EDITOR’S NOTE: The following, which is the second in a three-part series on the top Browns players from 1965-95, covers the players ranked nos. 11 through 20. It is part of a larger series on the 70 best Browns players of all-time.
Offense has been the name of the game for the Browns through the years.
In fact, 13 of the 15 Browns in the Pro Football Hall of Fame played on that side of the ball. The only two defensive Hall of Famers are middle guard Bill Willis and end Len Ford.
So defense has generally been tackled for a loss when it comes to being in the spotlight. Nonetheless, the Browns have also had a lot of good defensive players, and that is reflected in the following list. Five – or exactly half – of these former stars were from the defense.
Here’s the entire list:
*No. 20 – right guard Joe DeLamielleure – played with the Browns from 1980-84 – By the time he arrived in Cleveland, he had already enjoyed his best seasons as a longstanding member of the Buffalo Bills’ “Electric Company” line that blocked for running back O.J. Simpson. That’s why the Hall of Famer is not ranked among the top 10 players from the 1965-95 era. However, DeLamielleure still had a lot left in the tank, and as such, in joining Robert Jackson and Henry Sheppard, along with Cleveland Browns Legends Doug Dieken, Tom DeLeone and Cody Risien, he helped an already good Kardiac Kids line become even better. With DeLamielleure chipping in, the line allowed quarterback Brian Sipe to be sacked just 23 times in 554 passing attempts in 1980. In 1979, Sipe had suffered 20 more sacks (43) in 21 fewer attempts (535). That may be the most telling statistic concerning DeLamielleure’s worth to the team.
*No. 19 – wide receiver Webster Slaughter – played with the Browns from 1986-91 – He was nicknamed “Web-star,” and with good reason. He was exactly that, finishing with 305 career receptions, the seventh-most in team history. His 27 touchdown catches also rank No. 7. After the 1985 season, head coach Marty Schottenheimer dispatched HOF wide receiver Paul Warfield, back working with his former team in the front office, on a mission to find a good downfield passing target who might slip to the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft. The Browns had given up their first-round pick as part of the trade to get the chance to select Bernie Kosar in the 1985 Supplemental Draft. Now they had to find the quarterback a stretch-the-field wideout. As such, Slaughter, who was taken at No. 43 overall out of San Diego State, was the last piece of the puzzle for the prolific offenses the Browns had through the last half of the 1980s. He was at his best in 1989, when he set a team record with 1,236 receiving yards on 65 catches, averaging 19 yards per grab. That was broken by Braylon Edwards in 2007 (1,289) and then again by Josh Gordon in 2013 (1,646). When Slaughter signed with the AFC Central rival Houston Oilers in 1992 to begin the final half of his 12-year NFL career, he was among the first players to take advantage of the total free agency that began in earnest the following season. And concerning the Kosar-to-Slaughter connection, their 97-yard touchdown completion against the Chicago Bears in 1989 is still the second-longest in team history.
*No. 18 – running back Earnest Byner – played with the Browns from 1984-88 and 1994-95 – There was no fanfare when he was acquired by the club in the 1984 NFL Draft. That’s what happens to a player when he’s the second of two 10th-round picks in a 12-round draft. It didn’t help, either, that Byner was from out-of-the-way East Carolina, not exactly a football factory. But it didn’t take long for him to make an impression. With his strength and refusal to go down in training camp as a rookie in 1984, the then bespectacled Byner caught the eye of head coach Sam Rutigliano, who remarked, “He pushes the pile.” He had some big games down the stretch that year, then had a breakout season in 1985 when he rushed for 1,002 yards and joined with Kevin Mack to become only the third set of backs in NFL history to both rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. When the Browns switched their main focus to the pass in 1986, Byner made himself into an excellent receiver, leading the club in catches in both 1987 (52) and ’88 (59). He is one of only three Browns who rank in the top 10 lists in both career receptions (tied for 10th with 276) and rushing yards (sixth with 3,364). In between his two stints in Cleveland, he went in an ill-fated trade to the Washington Redskins for five years, rushing for 1,000 yards twice and helping the club win the Super Bowl following the 1991 season. When the original Browns left town after the 1995 season, he went with the transplanted franchise and played the last two years of his 14-year NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens.
*No. 17 – cornerback/safety Clarence Scott – played with the Browns from 1971-83 – There were two things that kept Scott from getting all the kudos he so richly deserved during his 13-year career. The first is, as mentioned, the fact he played defense. The second is that for the bulk of his career, the Browns were going through a down period for the first time in their history. Despite that, Scott played each game as if it were for the Super Bowl title. That’s evidenced by the fact he had 39 career interceptions, ranking him third in team history. He amassed that total in such a consistent fashion, too, getting four interceptions four times and three interceptions on four occasions as well. What also stands out about Scott is that he was the consummate pro, among the best the Browns have ever had in that regard. For example, he never made a peep when head coach Sam Rutigliano switched him to safety in 1979 when he had started to slow down. Many corners would rather quit than admit the advancement of their age and go to safety
*No. 16 – wide receiver Reggie Rucker – played with the Browns from 1975-81 – One of the best trades the Browns have ever made was getting Rucker from the New England Patriots 39 years ago. He was just ready to break through as a great receiver, and proved it when he led the AFC with 60 catches, then the second-most in Browns history, in that first season. As the talent around him got better in succeeding years and as such he didn’t have to carry the entire load, he never had that many receptions again. But he continued to be a real playmaker, twice catching eight touchdown passes in a three-season span. One of those seasons was 1978, when he averaged 20.8 yards per grab on a career-high 893 receiving yards. When it was all said and done, Rucker had 310 receptions and 33 touchdown catches, both of which place him sixth on the club’s all-time lists. His 4,953 yards are fifth.
*No. 15 – cornerback Frank Minnifield – played with the Browns from 1984-92 – When the USFL started to go belly-up, the Browns pounced on the opportunity, acquiring a number of the league’s top players. And one of the best was Minnifield, who arrived in Cleveland after playing 1983 with the Chicago Blitz and ’84 with the Arizona Wranglers. The Browns were looking for a shutdown corner to go along with Hanford Dixon, and they got exactly the right man in Minnifield. They played together for six seasons, through 1989, during which time they became one of the top cornerback duos in NFL history. Minnifield had “just” 20 career interceptions, which doesn’t come close to putting him on the team’s top 10 list. But there’s a reason for that. Teams rarely threw his way. They knew better than to do so because he covered receivers like a blanket. And what Minnifield doesn’t get credit for is the fact he was a pioneer when it came to using a laptop computer to do a comprehensive study of the wideouts he faced every week. Most people recall him as a guy with a wide smile and a quick laugh who liked to have fun. But if the truth be told, he spent the remainder of the time on that computer, which enabled him to know the pass routes almost before the receivers ran them.
*No. 14 – cornerback Hanford Dixon – played with the Browns from 1981-89 – As Minnifield’s running mate, Dixon was another member of the Cleveland secondary who teams avoided. He had a few more interceptions than Minnifield – 26, putting him into a three-way tie for 10th place – but he would have, and could have, accumulated many more if he had just had the chance. Dixon’s breakthrough moment came late in the 1982 season when he intercepted Terry Bradshaw three times, tying a club record, in a key 10-9 victory over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers that spurred the Browns to the playoffs. It was sweet revenge for Dixon. When the Browns selected the 5-foot-11, 186-pounder in the first round, at No. 22 overall, in the 1981 NFL Draft, a scout from the Steelers chortled, “Oh, look, they took the midget!” But Dixon didn’t play small in any way. In addition to his pass coverage abilities, Dixon – and Minnifield, too, for that matter – were also excellent in run support.
*No. 13 – defensive tackle Walter Johnson – played with the Browns from 1965-76 – He was as powerful of a man – and about as good of a defensive tackle – as the Browns have ever had. His forearms were like slabs of granite. When he used them to deliver a blow to the side of the head of an opposing guard or center – back in the day, that stuff was legal – the player felt as if he had gotten hit by a speeding truck. Then obscure rookie free-agent guard Bob Jackson, who went on to have a fine 11-year career with the Browns, did a lot to make the team in training camp in 1975 when he survived three consecutive one-on-one blocking drills against Johnson in which he was pummeled by those forearms.Teaming with Jerry Sherk for the last seven of his 12 NFL seasons, Johnson gave the club one of the best tackle tandems in the league, and the best one the Browns have ever had. He made the Pro Bowl three straight seasons in the late 1960s, and deserved to go more times because he was at his best in the biggest games. How good of a sack man was Johnson? Very, very good. He had 58 in his career, which puts him third, behind only Clay Matthews (76.5) and Sherk (69).
*No. 12 – defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry – played with the Browns from 1988-94 – Again, we can start with the arms. Perry had short arms – they called them gator arms – and he used them to pick his way through offensive linemen to get into the backfield to crush running backs and quarterbacks. But like Johnson and Sherk, Perry’s biggest asset was his quickness. He was so quick, in fact, that he appeared to be offside many times. There were even occasions when he was penalized wrongly for that. Yes, he even fooled the officials. There was the time against the Pittsburgh Steelers when head coach Chuck Noll could be seen on the telecast going over to the bench screaming into the face of a seated Tunch Ilken because the very talented but in this case overmatched guard was getting eaten alive by Perry play after play after play. Perry made the Pro Bowl five times, tying for the most ever by a Browns defensive lineman. But the real indicator as to his worthiness as a player came with the fact Northeast Ohio McDonald’s restaurants came out with a sandwich named in his honor, the MDP. It was big and good, just like the man himself.
No. 11 – running back/returner Eric Metcalf – played with the Browns from 1989-94 – He just might be the most exciting and electrifying player in team history. If he’s not, then he’s on the short list of candidates for such. A three-way threat as a rusher, receiver and returner, his combination of speed, quickness and elusiveness, with the ability to stop on a dime and change direction, Metcalf was a nightmare for opposing teams, more so than any player in the last 30 years. He made the Pro Bowl only twice because the Browns never really figured out to use him. But when they got him the ball in space – at any place on the field – he was a legitimate threat to score a touchdown. Metcalf rushed for 2,229 career yards, putting him in 11th place in Browns history. He is in eighth place with 297 receptions. His 10.6 average yards per punt return ties him with Dennis Northcutt for fourth place. His 2,806 kickoff return yards rank fourth. His 7.9 average in combined yards (rushing, receiving, punt returns and kickoff returns) are fifth. There are three signature games in the Cleveland portion of Metcalf’s career. The first was the third contest of Metcalf’s rookie season of 1989, a Monday Nighter at Cincinnati, when he took a pass from Bernie Kosar and raced five yards for a touchdown, deftly making a defender grab nothing but air as he tried to tackle him. ABC-TV kept showing the play over and over again, maybe because no one could believe it. It appeared to be almost an optical illusion. The second game was early in the 1992 season when Metcalf scored four touchdowns, tied for the third-most in team history, in a 28-16 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders. Three came on passes from Todd Philcox covering 69, 63 and four yards, while the other was on a six-yard rush. The Raiders couldn’t tackle him. They were unable to get anywhere near him, in fact. They appeared to be in Pasadena or Hollywood while Metcalf was running wild at the Coliseum. Then there was mid-season 1993 against the Steelers at Cleveland Stadium, when he returned punts 90 and 75 yards for touchdowns, the latter one being the game-winner in the fourth quarter, in a 28-23 decision. The image of Metcalf being mobbed by fans in the Dawg Pound after the 75-yarder – Cleveland’s then version of the Lambeau Leap – was displayed on a big wall at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pittsburgh head coach Bill Cowher, who had started to build his resume as a Browns special teams coach not even a decade before, was so infuriated about losing a game to his old team at that very same stadium because of poor special teams play, that he fired his special teams coach that night. Metcalf’s touchdowns that day were the last riveting plays for the original Browns. Kosar was unceremoniously cut eight days later, and nothing was ever the same as the fans became incensed and turned against Cleveland head coach Bill Belichick and owner Art Modell. A year and a half later, something even worse happened when Modell took the franchise to Baltimore.
Next: Part III, the top 10.
