback situation. I’ve been laying off that topic for a while. After all, Coach Davis said on Sept. 22 that Kelly Holcomb was “day-to-day” with his “tiny hairline fracture of the non-weight-bearing fibula.” Remember that? “I know there’s some report floating around town that (Kelly’s) got a major, busted ankle and he’s […]

Random ramblings: — William Green now ranks sixth in the league in rushing yards. He’s on pace for a 1,317-yard season. His average and TD stats are rather low, but with the energetic effort he shows on every play, no doubt he’ll bust a few long runs before the year is done. — Dennis Northcutt […]

BROWNS 13, RAIDERS 7 It was a nice win today, for so many reasons: — William Green and the offensive line wore down a defense for the second straight week. The inability to control the clock cost the Browns many a game since 1999, and this problem is now officially solved. The new front five […]