Cleveland Rocks Again!: The rise of the Cleveland Browns

PART I. The Beginnings of a Dynasty

The year is 1990. The Cleveland Browns, one of the most successful and beloved NFL Franchises is struggling. They finish the season 3-13. They fire coach Bud Carson after starting 2-7 and Jim Shofner is named interim head coach. To make matters worse, the team plays in historic, but decrepit Municpal Stadium in downtown Cleveland, and while fans continue to show up, many in the Browns front office wonder how long the team will stay without a new Stadium. Rumors circulated that owner Art Modell shopped the team to cities such as Baltimore, Jacksonville, Saint Louis, and Charlotte. Fans heard these rumors too, but felt that the NFL would never let another debacle like the Baltimore Colts relocation occur.
Still rumors persisted until May of 1990. That year Clevelanders passed a ballot initiative providing a Sin Tax on alcohol and cigarettes which would provide some of the funding for new homes for the Indians and the Cavaliers.
The Browns had stayed out. Some thought it was because Modell would try to have a multipurpose stadium where the Browns and Indians would play and he'd get all the revenues. A similar plan like this had been proposed in the 80's but had fallen through. However after the ballot initiative Modell and the browns entered negotiations to build a new football stadium as part of the Gateway Sports Complex in Cleveland. The New Stadium would be Completed in 1994, just in time for the NFL's 75th Anniversary. While Modell maintained that it was his idea for the Browns to get a new stadium, it was the city of Cleveland and its mayor Michael White who many felt were the real heroes for offering to build the stadium and partially fund it. However Modell, even though he still wasn't popular, wasn't quite as polarizing, though some fans still held a grudge against him for firing Paul Brown in 1962.
On the field, the Browns hire coach Bill Belichick, the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants, who were one of the better teams of the 80's. The first few seasons of the Belichick Era were less than memorable with records of 6-10 in 1991, and 7-9 in 1992 and 1993

1994 was the beginning of a new era in Cleveland Browns history. The new Browns stadium was completed in 1994 just in time for the season, and the opening game would be against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Opening day was momentous occasion with Modell, Al Lerner, and Cleveland mayor Michael White dedicating the stadium and participating in the opening coin toss. It was only the beginning of what was to be a year full of celebration in Cleveland. The Browns went on to win 17-10 against the Steelers, with QB Vinny Testaverde throwing the winning TD. The Browns would go 13-3 losing only on the road to Kansas City, Denver, and Pittsburgh, making the Browns the number one seed in the NFL playoffs.

In the first round of that years playoffs the Dolphins defeated the Chiefs 27-17 to face the San Diego Chargers, while Pittsburgh would face New England and win 21-14. The next week Cleveland would face the rival Steelers at home. Many predicted victory, but the Steelers came to play. QB Neil O'Donnell threw for 3 Touchdown passes, and the Browns ended up being defeated 31-17. Many fans were disappointed, but few realized that the best was yet to come, though it would take some time
Reflecting on the 94 Season, Bill Belichick was quoted in his Autobiography as saying that "The 94 season was really the building block of success. We had a real good team that year, and while we were inexperienced and lost our first game, I felt we had made progress as a team"

Eventually the Steelers would lose to the San Diego Chargers, who would lose to the San Francisco 49ers in Miami. 1995 started out with high expectations for the Browns. Comfortable in their new stadium while the Raiders and Rams had moved from LA to Oakland and Saint Louis, Sport Illustrated picked the Browns to be AFC Champions that year. Many felt that this was possible since the Browns had one of the better defenses in the league, though many obstacles lay ahead including the hated Steelers.

In the end the Browns finished the season 10-6. While they were not the top team in the league. They ended up losing to Pittsburgh, Detroit, New England, and Minnesota on the road and a thriller to the Green Bay Packers at home. Still the Browns had finished high enough that they were the 2nd seed in the playoffs and got a bye.
In the first round of the 1995 playoffs, the Bills played the Colts and won 35 28, while the Steelers played the Chargers and were able to win 35-21, meaning they would meet Cleveland in the playoffs for a 2nd straight year.

Both the Browns and the Steelers seemed evenly matched, though many felt the Browns, in spite of their defense were going to win due to Pittsburgh's past success. However, the Browns were able to pull off a win, beating Pittsburgh 17-14 due to a game winning touchdown by Vinny Testaverde who threw to Andre Rison for the score, sending Cleveland to play the Buffalo Bills, who beat the Kansas City Chiefs 14-7.
Once again many fans and reporters wondered if Cleveland would shake off its lack of success in playoff games and beat the Bills. While these Bills were not the team who had won 4 straight AFC titles, they were still respected by the media. However, just as in the REgular season, the Browns beat the Bills. While it was close for most of the game the Browns pulled away in the 4th quarter winning 27-17. Fans were ecstatic and even charged down to the field, where they tried to topple the goalposts. Finally Clevelanders were victorious and were heading to the Super Bowl after years of disappointment. However, there was one final obstacle, the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys, easily the best team of the early 90's, had won two super bowls already, and under former Oklahoma Sooners coach Barry Switzer, and new owner Jerry Jones had regained the moniker of "America's Team". The Cowboys had beaten the Packers and Eagles on their way to the Super Bowl, and had looked to be the favorite.

In the end, the Cowboys would be victorious, crushing Cleveland 35-9 at Sun Devil Stadium. While many Cleveland fans were just happy to be there, it was still a crushing loss. Many still felt that the city of Cleveland was cursed and that they'd never win a title, in spite of having a good enough offense and a successful defense.

The 1996 Draft would also be a memorable one for the Browns. Many future Pro Bowler and Hall of Famer would be in this draft, including and Ray Lewis. Lewis would be drafted by the Browns, who picked him as the 31st pick. While LEwis was praised for his intesity, his size was seen by some as a problem and as a result fell in the draft. Other notable players in the draft included Jonathan Odgen of the Saint Louis Rams, Eddie George of the Oilers, Marvin Harrison of the Colts, Terrel Owens of the 49ers, Amani Toomer of the Giants, andMike Alstott of the Bucs. Lewis would eventually become a leader of the Cleveland defense in spite of off the field issues, however this was yet to come.
 
Part 2: Playoff struggles

The 1996 Season was just about to begin. Once again the Browns were picked to win the division ahead of the Steelers. This was due to the fact that many felt the defense would continue to be solid with rookie Ray Lewis, while the offense would hopefully improve, though many wondered if Vinny Testaverde would continue to be a decent QB. They did address their issues with the running game though by signing free agent Bam Morris, who was cut by the Steelers due to off field issues.

In 1996 The Browns finished 10-6 and led the Division, beating out the Steelers for the Division Crown and earning the 2nd seed in the playoffs. Eventually, they would face the New England Patriots, whom they had beaten in the regular season 17-14 at home. However, the Pats were hot were able to beat the browns at home 31-21 due to an excellent game by Drew Bledsoe. The Patriots would go on to lose to the Denver Broncos at mile high stadium. Denver had been hot the whole season and had beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers badly before crushing the Pats. Eventually the Broncos would beat the Green Bay Packers 35-31 winning QB John Elways first title.

After the defeat, the Browns looked towards the NFL draft where they selected Virginia DE Jon Harris as the 25th pick, to help bolster their D-Line. Other notables included Orlando Pace being taken by the Rams as a first pick, Peter Boulware taken by the Jets, James Farrior by the Cardinals Tony Gonzalez being taken by the Miami Dolphins and Warrick Dunn being drafted by the Buccaneers. The Browns would also take Mike Minter in the 2nd round to bolster the defense as well as signing Tony Siragusa to the Offensive line.

By 1997, many felt the Browns would suffer a decline. While their defense was still a consistent group, the offense was a worry. While Vinny Testaverde had been a decent QB and had his best season ever in 1996. However some felt his age would catch up with him, and his contract would end at the end of the season. The running game also wasn't what was expected, though Bam Morris did rush for 755 yard in 96. Still many felt the Browns needed a better running game and thus were picked 2nd in the division to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Mark Brunell.

Despite beating the Jags on opening day, the Browns would go on to a 9-7 season in which they would get swept by the rival STeelers who would go on to win the division. The Browns would miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993. While its defense had ranked in the top half of the league, Vinny Testaverde struggled through the season, though his stats were still better than most QBs. As a result Bill Belichick and Art Modell felt the team needed to go in a new direction and find a new QB at some point.

The season ended with the Bronco's being crowned Super Bowl Champions again, beating the Packers in San Diego, after defeating the Jaguars, the Chiefs and the Steelers winning Elway's 2nd title. He then stated that he would come back for a final season hoping to "go out with a 3 peat".

The 1998 NFL Draft would be considered one of the best in recent memory with QB Peyton Manning ending up with the Colts, Charles Woodson going to the Raiders, Fred Taylor with the Jaguars, and Takeo Spikes with the Bengals. The Browns would draft injury prone Robert Edwards at halfback, and Offensive Tackle Todd Weiner, in order to bolster their ground game. QB though was still an issue, and the Browns did not make any moves other than trading some lower end picks for QB Jim Harbaugh of the Colts, though many felt it wasn't a very good move. While some felt that Vinny Testaverde would have been replaced at some points, many in the media felt that the Browns didn't want Testaverde to come back and let him go to the Jets.

As a result the 1998 Browns were picked 4th in their division. The Defense would still be a solid unit, but the offense remained question mark with a new running back and Harbaugh at QB. However, the season would be a pleasant surprise for Browns fans

The off season also resulted in another near move. Houston gave the Oilers a new stadium that would replace the Astrodome in 2001. Owner Bud Adams was ecstatic and stated that "if Cleveland can keep their team, surely Houston will want to keep theirs". Rumors had swirled that the team had wanted to go to LA if a stadium had not been built, but it was not to be.

The team would go 9-7 and finish 2nd in the division ahead of the Steelers and Oilers though a sweep by the Jags would keep them out of the playoffs. Once again fans and even Art Modell felt that Bill Belichick should be fired in spite of exceeding expectations. While many praised Belichicks coaching and felt that he had kept the ship afloat even when the struggling Harbaugh was hurt and Eric Zier was struggling as well, the Browns had fought hard with running backs Robert Edwards and undrafted phenom Priest Holmes, who filled for Edwards after his injury. In the end Belichick was kept on, but he fired his offensive coordinator Steve Crosby, replacing him with Brian Billick, the mastermind behind the Vikings offense that had led the team to a 15-1 record.

In the playoffs,the Broncos were able to complete a 3 peat beating the Atlanta Falcons after defeating the Dolphins and the Jets in the playoffs. Many hailed this team as the best team of the 90's, with many saying they were better than the Cowboys of the 90's.

When the draft came, the Browns ended up taking future Pro Bowler Daunte Culpepper at Quarterback, who was still on the board when the Browns had the 18th pick. They also would get a new RB to replace injured Robert Edwards, selecting Joe Montgomery of Ohio State. The first pick that year though was Donovan McNabb of the Eagles, who would go on to future success. However the Bengals would choose Tim Couch. While Couch would not do terrible, he wasn't the savior Bengals fans hoped for. This led to QB Akili Smith, conisdered by many to be the 2nd best QB in the draft, fell to the 10th pick by the Vikings, though he eventually flopped, while the Bears chose QB Cade McCown, who would end up being a bust.

Offseason moves for the Browns included getting rid of Harbaugh, who was sent to San Diego. While fans in Cleveland felt that things would not go that well next season, they finally had a new QB who they hoped would lead them to the future.
 
I'm torn; having switched to the Packers in '95 upon learning the Browns were leaving, I'm glad the Browns reached a Super Bowl - I'm one of those who'd have been happy with anything, I was ready to get pounded as expected by the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV - but I'm a little annoyed that the Packers haven't won a Super Bowl. Could you please get Brett Favre one ring anyway with the Packers?:)
 
You know, in TTL I can imagine that with Tim Couch being drafted by a more established team than the 1999 expansion Browns (and actually having an offensive line to protect him) he actually could emerge as a legitimate NFL QB. Injuries was the biggest drawback he faced, and although I don't see him becoming a Peyton Manning, I could still see him do pretty well with a lot of other teams. If he were drafted by Philly (#2 pick in 1999) or the Bengals (#3 pick) he might have ended up in the Pro Bowl.

You know, Couch in Philly would have a very, very interesting butterfly effect. Does McNabb now go to the Bengals? Or do they decide to take a chance on Ricky Williams? If they do does Ditka not trade 30 draft picks to get him?

And the other question is will there still be an expansion team in 1999 ITTL? If so I would imagine that LA gets the #1 pick...
 
Any timeline that has a Cleveland pro sports team enjoying success should be in ASB. ;)

I'm not saying that their success would last. I'm currently thinking that 99 and 2000 will be lean years or at least non-playoff years. Maybe Belichick is fired and still goes to the patriots, while Billick coaches the Browns as he did with the ravens in OTL.

Oh, and to respond to Brett Favre never winning a Super Bowl. I know that its tough not having him win a ring, but I just see the Bronco's as being a dynasty at that time. I'm actually a packers fan and while it saddens me, maybe Favre wins one at some other point. The thing that has been tough in this TL is that with the Browns being better it screws up some draft things, but not too much.
I have another issue too. I don't know how to schedule since the 99 schedules have the OTL Browns on it, so i'm looking at how to keep the schedules from 99 to 01 somewhat realistic
 
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Cleveland Rocks Again: The rise of the Cleveland Browns

Hello there. I know i shouldn't throw in the towl, but i've come to the conclusion that while the Browns would be better off. Seeing things like scheduling and the NFL draft would be really tough to predict in the TTL. I will say though that if I were to continue I would see the Browns winning it either in 2000 or 2001. What does happen for sure though is that the league expands by 2002 with the new Baltimore Ravens (who i would have made kind of like OTL Browns, though maybe a little better) and an Los Angeles Team that I would have called the Titans and would have the colors of red and black The divisions would look like this


AFC
East
NY Jets
New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins

North
Cleveland Browns
Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens
Pittsburgh Steelers

South (this was hard division since there would be no new expansion team so I had an NFC team switch, and I made it the Carolina Panthers, the seahawks switch to the NFC as in OTL)
Carolina Panthers
Indianapolis Colts
Houston Oilers
Jacksonville Jaguars

West
Kansas City
Oakland
San Diego
Denver


NFC
East
Dallas
New York
Philadelphia
Washington

Central
Green Bay
Chicago
Detroit
Minnesota

West
LA Titans
Seattle
Arizona
Saint Louis
 
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