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Joined: Jul 2014
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 7,612 |
Wow did that suck. Those were 3 long years.
Especially football season when many of my New England friends got to cheer on their favorite team every week.
I was so proud to be a Cleveland fan when the NFL was forced to give Cleveland the Browns back due to the incredible fan outpouring. (Cleveland got the Browns back before much larger TV market cities got a franchise)
Remember that bogus "draft" the Browns got to "restock" their roster?
I think it was in December and the Browns organization got to pick from "unprotected players" of all the other NFL teams. (each team's worst 3-5 players).
I remember watching that player selection with a bunch of other Browns buddies. It was the first Browns action we saw in 3 years. We were stoked.
"Yeah, he might be OK once he recoups from terminal brain surgery" "He was really good in junior high school"
I think all those players were gone within 2 years.
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Joined: Feb 2007
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1st String
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1st String
Joined: Feb 2007
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Kurt Warner was on the list...I guess we missed on that one
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Joined: Sep 2006
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 50,350 Likes: 448 |
One thing I will never forget is how the NFL punished the Browns from the start,
The expansion franchises who came into the NFL immediately before us got a plethora of draft picks, including multiple 1st rounders. We got extra lower round picks.
The 2 expansion teams before us had 2+ years to get their front offices in place and running, We had months.
The NFL definitely made sure that we had no chance of emulating the early success of the Jaguars and Panthers.
Even the Texans got a couple of years to build their organization.
We got our team back, but we were really punished too.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Joined: Sep 2006
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 40,399 Likes: 280 |
I agree with you. They made it way too easy for Carolina and the Jags to build teams quickly then overcompensated and made it virtually impossible for us to build a team quickly... that said, it's not the NFLs fault that we have sucked for the better part of 15 years... the Browns made their fair share of idiotic decisions along the way.
yebat' Putin
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Joined: Sep 2006
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 42,800 Likes: 158 |
Quote:
I agree with you. They made it way too easy for Carolina and the Jags to build teams quickly then overcompensated and made it virtually impossible for us to build a team quickly... that said, it's not the NFLs fault that we have sucked for the better part of 15 years... the Browns made their fair share of idiotic decisions along the way.
I'm almost certain that if we had the same folks picking players in 1999 and 2000 that we had, even in the old way (jags and panthers), we'd have not succeeded. we didn't have the front office that was smart enough to pull it together.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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Dawg Talker
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Dawg Talker
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 2,670 Likes: 168 |
Quote:
Wow did that suck. Those were 3 long years.
Especially football season when many of my New England friends got to cheer on their favorite team every week.
I was so proud to be a Cleveland fan when the NFL was forced to give Cleveland the Browns back due to the incredible fan outpouring. (Cleveland got the Browns back before much larger TV market cities got a franchise)
Remember that bogus "draft" the Browns got to "restock" their roster?
I think it was in December and the Browns organization got to pick from "unprotected players" of all the other NFL teams. (each team's worst 3-5 players).
I remember watching that player selection with a bunch of other Browns buddies. It was the first Browns action we saw in 3 years. We were stoked.
"Yeah, he might be OK once he recoups from terminal brain surgery" "He was really good in junior high school"
I think all those players were gone within 2 years.
I was so excited when we "STOLE" Jim Pyne from the bottom 3 off Detroits roster. I was STOKED!!!!! 
HERE WE GO BROWNIES, HERE WE GO!!!!! WOOF WOOF!!!!! 
Pick Player Position Original NFL Team
1 Jim Pyne Center Detroit Lions
2 Hurvin McCormack Defensive end Dallas Cowboys
3 Scott Rehberg Offensive tackle New England Patriots
4 Damon Gibson Wide receiver Cincinnati Bengals
5 Steve Gordon Center San Francisco 49ers
6 Tarek Saleh Linebacker Carolina Panthers
7 Jeff Buckey Guard Miami Dolphins
8 Jason Kyle Longsnapper Seattle Seahawks
9 Rod Manuel Defensive end Pittsburgh Steelers
10 Lenoy Jones Linebacker Tennessee Titans
11 Tim McTyer Cornerback Philadelphia Eagles
12 Elijah Alexander Linebacker Indianapolis Colts
13 Pete Swanson Offensive tackle Kansas City Chiefs
14 Gerome Williams Safety San Diego Chargers
15 Marlon Forbes Safety Chicago Bears
16 Justin Armour Wide Receiver Denver Broncos
17 Paul Wiggins Offensive tackle Washington Redskins
18 Duane Butler Safety Minnesota Vikings
19 Fred Brock Wide receiver Arizona Cardinals
20 Kory Blackwell Cornerback New York Giants
21 Kevin Devine Cornerback Jacksonville Jaguars
22 Raymond Jackson Cornerback Buffalo Bills
23 Jim Bundren Guard New York Jets
24 Ben Cavil Guard Baltimore Ravens
25 Michael Blair Running back Green Bay Packers
26 Antonio Anderson Defensive tackle Dallas Cowboys
27 Orlando Bobo Guard Minnesota Vikings
28 James Williams Linebacker San Francisco 49ers
29 Scott Milanovich Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30 Eric Stokes Safety Seattle Seahawks
31 Ronald Moore Running back Miami Dolphins
32 Clarence Williams Running back Buffalo Bills
33 Freddie Solomon Wide receiver Philadelphia Eagles
34 Brandon Sanders Safety New York Giants
35 Mike Thompson Nose tackle Cincinnati Bengals
36 Jerris McPhail Running back Detroit Lions
37 Antonio Langham Defensive back San Francisco 49ers
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,991
Hall of Famer
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Joined: Sep 2006
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The real problem was the quality of players available to be picked. The Jags had guys like Boselli available, we had Pyne. The NFL was doing a purge of all older, overpaid players for the 95 expansion draft, but we had to choose from everyone's garbage.
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 50,350 Likes: 448 |
I actually liked Pyne, and thought that he had a future in the NFL. There weren't many Hall of Famers in that expansion draft, (except for Kurt Warner) but there were a few players who could have been useful on a good team. The problem was that we had to rely upon them to be the backbone, instead of being a small bone in a finger or toe.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,991
Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
Joined: Sep 2006
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Like I said, everyone else's garbage. In the 95 expansion draft, teams were more than willing to get rid of their overpaid starters to get under the new cap. In 99, there were no cap casualties, so they put up their most expendable players.
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 40,399 Likes: 280 |
The other problem was that with no recognizable talent, we took a quarterback.  Our first 4 picks in 1999 were a QB, a WR, and 2 CBs In 2000 it was a DE, a WR, a RB, and another CB In 2001 it was a DT, another WR, another RB, and another CB In 2002 it was another RB, another WR, a Center, and a LB That's like a road map for how NOT to build a team. So to recap, with our first four drafts, our top 16 picks... the guys who should have been the foundation of building our new team... We had: 1 QB 4 WRs 4 CBs 3 RBs 1 DE 1 DT 1 LB 1 C Talk about building a team from the outside in...
yebat' Putin
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 50,350 Likes: 448
Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 50,350 Likes: 448 |
The problem is that the Jag and Panthers hit right as teams were dumping players for cap consideration, which helped them build quickly. By the time we rolled around in 1999, teams had figured out how to manage the cap better.
I still think that MoSmell should have had to sell the Browns to a Cleveland based owner, and then a new team called the Ravens should have been out in place in 1999 with MoSmell as the owner .... but once MoSmell screwed the city of Cleveland by refusing to leave the lakefront, the ability to have a stadium built while the old one was still being used, went out the window.
I bet that it still could havs been worked out though, with the team playing in Muni, while still building a new stadium nearby.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Joined: Dec 2006
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 15,979 Likes: 83 |
But they did make the playoffs in 2001.
I was mad that after they had an ownership group and a firm decision to keep the name and colors that nobody could buy any fan gear during those year. I mean what the blanK! It would have sold at a super premium.
Also, NO freaking replays of old games during the three years where we couldn't watch our games?
That was just another slap in the face upon all the other slaps in the face.
The Browns coulda had Vincent Brisbee and or Don Bebe. I really woulda jumped on Vincent Brisbee like a maniac.
Can Deshaun Watson play better for the Browns, than Baker Mayfield would have? ... Now the Games count.
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