Ace Davis' Weblog

June 2008 - Posts

• Legends on the line

  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 sharper focus. Now that the (unnamed) panel has come up with this year's nominees, let's organize the names by era to see who's in, who's up, and who's still left out. 1940's-50s Legends (year inducted) Otto Graham (automatic HOF inclusion) Bill Willis (HOF) Lou Groza (HOF) Marion Motley (HOF) Frank Gatski (HOF) Len Ford (HOF) Dante Lavelli (HOF) Mike McCormack (HOF) Ray Renfro (2001) Mac Speedie (2002) Bob Gain (2003) Tommy James (2004) Dub Jones (2004) Jim Ray Smith (2005) Walt Michaels (2006) Horace Gillom (2007) 2008 Nominees Tony Adamle, LB (1947-51, '54) Don Colo, DT (1953-58) Abe Gibron, G (1950-56) Kenny Konz, S (1953-59) Warren Lahr, CB (1948-59) Cliff Lewis, QB/S (1946-51) Don Paul, CB (1954-58) Biggest snubs Edgar "Special Delivery" Jones Lin Houston Chuck Noll Lou Rymkus Lou Saban John Sandusky Tommy Thompson George Young Darrel "Pete" Brewster My choice: Lahr (Gibron and Adamle, runners-up) 1960s Legends Jim Brown (HOF) Bobby Mitchell (HOF) Paul Warfield (HOF) Leroy Kelly (HOF) Gene Hickerson (2001, HOF) Dick Schafrath (2003) Gary Collins (2004) Frank Ryan (2005) Jim Houston (2006) Bill Glass (2007) 2008 Nominees Erich Barnes, CB (1965-71) Monte Clark, T (1963-69) Vince Costello, MLB (1957-66) Galen Fiss, LB (1956-66) Ernie Green, RB (1962-68) Jim Kanicki, DT (1963-69) Bernie Parrish, CB (1959-66) Paul Wiggin, DE (1957-67) John Wooten, G (1959-67) Biggest snubs Jim Shofner Milt Plum John Morrow Ross Fichtner Johnny Brewer My choice: Costello (Green and Wiggin, runners-up) 1970s Legends Brian Sipe (2002) Greg Pruitt (2001) Mike Pruitt (2004) Jerry Sherk (2005) Doug Dieken (2006) Don Cockroft (2007) 2008 Nominees Thom Darden, S (1972-74, 1976-81) Tom DeLeone, C (1974-84) Jack Gregory, DE (1967-71, '79) Robert E. Jackson, G (1975-85) Walter Johnson, DT (1965-76) Milt Morin, TE (1966-75) Bill Nelsen, QB (1968-72) Reggie Rucker, WR (1975-81) Clarence Scott, DB (1971-83) Biggest snubs Dick Ambrose Ron Bolton Charlie Hall "Turkey" Joe Jones Cleo Miller My choice: Darden (Johnson and Morin, runners-up) 1980s-90s Legends Ozzie Newsome (HOF) Joe DeLamielleure (HOF) Bernie Kosar (2001) Michael Dean Perry (2001) Clay Matthews (2002) Hanford Dixon (2003) Frank Minnifield (2005) Earnest Byner (2006) Kevin Mack (2007) 2008 Nominees Matt Bahr, K (1981-89) Brian Brennan, WR (1984-91) Dan Fike, OL (1985-92) Carl Hairston, DE (1984-89) Eddie Johnson, LB (1981-90) Tony Jones, T (1988-95) Reggie Langhorne, WR (1985-91) Dave Logan, WR (1976-83) Eric Metcalf, RB/PR (1989-94) Cody Risien, T (1979-83, 1985-89) Webster Slaughter, WR (1986-91) Biggest snubs Bob Golic Leroy Hoard Mike Johnson Eric Turner Mike Baab Felix Wright Michael Jackson My choice: Logan (Hairston and Slaughter, runners-up). So, who are you voting for? Posted Jun 12 2008, 08:30 PM by Ace Davis' Cleveland Browns weblog Filed under: Fan Focus, honors, history

• A late Sooner

  Lots of Browns news floating around from the first day of minicamp, but I didn't want one sad note to get overlooked. Former Browns linebacker Tom Catlin has died at age 76 after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. I dare to say that most fans today don't remember him. His playing career ended before I came along as well. Here's what I can tell you about his time as a Brown: He was drafted by the Colts in 1953 but soon came to Cleveland as part of one of the largest trades in NFL history. He played two seasons at linebacker before honoring his military commitment. After two years as an Air Force pilot, he returned for parts of two more seasons in Cleveland, finishing his playing career in Philadelphia in 1958. The strong, smart and silent type, Catlin wore 50 during his first stint as a Brown and his old college jersey number, 54, after his service discharge. 1954 was his best season. He was credited with three fumble recoveries and one interception and was named 2nd team all-NFL by UPI. More importantly, the Browns reclaimed their place as NFL champions after three straight years as runners-up. The Cleveland defense was the league's best, allowing the fewest points and yards. The best player in the big Browns-Colts trade was Mike McCormack, who started on defense but soon became an All-Pro offensive tackle and eventually a Hall of Famer. He was among those interviewed in Andy Piascik's authoritative book The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns, Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty. Newcomer Catlin epitomized Cleveland's deadly combination of aggressiveness and smarts as well as anyone. "Catlin, I think, was the most intelligent linebacker I have ever seen, McCormack said. "He just studied and analyzed everything ... he just knew where to be -- knew his defense, knew his coverage." And, McCormack added, Catlin "was tough." Catlin would be a significant contributor to Cleveland's ascent back to the top of the football world. However, his stint with the team was interrupted by military service that cost him two full seasons and most of a third. Like so many of the Browns of that era, he had a long career as an assistant coach after his playing days. In fact, Catlin's longest coaching stint was with Seattle, shortly after the arrival of McCormack in the early '80s. He stayed 13 seasons in such roles as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Given the length of his military commitment -- and its timing right in the heart of his career -- Catlin lost the opportunity to make a more memorable mark in Browns history. If one were to rank the team's greatest linebackers ever, he would probably be in the mid-20s. But in all the years of Browns football, there is only one player from the University of Oklahoma who clearly made more of an impact during his time as a Cleveland Brown than did Catlin. That's no dig, because few really can compare to Greg Pruitt. My football wish for the day is for Brodney Pool and Travis Wilson to find inspiration from Catlin's career. May these fellow former Sooners blossom as truly diligent students of the game. Posted Jun 10 2008, 06:44 PM by Ace Davis' Cleveland Browns weblog Filed under: obit

• Many happy returns

  Did I mention yet that Joshua Cribbs is my favorite Browns player? Do I even have to explain why? Well, if the excitement and charisma he brings to the game aren't enough for you, here's some strong statistical proof of JC's value: considering punt and kickoff returns, he added 622 yards above the league average last season. That's the best season for any return specialist since 1970, and perhaps all time. That's according to the Pro-Football-Reference blog, which ranked each team's return prowess for each season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. The 2007 Browns came out second overall, trailing only the 2003 Chiefs, featuring Dante Hall. Pretty good, when you consider that's out of 1,093 team-seasons. Not likely he's surfing the internet tonight, but it's worth wishing Josh a happy 25th birthday anyway. Posted Jun 09 2008, 06:51 PM by Ace Davis' Cleveland Browns weblog Filed under: The Team Today, stats, video