Make No Mistake, The Browns Are One Tough Football Team

The Cleveland Browns showed unbelievable toughness and patience in a huge road win at Baltimore Sunday, defeating the Ravens 33-31 to move to 6-3 on the season.

The toughness was evident in running for 178 yards against the league’s second-best defense. Led by Jerome Ford’s 107 yards on 17 carries, the running backs and offensive line set a tone in the trenches, and it was a huge factor in the game.

The patience is from the coaching staff. Cleveland trailed 14-0, 17-3, 24-9, and 31-17 in this game, and Kevin Stefanski stuck with the game plan, continuing to mix the run and the pass, and it paid off with a win.

We think Stefanski in the past would have gone pass happy being down two touchdowns, even in the first half, but perhaps with his experience, he has learned it is a long game. Maybe that sort of thing happens when you keep a head coach for more than two years.

For many years, we have been envious of Pittsburgh and Baltimore and the winning culture developed by both teams over time. Well, it looks like the Browns are starting to develop a culture, a style of play.

Many fans and media rhapsodized about Deshaun Watson directing a wide-open offense, with five receivers spread out, and the team throwing the ball all over the field. But that’s not what this team is about.

The 2023 Browns are a physical power running team even without Nick Chubb. Cleveland has run for 150 or more yards in six of the nine games this season, while only one opponent (Indianapolis) has been over that mark.

It’s an old football adage that you can’t win in the NFL unless you can run the ball and stop the run. Right now, the Browns are doing both pretty well.

In the passing game, Cleveland is getting the ball to their playmakers. Amari Cooper had another fine game with six catches for 98 yards, and TE David Njoku shook off an early drop to grab six passes for 58 yards, including a play on the final drive where he carried a Baltimore defender for at least 10 yards.

Defensively, it was another solid performance by the #1 unit in the league statistically. The scoreboard shows Cleveland allowed 31 points, but seven came off the pick six on the game’s second play, and another touchdown came after James Proche fumbled a punt on the Browns’ 11 yard line.

And in that latter situation, the Ravens were stopped twice only to see a couple of “ticky tack” calls give them more opportunities. It was like an 11 play drive to get those 11 yards.

Both teams had a defensive score, as Greg Newsome took his first NFL interception to the house, and Jim Schwartz’ unit held the Ravens to 306 yards and sacked the elusive Lamar Jackson three times.

And of course, they had a key stop in the fourth quarter to get the ball back for the game winning drive.

It’s the second time this season the Browns have defeated “the best team in the league”, having defeated the 49ers earlier, and the Ravens were getting that label before this week.

Next Sunday is another opportunity to avenge a defeat with Pittsburgh coming to town. A look at the conference standings shows only Kansas City with less losses than the Browns.

This is tough football team, northeast Ohio, just like you always wanted. And there is no reason to think the Browns won’t be in the thick of the playoff chase as the calendar turns to December.

Workmanlike Win, Big Week Ahead For Browns

Workmanlike. Professional. Those are the words we are using to describe the Browns domination of the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Cleveland won 27-0 and moved to 5-3 on the season.

The Cardinals came into the game with a 1-7 record and were starting a rookie, Clayton Tune at quarterback. So, the Browns did what should have been expected by every fan going into the contest. They totally controlled the game.

Still, Arizona is in the NFL but the Cleveland defense held them to 58 yards of total offense and sacked Tune seven times. We didn’t get excited about the performance, but it was still satisfying, if that makes sense.

We wanted Deshaun Watson to play in this game in order to get the rust off before a couple of big divisional games against Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and he did just that, completing 19 of 30 throws for 219 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

He also ran three times for 22 yards, but there were a couple of plays early when he could have run and instead dumped short passes to Jerome Ford. We thought that was good thinking on his part and something the coaches reminded him of before the game.

However, even with Watson, Kevin Stefanski ran the ball a lot, 40 times to be exact, although that includes the three carries by Watson. Certainly, having Watson available is much better than playing P.J. Walker, but we couldn’t help thinking the Browns are a power run team, even though Nick Chubb isn’t playing.

Cleveland has run for 150 yards or more in five of their eight games and has only been below 100 yards twice, the first two games after Chubb was injured.

Stefanski is still using a lot of not only two or three tight end sets, but he is using offensive lineman Nick Harris at fullback to add another blocker to help the running game. Right now, that’s the Browns’ offensive identity.

Also, this was the first game all year where the brown and orange did not turn the ball over. It was only the second time they won the turnover battle (the Colts’ game was the other) and they are 2-0 in those contests.

That trend will need to continue in the next two games against the Ravens and Steelers. Baltimore allows just 262.5 yards per game defensively, second to Cleveland’s 234.8. It shapes up as a rugged defensive battle.

Remember the Browns started Dorian Thompson-Robinson the first time these two teams met, and Cleveland turned it over three times, gaining just 166 yards for the game. And the 131 yards rushing Baltimore gained was exceeded only by Indianapolis’ 168 in the 39-38 win on the road.

Jim Schwartz knows Baltimore will want to establish the run, as the Ravens are the #1 running team in the NFL and making the job more complicated is having to keep Lamar Jackson in the pocket.

And it would also be nice if TE Mark Andrews was kept in check, he has killed the Cleveland defense so many times in his career, it borders on ridiculousness.

There are now only three teams in the AFC and five overall with less losses than the Browns are we are now into November. The next two weeks should serve as a measuring stick as to where this team, and both its offense and defense are as the holiday season commences.

We are still confident this is a playoff team. Here’s hoping next Sunday doesn’t shake that feeling.

Key Turnovers Cost Browns (Again!)

We agree with the premise that play calling is overrated in the NFL. What this means is the execution is more important than the play call.

We are in the minority on this though, and that’s why we are sure that Browns’ coach Kevin Stefanski will be hammered throughout the week about the third down play with two minutes to go and the Browns holding a 20-17 lead in Seattle.

We know no one will want to do this, but why doesn’t the coach get credit for an offense that gained 385 yards, the second highest total all year (week 2 vs. Pittsburgh) without their starting QB and without Nick Chubb.

The Browns also controlled the clock, chewing up almost 37 minutes in time of possession.

The pass that would up being intercepted (off the helmet of a Seattle player) was a safe throw, but not executed properly. We asked someone who played QB in college and NFL Europe if it was a bad play call and was told no, the passer has to know where pressure is coming from and go somewhere else with the ball.

And there were two other receivers open.

The people saying the Browns should have run the ball in that situation are using the same logic the head coach used. Stefanski called a safe play and if Walker completes it, the Browns run out the clock and win the game.

The “should’ve called a run play” folks are assuming if the Browns do, they make the first down. There is no guarantee of that either.

And we are sure Seattle was playing run first.

While that pass was kind of flukey, having it deflect off a helmet, having P.J. Walker playing quarterback continues to be a problem because of turnovers. He was responsible for three more yesterday, giving him seven in the three games he’s appeared in this season.

FYI, that’s way too many.

Really, it’s amazing Cleveland is 4-3 on the season considering they have lost the turnover battles in six games in 2023! They are -9 on the season, and that simply isn’t a recipe for winning games in the NFL.

If Andrew Berry doesn’t trade for a veteran QB by today’s deadline, why not take another look at rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson against Arizona this Sunday? We know the rook struggled in his first start vs. Baltimore, but he didn’t get all the practice reps that week because the organization thought Deshaun Watson was going to be able to go.

Maybe, DTR can hold on to the ball better, and yes we know what he did against the Ravens.

And if you want to second guess Stefanski for something in Sunday’s game, we are curious as to why Kareem Hunt wasn’t in the game in the fourth quarter.

Hunt was Cleveland’s leading rusher on the day, and as usual, ran hard, getting 55 tough yards on 14 carries. This isn’t to denigrate Jerome Ford, who gained four yards per carry playing most of the final quarter, but Hunt is a dependable back for sure.

All in all, a victory next Sunday at home puts Cleveland at 5-3, and only the division leaders in the AFC have less losses and they all have two. Without Watson and Chubb, that’s not bad.

And we will say the same thing as we said after the week two loss to Pittsburgh. Eliminate the mistakes and things will be okay.

No Chubb, No Watson, No Offense, No Surprise?

When the Cleveland Browns lost Nick Chubb a couple of weeks ago, we said Deshaun Watson had to take more of the offensive burden for the team.

With Watson out last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, the offense was without both of their foundations, and the result was a 28-3 loss at home to their division rivals, dropping them to 2-2 on the season.

When GM Andrew Berry traded Josh Dobbs to Arizona before the regular season started, it left the Browns without an experienced back up. It was a gamble, and one that many people would have made, but it came back to bite them against the Ravens.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a rookie fifth-round draft pick, and he played like a…rookie fifth round draft pick, hitting 19 of 36 passes for just 121 yards.

The rook hit a couple of throws early, and then started missing targets resulting in an interception which set the Ravens up for their first touchdown. And with Cleveland in Baltimore territory, tried an ill-advised lateral that went out of bounds and was ruled an illegal forward pass.

We would have considered going to P.J. Walker in the second half had the score remained 14-3 after the second quarter. Someone who has played in the NFL before.

The Kevin Stefanski play calling critics are out again and strangely they only come out when the Browns lose. Weird how that works out, isn’t it?

Here’s what we think happened. The Ravens, knowing Cleveland was starting a QB who hadn’t completed a pass in an NFL game, loaded the box to shut down the run. Stefanski saw this and tried to give Thompson-Robinson some easy throw to keep him out of third and long situations.

The coach tried to do the same thing when Baker Mayfield was at the helm. He doesn’t want to be in third and long. By the way, do you know any coaches who like to be in that situation?

Besides the first offensive play, a 25-yard run by Jerome Ford canceled because of a dubious holding call on Amari Cooper, the Browns couldn’t run the ball before Pierre Strong Jr. ripped off a decent run in garbage time.

Ford had 9 carries for 26 yards, gaining 10 on one carry. Kareem Hunt? Five carries for 12 yards.

And we are pretty sure the coach didn’t tell Elijah Moore to run 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a jet sweep.

Perhaps the offensive line isn’t as good as advertised. The Browns have played two games without Chubb and have had trouble running in both games. And you know what happens if you can’t run the ball and stop the run.

You don’t win.

The defense sprung a leak for one quarter in the loss, allowing Baltimore to gain 206 of their 296 yards in the second quarter, resulting in two touchdowns. The good news? They adjusted in the second half, allowing just 42 yards after halftime.

They are entitled to have a bad quarter every once in a while.

If Watson is healthy enough to play the rest of the season, this is just a blip on the radar.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t things the coaching staff and front office need to figure out. Should they bring in another quarterback? The offensive line has to get better.

The defense is just fine though.

Another tough test comes after the bye week when San Francisco comes to town. If Watson is back, it will serve as a measuring stick to see how good this Browns team is.

We remain optimistic.

Impressive Statement After A Tough Loss For Browns

After Nick Chubb’s injury against the Steelers, we said the offense needed Deshaun Watson to step up.

He did just that in Sunday’s 27-3 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Watson completed 27 of 33 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns in his best performance wearing brown and orange.

Cleveland’s usual vaunted running attack, which averaged over 200 yards per game after two weeks, was held in check by the Titans, gaining just 78 yards. So, the offense needed Watson to throw the football effectively, and he did just that.

Amari Cooper had a big game too, catching seven balls for over 100 yards and a TD, and Donovan Peoples-Jones emerged again after not being a factor against Pittsburgh, catching the game’s first pass and grabbing three throws for 49 yards.

We would still like to see the Browns use TE David Njoku more, because we believe he might be the most explosive player on offense now that Chubb is out. He did have four receptions, but for just 20 yards.

As good of a game as Watson had, this game was still about the defense, which held Tennessee to under 100 yards on the game, 2 of 12 on third down conversions, and Derrick Henry had just 20 yards on 11 carries.

Jim Schwartz’ unit also sacked Ryan Tannehill five times, with Myles Garrett garnering 3.5, to give him undisputed first place on the franchise’s all-time list with 79, passing Bill Glass’ total of 77.5. Glass did it in 94 games, Garrett beat him with seven games to spare.

The only thing that pauses us from saying this defense is elite is the quality of the opponents they’ve played already.

Yes, Cincinnati has a prolific offense, but the conditions in the season opener weren’t conducive to moving the ball at will. And Pittsburgh and Tennessee don’t have great attacks either, or don’t have great quarterbacks.

Still, the defense is playing at a very high level and are constantly attacking, quite a change from past years when they sat in zone coverage most of the time and the pass rush was solely predicated on Garrett getting it done.

Right now, opponents are averaging just 163.67 yards per game. By contrast, the Browns are RUNNING for 160.67 yards per contest.

The defense seems to have calmed the gambling tendencies of coach Kevin Stefanski, who now takes field goals more often. When you aren’t allowing many points, getting three when you have the opportunity is the correct and safe play.

We also don’t want to jinx new kicker Dustin Hopkins, but the veteran has knocked seven of his eight field goal attempts through the uprights, and they look beautiful as they head near the goalposts, not like the knuckleballs the former kicker seemed to boot.

So, through three weeks of the season, the Browns have two wins of more than 20 points. The last time this happened was in 2014 (team went 7-9 under Mike Pettine) when they beat Pittsburgh 31-10 and Cincinnati 24-3.

And they’ve won both of those games despite losing the turnover battle in each.

That’s not as long as we thought, but it’s still 9 years.

Another divisional game awaits next week when the Ravens come to town and right now, the AFC North has three teams tied at 2-1. Lamar Jackson will present another challenge for Schwartz and this defense.

One thing the defense hasn’t done a lot of yet is turn the ball over, with just two takeaways on the season. If that starts to happen, let’s just say, look out.

Biggest Browns Issue? Stop Turning Over the Football

Cleveland Browns’ fans still have to be shaken up after the season ending injury to Nick Chubb in Monday night’s loss to Pittsburgh. We know Chubb had a severe knee injury in his college days, but he seemed indestructible since coming to the Browns.

The organization won’t give up on the season though, so there are still 15 games remaining and the focal point of the offense now has to be QB Deshaun Watson.

We said before the year started that the fate of the season depended on how well Watson played, and if he didn’t play well, the Browns were essentially screwed.

It’s only two games, but Watson is still struggling, completing just 55.1% of his passes, just 5.6 yards per attempt and a quarterback rating of 69.1, which is 30th in the league, ahead of just rookie Bryce Young and Zach Wilson.

He’s behind Kenny Pickett, who looked terrible against the Browns on Monday.

He has to be better than that if the Browns want to make the playoffs.

Of course, after a Browns’ loss, the critics of Kevin Stefanski have returned complaining about play calling. What if we told you Cleveland ranked sixth in the NFL in yards gained after two weeks?

That’s where they are. They are moving the football. The problem is turnovers, as the Browns’ six have them just one behind the Vikings for the most in the league. Stop turning it over, and we think the offense will be just fine.

Besides turnovers, we have to talk about the offensive line. The interior of the line is fine with guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller and center Ethan Pocic. Rookie Dawand Jones has stepped in for Jack Conklin and has more than held his own.

But like a lot of units, it is only as good as its weakest member and right now Jedrick Wills is not playing well. Pittsburgh put a lot of pressure on Watson. Now, we understand Watson sacks himself at times, and he is fifth in being sacked with nine.

At what point though does Stefanski and offensive line coach Bill Callahan make Wills accountable for his play? It appears he is the weak link in an otherwise pretty strong unit. We don’t know what the alternative would be, but it will be a problem going forward because that’s where opponents are going to attack.

We recognize the Steelers do not have a high-powered offense, but it certainly looks like the Cleveland defense is approaching elite status if they remain healthy. Pittsburgh basically had one good offensive play all night, and the unit has allowed less than 100 yards rushing in both games.

That’s a vast improvement from the sieve against the run it was last year.

Certainly, the Browns will see offenses better than Pittsburgh in the coming weeks, but it appears the new coordinator and the new personnel have made a great difference in this unit.

As for the loss of Chubb, there is no replacing him. That’s what happens when you are the best at what you do. But we are sure Stefanski will still want to run the football and Andrew Berry will find another running back to help pick up the slack.

That said, the focal point of the offense is gone, and it is up to everyone else, particularly Watson to improve. That doesn’t mean he needs to throw for 400 yards every week though.

For us, we think the next most explosive player the Browns have on offense is TE David Njoku and Cleveland needs to find a way to get him the ball more often.

Cleveland suffered a blow with the injury to Chubb, but it becomes a worse situation if they let his absence ruin what should be a promising season.

An Opening Week Beatdown For The Browns

Last year, the Cleveland Browns were a sieve defensively against the run. At least in week one, the defense run by new coordinator Jim Schwartz solved that issue, allowing just 75 yards on the ground in a dominating 24-3 win over Cincinnati.

And although there is endless talk about Deshaun Watson and how he will do at quarterback, at the Browns’ core they are a running football team, and in most NFL games, if you run for over 200 yards, you will achieve victory.

Cleveland ran for 206 against the Bengals.

It was a day not suited for an aerial extravaganza, and we saw the impatient Browns’ fans on social media complaining that Watson wasn’t any better than last season, in which he only played the last six games, but he was the better QB on the field on Sunday.

Watson hit 16 of 29 passes for 154 yards and ran five times for 45 yards and a touchdown. Yes, he missed some throws, but we are willing to attribute that to playing with a wet football, and we are willing to do that because Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow was just 14 of 31 for 82 yards.

It was only a good day if you were a duck.

No doubt the Browns will need Watson to play better as the season goes on, perhaps as early as next Monday night. But we aren’t going to panic because of the conditions. In fact, at halftime, we thought that Watson has yet to play a game in Cleveland with the Browns where the conditions have been nice.

Overall, this was a day for the defense and Nick Chubb.

The longest play Cincinnati had all day was a 22 yard run by Joe Mixon, and the longest pass play was a 12 yard toss from Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase. Think about that again, the longest pass play was 12 yards.

From an offense run by a player almost universally considered the second best at his position in the league.

Cleveland had only two sacks, by newcomer Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and of course, Myles Garrett, who passed Clay Matthews on the all-time team sack list according to ProFootballReference.com for second place. He needs two more to tie Bill Glass for the top spot in Browns’ history.

The Bengals ran just 56 offensive plays for the contest, gaining a paltry 142 yards.

We wondered watching the game how it may have unfolded with last year’s defensive coordinator.

As for Chubb, what more can we say about the man who should be considered the best running back in the league. By the way, he also caught four passes for 21 yards. When he carries the football, we always think he is about to break one for a long gain.

Jerome Ford did fumble, but also picked up 36 yards and it should have been more except he was bottled up a bit late in the game, when it was basically garbage time. He did have a 17 yard gain, but we will have to see going forward if ball security will be an issue.

So, it’s on to Pittsburgh for a Monday Night game against a team that will no doubt be very angry after getting crushed in their opener. And the Browns will be using a rookie right tackle in huge Dawand Jones, who is now the starter with Jack Conklin’s injury.

Look for T.J. Watt and the Steelers to test the rookie and make life tough on Watson.

We are sure the Browns will be prepared for it.

It wasn’t just the victory that makes us optimistic, it was the dominating nature of the win. But you are only as good as your next performance in the NFL.

Browns Keeping A Low Profile Right Now

The Cleveland Browns started training camp a couple of weeks ago, and have already played an exhibition game last Thursday, but it just doesn’t feel like there is any buzz right now.

Perhaps that will change this weekend when the Browns play their only pre-season game at home against the Washington Commanders, but the starting lineup is pretty much set on both sides of the football, so everything seems to be anticlimactic until the orange and brown take the field for real on September 10th against the Bengals.

We continue to say the Browns’ fortunes rest mostly on how Deshaun Watson plays. If he plays like the guy who completed 67.8% of his throws with Houston from 2017-2020, the Browns figure to be in the mix for a playoff spot, Kevin Stefanski keeps his job and GM Andrew Berry solidifies his position in the front office.

If Watson plays like he did when he returned from a year and a half layoff at the end of last season, then the franchise has a rather large problem considering how much draft capital was spent.

One area that should be much improved is the defense, particularly against the run. The Browns hired highly decorated defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Cleveland allowed 150 or more rushing yards seven times a year ago. They went 1-6 in those games.

By the way, the league average in yards allowed on the ground in 2022 was 121.6.

Schwartz’ defenses have ranked in the top half of the league in ten of his 19 seasons where he was either head coach or defensive coordinator.

We expect the defense will be much better both in stopping the run, where really, they couldn’t get much worse, and in pass defense. Schwartz likes to have depth on the defensive line, so he can keep people fresh, and the defensive backs are already talking about how playing more man-to-man coverage plays into their strength.

The only news that can come out of this year’s training camp is bad, and that would be injuries. Already, we have seen two defensive linemen go down and will miss the opener but should be back early in the season.

And to that point, although some of the starters, most notably Watson, probably need to be on the field a bit during pre-season play, there are a few who shouldn’t see any action until week one.

In particular, we are talking about Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, and Joel Bitonio. We don’t live in fear of injuries, they can happen without contact, but we don’t need to see this trio until Cincinnati visits for the first regular season game.

After Friday’s game, the Browns will have a controlled scrimmage against the
Eagles next week, so the starters will play in that and not the game.

It’s very likely fans here won’t see the true Browns squad after Friday
until the season opener. And that explains why there isn’t the usual buzz
around the camp.

But maybe there should be. This might be the most important season the
Cleveland Browns have had in many years.

Analyzing The Browns? To Us, It’s All On Watson

Every once in a while, we talk about the sports media in northeast Ohio being obsessed by the Cleveland Browns. We have three major league professional sports teams in the area, but we believe it is safe to say at least 85% of the coverage, both print and broadcast wise, is focused on the NFL team in town.

Over the past two weeks, the organized team activities (OTAs) have taken place, and from what we have heard and read, we believe the Browns have a solid chance to win the OTA Super Bowl, because they have looked great these past two weeks.

Really, they are a glorified practice without pads and in shorts, akin to playing touch football. Now, we understand the coaching staff has started to put the schemes in place, so the players will be ready with training camp open for real at the end of July.

So, we aren’t saying they aren’t important, but remember, this week’s activities are the only ones that are mandatory. Players don’t have to attend, and some of the team’s best players have not been there, but somehow Myles Garrett is the one who appears to have been singled out by many folks.

Those critics will claim Garrett should be there because he’s a leader on the team, but we think Nick Chubb and Joel Bitonio are both important voices in the locker room, and neither have appeared at the OTAs. What makes Garrett different?

We are sure Garrett has been in contact with Kevin Stefanski and new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and is up to speed on what the team is doing these past two weeks. Heck, he may be talking to both of them on an everyday basis.

If those two aren’t concerned, then the media and public shouldn’t be either, not that we would know if anyone in Berea is upset. They generally don’t tell anyone anything.

But we digress.

There is so much conversation about the Browns when really the evaluation of this football team is quite simple to us. It hinges on QB Deshaun Watson.

Quite simply, if Watson plays like he did in his last three seasons in Houston, the Browns will be playoff contenders at the very least.

In those three years, Watson completed 68.3%, 67.3%, and 70.2% of his throws and had at least 3800 passing yards in each, culminating in a league leading 4823 yards in 2020. Houston went 11-5 in the first of those years, and 10-6 in the second, before their defense allowed the sixth most points in the NFL in ’20, resulting in a 4-12 record.

If Watson plays like he did in his six game return a year ago, with a 58.2% completion rate, then the Browns will not be any good, and likely will be looking for a new coach for 2024.

And if the latter occurs, Cleveland is basically screwed because of the enormous price the franchise paid for Watson, which of course included three first-round draft picks.

It would also start once again the search for a franchise quarterback, something the Browns have been looking for since Bernie Kosar started getting banged up physically. That’s a road no one should be willing to revisit.

So, whether people like it or not, it’s all on Watson. Personally, we feel he was one of the top five QBs in the sport in Houston and we see no reason why he cannot return to that form.

However, it’s seeming weird that folks want to invent all kinds of other scenarios for the Browns’ success. They added a top-notch defensive coordinator with a history of success.

The roster is dotted with stars on both sides of the ball.

If Watson is the Watson of old, there is no reason for not having a playoff season.

RIP To The Greatest. #32

On Friday, the sports world and northeast Ohio lost a legend. Jim Brown, the greatest running back in the history of the NFL passed away.

We can only remember one season of Brown’s unbelievable career, his last season of 1965. That year, he led the NFL defending champs back to the title game, losing to Green Bay in a mud bowl 23-12. We watched that game in color, at a time when no one had colored televisions.

Brown was dominant in ’65, winning his eighth rushing title in his nine years in the league, gaining 1544 yards. He gained 677 more yards than his next closest competitor, the great Gale Sayers, who rushed for 867.

He was the NFL MVP that season.

Famously, he went to make the movie, The Dirty Dozen, in the off-season and when filming took long, and he missed the start of training camp, the Cleveland owner, who will not be named here, gave him an ultimatum. Brown simply retired. In his prime.

When Brown left pro football, he was the all-time leading rusher with his 12,312 yards. The great 49er runner, Joe Perry was second at 9,723. Now Brown is 11th, but there is still one rushing statistic the incomparable Brown still is the all-time leader.

Brown AVERAGED 104.3 yards rushing per game. No one in the history of the NFL has ever done that. The closest is Barry Sanders at 99.8. Nick Chubb, a player beloved by the current fan base in northeast Ohio and rightly so, because we recognize a great runner when we see one, comes in 9th all-time with 84.5 yards per game.

We believe Jim Brown is the greatest football player ever. And we say that because quarterback for us should be in a separate category. Tom Brady is the greatest QB ever, but does anyone really think he could play another position?

We believe Brown would have been a tremendous linebacker or safety, or tight end, or really, whatever the hell he wanted to be.

We would like to ask people who the greatest lacrosse player ever was, and folks would look quizzically when asked. The answer is most people consider that to be Jim Brown. Imagine being the greatest ever in two sports.

By now, everyone has seen the iconic picture of Brown with Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor), Muhammad Ali, former Cleveland mayor Carl Stokes, Brown’s former teammate Bobby Mitchell and several other former teammates to support Ali’s refusal to enter the draft for the war in Vietnam.

That meeting took place on June 4, 1967 in Cleveland at 10501 Euclid Avenue, and was organized by Brown.

We have had many arguments over the years about Brown’s standing in pro football and where he ranks. As we said, we consider him to be the GOAT, the greatest. The only players who we believe come close are Jerry Rice and Lawrence Taylor.

Brown was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971, meaning he lived 52 years after being inducted, and other inductees say when Brown walks into the room, everyone, and these are the greats of the sport, stand up.

That’s the respect Jim Brown had among his peers.

We know the Browns will spend this season remembering their greatest player. On social media, we thought about putting “32” at the 50-yard line all year and highlighting the 32-yard stripes in brown and orange.

We also thought instead of “BROWNS” in the end zone, how about “BROWN” and putting “Jim” above it. A tribute to the greatest Cleveland football player ever.

It is not often we are sad due to the death of a non-family member or close friend. But sadness is what we felt on Friday. We know Jim Brown had some issues in his personal life and we are not minimizing those problems. But the city of Cleveland lost an icon.

And that makes us sad.