If you post here then there is a reason that you do. You love the Browns. You love talking about the Browns. You love being with other people who love the Browns. DBN is the best site for Browns fans to mingle and get technical.

I’ve been posting here for almost 3 years. DBN members have really become the brothers I have never met. And Emily the one sister.

What better way to show your allegiance to the Browns and the DBN brotherhood by wearing a personalized DBN shirt!! This has been discussed in another thread and some of us think it’s a good idea. The purpose of this post is to find designs that we can all vote on later.

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Merry Christmas, guys!

How many of you got something Browns related for Christmas?

Along with a new Fender acoustic and 2 12packs of Heineken, I got 2 Browns plaques. One is of Peyton Hillis in mid flight. The other one is of DA, Winslow, and Edwards. Obviously an old one. It says "Browns Big 3".When I unwrapped it and saw what it was, I started laughing my ass off! Of course I didn’t have the heart to say why I was laughing and scream out "Those guys are nutsacks!". It’s the thought that counts. Right?

I think the best present is what my Aunt sent me. She knows I’m a Cardinal fan and not a huge Buckeye fan. The note just said "HA!" It was an Ohio State chew toy for Kosar. He’s been running around with it all morning. Just watching him being happy makes me happy.

So please share you Browns presents here. We want to know!

Merry Christmas and GO BROWNS!

Robert

Hey Cardinals fans. This is Robert from Dawgs By Nature.

Your boy, JoeCB6942, wrote up a “ask” post on our site. So I’m here to return the favor.

I have to admit. The Cards are playing very well right now. You’re in the Wild Card hunt and I’m rooting for you guys to prove the NFL wrong. If 2 NFC West teams can get in the playoffs people will shut their mouths.

But enough about the Cards. This is about the Browns. This is your opportunity to ask DBN some questions about our team. Ask about Hillis and all the BS that has occurred this year. Ask about the handling of Colt last week when he got knocked out. Ask anything you want. We will come and answer all your questions.

And since there is no bad blood between us, this thread should go smoothly. Unless some stupid Steeler fans show up.

Well done, guys. The last thread got filled up quickly. You can start new discussions here and continue with unfinished business on the first thread. 

Thanks to all those who are participating. It’s been fun!

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Hello San Francisco!!!!!

I’m here to kick off this weeks “Ask a Browns Fan” thread. As the only Dawgs by Nature member (that I know of) who was born and raised in the Bay Area, I felt obligated to post this. I lived through your success, pain, and rebuilding years. And by the looks of it, you guys are starting to kick ass once again. 

Let’s get this started. 

This game won’t be easy for the Browns. The only thing we have going for us is the Defense. As it stands now we are 4th in total YPG defensively. Actually, the AFC North division holds the top 4 defensive spots in the NFL. The Browns are also ranked 2nd in pass defense. Only .1 yards behind the Steelers.   

So ask away, 9ers. My brothers at DBN will answer your questions the best they can once they get here. 

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The lockout is coming to an end! And with an expected all-out Royal Rumble to occur during FA signings and trades this week I figured I’d get one more OT in here. Because after this week it’ll be nothing but Browns football... finally.

I decided to go with a tattoo thread. Personally, I love ‘em. I got my first tatt at age 18 and currently have 8. Of course I try to get ink that no one else has. With each ranging from $100 - $500 I’m over $1800 worth of work done. That may seem like a lot to you but trust me, I’m a lightweight in this area. I don’t have huge murals or anything and don’t plan to. Those get pretty expensive.

I’m going to put up pics of some of my Ink. If you want to share pics of yours with any stories, please do! I would love to see them and what brought you to do it.

And if you’re disgusted by tattoos and think people that get them are idiots, feel free to express your opinion!

Family crest. My favorite one. Took 4 hours.

Last name in German writing. "Tintelnot"

This is a few weeks old. A bit creepy, but cool color.

My lil’ Brownie tatt. He’s so cute! Had fun getting this one.

In the second addition to our Off-Topic series, let’s concentrate on TV shows. It came up in Simmsinns' movie thread and had the potential of a "highjacking". So we’ll discuss our favorite TV shoes, reality shoes, mini series, cartoons, ect, here. Is there a TV shoe that you can’t stand or wonder why it’s still on air? Release your anger! The same rules apply as to the last Off-Topic thread. Stick to the topic and please follow our DBN guidelines.

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Mangini... "Great Lakes Offence"...What?? Did that work out? Things are changing around here. We’re going old school around this thing.

We all know where the West Coast Offence came from, right? Mr. Bill Walsh. Now it’s being implemented in our great organization. Holmgren and Shurmur are experts. But are you?

This style offence is quite easy to understand. The typical offensive methodology is "run to set up the pass". Not in the WCO! It’s the complete opposite! It’s about spreading the defense, by throwing, to eventually get the players to cheat out of their positions. Then you run the ball down their throats. It’s a lot easier to gain 4 yards on the ground when the LB’s first steps are backwards. But please don’t get the wrong idea. Passing is the MAJOR aspect of the WCO.

Personnel: Here I will focus on the importance of each position and the players we currently have that will produce in the WCO. All except the offensive line. To me it’s just simple blocking schemes for those guys. Nothing to really get in to.

QB - An intelligent, accurate, and alert QB is needed to run this huddle. Someone who can make a decision at any point during the play. Forget about the long ball, arm strength isn’t a priority here. Short and precise throws are necessary. The QB needs feet too. Being able to role out on any given play, escaping a collapsing pocket, and running for daylight is an absolute must.

Sound like someone on the Browns’ roster? That’s right, Colt McCoy. The winningest (is that even a word?) QB in college football history. Whether you like the kid or not, he’s a perfect fit for Shurmur’s WCO. Everything I stated above... this player has. We all saw glimpses this past season of leadership, accuracy, and run ability.

TE - The TE can’t be overlooked. This position plays a small but VERY important role. The player needs hands, speed not so much. They’re great targets on short downs. Get them matched up against a LB in the middle and throw it high. Don’t forget the guy needs to be a good blocker when we bust out the run. With the defense on their heels and expecting PASS, an agile TE will help create a hole.

Ben "My Dear" Watson and Evan Moore. What a pairing this is!! Watson was by far a great pickup last year. I honestly can say I didn’t expect the contribution he had. He can block and he catches almost everything. He’ll play a major role, again, this year. Evan Moore? Where did he come from? Oh, that’s right... Heaven. This kid is a huge up and coming player. IMO he has better hands and feet than Watson. Look forward to 7 man lines with these two studs holding up the books.

FB - Pretty simple. Needs to be able to block and have good hands. This player HAS to have the ability to run screen, swing, and flat routes. Doesn’t have to be a Bull Dog, but needs to know his role.

We have one of those. The best FB in the NFL... Lawrence Vickers. This guy can break a LB’s facemask and burn you down the side off a reception... at the same time. We can’t let him go. He would be the skeleton key to our WCO.

RB - More of a receiver than a true RB (a la Faulk). Almost the same responsibilities as the FB, but a lil’ different. He must keep running the ball and blocking in the back of his head because running routes is his main priority. While being of a small stature. The OC needs to match him up with LB’s. He’ll be most effective that way.

You may not like what I have to say here. Hillis and Hardesty are not WCO RB’s. Hillis should do OK, but he’s not the "ideal" player for this type of offence. They’re run first type of guys. Expect Shurmur to grab a speedy RB in this year’s draft.

WR - Speed doesn’t mean jack. Precise routes and hands are important here. Getting away from the DB to get YAC is the plan. Keeping the LB’s on their heels is important. It’s the WR’s job to spread the field. To get the LB’s away from their honesty and drop back in to coverage. This is where the run comes in!

I could go in to a rant right now, but I won’t. We don’t have route runners. Plain and simple. Then comes the 2011draft. A WR in the early two must occur.

Formations: This is how we will line up at the line of scrimmage. It’s not as complicated as you think. This is getting pretty long so I’ll only do a couple.

I need to draw diagrams of formations. Please bare with me! Everyone has their own name for things, so I used my personal titles.

I Formation (plain "I" to me followed by a color to represent WR placement ) The core of the WCO. It’s a two back set (RB lines up directly behind the FB) 1 TE, and 2 WR’s. The TE usually lines up on the strong side of the play, but not always. When a team lines up in "I" your first instinct (as a defender) is "run play". Not the case for us. We’ll definitely throw out of this formation. The backs will split and block as the QB drops backs between them. Either back can also run a short route out of this formation. Which I assume we will see most often on 1st and 3rd downs. .

This is also a time where the WR’s should run short routes over the middle behind the LB’s. Like I said before... get the defense to move backwards at the snap. And when you get the LB’s anticipating PASS first, you run it!

Trips Right (I call it Green): here we have a single man backfield, 1 TE, and 3 WR’s. You can run out of this but I doubt we will as much as last year. But it works as a good ploy! Two of the receivers are out wide while the third is a roamer. That man can line up off the TE (must be in the backfield) as a freaky flanker or he can kick out as a double and do some damage in man on man coverage. But he has to be in sync with the WR he’s lined up next to. Which means one of them has to go across the middle when asked. Again to keep the LB’s honest.

I know I’m super late on this. Hope you guys think I did ok on my first Offence Post. There is plenty MORE to discuss about the WCO. I want to post some plays for you guys. I will absolutely draw up some WR trees and blocking schemes upon request. Or I can talk about other offences.

Remember back in September when B19K asked for all of our predictions? I went back and read a bunch of them this morning. Funny stuff. The Bengals, Niners, Texans, Cowboys, Titans, Dolphins were some VERY popular picks.

Go check out your prediction and see how well, or bad, you did.

Here’s mine.

AFC North: Bengals. Ravens D is nothing and Steelerss blow hard. Browns come in 3rd.
AFC South: Colts. Duh
AFC East: Pats. Don’t know why.
AFC West: Chargers. Crappy division.
AFC Wildcards: Ravens and Broncos.
NFC North: Vikings. Barely.
NFC South: Falcons. Saints fall flat.
NFC East: Cowboys. Romo tears it up.
NFC West: This division is still going?
NFC Wildcards: Giants and Packers.
Super Bowl Match-up and Score: Colts and Packers. 34 – 27 Colts.
Browns Record: 7-9
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Mathews
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Suh
MVP: P. Manning
Fearless Prediction Sure To Go Wrong: meh

I sure nailed that NFC West, didn’t I? discoinferno083 liked it.

The year was 1994, exactly 1 week before I blew my ACL, MCL, and fractured the growth plates in my right knee on kick coverage (which shut down my football career at the age of 14).

My friend and I were at Great America- Santa Clara, CA.

We found a short ride line and decided to jump on it. This one guy, who wasn’t in line, was saying that Joe Montana was on the crappy ride. After a closer look, it was Joe Freakin’ Montana. The ride ended and Montana walked off with his family. Did I stay and ride that thing? Hell no. I followed Montana.

After his kids riding a couple kiddie rides, his super hot wife stopped to go to the bathroom. I thought that this was my chance to piss real quick.

Here’s where the story gets messed up.

After I did my thing at the urinal, I turned around.

Cant remember his name at the moment, but Montana’s son (a top college QB prospect right now) was running around with his pants down.

I look up and standing behind me to use the urinal I just used was Joe Montana.

Being star struck, I say "Can I shake your hand?"

And he says "No. Not after you just went to the bathroom". The 40+ people that followed him in there all laughed at me. I walked to the sink in shame and washed my hands.

I hate Joe Montana.