I hate to admit it but playing with heart applies more to the Ravens (old Browns).

Taking a bunch of guys and putting Browns uniforms on them, does not necessarily make them the Browns.

So, in truth we never got our team back.

My solution at the time of the Browns move, was for the new Baltimore team to take the name Colts and its colors away from Indy, call the Indianapolis team another name, along with calling the new Cleveland football team, the Browns.

To me, Indianapolis should have been the odd man out, since Cleveland and Baltimore had such a rich football history.

But in my heart of hearts, it seems the Ravens, with its strong defense and running game, reminds me most of the old Cleveland Browns that I once knew.

It’s true, I spent my boyhood years a Colts fan. Witness to the tail end of the Johnny Unitas years, the excitement of the Bert Jones era, and the embarrassment of the Bob Irsay debacle. I was actually living in central Ohio the day the moving vans took my team to Indiana.

It took 13 years to get another team, after Tagliabue screwed over Baltimore twice during the expansion bidding process. I never “adopted” another team, but also didn’t lose my love of football. When the Ravens came 13 years from now, again, it was a natural. Hey, if it was only a couple years later and we got our Colts colors and traditions back, I’d be a Colts fan today and happier for it. But being a Ravens fan has been a pretty good deal, I must say.

I spent the offseason on Ravens boards arguing that Derek Anderson is not the real deal, and the Browns would do no better than 8-8 this year. Not out of spite, but based on what I saw. (I also predicted 6-10 for the Ravens, so I’m not right about everything).

The point is that I would not have given Anderson the contract extension if I could have traded him.

Quinn looked good last night, you should be happy about that. I still think he’s better suited for a west coast scheme, but either way, he’s better than Anderson.

You guys really need your corners to improve and need to draft some guys to challenge them.

Normally I don’t blame the coach, but I don’t think Crennel is the man for the job.

Go Browns…beat the Steelers.

Do you have a crush on Trent Dilfer?

Cheap shot on Romeo Crennel’s girth. He is a coach who thinks of his players as kids, and probably is guilty of caring too much.

Find out on the next episode “As the Clownies Turn”… don’t miss it!

P.S. Trent Dilfer says hello.

And the Browns fans were not boo’ing for Anderson as much as Braylon Edwards for a drop that knocked the air out of Browns Stadium. And I don’t like to see anyone sit down on the field of play after a bad play. This shows weakness.

How could a grown-up Baltimorean be a Ravens fan? Aren’t you first a Baltimore Colts fan who has replaced its home team passion onto the new birds in town? (Ok, I guess I mean 40-year-old grown-ups).

And yes, Joshua Cribbs is a complete package. He can not only shake off tacklers and run kick-offs back for TDs, but can block, tackle and he played QB at Kent State. Hmmmm

It is sad that Cribbs’ super performance ended in an “L”.

I’d love to know who is that delusional…not even I have enough optimism to do that.

Thank you for the insightful analysis. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Brady Quinn gay joke or a Romeo Crennel fat jokes. Your originality is astounding.

Hey, wonder if Rusty will take credit for another of his patented predictions — oops!

Crennel says DA is the starter “as of right now.”

NFL.com blog

At the very least, if Quinn does end up playing, we won’t have to see endless shots of him looking pretty on the sidelines. The camera can actually be on him for legitimate reasons.

Thanks for the comment shas, and for being so classy in victory. There are certainly fans of other teams (ahem, Steelers) who do not exhibit quite the same level of class.

In hindsight, you may be right about running the ball. I probably got a little drunk with excitement over the “11-1 when Jamal carries 20 times” stat. Maybe the coaches did too. What other excuse is there for continuing to run the ball right into the line. Still, we needed to at least try to establish the run, and in doing so, could have been much more creative.

You are certainly right about needing to take greater advantage of the banged-up secondary. The problem is that our superstar receiver can’t catch the ball when the big plays are there to be had. And with both Stallworth and Jurevicius out, even backups can take Syndric Steptoe out of a game without worrying about him too much, thus rolling coverages toward Braylon and Kellen. Either way, we still had chances to make plays and as usual for this season, Braylon let us down. Hell, I’m beginning to think the only reason he caught the TD was because the Ravens guy was there to help him not drop it!

A very frustrating loss, but absolutely deserved. Baltimore has proven to be the better team this year, and while it is the birthright of all Browns fans to hate everything about Baltimore, we can certainly appreciate the classy comments of a fan such as yourself on the day after having our hearts ripped out.

Hope to see you back on the site soon.

I’m sure the last thing you want to read is the opinion of a Ravens fan. But here goes.

With a 27-13 lead I was surprised Crennel took such a soft approach. On defense, a four-man rush against the rookie QB did nothing. The decision to run Jamal into the middle of the pack six times during the Browns’ three, three-and-outs was terrible.

The only quibble I have with your assessment of the games keys is your plea to run Jamal more. The Ravens lead the league in stopping the run at 64 yards per game. You aren’t going to run against them no matter how creative the calls. It’s been 26 games since a runner got 100 yards on them and only 18 times has it happened in the last ten season.

On the other hand the Ravens were playing without 3 of their 4 starters in the defensive secondary. And the fourth, Ed Reed, has had such a damaged neck that he refuses to tackle with his left shoulder.

As good as the Ravens linebackers are against the run, they can’t stop tight ends in the seam, or wide-outs running the slant.

Crennel should lose his job if for no other reason than sitting on a seven point lead and failing to attack the Ravens’ weaknesses.

I’ll add that it was sad to see Anderson treated like crap by the fans in Cleveland. I understand the frustration. In fact, I really don’t even like the guy’s demeanor at all. And had grown sick of Ravens fans whining that Phil Savage plucked him off our roster. So I root for him to fail, frankly. But no need to humiliate the guy. He didn’t even play that badly. Not nearly as bad as the game in Baltimore.

Hey, and apologies for Harbaugh’s Modell comments after the game. As a one-time Baltimore Colts fan, I understand that hearing about Modell is like bamboo under the fingernails.

Good luck against the Steelers on 12/28.

Are you totally tactless,naive or just plain ignorant!

To announce at Cleveland Browns Stadium that the Ravens are dedicating the 37-27 win over the Browns to Art Modell is like the Indianapolis Colts coming into your stadium, beating you and Colts Head Coach Tony Dunge announcing: “We dedicate this victory to Robert Ersay Sr., the man responsible for sending in moving vans in the middle of the night to steal the beloved Colts from the city of Baltimore.

“We are proud to honor this man that for years have deprived Baltimore of an NFL team and kept great Baltimore Colts QB Johnny Unitas from having any affiliation with the Indy team,” he might say.

Hey, Harbaugh, maybe the next Ravens’ win could be dedicated to another humanitarian — like Adolf Hitler, perhaps?