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False Start: How the New Browns Were Set Up To Fail
By Terry Pluto

Championship Sunday in the NFL conjures up painful memories for fans of the Cleveland Browns. The Drive. The Fumble. Super Bowl dreams dashed.

Young Browns fans consider the late 1980s a high-point in the history of Cleveland football. Older fans remember the glory days of the early 1960s. But memories aside, the current version of the Cleveland Browns fails to remind fans of all ages of anything more than a mess.

In False Start: How the New Browns Were Set up To Fail, Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter Terry Pluto delves into the reasons why the new Browns have failed to connect with fans. Pluto delivers a crisp, clear indictment of the NFL’s power brokers and Browns management. Citing greed and arrogance, Pluto outlines how the NFL tied the hands of Browns management by giving the expansion little time to get started, and how Browns management, cocksure and confident, failed to recognize how little time it had to get its house in order and strung together a painful series of bad decisions.

The NFL wanted top dollar for the new Cleveland franchise and held out as long as possible, extracting every possible dollar from eventual owner Al Lerner. In the meantime, the opening in Cleveland allowed owners to hold their own cities hostage while securing new stadium deals. Pluto chronicles the back room maneuverings with inside information only a top sportswriter can provide.

Once Lerner paid the record expansion fee, the new ownership group, which included ex-49er executive Carmen Policy, set out building a front office. Policy’s fingerprints were all over the management structure, and Policy protégé Dwight Clark assumed a GM-like position. Here, Pluto lays out how a series of mistakes and an unwillingness to adapt to the current predicament ices the Browns’ future for years to come.

Pluto exposes the NFL’s business side and all its unseemliness. But Pluto also doesn’t hold any punches when discussing the Browns’ shortcomings as well, so his criticisms of the football operation in Cleveland hold up despite apparent hindsight.

False Start will fire up any Browns fan looking to stay warm during another cold, playoff-less January.

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Anything associated with the Cleveland Browns endorsed by someone outside the organization has to be an improvement. So as the ink dries on Phil Savage’s new contract with the Cleveland Browns, Ozzie Newsome’s endorsement of Savage is as much an impact No. 82 will make on the team.

Savage appears to be an outstanding judge of talent. Given the Browns recent draft history, it shouldn’t be hard to top recent performances. Let’s be honest…the Browns wanted Ozzie. Semantics can dictate whether Savage was truly the Browns’ top choice.

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If there is any doubt the Cleveland Browns’ new GM faces a daunting task, simply take a look at the current quarterback situation. An established veteran, a fan favorite, and a promising rookie all took snaps from under center – and considering each of them spent a considerable amount of time looking up at opposing defenders – determining the future direction of the quarterback position stands as the first domino in a pending cascade of roster shakeups. And once the new GM tips this first domino, all the other positions and draft strategies begin to fall into place.

On Tuesday veteran Jeff Garcia popped off about his odd couple relationship with the Cleveland Browns, head coach Butch Davis, and the Cleveland media “witch hunt.” This comes after Kelly Holcomb performed well in the season finale for the second time in three years and rookie Luke McCown showed flashes of potential in his unfortunate relief appearances.

Perhaps Garcia politicked his way out of Cleveland, but the new GM must decide if Holcomb can take Cleveland to higher levels. Holcomb, a career backup with 29 INTs against 27 TDs doesn’t appear to be a long-term solution. Removing the 1997 season from his career numbers, Holcomb jumps to 26 TDs against 21 INTs, delivered with a 64.2 percent completion rating, appropriate numbers for a gutsy, hard-working quarterback. Luke McCown remains a work in progress and while a non-factor, needs to considered for the future.

Maybe the QB decision ties itself to an overall assessment of the football team. If the team can win quickly, Garcia sticks around. He’s a proven playoff quarterback. If they’re close, they keep Holcomb around, fill some gaps, and make a run at the playoffs. If they’re rebuilding, drafting a franchise quarterback becomes the top priority.

Either way, the new GM will inherit an interesting situation. Talent exists on the Browns, but does a team?

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