1967 Blues for the Browns

[Saban1]

I remember during the 1971 season, Art Modell was quoted saying, "I traded Paul Warfield?" Modell seemed incredulous that he had done it. Art Modell was happy when he was able to announce Paul Warfield's return to the Browns in 1976.

I think that 1976 was too little and too late, but that is JMO.

[Brian wolf]

Too little and too late, maybe, but Warfield helped Brian Sipe become a good QB. Once Paul rejoined, the team went 9-5. Sipe got hurt in 1977 after a 5-4 start and Warfield retired afterward. Sipe probably wanted him to stay but Logan and Newsome were ready to step into the limelight. Had Warfield played in 1978, could the Browns had played for the wild card spot instead of Houston? Both losses to the Oilers were very close ...

[Saban1]

Yeah, but the Browns missed him from 1970 through 1975.

[Brian wolf]

We all know that but who would have thought that Jones and Hooker would be busts? Like you said, Tarkenton felt Jones had lost a step but he looked plenty fast when he scored the kick return TD on the first MNF telecast against the Jets. He got hurt and never did anything else that season.

Though Phipps would take over in 1972, he didnt go to Hooker enough but Warfield definitely could have been a factor had he never been traded, but like you said, Modell got rid of alot of good players because he was cheap. For me, his whole ownership of the Browns was nefarious--thats a strong word, maybe more like "questionable". Whether involving himself with gamblers, or being the frontman for silent partners, he was smart positioning himself into ownership. I felt the other owners rewarded him for having a talent and knowledge of negotiating with the networks.

[Saban1]

Meanwhile,back in 1967: Another break for the Cleveland Browns was quarterback Charley Johnson being drafted into the army. The Cardinals were leading in the Eastern Conference in 1966 until Johnson was injured and lost for the season. So, the Cards had to play the entire 1967 season with an inexperienced quarterback (Jim Hart). Another huge break for the Cleveland Browns in 1967.

And so, in 1967, Cleveland played an easy schedule and played in an easy division with what was supposed to be their main rival (the Cardinals) losing their starting quarterback, and Charley Johnson was good. But despite all those breaks, Cleveland still struggled that year.

In Cleveland's defense, quarterback Frank Ryan just wasn't the same as he was in previous years, due to a bunch of injuries (legs, shoulders, arms, etc.). Other Browns players were slipping and some were missing (Morin, McNeil, Groza, Collins punting, Glass but still made some big plays, etc.)

Thanks to Leroy Kelly and Ernie Green and an easy schedule, the Browns still managed to win in 1967.

[Saban1]

Maybe I should give the 1967 Browns a pass on their loss in their first game with the Giants that year. After all, they had beaten the Giants six straight
times dating back to 1964 (twice in 64, twice in 65, and twice in 66), so, the law of averages maybe just caught up with Cleveland.

The breaks seemed to all go the Giants way (blocked punt (first ever for Gary Collins) that led to easy TD for Giants, fumbled kick off that led to another easy TD for Giants, shanked punt by Koy that hit Browns player in leg as he was running downfield to try to set up return. That started momentum for New York).

Kelly and Green were knocked out of the game after clothesline tackles. Green returned to the game, Kelly didn't.

Vince Costello is the guy that knocked Kelly and Green out of the game. Costello was up because Cleveland is the team that traded him to the Giants over money. Costello also made the key interception that led to the Giants first TD.

First time dealing with Fran Tarkenton since he became Giants quarterback.

So, Cleveland had their excuses in that one.

[Saban1]

Maybe I should give the 1967 Browns a pass on their loss in their first game with the Giants that year. After all, they had beaten the Giants six straight
times dating back to 1964 (twice in 64, twice in 65, and twice in 66), so, the law of averages maybe just caught up with Cleveland.

The breaks seemed to all go the Giants way (blocked punt (first ever for Gary Collins) that led to easy TD for Giants, fumbled kick off that led to another easy TD for Giants, shanked punt by Koy that hit Browns player in leg as he was running downfield to try to set up return. That started momentum for New York).

Kelly and Green were knocked out of the game after clothesline tackles. Green returned to the game, Kelly didn't.

Vince Costello is the guy that knocked Kelly and Green out of the game. Costello was up because Cleveland is the team that traded him to the Giants over money. Costello also made the key interception that led to the Giants first TD.

First time dealing with Fran Tarkenton since he became Giants quarterback.

So, Cleveland had their excuses in that one.

Vince Costello knew how dangerous Leroy Kelly and Ernie Green could be. After all, Vince had been a teammate of Kelly and Green for a number of years. So, by knocking them out of this game, Cleveland's most dangerous weapon was Frank Ryan's passing, and Ryan's problems were probably well
known around the league. Of course, Green got back in the game, but he may have been a little shaky.

The Browns still had reserve backs Nick Pietrosante and rookie Larry Conjar, but Pietrosante was 30 years old and was more like a short yardage guy who could get you those 3 yards in his prime years, but was not really a breakaway back like Kelly and Green.

Larry Conjar was a good guy and had been an All-American back at Notre Dame, but was a rookie and was not as much of a threat as more experienced running backs Kelly and Green. Also, with Cleveland's running game not as much of a threat as usual, the Giants defensive line could kind of tee off on their pass rush, and they did sack Ryan twice on the Browns' last possession.

[conace21]

So, if the Eastern Conference in 1967 stayed the same as it was in 1966 (not divided into 2 divisions), then the Cleveland Browns would have certainly finished 2nd to the Dallas Cowboys, as they did in 1966. I guess the difference would have been that in 1966, the Browns were unlucky and had a tougher schedule whereas in 1967, Dallas was just better.

As it was, Cleveland was lucky in 1967. The Giants, who split wins in their 2 games with Cleveland, were unlucky to lose in their games with Washington and Minnesota. Cleveland was lucky to win both games with the Cardinals, and their games with Minnesota and with Washington.

To be fair about it, the Browns were unlucky in their first game with the New York Giants ( A blocked punt that went out of bounds on the 2 yard line that was quickly turned into 6 points by the Giants. A fumbled kickoff that was also turned into another 6 points. Both running backs Leroy Kelly and Ernie Green knocked out of the game (not an accident). A shanked punt that hit a Browns player on the leg as he was running down the field to try
to help set up a return and the Giants recovered.

So everything went right for the Giants that day and it all went wrong for Cleveland as the Giants prevailed, 38 to 34. Cleveland also gave away their last game with Philadelphia playing their reserves as their division was clinched. Cleveland had 4 turnovers as well as the blocked punt (their first in many years and the first for Gary Collins) in the Giants game.

OK, change some of those games around and the Giants might have actually won the Century Division in 1967 instead of Cleveland. Of course, the Giants were the worst team in the NFL in 1966 and maybe pro football history.

And so, The Cleveland Browns not only had an easy schedule in 1967 only playing three games with teams with a winning record out of 14 games and also played in a weak division (the Century Division) with the Browns being the only team with a winning record, but they were also lucky to win a bunch of their games. I guess that all teams can have an off year sometimes, and 1967 was it for the Cleveland Browns of that era.

How the New York Giants, who were one of the worst teams in pro football history in 1966 could be a serious threat to the Browns in 1967 is beyond me. I know that the Giants got Fran Tarkenton in 1967, and he made a difference, but the Giants defense was still bad. Even though having Tarkenton kept the defense off the field more and generally left them with better field position most of the time, the Giants were tied with New Orleans for number of points allowed. In 1967, New Orleans was a new franchise.

Frank Gifford and/or Howard Cosell once wrote that the two of them agreed that Fran Tarkenton leading the 1967 Giants to a 7-7 record was one of the most amazing feats they had ever seen. The Giants ranked third in points scored, and (tied with the Saints for) third most points allowed. I'd say a 7-7 record was most appropriate.

[Saban1]

Yes, the improvement of the Giants was an amazing achievement. Fran Tarkenton was the perfect quarterback for that New York team. They needed a mobile quarterback due to a team that had more than 60 sacks of their quarterbacks the year before. Tarkenton was also pretty good besides his ability to scramble.

After being the worst team in the league in 1966, getting Tarkenton leapfrogged the Giants over teams like Philadelphia, Washington, and Pittsburgh. Fran's former coach, Norm Van Brocklin, said that with Tarkenton at quarterback, his team would win games they should lose, and lose games that they should win. The Giants lost to Washington and beat Cleveland in 1967. In 1968, the Giants beat Dallas and lost to Atlanta.

All in all, I would say that the Giants were much improved in 1967, and all teams get upset by lesser teams at times.

[RichardBak]

Meanwhile,back in 1967: Another break for the Cleveland Browns was quarterback Charley Johnson being drafted into the army.

Man, when will we ever see something like that again? Big names like Elvis, Willie Mays, etc. putting their careers on hold to do a 2-year hitch. Or a guy like Staubach actually honoring his commitment to 6 years active duty after graduating from the Naval Academy instead of trying to wrangle out of it. For better or worse, a different era, to be sure.