2007 – SO CAL BROWNS BACKERS

Special Event Annoucement from Ed Goldstein

Feb 4, 2008

 

Hi Browns & Indians Fans,

 

The Tribe will be out here twice this year, to play the Angels, but both series will be on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. If anyone has an interest in these games, let me know, and which night you will prefer, and I’ll see what I can do. The dates are April 7th, 8th and 9th and July 21st, 22nd and 23rd.  

 

Now for the GOOD news, the Tribe will play the Dodgers on June 20th. 21st, and 22nd, which are a Friday night, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I am shooting for the Saturday afternoon game at 1PM. If you are interested in this game please let me know ASAP.  

 

Two questions –  

 

If you are interested in going, would you prefer seats higher up behind home plate (3rd level reserved) which will run about $15 to $17 per person or the field level next to the Indians’ bullpen which will run between $25 to $27 per person? These prices are pretty close to ½ price. The majority will determine where we will sit.  

 

I am planning after the game, to have a cocktail & appetizer party at El Cholo’s Restaurant, which is not too far from the stadium on Western Ave near Olympic Blvd. If you have an interest in the after game party let me know also. The cost of this has not been determined as yet. It will be a no host bar, but appetizers will be included in the price. Dinner will be available after the party for those who might be interested.  

 

If you are interested in going to this game, please let me know ASAP, as the earlier we obtain the tickets, the better seats we can get. Please do not say yes if you are not sure, the last time I got stuck with many tickets and it cost me a great deal. Please e-mail me at edgold14@aol.com or call me at (818) 802-6802 and let me know how many tickets you would like.  

 

I hope to hear from many of you,

And GOOOOOOOO Tribe,

Ed (The Old Dawg) Goldstein

 

 

 

Notes from Emil Davidson

Emil is a long time Browns fan and one of the original So. Cal. Browns Backers ...

(Updated September 20, 2007)

 

Browns 51, Bengals 45

 

What a difference a week makes! Wow! 51 Points! Thrills and chills! Incredible! Shocking! GREAT!!

 

This one was a football fan’s delight. For the dispassionate viewer, it was as entertaining a game as could be imagined. For a Browns fan, it was another stomach-turner right up until the moment Leigh Bodden went out of bounds with only 21 seconds left. We had to wait until the final 21 seconds to relax, confident in the win. Do we always have to suffer? Even when we win?!

 

But we’ll take it! With glee!!! In years past, the Bengals would have scored with about five seconds left and we would have lost by one point. May those days be gone forever!! May this be the first step!!!

 

It was a Big Play day. (And it would have been a big payday if you had bet the Browns and the "over".) Talk about an offensive explosion! An orgy of scoring! The numbers are impressive:
96 total points scored.
11 Touchdowns.
1,085 yards of total offense.

 

For the Browns:
5 TD passes by Anderson
215 yards rushing by Jamal Lewis
183  yards in returns by Josh Cribbs (Anyone realize that he led the special teams in tackles last year?)
2 receivers with over 100 yards
QB sacks -- Ze-ro!

 

And the Big number -- Turnovers:   Browns, 1.   Bengals, 3.

 

Welcome to the Derek Anderson era. On Sunday, he was The Man. King for a Day. Long may he reign! The length of that reign will be determined solely by his performance. As long as he plays like he did Sunday (the guy made many outstanding throws), as long as we continue to win, he’ll continue to be in there. But we all know who’s waiting in the wings if he falters. So does he. But he didn’t play like he even noticed against Cincinnati.

 

Before the Pittsburgh game, Sam Rutigliano said Charlie Frye should have a question mark on his jersey instead of a number and would be starting on a week-to-week basis only. If Anderson was wearing a question mark on his, he certainly ripped it off on Sunday. If he can continue to perform at or near that level, the Browns can continue to sit on and nurture Brady until they’re ready to hatch him next season. That would be their wished-for scenario. One thing is now quite clear, however. They have stepped up the pace of Quinn’s preparation and would no longer have any hesitation putting him in there.
        

I saw a replay of the Phil Savage press conference announcing the Frye trade. After he had implied much of what I‘ve just said,  he was reminded that only 4 weeks earlier he had said he couldn’t turn over the reins of an 800 million dollar franchise to a rookie player who had missed 16 practices. His reply: "That was 4 weeks ago." I think that says it all. The Browns want to win NOW. If Anderson can continue to do the job, great. Everybody’s happy. If he can’t, Brady will undoubtedly be given his shot. I’m as anxious as anyone to see what Brady can do in Prime Time, but wisdom dictates that we pull for
Anderson to continue to surprise everyone. He just might, you know.

 

We all knew that our talent was a lot better than we showed last week. We proved it on Sunday. It was, in fact, a day of Great Performances. The O-line was excellent. Lewis’ 66 yard breakaway brought back images of JB bursting through the line and outrunning everyone to the end zone. Winslow was dominating, Jurevicius the consummate, solid pro, and Edwards finally looked like that Number One draft choice of yore. Four of his eight catches were nothing short of sensational!  It could well be a breakout game for him. Let’s hope this is the game he shows us on a consistent basis every week. He’s certainly got the talent and the size. On Sunday, he was inspired!

 

On the other hand, in our euphoria, it would be easy to overlook the forty-five points given up by our defense against the Bengals. They got 137 yards rushing and 394 through the air, including 6 TD throws by Palmer. Chad Johnson had 11 catches for 209 yards and 2 TD’s. These are hardly stats that inspire. The DB’s have already given up 10 TD passes in 2 games, compared to 20 for all of last year. It’s surprising. On paper, our defense has better talent than that. They had better start proving it. Obviously, their performance is a major concern until they prove otherwise.

 

In fairness, Cincinnati is known for its high-powered offense, and, when it counted most, our "D" was able to force 2 Bengals punts in the 4th quarter before Bodden mercifully intercepted that ball at the end. The most important stat in the game, however, was that their point total was less than ours. But it’s no secret we’ve got to tighten up our defense if we’re going to win in this league.

 

Major point: let’s not forget the fact that this was a win in our Division. We’re already one victory ahead of last year in that regard. Last year we had none.

 

So, we’re on a roll. At the moment, it’s only a roll of one, but this team definitely has the talent to keep it going this week against the Raiders. And beyond?

 

Let’s hope that Oakland is just the second of many!!

 

GO BROWNS!!!!

                                             Emil Davidson

 

 

 

Past updates....

NOTES FROM THE OLD DAWG ...
ED GOLDSTEIN

(Updated September 12, 2007)

Well fellow Browns fans, so much for week 1.

The following are the comments from one of our long time So. Cal. Browns Backers, who has agreed to share his thoughts. We hope to get comments from others in the group as the season progresses. I'll be visiting the various viewing site the next few months and hope to see many of you. Just a reminder the SCBBA has season tickets (2) to all Browns home games, so if you are going to be in Cleveland and need tickets just let me know at edgold14@aol.com. If you would like to share your thoughts about the Browns - Bengals game just forward them to me, and we will get them on the website.

Monday, September 10, 2007

The whole town was filled with anticipation, excitement, and optimism. We had every reason to feel that way. We had upgraded the O-line, Running Back, Cornerback, and Line-backer. Shaun Smith’s addition to the D-line should help us to finally stop the run, and Smashmouth Cowher was gone from the Steelers side-line. Maybe we could start a new trend with their new coach, even though Dick Lebeau was still their D-coordinator. Charlie was a year older, a year more experienced, more comfortable, confident. On paper, things were looking up.

The coaches and players had worked hard, studied hard, prepared hard. The Browns were hyped and they were ready. No more would the Bully Boys from Pittsburgh throw us around the field like a rag doll and bitch-slap us in public. That stuff was over!

And then the game started. And they threw us around the field like a rag-doll and bitch-slapped us in public. At home! Again! How could this happen?! It was worse than our worst nightmare, it was a litany of disasters. It was disorganized, disappointing, discouraging, disgusting. It was pathetic.

After a quick 3-and-out, our new punter muffed the snap and got off a desperate, running punt that gave Pittsburgh the ball on our 22. As an added bonus, th Browns committed an incredible four -- count ‘em four -- penalties on that single play. Surely that must be an NFL record. After just 03:01, we were already down 7-zip. Things went downhill from there -- and fast! Charlie threw an interception on our second possession that gave the Steelers the ball on our 17, they kicked a field goal, scored another TD and it was 17 to nothing at the end of the quarter. Mercifully, it remained that way till half-time. The shell-shocked crowd had already been taken out of the game.

There should really have been no surprises here. The sports pundits were unanimous regarding what the Browns had to do to beat Pittsburgh:
No turnovers! We had five.
Establish our running game! 16 carries for 46 yards.
Stop their running game. 42 carries for 206 yards.
Protect the Quarterback. We were sacked 6 times in the first half. Frye had five.

Field position was a problem all day. Their punter Zastudilled us inside our own five with maddening consistency. Conversely, Pittsburgh seemed to be operating on a short field all the time. Out tackling sucked, our QB’s kept throwing behind the receivers. On those rare occasions when we did something good, a penalty negated it.

Charlie, Charlie, you coulda been a contender…I’ve pulled hard for this young man from the moment he was drafted. I liked his story. Ohio boy, grew up a Browns fan. Sounded like Bernie, although admittedly less talented. (Come to think of it, sounds like Brady.) But he was mobile, had enough arm strength, and I had high hopes he could develop into a winning NFL QB. It didn’t work out that way, and, after his panic-filled performance on Sunday, I have finally given up on him -- completely and irrevocably. To me, he seemed to play scared on Sunday, the kiss of death for any player, especially a QB. For once, the Browns and I reached the same conclusion at the exact same moment they pulled him.

In fairness to Frye, the fact the O-line was in some disarray was no plus. Tucker’s suspension, Steinbach’s injury, Shafer’s displacement to the right side. The line hadn’t yet played as a unit, and that unit will change again with Tucker’s return . I’ve no doubt they’ll get better, will gel, and should become a good, productive O-line in time. But they sure didn’t help Charlie, or anyone else, on Sunday. Neither did Braylon Edwards who, when he finally held on to one, gave it right back with a fumble. I’m fast falling out of love with Mr. Edwards.

All of which means we’re down to Derek Anderson as a fill-in starter next week. He’ll probably be a marginal improvement over Charlie. He’s big, strong, and has a strong arm.

But what I’ve seen of him is hardly inspiring. Hope I’m wrong.

The Steelers scored on their first 3 possessions of the 2nd half and the game was far more one-sided than the score. When Vickers scored his touchdown at 6:52 of the 3rd quarter, he went into his dance. We’re losing 24-7 and this donkey is dancing. Anyone notice Winslow run over to cool him out before we got another stupid 15-yard penalty?

More fun was yet in store for the 4th quarter. Rain. A downpour. A deluge. Noah time. Just what the doctor ordered for a team trying to play catch-up by throwing the ball. Insult to injury. A prat-fall from Nature.

In a word, it was UGLY!

But the continuing QB situation tantalizes. When do we hand the position over to Brady? I get Sports Time Ohio on my dish and have periodically caught The Berea Report hosted by Jim Donovan, with regular appearances by Doug Deiken, Sam Rutigliano, Tony Grossi, and May Kay Cabot. The subject of Brady has been much discussed. All, with the exception of Rutigliano, say the Browns must NOT rush Brady into the frying pan -- as, all agree, "they did with Tim Couch". Deiken said we should consider Brady next year’s Number One pick (which is what we traded to get him), and let him watch, learn, study, absorb, and mature this season. This year he should be protected and nurtured along. No one should want to risk the multi-million dollar investment in him and maybe the key to the future of the franchise to a possible career-ending injury or severe damage to the psyche. We should all just WAIT! That’s the intention of the franchise, and that’s what we should all want, goes the argument.

On the other hand…We will be sorely tempted. He was the only QB in the pre-season who moved the team consistently and got them into the end zone. I don’t care what string he was playing against, he looked, poised, smart, and in control. He made good decisions, made them quickly, and threw the ball well. He threw a beautiful long ball to Jurevicius in the corner of the end zone that was disqualified by half a toe. In short, he looked impressive. Maybe the seasoning he got from all those starts at Notre Dame means something. He was unquestionably the best QB on the team during the pre-season, and the thought of throwing him in there "to see what happens" will become increasingly enticing with the passage of days. And the pressure to insert him will mount.

These are the pros ad cons of such a move. Do we rush him in there as soon as possible, or do we do the wise thing and protect him this year?

Considering the fact that winning is the only currency that counts in the NFL and that jobs hang in the balance, I’m betting that Brady Quinn will probably be our starter by the time we play Oakland. He’s played in front of hostile crowds before.

So chins up, everyone. Next Sunday excitement and anticipation (possibly somewhat muted) will be rampant in Cleveland, the coaches and team will have worked hard all week, and the fans will be optimistic and the players hyped, and they’ll be ready…for Cincinnati.

Let’s hope with a very different result!

 

BULLETIN!!! BREAKING NEWS!!!!

Tuesday, September 11th

This afternoon The Cleveland Browns traded QB Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks for a future sixth-round draft pick. Land ‘O Goshen! Sakes alive!! What the Hell is that?!?! I said I’d personally given up on Charlie, but I didn’t say I’d ship his ass 2,500 miles away -- ASAP! We all know the world of pro sports is cold, but when they turn on a fella, they turn! It appears they couldn’t ship that boy far away enough, fast enough. (Hell, even the Republicans didn’t send Sen. Craig to Seattle!) Charlie must be in deep shock. I wish him well. Maybe one day he’ll have matured, will get his shot again, and will make good. It’s happened before.

In the meantime, this surprising development makes even more intriguing and timely the question of what’s in store for Brady Quinn.

GO BROWNS!!!!!!

 

(Updated August 17, 2007)

First of all, I would like to welcome the many new members to the SCBBA.  At this time there are close to 75 new members added this year and additional ones keep coming in every day.

As usual we are all hopeful for the new season, there have been some great new additions and things look promising.  Again pre-season injuries and suspensions haunt us.

Many of you already know that I have been a member of the SCBBA since the 2^nd year of it’s inception, 1986.  I have been a Browns fan since just about longer than most of you have been around, since 1946.  Yes I am older than dirt.  I knew personally most of the old greats, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Mac Speedie. Met several others, Jim Brown, Bernie Kozar, Brian Sipe, Paul Warfield, Don Cockroft and others.  I know it’s been a long time since a Championship, 1964, but that’s what makes us true fans, we have stuck it out thru “The Pass”, “The Drive”, “The Fumble”, “The Helmet”, and all the other heartbreaking incidents.

I have taken over the reigns of the SCBBA this year, and am trying to return us to our more successful years under the leadership of our first president and founder Jeff Wagner, and later Colleen Kelly-Graff. I’m pretty old to do it myself, so if anyone of you would like to help, just give me an e-mail at edgold14@aol.com (The 14 is for the greatest Brown of them all, Otto Graham), or call me at (818) 802-6802.

We have Browns Season Tickets available, two for each game.  If any of you will be in the Cleveland area during the season or have relatives or friends in Cleveland that are interested just let me know.  Opening day tickets are already gone, but all the others are available at this time. If you are interested, just let me know.

We are planning a few events this year, a dinner with some past great Browns players, a family picnic, and an Indian game in September against the Angels.  If any of you are interested in any of these events or would like to help on any of them, just let me know.

During the season if any of you would like to send comments about the current week’s game, the Browns season, anything you might like to see on the web site, I will welcome them all and post as many as we can to the site.

I hope to have something to say each week, so keep coming back to the website and tell your friends.  Some times it might be history of the Browns, many of the great times, Trivia Questions, whatever pops into an old man’s head.  If there is anything you would like to criticize, feel free. I have been married for a total of 43 years, 13 the first time and 30 the 2^nd, so god knows I can take criticism. If you have any questions, just call or e-mail

Hope to hear from many of you soon,

Ed Goldstein – The Old Dawg

And as our founder Jeff Wagner would say

GOOOOOOOOOOOOO BROWNS

Road Trips

Packages and Prices have been put together for the 2007 Phoenix Road Trip and 2007 St. Louis Road Trip which is being put on by the Southwest Browns Backers and the Phoenix Browns Backers.

Please visit http://www.brownsbacker.com/trips.htm for all the details,
prices and updates on these and other great 2007 Browns Road Trips.

 

 

 

www.TravelTimeTours.com

 

P.O. Box 425, San Dimas, CA  91773-0425   /   Telephone (909) 599-9325

FAX (909) 599-8254        e-mail ttt@traveltimetours.com        Website www.TravelTimeTours.com