Official Cleveland Browns Backers Worldwide Fan Club Chapter #301
Sarasota Browns Backers
Est. 2001

August 10, 2004 - Winslow is on the verge of signing!

Fox News is reporting that Kellen Winslow will sign with the Browns in the next day or two. Keep up to the minute at Bernie's Insiders.

July 31, 2004 - Draft Signings

Everyone but Kellen Winslow will be in camp. When contract details have become available they will be posted.

• Round 1 - (6th pick overall)  - Kellen Winslow Jr. (TE) - Miami (Fla) - Pending

• Round 2 - (59) - Sean Jones (S) Georgia - SIGNED 7/30/04 - 5-yr. deal

• Round 4 - (106) - Luke McCown (QB) - Louisiana Tech - SIGNED 7/30/04 - 5-yr. deal

• Round 5 - (161) - Amon Gordon (DT) - Stanford - SIGNED 7/30/04 - 5-yr. deal

• Round 6 - (176) - Kirk Chambers (LT) - Stanford - SIGNED 7/23/04 The Deal: Signing bonus: $25,000. Base salary: $230,000 (2004). Total: 1 year, $255,000. Salary cap charge: $255,000.

• Round 7 - (208) - Adimchinobi (Joe) Echemandu (RB) - California  - SIGNED 7/30/04 - 5-yr. deal

April 29, 2004 - Browns Draft Grade

Here are the results of a poll I posted on the Bernie's Insiders web site asking:

Now that the draft is over, how do you think the Browns did over all? Results (total votes = 203): Draft Grade Votes/Percentage   A  39 / 19.2%    B  103 / 50.7%    C  43 / 21.2%    D  14 / 6.9%    F  4 / 2.0%

All in all I think the Browns had an better than average draft. If I had to grade it, I would say  they earned a C+ or B-.

February 26, 2004

Northcutt to remain in Cleveland?!?

It may be the Browns lucky day. Reports are coming out that Dennis Northcutt or his representative failed to file the necessary paperwork to void the final 3 years of his original 7-year contract with the Cleveland Browns. It was thought to be a sure thing that Dennis would become a free agent this off season but apparently they paperwork to notify the NFL and the Browns was not filed by the Feb. 19th deadline clearly stated in his current contract. If this is true and Northcutt is still a Brown, his contract calls for a salary of about $619,000 for the 2004 season. Veeeery cap friendly!

December 18, 2003

Otto Graham Passes Away

Stories on our all-time great quarterback's remembrance can be found here:

The Browns Official site

Bernie's Insiders site has a few good stories.

From our President:

As most of you know, Otto Graham passed away yesterday. Upon retirement, Otto made Sarasota his home and was very active in our community. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations should be made to Otto's favorite organization, one where he played a very active role in, The Sarasota Boys and Girls Club.

Since our club is in Otto Graham's home town, we will be taking up a collection prior to this Sunday's game's kickoff (Baltimore), and forwarding the total receipts in the form of a check made payable to the Sarasota Boys and Girls Club. We would appreciate your generosity toward our upstanding hometown citizen, and to our Hall of Fame Cleveland Brown Quarterback.

Thank you so much, and we'll see you Sunday.

Steve Daniele, President 
12/18/2003

For fans of Otto Graham and viewers and readers of our site who will not see us Sunday, or would like to donate individually, donations can be made to:

The Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota, Florida
 P.O. Box 4068
 Sarasota, FL  34230

941-366-3911
 941-953-5369 (Fax).

Godspeed Otto, you will be greatly missed but never forgotten

Season Opening Message from The President:

Welcome to the 2003 Cleveland Browns football season! Please notice that we are meeting at a new location - FinDaddy's. We are as excited to be at this new location as they are to have us. This year we will be treated to a Big Screen TV, excellent food, and drinks all at very affordable prices. They will have weekly football specials and a football pool with prize give-a-ways.

The only thing we are required to do is show up early to secure the area with enough people. We must remember that they are running business, and if another group is there at kick-off and we are not adequately represented, we could lose our spot for that week. I doubt this will happen since we had such great attendance last season, however, I would suggest trying to be there no later than at least 15 minutes before kick-off.

Thank you,
Steve Daniele, President 
8/31/2003

September 29, 2003

Will the Browns Ever Win Again?!?

There is something really wrong when you lose to a team like Cincinnati (21-14). Tim Couch got the start and although he had good numbers, his decision making leave a lot to be desired. Tim still holds on to the ball too long - granted his O-Line didn't give him much time - but when Kelly is at the helm the ball is gone a lot faster.

Penalties again were the downfall of the Browns - 11 if I recall - most at key point during drives including one that called back a touchdown. If the Browns don't find discipline soon this season will most certainly be lost if it isn't already.

September 21, 2003

Browns Get First Win!

The Browns came back in thrilling fashion to beat the 49ers 13-12 despite a hobbled Kelly Holcomb. Holcomb sprained his ankle early in the game but stayed in to lead a 4th quarter comeback.

September 10, 2003

For those who couldn't make it, you missed a great time at FinDaddy's. We had a great turn-out of over 40 people. FinDaddy's treated us (and everyone, actually) to some excellent food and drink specials:

1. $12 buckets of domestic beer (6 bottles)

2. A football pool where the winner gets a gift certificate (or something like that)

We had the back corner of the place reserved for us and they had 3 TVs showing the game, one of which was a big screen TV. They also had 3 very large TVs set up outside for the smoking crowd - one of which had the Browns game.
 

September 1, 2003 - Practice Squad Named

Player	Pos	Ht	Wt	Exp	School
Keith Heinrich	TE	6-5	255	2	Sam Houston State
Nate Hybl	QB	6-4	222	R	Oklahoma
Corey Jackson	DE	6-6	240	R	Nevada
Qasim Mitchell	OG	6-6	335	2	North Carolina A&T
Mason Unck	LB	6-3	240	R	Arizona State

August 31, 2003 - Final Cuts Are In
(From the Browns Official web site)

The Cleveland Browns announce the following players have been waived:
RB-Billy Blanchard
LB-Howard Clark
TE-Keith Heinrich
LB-Jeremy Loyd
OL-Qasim Mitchell
TE-Chad Mustard
DB-Kalvin Pearson
DL-Thomas Pittman
OL-Ray Redziniak
DL-Cedric Scott
DB-Ricky Sharpe
WR-Marc Soumah
K-Jay Taylor
LB-Mason Unck

The Cleveland Browns placed the following player on Reserve-Physically Unable to Perform: WR-Frisman Jackson

The Cleveland Browns placed the following player on Reserve-Non Football Injury:
RB-Lee Suggs

The Cleveland Browns placed the following player on Reserve-Injured:
OT-Ross Verba

Click to see the 53-man roster

I (Bobbie) found the release of Howard Clark, Mason Unck and Qasim Mitchell to be the only surprises on this list.  Qasim had been a highly regarded Guard and at 370 lbs. he would have been awesome at clearing a path for William Green. But in preseason it was clear that he was still a project.

Clark and to a lesser degree, Unck, both looked really good at the Linebacker spot. Howard Clark in particular stood out to me. I saw him everywhere when he got playing time (usually with the 3rd team). His stats look pretty impressive as well - he led the team in tackles in the Atlanta game and seemed to be an excellent contributor on special teams. I hope Clark squeaks through waivers and we can put him on the practice squad because I see him as being a "Brant Boyer"-type (solid and dependable back-up or platoon linebacker and full time special teamer) linebacker at the minimum.

If we do get him and/or Unck on the practice squad I will feel much better if one of our young LB's goes down. I believe they haven't given up on Qasim just yet so he will likely be on the squad also.

July 25, 2003

The Sarasota Browns Backers Have a New Meeting Place for the 2003 football season. Steve took a lot of time out of his busy schedule to search for a new home for us since T. P. Hans closed. He found and secured a place for us at FinDaddy's bar and restaurant. I met him there and fell in love with the place on site. Dan the manager of FinDaddy's promised us a big screen TV and at least one other TV every week. There is plenty of room for us and they have great food. I will post the specials they will have for us soon.

The only catch is - the space is only reserved until kick-off then it's every man for himself. This means for us to have the space and the Big Screen we need to be there BEFORE kickoff time. Although there is no smoking inside, the location has a smoking area outside the bar and the TV we were promised faces the front window. This means you can go outside with your beer for a smoke and still see the game clearly. There was also mention of portable TV's for the outside area but I don't have any definite info on that yet.

More to Come...

April 2003 - Cleveland Browns Draft Picks:

Day 1: Although Faine and Thompson look like pretty good picks, it seems the Browns may have been able to do much better considering some of the players that were on the board when the Browns picked. In particular, the Browns passed on Ohio State safety Michael Doss in the 2nd only to pick perhaps the worst rated safety in the draft in the 3rd round. I certainly hope these guys pan out because I, for one, am not very impress by the Browns 2003 draft selections this far.

• Signed Round 1 - (21st pick overall) Jeff Faine - Notre Dame, Center, 6'3" 303 lbs.
  This guy looks to be a darn good pick but I thought we were all set at the Center position. Rated as the 4th best offensive lineman and the top center in this draft by ESPN

• Round 2 - (52nd) Chaun Thompson - West Texas A&M, Linebacker, 6'2" 240 lbs.
  I'd have rather had Michael Doss here but this guy looks solid considering this is a weak draft for linebackers. Rated as the 9th best linebacker in this draft by ESPN. Here's a good story about Chaun Thompson.

• Round 3 - (84th) Chris Crocker - Marshall, Safety/CB, 6'0" 194 lbs.
  Not sure what the Browns were thinking here but Chris Crocker is the 50th rated Safety by Sports Illustrated. I hope there is something to this guy because I had a had time finding this guy's name listed anywhere. Seems to me they might have been able to pick Chris Crocker up as an undrafted free agent after the draft. There were many higher rated safeties and corners on the board.

Day 2:The Browns seemed to be back on track and off to a good start on Day 2 with the Lee Suggs pick in the 4th. Unfortunately the Browns then smoked that wacky weed again and went off into obscurity in the 5th round by picking a long snapper. I case you don't recall, after Ryan Kuehl left in free agency, the Browns actually signed a long snapper. Clearly this wasn't good enough because we had to pick one in the 5th round who would have likely bee available in the sixth. Ugh! The Michael Lehan pick seems O.K. but for some reason I get the feeling he is kind of "Percy Ellsworth"-ish.

• Round 4 - (115th) Lee Suggs - Virginia Tech, Running Back, 6'0", 2002 lbs.
  I see this as a pretty smart pick. Jamal White now becomes expendable since Lee Suggs is almost an exact but cheaper clone of Jamal. The downside is that Lee tore his left knee ACL in 2001 and missed the season but these days that almost seems the rule rather than the exception. On the other hand, Lee rushed for 1255 yards last season. Rated as the 7th best running back in this draft by ESPN. I think Lee Suggs will be a deadly back-up to William Green. Folks, 2 seasons ago we had nothing but questions about our running game. Now, there is no doubt, this this pick we will have arguably the best trio of backs in the NFL. (Trivia - Lee Suggs' sister was my son's Kindergarten teacher)

• Signed Round 5 - (142 from Minn.)Ryan Pontbriand -  Rice, Center/Long Snapper, 6'1½", 245 lbs.
  Folks, this guy was so obscure they don't initially have a link for him on NFL.com or Pro football weekly! Best I could find was a reference to him being the top long snapper prospect at www.longsnap.com - look down to the middle of the page.

• Round 5 - (152) Michael Lehan - Minnesota, Cornerback 6'0", 196 lbs.
  Corner is a position of need for the Browns. Everything I can find says this guy is fast, unfortunately I keep thinking of "Percy Ellsworth" when I read about Michael Lehan. Here is the NFL.com write-up. He was also mentioned on the honorable mention list of ESPN's Best Available for Day 2 of the draft.

• Round 6 - (195) Antonio Garay - Boston College, Defensive End, 6' 3", 295 lbs.
  The write-up from NFL.com on Antonio makes him sound like a raw version of Jamir Miller. I think the Browns may have been better suited to picking in an area of need such as OL, CB, S however Antonio looks to be a solid and decent value pick for the 6th round.

March 2003 - Bobbie's Take on the Browns Latest Transactions

Before you pull al you're hair out thinking that the Browns are self-destructing this off-season, allow me to attempt to be the voice of reason. The Browns face some pretty daunting salary cap issues due to poor drafting the first couple years back in the league. To compensate for these drafts we were forced to over-spend on free agents. The March 1st cuts were:

• Jamir Miller OLB

• Cory Fuller CB

• Dwayne Rudd OLB

• Earl Holmes MLB

• Dave Wohlabaugh  C (or some such spelling)

These guys are all, for the most part, quality players but let's look a bit closer:

• Jamir Miller - Didn't play. We made the playoffs without our only pro bowler. After his season-ending injury he certainly isn't worth what we were thinking of paying him. Of course there is the possibility we may re-sign him once his value is set by other teams.

• Cory Fuller - OK I didn't really like this move too much but he was nicked up all season and missed some games. He's 32 and likely on the back side of a successful career. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens and I find it odd that all of a sudden NOW he's willing to play safety - something he outright refused to do as a Brown. Still it is scary to lose him since he was our best CB.

• Dwayne Rudd - He was never a factor especially considering how much money we were paying him. Kevin Bentley will likely replace him as the starter since he was as good or better than Rudd in the playing time that he got as a rookie. In short - We chuck Rudd like a helmet.

• Earl Holmes - Another move that didn't set well with me at first either. Holmes was our leading tackler for cryin' out loud! On the other hand he was a stop-gap signing from the word "go". Brant Boyer always came in in on passing downs anyway. Andre Davis can and will step in here, he had in decent rookie season as well and basically is a younger cheaper and healthier version of Holmes. The only drop-off I see here is the salary.

• Dave Wholly - Virtually no drop-off at the Center position when he went out with a broken hand. Either Shaun O'Hara or Melvin Fowler will easily fill this role and produce at least as well.

The only other notable loss to me was Darren Hambrick (he was a free agent, we didn't cut him) and he might be resigned when we free up so cap space, we're only $800,000 under it right now. Unfortunately that won't happen until after the draft or when Courtney Brown and Tim Couch restructure their contracts.

So there you have it folks, these guys are all replaceable so it isn't the end of the world.

January 2003 -

Cleveland Browns Make The Playoffs!!!

The 2002 football campaign is now headed to the playoffs ... and the Browns are in it! After a huge 24-16 win over the Falcons, the Browns made the playoffs as a wildcard team with a little help from the NY Jets who beat the Packers 42-17. The Browns finished the regular season at 9-7 for their first winning season since rejoining the NFL in 1999. It is the Browns first playoff appearance since 1994.

The Browns will play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field Jan 5 at 1pm. We, of course, will be at T. P. Hans for the game.

President's New Years Message:
We'll be meeting at T. P. Hans for the Browns Playoff game...Obviously, it will be on every screen, including the Big Screen...(and plenty of sound) C'mon guys! It will be much more fun to watch the game with other Browns fans than at home alone.

Also, if you have no plans Friday night, some of us will be at T. P. Hans to watch the Ohio State/Miami game...please come up and join us. There should be other Ohio State fans there as well.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year, and I wish you all much luck in 2003.....

November 2002 -

The Sarasota Browns Backers are having a great season! We started this year with about 35 members and have more than doubled that so far! We now number over 80 members! Our turn-outs have been outstanding with about 40 members showing up each week. We have also had many visitors from out of town as well as the Cleveland area. Thank you for making them feel welcome.

For those who may be unaware, the main area in T.P. Hans that we occupy is a non-smoking section. For our smoking members and guests, there is always a TV in the bar area (smoking section) that has the Browns game on. Usually this TV is outside french doors on right end of the porch. If there is not a TV showing the Browns in the bar area please let me or Bobbie know and we will ask the staff to provide us one.

September 2002 -

Welcome to the 2002 Cleveland Browns Football Season!

The 2 biggest announcements we have for members of the Sarasota Browns Backers are:

1. On December 31, 2001, we became an Official Chapter of the Worldwide Browns Backers.

2. Our meeting place for the 2002 football season has been changed - for the better we hope. We will now be meeting at T. P. Hans as shown above.

At T. P. Hans, we'll be set up in the back half of the room, where the pool tables are. They will have specials on beer, wings, hot dogs, etc.

T. P. Hans will open the doors at 12 Noon on NFL Sundays. We'll have the two TV's in each corner (much larger TV's and easier to see than at the Sports Page)

Keep in mind we will not have the whole bar, and although we are getting a nice size section for the Cleveland Browns, we can not expect T. P. Hans Management to turn away other football customers, if our seats are not filled at the kickoff...

So if you plan on being "fashionably late", you might possibly be "fashionably standing".