New Name, New Location

We are changing our name from the Phoenix Metro Browns Backers to the West Valley Browns Backers!

All future posts (as well as all of the older posts) will be on  http://brownsfanclub.blogspot.com.

Click on any part of this post to take you to the new site.

John W. Heisman

Did you know that John W. Heisman was born in this house in Cleveland, Ohio on October 3, 1869?

He then grew up in Titusville, PA and went to Brown University and then Penn where, though small of stature he played offensive line on the football team.

After getting his law degree, he took on the coaching job at Oberlin College. He also coached at Auburn, Clemson, University of Pennsylvania, Washington and Jefferson and Rice and his most productive coaching was at Georgia Tech (1904-1919)where he coached the team to 33 straight wins.

Heisman was credited with many football innovations including the forward pass and having the center snap the ball to the quarterback.

After retirement, John W. Heisman was named the first Athletic Director of the Downtown Athletic Club (DAC) in New York. This led to the DAC voting to determine the best college football player in the country. Jay Berwanger, a halfback from the University of Chicago was selected as the first winner in 1935.

Before the next year's award could be announced, Heisman died and the Downtown Athletic Club award was renamed the Heisman Trophy.

The home is at the corner of West 29th and Bridge in the Ohio City Neighborhood of Cleveland, near the West Side Market.

 

Despite Injury Issues; Browns to Workout Bowers

Despite health issues that have scared away some teams, the Browns are going to workout out Da’Quan Bowers in the next few weeks.

According to Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Todd McShay of ESPN, Bowers is completely off of two different NFL teams’ boards as he failed two physicals and failed to show adequate progress in the healing process.  Cleveland is scheduled to meet with Bowers on April 11th and 12th which rules the Browns out of potential teams that Bowers has previously fallen away from. Cleveland has a significant need for a pass rusher as the team will move to a 4-3 defense and currently does not employ a true defensive end on the roster. Injury concerns have to play a role in Cleveland’s decision to take a look at Bowers. Considering the draft history of Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert, it is hard to predict how the Browns may approach Bowers and even how much of an impact his injury will really have on the front office.

Wanna See Colt McCoy’s Huge Snake?

Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy has lots of time to kill during the NFL lockout. So, he decided to kill a snake during a fishing trip in Texas.

Check out the shot he posted on Twitter.

“And here was my surprise waiting for me under the truck as I was loading the boat back up,” tweeted McCoy.

This isn’t your Garter-variety snake. It’s a six-footer. It’s the kind that’s so big, it would make a grown man run like a girl — that is unless you’re Colt McCoy.

Original Story: http://www.imagecpr.com/?p=5134

Holmgren Says Delhomme Never Said He Wouldn’t Be a Backup

According to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, Browns general manager Mike Holmgren is refuting a report from the National Football Post that Jake Delhomme informed the team he has no intention of being a backup in 2011.
The original report seemed fishy as it seemed unlikely Delhomme would voluntarily walk away from the $5.4 million in base salary the Brown owe Delhomme. Jake is no longer a legitimate starter in the League but only a fool would walk away from that kind of money for holding a clipboard and giving Colt McCoy friendly advice. The Browns hold all the cards here.

Peyton Hillis Wins First Round of Madden 2012 Cover

Peyton Hillis rolled over Ray Rice by getting 62 percent of the vote in his first round matchup. He's now matched up against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan for the second round.

While Hillis is a 10 seed in the bracket (compared to Ryan's two seed), he has a great shot to upset the young QB.

The Cleveland Browns have a huge fan base filled with people who root for their team with an unsurpassed level of passion and intensity. With their votes, Hillis can pull off another upset.

VOTE FOR HILLIS HERE

Browns Ideally Want McCoy as the Starting QB in 2011

It would seem to be that at the age of 36, Jake Delhomme would appear to be at the stage of his career where he would make an ideal backup, but it’s starting to look like he either will be brought back to Cleveland as a starter, or he won’t be brought back at all.
Dan Pompei of the National Football Post writes that his Browns sources tells him everyone really wants Colt McCoy to be the starter, but if the work stoppage drags on into the summer, McCoy, a second year player, might not have enough time to learn what he needs to learn and prove to new head coach Pat Shurmur that he’s ready to start. In that case, the team will likely feel more comfortable with the veteran Delhomme.
Bringing him back to Cleveland as a backup is complicated but Delhomme has told the team he has no intention of being a backup. He wants to start and that means he might not be willing to take a paycut, and he’s probably making too much to be brought back as a No. 2.

Jake Delhomme Could Be The Cleveland Browns Starter In 2011

Dan Pompei of NationalFootballPost.com reported Sunday that the Cleveland Browns may be inclined to start Jake Delhomme next season in place of Colt McCoy if the current NFL lockout extends beyond training camp and into the fall.

There has been much speculation throughout this off season about Colt McCoy and whether or not his development would take a hit due to learning his second offense in just his second season. That seems to be the justification for Jake Delhomme possibly receiving the nod as the organization may want to turn to experience rather than youth due to a lack of practice time.

Many fans want McCoy to remain the starter next season and for obvious reasons. McCoy helped the Browns defeat two Super Bowl caliber teams in 2010 and Jake Delhomme simply played horribly with the opportunities he received. In limited action due to a high ankle sprain, Delhomme only threw two touchdowns opposed to seven interceptions and lacked the big-play ability that the Browns needed.

The Browns team looked revitalized under Colt McCoy at times during the 2010 season and that could be much of the reason why the fans have such faith in the youngster from Texas. McCoy symbolizes a new era in Cleveland Browns football and much of the reason for the team hiring Pat Shurmur was his ability to tutor Colt in his system.

Cleveland Browns fan sues NFL in attempt to end lockout

Fans are getting involved in the NFL's labor battle.

A Cleveland businessman is suing the National Football League and its teams, claiming his right to buy tickets through his personal seat license has been violated because of the lockout. Ken Lanci, a self-made millionaire, has asked the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to overturn the lockout that is threatening the 2011 NFL season.

He is seeking $25,000 in breach of contract from the Cleveland Browns and the same amount from the league and its teams for contract interference.

In a phone interview with the Associated Press, Lanci summed up his complaint:

"It's a fight between billionaires and millionaires. There isn't any sympathy for multi-millionaires. It's just not going to happen. And somebody has to stand up and say, 'Enough's enough.'"

In other interviews he's called out the owners for being greedy and players for being ungrateful for making so much money when many in the country are suffering. But isn't he a millionaire himself? Was this lawsuit filed from a glass house?

I'm so confused. Between the billionaire owners and the millionaire players and the millionaire businessman who is calling out his rich brethren, I don't know who to root for. This is like watching a Soviet Union-East Germany hockey game from the 1976 Olympics.

Since everything I know about the law was learned from staying home sick from school and watching "Matlock," I can't speak to the validity of the lawsuit. However, on the surface it doesn't appear to have much merit. As I understand it, PSLs give buyers the right to buy season tickets. As long as there's a refund policy, where's the breach of contract. (And this ignores the fact that the lockout is still five whole months from canceling games.)

Kudos to Lanci for stepping up and trying to force the NFL's hand, but this isn't the way a lockout is going to end. It'd be more effective if wealthy fans like himself said they weren't going to buy tickets even if a lockout is averted. If enough of that happened, then the league might have to take notice.

Former Cleveland Brown, Hanford Dixon, Named Head Coach of Cleveland Crush

Hanford Dixon was once one of the best cornerbacks that the Browns had to offer as he spent nine seasons with the team from 1981 to 1989. On Thursday, Dixon was named head coach of the Cleveland Crush of the lingerie football league. 

The Crush will be an expansion franchise this season as the team will begin play at the Quicken Loans arena this summer. Dixon was a standout during his career as he compiled 26 interceptions in 131 games while helping the Browns achieve one of their best decades of football throughout the 80′s.

Dixon will reportedly head the Crush’s open tryouts on Sunday of this week as the team will look to prepare for the upcoming season.