oldgrappler

Monday Night football was one of Cleveland owner, Art Modell's, most innovative moments, actually helping to grow the popularity of the league through television. With a background in television advertising, Modell stepped up to host the game when almost every other owner was afraid that there wouldn't be an audience on Monday night. It didn't hurt that Roone Arledge had twice the number of TV cameras placed around the field and used instant replay for the first time in that game. @ChiefSmokeHere's a link to the article by longtime Brown's reporter, Tony Grossi, that gave some of the info on Modell and MNF. It has a surprising angle to the story which I think you'll find interesting. It is about the defensive hero of the night who intercepted a Namath pass and returned it for a TD at the end of the game... but there is more to the story. Pro Football Was Changed by the First MNF Game. Btw, I don't know why, but the opening to the game makes me want to put on a cowboy hat and smoke a cigarette.

I am reading two books on generally the same theme. 1. American Indians of the Ohio Country in the 18th Century by Paul and Sally Misencik. The authors provide a brief history of the major Indian tribes who inhabited Ohio during that time, such as, the Wyandot, Miami, Huron, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware), and Mingo tribes. He then locates the various Native American routes throughout Ohio and matches them to their current site/city names. He then divides the state into quadrants and details the locations of significant Indian villages and provides a quick summary of happenings and significant persons in those locations. Locations are identified by their Native names, names they were commonly called in the 18th century, their current location names, and GPS coordinates. He includes a quite detailed account of the Moravian villages and their frequent wanderings and relocations during those turbulent times. Quite fascinating. 2. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830 by R. Douglas Hurt and published by Indiana University Press. It is a general history of the frontier period of Ohio. The first part of the book gives a history of the Native American occupation of Ohio and talks about the various tribes and personalities. It then turns to the clash of cultures and war that ensued from the French v English struggle for the region, to the English v American struggle, to the American v Indian struggle for the state of Ohio. Again, fascinating details. It then turns attention to the American immigration into Ohio, the establishment of the Northwest Territory and its early settlements, and how Ohio was and turned into farm country. Very interesting history with portions of the story almost completely unknown by me. This book was a Christmas gift. The 1st book is on interlibrary loan. Still reading both books so some of my summary is by glancing at the chapter titles, and reading reviews. I have always been interested in the frontier period but most of my reading was on the settling of KY, which does impact the settlement of Ohio and shares much of the same focus, especially during the battles with the various tribes who resided in Ohio. I read things like, Allan Eckert's works, including, The Frontiersman, That Dark and Bloody River, and the entire series The Winning of America. He is still one of my favorites. However, being a native of Ohio, I did not have a good grasp of how Ohio went from being a region of conflict to settled by so many German immigrants and becoming a tranquil farm land (in the area where I originate). So this is filling in some of these parts of my knowledge and curiosity. One fact I did not know is that Ohio was largely unpopulated throughout a large portion of the 17th century due to the Iroquois Beaver Wars. It was then repopulated in the early 18th century by the tribes we know from that period who were looking for relief from the population pressures along the eastern seaboard, and to get beyond the reach of the Iroqouis. I know KY was unoccupied in the 18th century and used as a hunting ground but assumed the Shawnee, Delaware, Miamis, etc. were in the locations I knew they were in during the 18th century, i.e. Chillicothe, Coshocton, and NW Ohio. If you like history, you may find either or both books to be fascinating here. Some of the broad strokes of my prior knowledge were filled in with more detail and completely new facts.

Do you mean, you would have "gone for it once" on 4th down?

You make a good point about practicing all week and not knowing they were eliminated until the day before. But I don't know if a Brown's QB sits out a game with the Steelers. However, you make a very good point.

If he goes to the NFL, I will dearly miss him. As a Buckeyes fan, Harbaugh is my second favorite college coach.

Chubb received a rib injury early in the game versus Pittsburgh. That's why he spent a lot of time on the sideline. Chubb has not yet been cleared to play against the Bengals. Mayfield's situation is not similar to Chubb's, because Chubb was injured and couldn't play. With Mayfield, you have a guy that was pretty injured all season long. Each time he was asked about his health, he'd say he was fine and whatever injuries he had did not effect his ability to throw the ball. I didn't believe it at any point in the season and I don't believe it now. For all the criticism of Mayfield, you have to take into account the injuries that bothered him since Week 2. He really toughed it out. The team consulted the team doctors, they consulted Baker, they watched him in practice. Each week the doctors cleared Mayfield to play and Mayfield insisted he would play. He is too much of a competitor to not play. He wanted to lead the team to the playoffs for the second year in a row. And he wanted to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Monday night. The surprising thing is that Mayfield is not playing against the Bengals. He said he was not injured any more against the Steelers, so theoretically he could play just like he has all season. So, why is he not playing Sunday? In fact, he has been placed on injured reserve. This marks a definite change and I think the change is in Mayfield. He let out a couple of digs during the post-game interview about the way things were handled during the Steelers game. He mentioned that the Rookie RT should have been given more help in blocking Watts. When asked about his injury and if he would play next week, he stated he needed to talk it over with his agent and family (not the team doctors or coaches). He also said, "Now it is time for me to start looking at what's in the best interest for me and my health." I think the beating he took in Pittsburgh made him reassess and he is not happy with the way the offense was run on Monday. It appears he holds Stefanski responsible for not doing something offensively to slow down the assault. And it marks a change in Baker's attitude. Prior to Monday, his attitude was "I am going to play come hell or high water." Now, he doesn't want to play next week and he is looking to his self-interest first over the team. When he first said he wasn't going to play, I wondered if he would be on the sideline ready to "sub-in" in case of injury to Keenum or Mullens. The team eliminated the scenario of Mayfield refusing to go on the field by placing him on Injured Reserve. I believe this means Mayfield and Stefanski have some issues to work out between them. It will be interesting to watch this offseason. It may effect whether he remains with the team.

It always sticks in my craw when a team doesn't do all they can to win, but in this case, it makes good business sense.

While I don't want to get entwined in a lengthy back and forth with @futurecoach, the call at the end of the game to go for it on 4th down instead of kicking the FG was not the right call. Take the "sure" points, you go ahead and force KC to score in 50 seconds. It is pretty difficult to get a TD in 50 seconds. They may get in FG range. But they have to make the kick. So worst case scenario, you go into overtime. Likely scenario, you win the game with a FG. Zach Taylor chose not to kick the FG and the attempt to score a TD on 4th down actually failed, twice. And they still got another play! Penalties gave the Bengals life when they could have just as easily have turned the ball over on downs. In addition, KC says the officials missed a flinch by the Cinci guard on third down. That would have moved the ball back to the 6 yard line. HC Zach Taylor is very fortunate that offsetting penalties were called and he got a do-over. What are the chances of that? Exceedingly slim. Had he not got the benefit from the ref, the game goes to overtime. The outcome was fortuitous. It had very little to do with Taylor making the right call. The best way to win was to kick the FG. Which is what happened, btw. Taylor was lucky, not smart.

Baker Mayfield is out for the game with the Bengals. Kevin Stefanski cited his shoulder injury. He will schedule surgery as soon as possible. When asked if this should have been done sooner, Stefanski said with the information available to him from team doctors, Baker, how Baker did in practices, they continued to play him. But it is obvious to me and was obvious all season long, that all the talk about his injury not really affecting his play was hogwash. This doesn't really change the quality of the Browns offense a lot. With the way Mayfield's shoulder has been, Case Keenum is almost as good.

You were right, @futurecoach, and I was wrong. The Bengals deserve the AFC North championship. They beat Pittsburgh twice, and Baltimore twice. Their only blemish is against the Browns with one loss. The next matchup won't have meaning other than a little pride for the Browns.

She did ask how he was feeling, the last thing she asked. He said, "Good enough."

As a lifetime Browns' fan, I love Coach Collier. He hit it off with Jim Brown in the wake of the Paul Brown firing. The fact the players liked him, helped him lead the team to an NFL championship in 1964.

Congrats to Cincinnati. But that was a bone head call to go for it on 4th down when a FG wins it. They had to rely on a penalty to stay in possession. They were very fortunate.

I can't believe how fortunate Cincinnati is on this end of game series. How can you not kick the FG on 4th down? I think it was a bone-head call. But.. they came out smelling like roses. Congrats to the Bengals.

Ken Stabler to Dave Casper for those who are too young.

Normally, I would root for the Bengals to beat the Chiefs, but not this Sunday. The Browns need the Chiefs to be the Chiefs and then for us to do what we did last year, beat the Steelers on Monday night to set up a showdown with the Bengals. Just think how much more exciting the end of the season will be if it comes down to a final game "must win" for both teams! Did I sell any of you Bengals fans on rooting for the Chiefs this Sunday?

Yes, coach, I am assuming the Bengals lose to the Chiefs, so for me all the Browns need to do is win their last two games against opponents they should have the upper hand against. Me saying that the Browns control their own destiny was a little dig at the Bengals as if they have no chance to beat the Chiefs. Of course they do have a chance, so literally, you are correct. If any team in the AFC North reaches 10 victories, then the Browns are out. If it works out like I hope, then the last game of the season against the Bengals is for all the marbles in the AFC North. But technically, as of today, all four teams in the AFC North still have a chance to win the division.

Bengals have to beat the Chiefs coming up. I think the Browns will control their own destiny. Wins against their remaining opponents and they win the North. Four INTs by Mayfield is frustrating but two of them were created by pass interference. The first INT and the last INT were no-calls by the officials. I might as well mention the phantom movement called against our G Wyatt Teller. The Browns nearly pulled that out against an 11-3 team. If they get healthy and get their players back from Covid protocol, the Browns will be hard to beat.

Understood, @theguru.

I prefer the Bengals in this one. That could set up a "winner take all" season finale with the Browns (with the Browns beating the Steelers). It's the Browns best chance to make the playoffs.

@futurecoach Good explanation to the break down of the AFC North. As someone said earlier, it seems like no team wants to win the AFC North. But that makes for an exciting end to the season for AFC North fans. This is much better than watching Pittsburgh or Baltimore take the crown each year with not much resistance from the Ohio teams. Yes, it's ugly, but I'm going to put the popcorn on and enjoy the fight to the end.

As a long-time Browns fan, I've seen the Browns lose in many unique ways (Dwayne Rudd helmet toss is one), but now we can add "plague of Biblical proportions to the list". ?

One news source has reported that Mayfield and Keenum are ruled out for tonight's game. Nick Mullins will start at QB. John Johnson III is back as safety. Apparently, the Browns could be atop the AFC North with a win against the Raiders. Not much has been said about the Raiders on here, perhaps because of the chaos created by Covid, but they are a beatable team. They have an interim Head Coach and the QB, Derek Carr, has good stats but only has one winning season. The Raider defense is near the bottom of the NFL against the run. Let's say that the Brown's defense plays well, how much will the offense need to do? The Browns can find a way to win this game, even with a third string QB. TE Njoku is back giving Cleveland two legit TE targets fior an offense that relies on TE play. Peoples-Jones and Higgins are WR targets. Anthony Schwartz, who had been ruled out for Saturday's game due to concussion protocol, has been cleared from concussion protocol and is now listed as questionable for today's game. I predict the Browns find a way to win.

They now have until Monday at 2 pm to test negative and they would be allowed to play. The NFL is making this up as they go.

Mayfield does have an opportunity to be tested before Monday and if he is Covid negative, he would be eligible to play. Same with Case Keenum. However, others could test positive for Covid between now and then, including 3rd string QB Nick Mullens. The total of players on Covid protocol is now at 24 and a reduced number of starters are still slated to play on Monday. I don't know what they are doing with guys like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward but they better have them quarantined somewhere so they don't come down with it by Monday. What a bizarre circumstance.