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THE BROWNS BOARD

Best Players Never to Play in a Super Bowl


Squintz

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I found this interesting (and depressing). The USA today announced it's all-time roster filled with the 'best' players to never play in a Super Bowl. In looking through the list, the first Brown I come to is listed under WR. And that's what made me a bit incredulous.

 

Eric Metcalf.

 

So then I thought, maybe he's just listed there but was really on the team as a returner. But then, further down the list they have Mel Gray as KR.

 

The other Browns listed were Gene Hickerson (who did win an NFL Championship, but played into the SB era) and Joe DeLamielleure (mainly a Bill).

 

While it's depressing that there aren't more and one could certainly make a strong case for Ozzie, Clay Matthews and others, it still makes me shake my head when I see Metcalf-up-the-middle listed on this team. And listed as a WR at that.

 

For your viewing pleasure:

THE NOT-SO-SUPER TEAM

USA TODAY's 53-man roster of the best players never to appear in the Super Bowl. (Starters in bold.)

 

Player/Hall of famer/Pro Bowls/All-Pro teams

 

Quarterbacks (3)

Randall Cunningham N 4 1

Dan Fouts Y 6 2

Warren Moon Y 9 0

 

Running backs (6)

Earl Campbell Y 5 3

Eric Dickerson Y 6 5

x-Tony Richardson (FB) N 3 0

Barry Sanders Y 10 6

Gale Sayers Y 4 5

x-LaDainian Tomlinson N 5 3

 

Wide receivers (5)

y-Cris Carter N 8 2

Wes Chandler N 4 1

Steve Largent Y 7 1

Eric Metcalf N 3 2 :huh:

Sterling Sharpe N 5 3

 

Tight ends (2)

x-Tony Gonzalez N 10 5

Kellen Winslow Y 5 3

 

Offensive line (9)

Tom Banks N 4 1

Bob Brown Y 6 5

Joe DeLamielleure (RG) Y 6 3

Dan Dierdorf (RT) Y 6 3

Gene Hickerson Y 6 3

x-Kevin Mawae © N 7 3

y-Randall McDaniel (LG) N 12 7

Mike Munchak Y 9 2

Willie Roaf (LT) N 11 3

 

Defensive line (9)

Elvin Bethea Y 8 0

Chris Doleman (DE) N 8 2

Deacon Jones (DE) Y 8 5

y-Cortez Kennedy N 8 3

Joe Klecko N 4 2

Merlin Olsen (DT) Y 14 5

y-John Randle (DT) N 7 6

Lee Roy Selmon Y 6 1

x-Kevin Williams N 4 4

 

Linebackers (7)

Robert Brazile N 7 2

Dick Butkus (MLB) Y 8 5

Sam Mills N 5 1

Tommy Nobis N 5 1

y-Derrick Thomas (OLB) N 9 2

x-Zach Thomas N 7 5

Dave Wilcox (OLB) Y 7 2

 

Secondary (9)

Eric Allen N 6 1

x-Champ Bailey (CB) N 8 3

Lem Barney (CB) Y 7 2

Kenny Easley N 5 3

Ken Houston (SS) Y 12 2

Dick LeBeau N 3 0

x-Ed Reed (FS) N 5 4

Roger Wehrli Y 7 3

Larry Wilson Y 8 5

 

Special teams (3)

Mel Gray (KR) N 4 3

x-Jason Hanson (K) N 2 0

x-Brian Moorman (P) N 2 2

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I found this interesting (and depressing). The USA today announced it's all-time roster filled with the 'best' players to never play in a Super Bowl. In looking through the list, the first Brown I come to is listed under WR. And that's what made me a bit incredulous.

 

Eric Metcalf.

 

So then I thought, maybe he's just listed there but was really on the team as a returner. But then, further down the list they have Mel Gray as KR.

 

The other Browns listed were Gene Hickerson (who did win an NFL Championship, but played into the SB era) and Joe DeLamielleure (mainly a Bill).

 

While it's depressing that there aren't more and one could certainly make a strong case for Ozzie, Clay Matthews and others, it still makes me shake my head when I see Metcalf-up-the-middle listed on this team. And listed as a WR at that.

 

For your viewing pleasure:

THE NOT-SO-SUPER TEAM

USA TODAY's 53-man roster of the best players never to appear in the Super Bowl. (Starters in bold.)

 

Player/Hall of famer/Pro Bowls/All-Pro teams

 

Quarterbacks (3)

Randall Cunningham N 4 1

Dan Fouts Y 6 2

Warren Moon Y 9 0

 

Running backs (6)

Earl Campbell Y 5 3

Eric Dickerson Y 6 5

x-Tony Richardson (FB) N 3 0

Barry Sanders Y 10 6

Gale Sayers Y 4 5

x-LaDainian Tomlinson N 5 3

 

Wide receivers (5)

y-Cris Carter N 8 2

Wes Chandler N 4 1

Steve Largent Y 7 1

Eric Metcalf N 3 2 :huh:

Sterling Sharpe N 5 3

 

Tight ends (2)

x-Tony Gonzalez N 10 5

Kellen Winslow Y 5 3

 

Offensive line (9)

Tom Banks N 4 1

Bob Brown Y 6 5

Joe DeLamielleure (RG) Y 6 3

Dan Dierdorf (RT) Y 6 3

Gene Hickerson Y 6 3

x-Kevin Mawae © N 7 3

y-Randall McDaniel (LG) N 12 7

Mike Munchak Y 9 2

Willie Roaf (LT) N 11 3

 

Defensive line (9)

Elvin Bethea Y 8 0

Chris Doleman (DE) N 8 2

Deacon Jones (DE) Y 8 5

y-Cortez Kennedy N 8 3

Joe Klecko N 4 2

Merlin Olsen (DT) Y 14 5

y-John Randle (DT) N 7 6

Lee Roy Selmon Y 6 1

x-Kevin Williams N 4 4

 

Linebackers (7)

Robert Brazile N 7 2

Dick Butkus (MLB) Y 8 5

Sam Mills N 5 1

Tommy Nobis N 5 1

y-Derrick Thomas (OLB) N 9 2

x-Zach Thomas N 7 5

Dave Wilcox (OLB) Y 7 2

 

Secondary (9)

Eric Allen N 6 1

x-Champ Bailey (CB) N 8 3

Lem Barney (CB) Y 7 2

Kenny Easley N 5 3

Ken Houston (SS) Y 12 2

Dick LeBeau N 3 0

x-Ed Reed (FS) N 5 4

Roger Wehrli Y 7 3

Larry Wilson Y 8 5

 

Special teams (3)

Mel Gray (KR) N 4 3

x-Jason Hanson (K) N 2 0

x-Brian Moorman (P) N 2 2

Yeah, it looks like they are going strictly by Pro Bowls and All-Pros and not really doing any research. Metcalf made those pro bowls as a kick returner. Guys like Hickerson who won NFL Championships shouldn't be on this list, they got their ring.

 

Zombo

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Here's another player you could put on that team. I didn't realize he lived here in my town:

 

Super Bowl: Naples resident, former QB Hart impressed with Cardinals' fortitude after years of futility

By ANGELA BUSCH

 

Thursday, January 22, 2009

 

NAPLES — Twenty-five years ago, Jim Hart felt discarded, done for.

 

He’d been, in his words, “dumped” by the St. Louis Cardinals after four Pro Bowl appearances and back-to-back division crowns in 1974-75.

 

At age 39, the Cardinals had given up on the aging quarterback. They wouldn’t win another division title in the next 15 years, moving from St. Louis to Arizona in 1988.

 

Then, it was last Sunday — 2009. Hart sat at his home in Naples in front of the TV, surrounded by his family, and everybody held their breath.

 

“Bad things always seem to happen to the Cardinals,” Hart said. “Then, they’re playing against the (Philadelphia) Eagles who are formidable.”

 

It seemed to be another Cardinals collapse as they blew an 18-point lead to trail by one in the fourth quarter — until 37-year-old Kurt Warner led his team 72 yards down the field with less than three minutes left to earn a 32-25 victory and the Cardinals’ first trip to the Super Bowl.

 

Hart thought of his days with the Cardinals, remembered that same owner: Bill Bidwill, telling Hart they weren’t bringing him back, weren’t paying him more.

 

Now, Bidwill stood there on that platform, holding that George Halas Trophy over his head, and all Hart felt was pride.

 

He picked up the phone and called his former offensive lineman, Dan Dierdorf.

 

“Unbelievable,” the two stalwarts of the almost-forgotten St. Louis Cardinals kept repeating to each other.

 

Hart then went over to his computer to e-mail more former teammates. His phone was still ringing with messages from friends and players.

 

“We were so happy it was almost like you couldn’t say the words,” Hart said. “You almost couldn’t get them out you’re so happy for them. It was like surreal, you know?”

 

“It was like it’s not really happening because there has been such futility for all these years. It’s the way the Cardinals have always been. I’ve been a part of it.”

 

Hart, the 1974 NFC player of the year who threw 209 touchdown passes and 34,665 yards in his career, is a positive footnote in the long list of Cardinal tribulations. But even Hart felt detached from the franchise as it moved to Arizona.

 

Along with most of his former Cardinals teammates, Hart remained in St. Louis until 2002.

 

“We were Rams fans because it was our hometown team,” he said.

 

Then, in December 2007, 14 years after Hart left the Cardinals, the team held an alumni weekend in Arizona. Hart said about 30 former players showed up, reminisced, and talked about the Cardinals of the past.

 

Representatives from the organization told the alumni that they’d hold another alumni weekend in December 2008.

 

“Yeah right,” the players muttered to each other.

 

Hart checked his mailbox the next fall.

 

“Lo and behold, here comes the invitation to come out again,” he said. “We had a great time. They made us feel like we were Cardinals again after all these years.”

 

Earlier that year, on Dec. 7, the Cardinals’ new president Michael Bidwill, Bill’s son, had invited Hart and former St. Louis Cardinals safety Larry Wilson to sit in the owner’s box and watch Arizona crush the Rams 34-10 to clinch their first division title since Hart was quarterback in 1975.

 

As the seconds ticked down to zero, Michael Bidwill turned to Hart: “I’d like you and (Wilson) to come down on the field with me.”

 

The two former Cardinals were introduced around the locker room by Bidwill, who used to be their ball boy in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

 

“He didn’t have to do that,” said Hart, who had his past disagreements with Michael’s father, Bill. “It was emotional. It brought a tear to my eye looking around and still seeing some of the people that I knew. I thought, hey these guys are doing something that hasn’t been done before. You want them to do it so badly.”

 

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jan/22...-hart-impresse/

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Guest ATENEARS
Here's another player you could put on that team. I didn't realize he lived here in my town:

 

Super Bowl: Naples resident, former QB Hart impressed with Cardinals' fortitude after years of futility

By ANGELA BUSCH

 

Thursday, January 22, 2009

 

NAPLES — Twenty-five years ago, Jim Hart felt discarded, done for............

 

 

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jan/22...-hart-impresse/

 

 

Good article Zippy ... I would have clicked your Fag-o-Meter 'Thanks' button, but still thinks it was chessy-gay that you got like 40 back-slaps for that homo tear-jerker post about being a Browns fan.

 

Think it is Ironic that the team finally reached out to it's alumni and it lead to a Super Bowl birth? Karma, many would say ... Chris Palmer tried to do that here, but there still seems to be a little resistance with the Browns brass, IMO.

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Why doesn't Hanford Dixon get any love? The guy was awesome, a true shut-down corner for many years. His last season here was bad, I know, but I think he's HOF worthy. Just imagine if we ever had a pass rush during the Dixon-Minnifield years (oh that's right, we played a 3/4 then too :angry: ).

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Here's another player you could put on that team. I didn't realize he lived here in my town:

 

Super Bowl: Naples resident, former QB Hart impressed with Cardinals' fortitude after years of futility

By ANGELA BUSCH

 

Thursday, January 22, 2009

 

NAPLES — Twenty-five years ago, Jim Hart felt discarded, done for.

 

He’d been, in his words, “dumped” by the St. Louis Cardinals after four Pro Bowl appearances and back-to-back division crowns in 1974-75.

 

At age 39, the Cardinals had given up on the aging quarterback. They wouldn’t win another division title in the next 15 years, moving from St. Louis to Arizona in 1988.

 

Then, it was last Sunday — 2009. Hart sat at his home in Naples in front of the TV, surrounded by his family, and everybody held their breath.

 

“Bad things always seem to happen to the Cardinals,” Hart said. “Then, they’re playing against the (Philadelphia) Eagles who are formidable.”

 

It seemed to be another Cardinals collapse as they blew an 18-point lead to trail by one in the fourth quarter — until 37-year-old Kurt Warner led his team 72 yards down the field with less than three minutes left to earn a 32-25 victory and the Cardinals’ first trip to the Super Bowl.

 

Hart thought of his days with the Cardinals, remembered that same owner: Bill Bidwill, telling Hart they weren’t bringing him back, weren’t paying him more.

 

Now, Bidwill stood there on that platform, holding that George Halas Trophy over his head, and all Hart felt was pride.

 

He picked up the phone and called his former offensive lineman, Dan Dierdorf.

 

“Unbelievable,” the two stalwarts of the almost-forgotten St. Louis Cardinals kept repeating to each other.

 

Hart then went over to his computer to e-mail more former teammates. His phone was still ringing with messages from friends and players.

 

“We were so happy it was almost like you couldn’t say the words,” Hart said. “You almost couldn’t get them out you’re so happy for them. It was like surreal, you know?”

 

“It was like it’s not really happening because there has been such futility for all these years. It’s the way the Cardinals have always been. I’ve been a part of it.”

 

Hart, the 1974 NFC player of the year who threw 209 touchdown passes and 34,665 yards in his career, is a positive footnote in the long list of Cardinal tribulations. But even Hart felt detached from the franchise as it moved to Arizona.

 

Along with most of his former Cardinals teammates, Hart remained in St. Louis until 2002.

 

“We were Rams fans because it was our hometown team,” he said.

 

Then, in December 2007, 14 years after Hart left the Cardinals, the team held an alumni weekend in Arizona. Hart said about 30 former players showed up, reminisced, and talked about the Cardinals of the past.

 

Representatives from the organization told the alumni that they’d hold another alumni weekend in December 2008.

 

“Yeah right,” the players muttered to each other.

 

Hart checked his mailbox the next fall.

 

“Lo and behold, here comes the invitation to come out again,” he said. “We had a great time. They made us feel like we were Cardinals again after all these years.”

 

Earlier that year, on Dec. 7, the Cardinals’ new president Michael Bidwill, Bill’s son, had invited Hart and former St. Louis Cardinals safety Larry Wilson to sit in the owner’s box and watch Arizona crush the Rams 34-10 to clinch their first division title since Hart was quarterback in 1975.

 

As the seconds ticked down to zero, Michael Bidwill turned to Hart: “I’d like you and (Wilson) to come down on the field with me.”

 

The two former Cardinals were introduced around the locker room by Bidwill, who used to be their ball boy in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

 

“He didn’t have to do that,” said Hart, who had his past disagreements with Michael’s father, Bill. “It was emotional. It brought a tear to my eye looking around and still seeing some of the people that I knew. I thought, hey these guys are doing something that hasn’t been done before. You want them to do it so badly.”

 

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jan/22...-hart-impresse/

 

 

Jim Hart was a hell of a QB...never got the print like the Tarkentons and Namaths did...but just a terrific passer all the same...

 

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I don't know how i didn't think of this earlier....don't think he has been mentioned...

 

Leroy Kelly.

 

 

 

Leroy Kelly is the reason I became a Brownsfan...I remember seeing him return a kick from our 20 to the opponents 20 and stumbling and bumbling the football all the way there...I thought it was downright amazing that a person could have that much body control...LONG LIVE LeROY!

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Strange they would have metcalf down as a reciever for the browns when he was utililized mostly as a halfback and KR for us he went to atlanta and was ultilized as a full scale reciever and was as awesome as most of us knew he would have been as a full reciever for the browns all along..

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roach and ballpeen nailed it with Sonny Jurgensen ........he was one of the best QB's ever...........he lit it up at all times when he played mostly for bad teams............

 

 

Sonny was one of the best QB's ever in the NFL................PERIOD!

 

no score was beyond his coming back .......unfortuately he played on teams with non existent D's

 

and you betcha Leroy Kelly was one of the best RB's ever...........he came after a legend..........and that hurt his legacy

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I don't know how i didn't think of this earlier....don't think he has been mentioned...

 

Leroy Kelly.

 

You're right. The entire list is way too bizarre. Leroy Kelly was on the 1964 Championship team. Is that why he was not listed? But Hickerson was on that team too. So why is Hickerson listed? If Hickerson is listed because he was pre-Superbowl, then why is Jim Brown left off?

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Roach so sad with the passing of the GREAT Dante Lavelli..........I got your signed poster as always on display in my office.............THANK YOU SO much........for sending me that of one of the greatest ever to play the game

 

Let's US BROWNS FANS DEDICATE 2009 to Dante Lavelli one of the greatest receivers the game has ever known

 

and he made all the world Brownstown...........love yah Dante......and you too Ed

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You're right. The entire list is way too bizarre. Leroy Kelly was on the 1964 Championship team. Is that why he was not listed? But Hickerson was on that team too. So why is Hickerson listed? If Hickerson is listed because he was pre-Superbowl, then why is Jim Brown left off?

 

I think the list includes players who finished their careers after the SB started....so Kelly and Hickerson retired after 67 where Brown retired before a SB was played.

 

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