Over the past several years, the OBR’s has been followed by well over 3,000 of the most hard-core Browns fans on the planet.
If you’re a Twitter user and you haven’t followed us, you need to sign up. Lane Adkins has been unleashed on the OBR Twitter feed, and John Taylor will be following shortly. If you enjoyed the story links and generally webdorkiness of the Barry-authored OBR Twitter feed, you’re going to really enjoy it moving forward.
To prove the point, Lane spent a chunk of the last hour busting some news on Twitter. If you want fast updates from the OBR, it’s not something you can miss.
OBR ON TWITTER
Barry McBride » Browns » Comments Off
BROWNS ACQUIRE SENECA WALLACE FROM SEATTLE
The Cleveland Browns today completed a trade in which they obtained quarterback Seneca Wallace from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an undisclosed 2011 draft choice.
“We are fortunate that we were able to acquire someone with Seneca’s experience at such a key position,” said Browns General Manager Tom Heckert. “In watching him in person and on tape, the things which stand out are his strong arm and outstanding athleticism, and that will allow us do a lot of things with him while he is on the field. He played well in limited opportunities while he was with Seattle and we expect him to come in here and compete.”
“I want to thank the Seattle Seahawks organization for a tremendous seven seasons,” Wallace said. “They gave me my start in the NFL and I will always be grateful for that. I’m looking forward to this new opportunity with the Cleveland Browns and I am excited to be back with Coach (Mike) Holmgren. With him here, as well as many of the other people they have in place, I believe this franchise is headed in the right direction.
“I had a chance to meet with Coach (Eric) Mangini and Coach (Brian) Daboll today for a little bit and they both seem like really great guys. I am eager to get to work with the Browns and look forward to meeting my new teammates.”
Wallace is a veteran of seven NFL seasons who entered the league as a fourth-round draft choice of the Seahawks in 2003, when current Browns President Mike Holmgren was that team’s Executive Vice President & Head Coach. During that time, Wallace played in 48 games with 14 starts and completed 333 of 556 passes (59.9%) for 3,547 yards with 25 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a passer rating of 83.1. He also rushed for 214 yards and a touchdown on 54 carries and caught four passes for 76 yards. He had his most productive season in 2008 when he started eight of 10 games with Seattle and connected on 141 of 242 passes for 1,532 yards with 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions. During the 2008 season, he established a Seahawks club record by not throwing an interception in 184 straight pass attempts.
The 5-11, 205-pound Wallace played two seasons at Iowa State (2001-02). In his career with the Cyclones he completed 411 of 712 passes for 5,289 yards with 26 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He also ran for 912 yards and 15 touchdowns on 237 carries. His 6,201 yards of total offense set a school record.
Barry McBride » Browns » Comments Off
Today (Mar. 10) on SIRIUS XM’s Mad Dog Radio channel, host Gary Williams spoke with new Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita. Fujita commented on his departure from New Orleans and the meetings he had with the Browns that led to him signing with the team.
(Please credit: “SIRIUS XM’s Mad Dog Radio”)
Host/Gary Williams: “Every guy who is on a Super Bowl team and then has the chance to ‘cash in,’ you go, why do you leave a great situation for a team that, right now, you wonder how much hope. How do you as a player assess the specialness of what you are leaving to why you choose what you chose to do, which is leave New Orleans?”
Scott Fujita: “Well, the business of the NFL can always be strange and free agency is unpredictable. So a lot of people want to ask ‘why right now? Why are you doing this?’ To be honest, the decision was pretty much made for me and that’s the bottom line. I think anytime you let a couple of your veteran free agents test the market that means the team is willing to let you go and walk away and that’s kind of how I feel in my situation. I’m sure [Darren] Sharper might be feeling the same way right now. When you have kind of radio silence on their end and they’re letting you go out and take visits and get offers from other teams, it’s just kind of the writing is on the wall at that point. But I feel great about the situation in Cleveland. I wouldn’t have taken the visit if I didn’t think it might be good fit. And then when I got up there, believe me, I evaluated the situation very critically. I asked all the tough questions, I needed answers and I felt great about the program and I’m excited about it because it’s a good match.
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Barry McBride » Browns » Comments Off
WR/KR Joshua Cribbs and Team President Mike Holmgren press conference 3-5-10
(Holmgren opening statement)- “Thanks for coming over. Obviously you know who this young man is sitting right here. I am very happy to announce that Josh Cribbs is going to be part of the Cleveland Browns for a long time. We already kind of hoped and knew that, but I just want to thank his representatives and Matt Thomas and Tom Heckert for the Browns as they kind of combined to get this thing done. We all know what type of a player Josh is. I haven’t had a chance to spend a lot of time with him. In talking with people that I trust and know, he is a quality young man. He really cares about this team and the fans in this city that have been very good to him and he has been good to the fans. Now, he’s got a thing that he has to get to this evening so we are going to have to cut this a little shorter then we would like. I just want to say that we are very happy as an organization that it was worked out. It was something that I really wanted to do when I came.”
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Barry McBride » Browns » 1 Comment
Our friend Nonee woke up for a football game, and got Hurricane Ike and Steeler fans.
I love that song.
Check out more vids here.
Barry McBride » Browns » Comments Off
Each year I update a little spreadsheet of Browns stats since their 1999 return. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it’s so I can, in excruciatingly exacting detail, understand just how it is that I am still waiting for a return to championship football, and just how soon that glorious, as-yet-mythical campaign might manifest itself on the grid.
While we’re here, we might as well pass along some of least uninteresting notes unearthed in this annual update on the “New Browns” (a phrase still offered, though with increasing currents of sarcasm):
Brady Quinn’s career passer rating actually rose slightly in 2009. The glaring statistical negative: he was sacked on 6.9% of his dropbacks last season, compared to 1% in his limited action in ‘07-’08.
Derek Anderson ranks 7th and and Quinn 8th in Browns career passer rating among the 12 QBs with 50+ attempts since 1999. Top gun? Kelly Holcomb.
Brodney Pool’s four picks ties him with Daylon McCutcheon and Leigh Bodden at 12 for fourth on the New Browns interceptions list, led by Earl Little with 18.
Eric Wright doubled his career interception total, tying both Pool for the season leadership and Brandon McDonald, his fellow 2007 draftee, on the career list with eight.
By scoring just once in 2009, Jamal Lewis would have broken a four-way tie for third most total touchdowns (15). Instead, he’ll forever share that stat line with Quincy Morgan, Dennis Northcutt, and Andre’ Davis.
Josh Cribbs, with 14 TDs, is now the Browns’ active career leader.
Braylon Edwards was traded 139 yards shy of Kevin Johnson’s New Browns career record of 3,836 receiving yards.
That list, by the way, includes Steve Heiden in 6th place. Assuming the veteran tight end doesn’t return, Mohamed Massaquoi, fresh off his 624-yard rookie year (13th), would be the Browns’ active career leader in receiving yardage.
Before getting reinjured, Heiden did score once in 2009, forever taking the lead from Kellen Winslow in touchdowns by tight ends (12).
In 11 years, 11 rookie WRs have gained at least 100 receiving yards. Brian Robiskie barely made that list.
Lewis leads all New Browns in rushing yards with 2,806. Jerome Harrison’s late-season surge vaulted him to 5th, just 14 yards behind 4th-place Jamel White. Josh Cribbs’ ranking went from 16th to 8th after he more than doubled his career rushing total in 2009.
Last season was only the second time in 11 years (first since 2003) in which four Browns rushed for at least 200 yards.
The Browns’ fifth-leading rusher last year, Brady Quinn, would have ranked second on the 2005 team.
2,087 rushing yards in 2009 was the most of any New Browns team. Still, they surrendered 14 yards more per game to their opponents on the ground.
Kamerion Wimbley took the lead on the sacks list, topping Kenard Lang and Jamir Miller. The top five names on that list were all first-round draft picks.
Even if he never again can answer the bell, Brodney Pool should be glad to know that he is the only defensive back in all of Browns (official) history to sack a quarterback in four different seasons.
The 2009 team’s ten interceptions were its lowest total since the expansion squad of 1999 managed only eight.
Sure, the Browns’ 2009 passing attack wasn’t much. But was the first time in these 11 years that as many as nine players gained 100 or more yards receiving.
On the other hand, 220 receiving yards by Harrison was enough to rank second on the 2009 team. That’s way beneath the previous low for the team’s second leading receiver (428, Kellen Winslow, 2008).
Tags: history, stats, the team today
Ace Davis » Browns » Comments Off
Our friend Jon from Patriots Insider points us to an article in today’s Hartford Courant that has one-time Cleveland-based runaway train engineer Chris Palmer setting up shop as new head coach of the Hartford franchise of the UFL.
The Hartford SoonToBeNameds will start play in September and are sort of a linchpin for the developmental league, after having been moved out of New York.
Another fan of the Hartford area, Eric Mangini, was mentioned by Palmer in his press conference yesterday, and told the new UFL head coach that he would do whatever he could to help out Palmer and the Hartford franchise.
Palmer left his job as quarterback coach of the New York Giants to take the larger UFL role. Palmer was in a difficult, if not impossible, situation in Cleveland during 1999-2000, and it’s terrific to see him get another shot at leading a new franchise.
Tags: chrispalmer
Barry McBride » Browns » Comments Off
We got a press release from the NFL Network earlier today announcing their schedule for televising Arena Football games, including the Cleveland Gladiators. I had a great time whenever I watched or attended a Gladiator game, and am happy they’re back. Looks like the NFL Network will broadcast a game every Friday night. Here’s the press release:
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Barry McBride » Browns » 1 Comment
Cleveland Browns defensive back Mike Adams and tight end Robert Royal are two of 77 players who will participate in NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program this year. Workshops run February 15–19 and 16–19 at both the Harvard and Wharton Business Schools. Both players will be attending the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from February 16-19. The program is part of an ongoing NFL-NFLPA initiative to assist players in preparing for their post-playing careers. 502 players have participated in the program since its inception in 2005.
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Barry McBride » Browns » Comments Off
Sudden death overtime was a great idea for its time. The invention of former commissioner Bert Bell (who, incidentally, suffered his own sudden death at the first game he attended following the epic 1958 NFL championship) added excitement to the sport by reducing the all-too-common kiss-your-sister anticlimax of two teams slugging it out for 60 minutes and then heading home having tasted neither victory nor defeat.
It worked well back in the age when field goals were much dicier propositions than they are today. But now, teams play overtime just to get into field goal position, scarcely risking a deeper advance toward a touchdown when any points will do.
That diminishes the drama and the platform for competition. It also deflates fans who held fast for four quarters of even battle, then often see their team lose the coin toss, surrender a few first downs, and start shaking hands after the ball flies over the crossbar.
My quick research shows that the Browns have taken 31 games into overtime, going 16-14-1. Of those contests, just eight ended with a touchdown.
Those rare game-ending TDs have included a fake field goal, three interceptions returns, and a flea-flicker.
While sudden-death has increasingly become a jockeying for field goal position, the system does have the advantage of being straightforward. So how best to improve the spirit of full, fair competition without unduly doctoring or lengthening the game?
Here’s my proposal:
– The winning team would be the first one to score five points in overtime.
– For regular season games, if neither team scores five in the 15-minute overtime, whichever team is ahead wins. If neither team is ahead, the game would end in a tie.
– Rather than tossing a coin, the visiting team would get first choice of a) kicking off or receiving, or b) picking which goal to defend.
– In the regular season, the entire overtime would have the same clock stoppage rules that apply during the final two minutes of the first half and five minutes of the second half (i.e. going out of bounds keeps it stopped until the next snap).
– In the regular season, rather than getting two timeouts, teams would carry over whatever timeouts remained from the second half. The two-minute warning would remain.
Such a system would greatly increase the incentive for teams to go for the gusto rather than settle for field goals (especially before fourth down). Eliminating the coin toss and the automatic two timeouts would help mitigate the lengthening of the game caused by requiring more points and stopping the clock on out-of-bounds.
These changes, unlike the NCAA’s artificial system, would still involve all phases of the game — offense, defense, special teams, and coaching (including clock management). They would improve the odds that each team would have an offensive possession, while keeping fan interest alive throughout, as any single play could still be the game’s last.
And that last play, more often than not, would be a touchdown.
Ace Davis » Browns » 1 Comment
