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Cleveland Browns Top 10 passing games of all-time

With the Cleveland Browns set to embark on the first of four preseason friendlies in preparation for the 2015 NFL season, the annual quarterback conundrum surrounds the team.

Josh McCown is the starter, Johnny Manziel is the backup. And if that doesn’t fill Browns fans with joy and enthusiasm, is it a familiar feeling as the team has been searching for a quarterback since Nov. 8, 1993.

The team’s continuing struggles to fill what many consider the most important position on the team is baffling, especially when you consider the franchise’s history.

Otto Graham set the unbeatable gold standard for quarterback play, taking the Browns to 10 title games (and winning seven) during his 10-year career. Frank Ryan led the Browns to their last NFL title in 1964, Bill Nelsen went to the playoffs three times in his four years as the starter, Brian Sipe posted some memorable days along the lakefront, and Bernie Kosar passed the Browns to three AFC Championship Games.

In that spirit, here are the Top 10 passing games in franchise history, as ranked by Jonathan Knight’s 2013 book, The Browns Bible. Knight chose the games based on the highest passer rating posted by the quarterback, as long as they had a minimum of 15 pass attempts in the game. (Which is why Ryan’s game in the season finale of 1964 did not make the list.)

The full top 10 is available in our latest post at Dawg Pound Daily.

5 things Browns must do to have success in 2015

The numbers are a bit staggering when you take a look at them.

Heading into the 2015 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns have had:

• Only two winning seasons since returning to the NFL in 1999 – and none since 2007.
• No more than three wins in the AFC North Division since the NFL went to the current division alignment in 2002.
• Only two playoff appearances since 1989 and no playoff wins since 1994.
• Double-digit losses in a season six times in the past seven years, and 10 times in the past 12 seasons.
• More players suspended by the NFL since 1999 than playoff wins.

But that is all old news and we’re trying hard to get past the history and look to the future as it relates to the Browns.

To that end, check out our latest post at Dawg Pound Daily to learn five things the Browns simply must do this fall if they want to build on last season’s 7-9 finish and find success.

Q&A with The Royal Perth Browns Backers

The Browns Backers Worldwide is considered to be one of the largest organized fan clubs in all of professional sports with members and clubs established throughout the world.

The organization exists as a non-profit group to actively support and positively promote the Cleveland Browns.

Today, in the first of a series focusing on the best fans in the NFL, we talk with Bruce Millinger, president of The Royal Perth Browns Backers of Western Australia, one of two clubs in that country. Millinger was kind enough to join us for a virtual Q&A on the club and what it is like to be a Browns fan almost 12,000 miles away from the shores of Lake Erie.

Check out the full interview over at Dawg Pound Daily.

Time for Browns defense to earn its money

The Cleveland Browns will spend 54 percent of their payroll on the defensive side of the ball this year, the only team in the NFL that will spend more than half of its cap space trying to stop the other team from moving the ball, according to Sports Illustrated.

The Browns have a league-high $82.1 million currently invested in a defense that finished last season ninth in the NFL in points allowed at 21.1 per game, tied for 10th by allowing opposing offenses to convert on just 38 percent of third-down attempts, was second in interceptions with 21, was eighth in pass yards allowed per game at 224.5, and was tops in the league in allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete just 57.1 percent of their pass attempts.

Of course, that same defense was last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, 27th in yards per carry, and 28th in runs of 20-plus yards. Opposing teams ran the ball 500 times on the Browns last year, and on 87 of those rushes they gained eight yards or more.

If the Browns are going to have any success in 2015, it is time for the defense to start earning those paychecks. We take a deeper look in our latest post at Dawg Pound Daily.