TanksAndSpartans wrote:Rupert Patrick wrote:when the Browns came into the NFL in 1950 and dismantled the Eagles to start the season, it proved the Browns were and have been for some time the best professional football team in the United States.
I disagree with this statement. The Eagles were a team who relied on the running of Steve Van Buren to get into 3 straight championship games. By 1950, Van Buren had hit that magic age for running backs - 30. He didn't even play in that first Browns game.
Every season is different. The Browns proved they were the best team in '50 by winning the title, not by beating the Eagles. We don't know what would have happened if the Browns played the Eagles for the championship in '48 or '49. Watch the way the Eagles played D against Van Brocklin and Waterfield in the '49 game. The 6-6 '50 Eagles weren't the same team - certainly not the first or last example of how a lot can change in one offseason.
The Eagles beat the Los Angeles Rams, 56 to 20, in 1950. JMO, but I don't believe that Philadelphia got so much worse in 1950 as their competition got much stiffer with the Browns entering their division and the Giants being much improved with the addition of players from the AAFC Yankees like DT Arnie Weinmeister, and defensive backs Tom Landry, Otto Schnellbacher, and Harmon Rowe. Weinmeister was arguably the best defensive lineman in football at the time and the defensive backs were very good.
Anyway, the Giants invented the "Umbrella Defense" that year, which probably would not have worked if not for the new players from the Yankees. The Giants beat the Eagles twice in 1950, both close games. Of course, Cleveland also beat the Eagles twice. Philadelphia was 6 wins and 2 losses in 1950 without their games with the Browns and the Giants. I think that the Eagles would have won another Eastern Conference title in 1950 without the addition of the Browns to the NFL and the improvement of the Giants. They also likely would have won another NFL Championship.
Cleveland lost some great players from their 1949 team, which probably hurt them in 1950, including Lou Saban, who may have been the best linebacker in football at the time. He was considered the best in the AAFC. Also, a couple of pretty good guards in Ed Ulinski and Bob Gaudio, and their 2nd best running back during their AAFC days in Edgar "Special Delivery" Jones. Eleven players in all. Some say that Cleveland added some good players in 1950, but what were they supposed to do, not replace the retired players? Seven of the replacements were rookies taken in the draft. Their biggest addition, according to many, was defensive end Len Ford, taken in the dispersal draft of AAFC players, but Ford was injured due to a cheap shot by Pat Harder in a game against the Cards and only played in 4 or 5 regular season games.
I also think that Cleveland's 6 straight Eastern Conference titles starting in 1950 validates their championships in the AAFC.
