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THE BROWNS BOARD

Backup Quarterbacks


darren15

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11 hours ago, The Gipper said:

As for the opposite and  Zombo's trivia question....lets extrapolate:  Name those QBs who started 1 and only 1 game in their career for the Cleveland Browns?  :

Len Dawson.....HOF

The story of how Alliance-born Len Dawson got away from the Browns and to the Hall of Fame is one I don't know... Ryan and Nelson were fine QBs in the 60s, but still it wouldn't have sucked to have kept Dawson. I wonder what happened? 

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6 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

The story of how Alliance-born Len Dawson got away from the Browns and to the Hall of Fame is one I don't know... Ryan and Nelson were fine QBs in the 60s, but still it wouldn't have sucked to have kept Dawson. I wonder what happened? 

Dawson born in 1935 was the ninth of 11 children of Ohio native James and England-born Annie Dawson. He attended Alliance High School in Alliance, Ohio. He was MVP of the football team and was named outstanding Ohio back of the year by the International News Service. A three-sport athlete, Dawson set school records in football and in basketball, and was the first athlete in 13 years to be named first-team all-state in both sports during the same year.

He was 15 years older than me I remember hearing about Lenny Dawson but did not play near his era. Niles did play the Alliance Avaitors during the 1960s. Just doing a little digging I found (briefly, he had quite a career):

During the recruiting process, Dawson had to choose between Ohio State University in Columbus and Purdue University in Indiana. While he was reluctant to take over Woody Hayes' split-T offense with the Buckeyes, the true reason for his selection of Purdue stemmed from the chemistry he had established with a Boilermaker assistant coach, Hank Stram beginning a friendship that would last for more than a half century. During three seasons with the Boilermakers, Dawson threw for over 3,000 yards, leading the Big Ten Conference in that category during each campaign. While at Purdue, Dawson was initiated into the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

As a sophomore in 1954, Dawson put together an outstanding first season as the NCAA's leader in pass efficiency, while also playing defense and serving as the Boilermaker kicker. Blessed with a strong offensive line, he threw four touchdown passes in a 31-0 victory over the University of Missouri, then later engineered a huge upset of the University of Notre Dame, which had entered the contest on a 13-game winning streak.

Despite being a first round pick in the 1957 NFL Draft, Dawson was unable to make an impact with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following his rookie campaign, his status in the Steel City became even more tenuous when the Steelers acquired future Hall of Famer Bobby Layne early in the 1958 season.

Dawson was then traded after to the Cleveland Browns on.December 31, 1959.

After encountering similar problems in battling Browns' quarterback Milt Plum, Dawson was released having completed only 21 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns in his five seasons of NFL play.

Dawson signed with the American Football League's Dallas Texans on June 30, 1962. The move reunited him with Stram, who was beginning his third year as the Texans' head coach.

In that first season, 1962, Dawson led the league in touchdowns and yards per attempt, and was The Sporting News' selection as the AFL MVP. He also led Dallas to the first of three league titles in a thrilling double-overtime victory over the two-time defending champion Oilers in Houston. Dawson ran a ball-control offense in the 20-17 win, and tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to halfback Abner Haynes. The team then moved north to Kansas City and were renamed The Chiefs in 1963. Dawson was also selected by his peers as a Sporting News 1966 AFL All-League player.

A pinpoint passer, Dawson's mobility helped him flourish in Stram's "moving pocket" offense. He would win four AFL passing titles and was selected as a league All-Star six times, ending the 10-year run of the league as its highest-rated career passer. From 1962 to 1969, Dawson threw more touchdown passes (182) than any other professional football quarterback during that time. In 1966, Dawson led the Chiefs to a, 11-2-1 record and a 31-7 win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFL championship game, earning his team the honor of representing the AFL in Super Bowl I, the first championship game between the AFL and their NFL rivals. The NFL champion Green Bay Packers won easily, 35-10, but Dawson had a fairly good performance in the game, completing 16 of 27 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown, with one interception.

While he threw for more than 2,000 yards in each of the previous seven campaigns, Dawson's 1969 season with Kansas City would be his most memorable by making a dramatic comeback from a knee injury suffered in the season's second game. The injury was first feared as season-ending, but after missing five games, Dawson went on to lead the Chiefs to road playoff victories over both the defending champion New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders.

He then capped his year with MVP accolades in Super Bowl IV, the last game ever played by an American Football League team.  With the league's absorption into the National Football League in 1970, Dawson earned one final honor from the league as a member of the second team All-time All-AFL Team. He is also a member of the Chiefs' Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He would earn Pro Bowl honors following the 1971 NFL season, then ended his career in 1975,

He retired in May 1976 just before turning 41.
 

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23 minutes ago, Westside Steve said:

Tyrod Taylor is a serviceable NFL quarterback and it shouldn't be long before somebody is going to lose one due to injury and be up against the wire. I wonder if they had a serviceable receiver to trade straight up?

WSS

Yeah the injury "Wheel of Misfortune", just wait things can change real fast. I would hang on to any servicable QB with any NFL experience. Hey what ever happened to that Stanton guy??? Give the wheel a spin and find out. :lol:

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10 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

I sure don't remember him.  Did he ever take a snap for the Browns...or was he just a camp invitee or PS player?

Cleveland Browns

On December 26, 2012, the Cleveland Brownsannounced they signed Johnson after injuries to Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy.[16] After an injury to starter Thad Lewis, Johnson played for one snap in a Week 17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The single snap resulted in a sack fumble.

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5 minutes ago, Zombo said:

Cleveland Browns

On December 26, 2012, the Cleveland Brownsannounced they signed Johnson after injuries to Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy.[16] After an injury to starter Thad Lewis, Johnson played for one snap in a Week 17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The single snap resulted in a sack fumble.

Almost a Moonlight Graham situation

 

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