Top 5 Cleveland Browns games from Bill Belichick era to watch while social distancing
Here are five videos with Cleveland Browns games from the 1990’s Belichick era to prevent you from going stir crazy while social distancing.
Bill Belichick has been associated with the New England Patriots and Tom Brady so long that it is easy to forget his first head coaching gig was with the Cleveland Browns. After Marty Schottenheimer was fired, the Browns knew they had an aging team with a closing window for the Super Bowl.
So, they sacrificed the future by doing things like trading a 1990 first-round draft pick to move up in the second round in 1989. 1989 was a good year — they made the playoffs for the fifth straight year — but after that, they had an old team with no first-round draft pick in 1990, which is a bad combination. So, what would you expect? 3-13 sounds about right. Nevertheless, Bud Carson took the hit and was dismissed in mid-season.
Next up in 1992 was young Bill Belichick, with two shiny Super Bowl rings earned as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. Belichick had the reputation of being a defensive genius (though having Lawrence Taylor on your team tends to boost your IQ by a few points). He was also brash, abrasive and downright abusive. But the players listened to him because he had the rings.
1991 was going to be a rebuilding year, there is no way around it. Actually, considering how the team had been decimated in the previous two years, 6-10 was a very impressive improvement.
Belichick’s Browns made a slow improvement, going 7-9 in 1992. However, in 1993 he came to the conclusion that he had a quarterback issue. He made a name for himself in a negative way for sacking Bernie Kosar. Kosar was a very good quarterback who was absolutely loved by the fans. Belichick was right that he had another very talented quarterback in Vinny Testaverde on the roster.
However, the way he handled the transition alienated many fans. Testaverde was never accepted by the fans the way Kosar was.
In those days, Belichick’s teams were very tough on defense and special teams, and it seemed like he won many low-scoring games on field goals. Interestingly, he was able to recycle some of his stalwart veterans from his Giant days, with linebackers Pepper Johnson and Carl Banks donning the Brown and Orange.
In 1994 they had the NFL’s number one ranked defense and won their last playoff game. The defense was starting to look awesome with four Browns making the Pro Bowl: linemen Rob Burnett and Michael Dean Perry; Pepper Johnson and safety Eric Turner. Anthony Pleasant and Bill Johnson were the other starters on the DL. Antonio Langham, Don Griffin, and Stevon Moore rounded out the secondary.
Michael Dean Perry was the fastest man getting off the ball that this fan has ever seen (If anyone else can suggest someone faster, please leave a comment below). He launched like an alligator ambushing a flamingo, so fast you could hardly see him. In fact, on a number so still pictures taken when the ball is just snapped, you can see Perry in motion while the offensive linemen are still motionless. Perry was a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro. He was nominated for the Hall of Fame and definitely deserves it.
On offense, Testaverde shared the backfield by Leroy Hoard and Metcalf, who both made the Pro Bowl. Tommy Vardell made it in 1993, but injuries derailed his promising career. Derrick Alexander and “Thriller” Michael Jackson were the main wide receivers. Earnest Byner, who left Cleveland due to a memorable fumble, came back to Cleveland, bringing a Super Bowl ring with him at age 32.
The following year, their genius owner made the decision to move the team to Baltimore. It was the most disgusting act in a disgusting career. Art Modell announced the move on November 6, 1995 with the team record at 4-5. Thereafter the dispirited team went 1-6 the rest of the way, and Belichick was history.
Technically he was not fired, having reached the end of a four-year contract. In any case, he did not make the trip to Baltimore, replaced by former Colts coach Ted Marchibroda. Modell’s time in Cleveland is marked by running coach Paul Brown out of town, as well the team’s best player ever, Jim Brown. This is the guy who made countless horrific tirades, and also fired Marty Schottenheimer and Bill Belichick.
There aren’t a lot of highlights from the 1991 season, mostly lowlights, but a few are described in the 1991 highlight video below. Links to the games are on subsequent pages starting with the Packers and Browns in 1992.