The most pleasant surprise of this sad season has been the emergence of veteran tight end Gary Barnidge, who today was named the Browns’ Player of the Year by the Cleveland chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America. After years of limited pass-catching production, pigeon-holed by many as a marginal blocking tight end, Barnidge […]
I think Pete’s just trying to be provocative, but since he diminishes #16 as merely a special-teamer and, oblivious to the irony, deems Phil Dawson the new Browns’ MVP, I’ll go on the record here with my list of the most valuable players to wear the brown and orange since 1999. The criteria are inherently […]
NFL Network showed their rundown of the top 10 Browns of all time. You can watch here, but if you don’t want the preceding commercial, here’s the list: 10. Mike McCormack9. Dante Lavelli “AFC”8. Gene Hickerson7. Leroy Kelly6. Bill Willis5. Lou “The Toe” Groza4. Ozzie Newsome3. Marion Motley2. Otto Graham1. Jim Brown. All Hall of […]
History buffs like me enjoy the idea of the Browns Legends Club. I have some quibbles with the selection methodology (fan voting counts for just 20%), presentation (the official site’s navigation could be better), and even the results, but I enjoy the concept and the chance to bring the team’s great legacy of contributors into […]
As the Browns sort through their impressions of the rookie minicamp, signing seven of the 54 tryout players and dropping six of the recently-signed UDFAs, plus practice squad holdover RB Kory Chapman, it’s nice to see my favorite current Brown, Joshua Cribbs, make Sports Illustrated‘s listing of the top UDFAs between 1994 and 2005.
ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli names his All Pro team. Out of just 31 players honored league-wide, four are Browns: Joe Thomas, Lawrence Vickers, Phil Dawson, and Josh Cribbs. That’s more than any team except the Patriots. Not bad at all.
Sports fans always chase their tails in debating post-season awards. What exactly do things like Most Valuable Player and Player of the Year mean anyway? And those media post-mortems — ranked roster listings and letter grades — almost invariably suffer for lack of clear criteria. Just to illustrate briefly the difference made by defining one’s […]
Quick: which Browns receiver was named to the NFL’s All Decade Team for the 1960s? No-brainer. Gotta be Hall of Famer Paul Warfield, right? No? Hmmm. Must be a trick question. Then how about Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell, the halfback who put up more spectacular numbers in Washington after a switching positions? Nope. That […]
We all know that the Browns have their Legends program, honoring their all-time greats. All Browns Hall of Famers get in automatically, and four new members are added annually. That’s 40 players and one coach so far. But explore the official site’s drop-down menus, and you’ll see dozens of others deemed worthy of a brief […]
Third in a series that ranks the best Browns players at each position. 1. Frank “Gunner” Gatski (1946-56) — As with the TE and QB picks, this choice is a snap: go for the only Hall of Famer in the category. Gatski, the strong, silent type, was a four-time All-NFL selection. Among the remarkable facts […]
Browns Plainly gives you the most comprehensive, no-nonsense coverage of the Cleveland Browns, from all the best sources on the web. All in one place. Dave Algase, author of Brown for the Count, provides expert analysis and is a lifelong fan of the team. Dave's unique perspective of the team will provide insights you won't find anywhere else.
