Archive for September, 2011

It is early in the 2011 NFL season. We are only three games in, and the Cleveland Browns have offered us a variety of different glimpses of what this team can be. It started with a disappointing opener against the Bengals, full of mistakes, but the last two games have shown that the Browns are a team that has a certain level of resolve, that now has the ability to come back in games, even when the offense is struggling. So what are your expectations for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans? It’s a home game, yes, but that hasn’t [...]

Fans of every team claim to be the best. They claim to be a family and they claim to have the biggest following of any group of sports fans. We all know that they can’t all be correct. I’m not saying that Cleveland Browns fans are different than other fiercely loyal fans, I’m just saying that I know how we are, so we can’t waste our time worrying about the rest. As evidenced by the “remote” part of the title of this column, I am not in Cleveland anymore. Being in Chicago and following a team whose home is not [...]

The hot topic this week concerning off-the-field activity involves fans being mistreated at Cleveland Browns games. Some fans are complaining about other fans being loud, rowdy, drunk, and offensive. Others are complaining that the staff at the stadium is throwing people out with very little provocation and that their fun is being curtailed by up-tight fans. I think it’s somewhere in the middle. Football is the kind of sport where image is everything. Players are tough and intimidation is part of the game. Fans tend to reflect their team, so if the guys are rough on the field, fans cheer [...]

Cleveland Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, despite missing the last two seasons with pectoral injuries, is mounting quite the comeback in 2011. Here’s a quick look at his stats through the first three games of the season: 30 tackles (22 solo) 2.5 sacks 1 forced fumble (1 recovered) 1 pass defended Not bad for a guy who missed the last two seasons due to injuries. To add to that, Jackson has also led the Browns in tackles in each of their first three games. And to top it all off, Jackson has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month [...]

The Cleveland Browns have signed another core player to a contract extension, locking up linebacker Chris Gocong with a three-year deal reportedly worth $16.8 million. Despite missing a lot of time in training camp with a neck stinger, Gocong has started the Browns’ first three games of the season, and has played well. The 27-year-old was a third-round draft pick in 2003 by the Philadelphia Eagles (when current Browns GM Tom Heckert was vice president of player personnel), and was traded to the Browns last season for linebacker Alex Hall and 2010 fourth- and fifth-round picks. The deal also brought cornerback Sheldon Brown to Cleveland. [...]

 1. Green Bay Packers (3-0; Last week – 1): There have been some huge surprises in the NFL so far this season, and many teams with big expectations have faltered early in the season. The defending Super Bowl champions, though? Not so much.  2. New England Patriots (2-1; Last week – 2): The Patriots suffered an uncharacteristic collapse in Buffalo, but does it have more to do with the Bills riding high? The Pats might have a suspect secondary, but Tom Brady and the offense keep them ranked this high.  3. New Orleans Saints (2-1; Last week – 8): It was [...]

There is no way around it. Week Three in the NFL was all the about the comeback victory. Shame on those boring teams who win without drama, like the Baltimore Ravens, who knifed the St. Louis Rams 37-7. Three TD catches for Torrey Smith in the first quarter? Game over. No room in ESPN’s top plays for the silly Tampa Bay Buccaneers either, who won simply by getting an idiot defender to jump offside on fourth-and-one (thanks for beating the Atlanta Falcons by the way, who at 1-2 are making that first round pick the Browns own look better and better). The [...]

Running back Peyton Hillis was scratched out of Sunday’s lineup with strep throat, leaving the door open for Montario Hardesty to make his first career start. If there was a silver lining to being without Hillis for a game, it was that the Browns finally saw what they have in Hardesty. The second-year back rushed 14 times for 67 yards, adding 19 yards on three catches, including an important fourth-down catch on the game-winning drive. Regardless of how well Hardesty played in Hillis’ place, Browns fans will be pleased to know that Hillis returned to the team on Monday, participating in team [...]

The Cleveland Browns find their record at 2-1 after three weeks of play, a position that some predicted but few believed attainable. Cleveland football has not sniffed this level of early-season success since 2002, when Butch Davis led the team to a wild-card playoff spot with a record of 9-7. While it is far too early to presume that this year’s team will approach 2002’s level of success, there are some points of interest that give Browns fans those familiar optimistic butterflies.

You may have noticed that the Cleveland Browns won a wild game on Sunday vs. the Miami Dolphins. I did notice. And parts of my body remember more clearly than others. I went to a great little Cleveland bar called Vaughan’s Pub in Chicago. A few friends were meeting there and we banked on having a nice day of cheap pizza and beverages. One thing led to another and the Browns had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the final moments. The four of us had left our chairs and lined up, something like high school [...]