Art Modell's unthinkable move of the Browns to Baltimore in 1996 is being celebrated Sunday with the expansion Browns as their opponent.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
BALTIMORE, MD
Four downs on Browns (0-1) v. Baltimore Ravens (0-1)
First down: Unhappy birthday to you.
The Ravens are celebrating the abduction of the Cleveland Browns 30 years ago, and they intentionally invited the expansion Cleveland Browns to their party. How nice of them. Most of the Browns weren’t even born when former owner Art Modell brazenly broke his Cleveland Stadium lease with three years left and bagged a sweetheart deal to avoid bankruptcy, leaving Cleveland heartbroken and team-less for three years. Modell lived long enough to revel in the Ravens’ first of two Super Bowl championships, but he couldn’t realize his wish of handing down the franchise to his sons or earning a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Mounting debt forced Modell to sell the franchise to Maryland businessman Steve Bisciotti in 2000. Modell flourished for 39 years as an NFL owner and kingpin despite firing Paul Brown and Bill Belichick – two of the sport’s greatest coaches – instigating the premature retirement of Jim Brown in 1966 by mandating he leave a movie set in London and report to training camp, and trading Paul Warfield in 1970. The move of the Browns cast the darkest stain on the NFL ever seen. Ultimately, though, Modell’s final act of elevating Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome to Ravens general manager led to the team’s unimaginable, sustained success.
Second down: Joe Cool to the rescue.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh this week called Joe Flacco “an icon in Baltimore football history.” Flacco quarterbacked the Ravens to the Super Bowl 47 championship and earned the game’s MVP award in the fifth of his 11 seasons with the Ravens. Now as Browns quarterback at the age of 40, Flacco makes his first appearance in Baltimore since they traded him to usher in the Lamar Jackson era in 2019. And he’s doing it on the day the Ravens will commemorate his contributions to the franchise’s glory. Flacco shrugged off his unique place in this Ravens celebration. “Honestly, for me, it kind of makes it more exciting,” he said. “We get to go in there when they’re having some people back and just more ex-players, more eyes on you. It’ll make it more interesting.”
Third down: Smackdown.
The Browns haven’t been shy in trash-talking the Ravens all week. When receiver Jerry Jeudy was asked what challenges are posed by the highly-decorated Baltimore secondary, he deadpanned, “No challenges.” When safety Grant Delpit was asked how hard it is to bring down 250-pound, five-time Pro Bowl back Derrick Henry, Delpit replied, “Not hard.” Other Browns played the “disrespect” card for the Ravens being posted as 12 ½-point favorites. Some coaches would be upset that their players provided bulletin board material for the opponent. But this stuff just rolls off the back of coach Kevin Stefanski. “It’s how you play on the field. We know that. Everybody knows that. That’s what’s most important. So, you got to play good football as a team,” he said.
Fourth down: Q factor.
Running back Quinshon Judkins was activated by the Browns on Saturday, assuring he would make his NFL debut against the Ravens. The second-round pick from Ohio State missed all of training camp after being charged with domestic abuse in south Florida in July. The charges were subsequently dropped. Judkins reported to the team this week, missed one practice because of a disciplinary hearing in NFL offices in New York, and practiced fully on Thursday and Friday. Pressing him into duty quickly reflects the team’s unhappiness with its running game, which was virtually non-existent in a 17-16 loss to Cincinnati in Game 1.
The pick: Browns 26, Ravens 24.
My record: 0-1.