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Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > July > 23 > Entry
Browns fans smell blood — mine!
LOTS OF ‘DEADICATED’
BROWNS FANS; OOPS!
SORRY FOR MISSPELLING
===LUDWIG AT LARGE ALERT: Coming Friday, July 25, 2008, I will celebrate my 54th birthday by delivering “CHICK LUDWIG’S FABLED FOOTBALL GLOSSARY.” It’s my blog party, and I can cry if I want to.===
From D.R.: “Chick, your article blew me away. You got raw talent, kid. I was wondering if you can predict how many Bengal players will be in jail this year, and how many people think you’re a dummy. You must have been in a hurry to write this half-ass prediction. Someone actually pays you to post this crap. Unbelievable!
—-Chick’s response: I’m very lucky to earn a living writing sports. You’re even luckier to have the opportunity to read it.
From Pat M: “No depth on the offensive line? Are you nuts? Bodden contained Chad Johnson ONE time, and got burned every other time. Look at the stats you hack.”
—-Chick’s response: Leigh Bodden is a big, physical corner skilled at press coverage, and the Browns let him get away. “Here a hack, there a hack, everywhere a hack-hack.”
From Touchdown Tommy H.: “Last year, I E-mailed Paul Daugherty and we made a bet. If the Browns had a better season, he would write on his blog that he was wrong and the Browns were the better team. If the Bengals had a better season, I would concede. Let’s make this fun, Chick! I say the Browns win 11 or 12 games. I also say the Bengals win 6 or 7 games and Marvin Lewis is packing his bags by mid-season. Let me know if you have the acorns to back your words or if you are simply writing nonsense just to have an article.”
—-Chick’s response: Tom, the BET IS ON! You ready to rumble?
From Charlotte R.: “Football hasn’t even started and you are already bad mouthing the Browns. I hope you live to gag on your prediction. Simple questions are the only kind of questions you can comprehend. Believe me, I hope you’re very wrong. I see the Brownies winning 10-12 games. And by the way, tell your quarterback to keep his mouth shut about the Buckeyes.”
—-Chick’s response: “Hush, hush, sweet Charlotte. Charlotte don’t you cry.”
From Robbie S.: “Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Hank Fraley, Ryan Tucker, Kevin Shaffer, Rex Hadnot, Lennie Friedman, and Seth McKinney. All have the ability to start in the NFL. That’s 8 linemen. Only 5 start. That means the Browns have depth. Oh, and you forgot Robaire Smith. The Browns best D-Linemen last year. And what QB controversy? Derek Anderson is the starter. Brady Quinn is the backup. Your article is not good.”
—-Chick’s response: Glad to see my blog posting struck a nerve. Hey, Robbie, that’s the whole point. Gotcha fired up for football, eh? A job well done.
From Jeffrey A.: “How could you even think you where close in the prediction of the Browns not making the playoffs? The Browns are the only team in the division to make a big jump in talent in the offseason. Even the Steelers have to start realizing they’re not going to win the division this year.”
—-Chick’s response: Sweep the Steelers and I’ll be inflicted with “Believer Fever.”
From Fred R.: “Stick with something you know, like the Bengals. You just sound like a jealous Bengals fan. The Bengals will always be losers with tight-fisted Mike Brown as the owner. The Bengals and Reds are the ‘Cincinnati Bookends.’ The Browns may implode during the season, but the Bengals have already imploded.”
—-Chick’s response: Fifty-one years as a Browns fan? Freddie, I applaud and salute your valor. You deserve a medal of honor and lots of combat pay. I’ll have Chad send you a bottle of Pepto-Bismol.
From Larry K.: “Hopefully, you’re dead wrong about your prediction. If we do start at 1-3 or even 0-4 and finish at 8-8, our fans will still be there in full support of our team unlike those “other” so called fans who start off every season pounding their chests, ‘Rah, rah, Who-Dey!’ “
—-Chick’s response: Top Dawg, I like your style. Who Dey think gonna beat dem Browns? Cincy and Pitt, of course.
From Ted A.: “Chick, what are you smokin’? The Browns will be 4-0 going into their WEEK 5 bye! Guess who’ll be in last? Yep…the Cincinnati Bungles! Who Dey? Who Else? Put that in your pipe and smoke it. GO BROWNS GO! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”
—-Chick’s response: Teddy Dawg, your bark is bigger than your bite. Your woofin’ is like coffee. Keeps me awake & alert. Oh, and to answer your question: A vanilla-flavored Hav-A-Tampa. Thanks for asking. Cheers.
Permalink | Comments (15) | Post your comment | Categories: Football
Comments
By whipjacka
July 23, 2008 1:35 AM | Link to this
Chick, Do you really think it is professional to write a column just to enrage your readers? It is your duty as a journalist to report unbiasedly, not to write a poorly researched and biased article and turn around to sarcastically mock your readers just for disagreeing with you. Learn some ethics…and grow upBy Bob V
July 23, 2008 3:37 AM | Link to this
Chick, Help me out with this question. What year did the Browns go to the SUPERBOWL? Things seem fuzzy… Was it 1985? No that was the year the Browns had a half time lead of 21-3 but Miami prevailed and advanced to the AFC Title game…. Was it 1986? No That was the game John Elway drove the Broncos 91 YARDS to win the AFC Title game 23-20…. Was it 1987? No that was the Byner fumble at the goal line. Broncos win the AFC Title 38-33…. Was it 1989? No the Broncos won that AFC Title game also 37-21…. I can’t remember maybe it was 1996, 97, or 98….. WHO DEY! BENGAL FANS!By Brizzy
July 23, 2008 3:51 AM | Link to this
Bob did the Bengal’s have a winning season in 1991? How about ‘92? ‘93? ‘94? ‘95? ‘96? ‘97? ‘98? ‘99? 2000? Surely they must have won more games than they lost in 2001,2,3,4,6,7? No? No superbowls to speak of either? It appears that the Bob Pot is trying to call the kettle black, or, in this case, BrownBy Dawg Pound Alum
July 23, 2008 5:56 AM | Link to this
Chick, you might need to wear a disguise the next time you go to the North Coast!! Browns fans are “rabid”! The Bengals fans need to take some lessons. Personally I love the sarcasm in your comments and I do appreciate the good writing. A strong word of caution… make sure you have your rabies shot before dissing the DAWGS and their fans. It could get nasty!!!By bburton359
July 23, 2008 6:23 AM | Link to this
Bengals fans need to take a lesson from Browns fans? Our franchise may have been horrible, our owner may be incompetent and cheap, but at least we were fans enough to buy a new stadium to keep our team from going to BMore. Don’t get me wrong, I love Browns fans, Steeler fans, and Raven fans. The animosity is the most heated in the NFL. No division has the history and bad blood as the AFC North. Although I don’t think the Browns are as good as many think, the will be good. The Bengals are a lot better than people think. Even the Ravens are better than people think. This is going to be a hard fought division, making for an exciting season. I can’t wait.By The Whole Truth
July 23, 2008 8:12 AM | Link to this
I present the fabled franchise that brought you Jim Brown, Marion Motley, Leroy Kelly, Brian Sipe, Paul Warfield, and Bernie Kosar… the Baltimore Ravens!! (once upon a time in Cleveland)By The Real Bob
July 23, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this
Hey Bob you complete moron, do know that the browns won more games during the 1990’s than the bungholes…..so you say….problem is the browns didn’t have a team for three of those years and they still won more games in 7 years than the bungholes did in 10 years, how pathetic is that, game set match loserBy Doco
July 23, 2008 10:22 AM | Link to this
I’ve been going to a Bengals-Browns game every year since 2000 and I have to keep going to Cleveland because I can’t get tickets to Cincy. It’s easy getting Browns tickets. That tells me that the Bengals have better fan support. And I apologize to the author of this poem because I don’t remember where I heard it. ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE, BYNER’S IN THE ENDZONE, AND THE BALL’S ON THE TWO.By alk4474
July 23, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
Chick I LOVE YOU HA HA HA.Best thing ive read in a long time. The Browns are the most overrated team in the NFL na d when you tell the Brown fans that they cant handle itBy alk4474
July 23, 2008 11:18 AM | Link to this
Chick I LOVE YOU HA HA HA.Best thing ive read in a long time. The Browns are the most overrated team in the NFL and when you tell the Brown fans that they cant handle itBy Dawg Pound Alum
July 23, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this
FYI to the “whole truth” and BBurton, The Cleveland Browns do have a new stadium, the Cleveland Browns did not leave for Baltimore— The owner did (whose name has never been mentioned by true Brown’s fans again), taking a team that was named the Baltimore Ravens (whose players probably had more familiarity with the law than the Bengals), because many years ago the Baltimore Colts lost their franchise to Indianapolis And to my knowledge Jim Brown, Marion Motley, Leroy Kelly, Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar, never played for the Ravens, nor the Colts, only the Browns who play in a beautiful new stadium on a beautiful lake (not a muddy flotsam/jetsam filled river, that is not named after the guy that the previously unmentionable owner ran out of town. And by the way the Cuyahoga River has not caught on fire for over 30 years!! It has been over 30 years since the city went bankrupt, and Dennis Kucinich has not been the mayor there for over 30 years (this info is provided as merely an aside, just in case you are still having problems with your memory in regards to all things related to Cleveland)By Big Dawg
July 23, 2008 4:08 PM | Link to this
Browns - 10-6 Playoffs Bengals - 6-10 Home Take that to Key Bank.By jimi
July 23, 2008 6:49 PM | Link to this
the fact is brown’s fans had a choice back in the sixties: 1) root for the man that invented the browns, heck he invented MODERN FOOTBALL, they named the flipping team AFTER HIM. or 2) root for the bum that knew less about football than YOU do,who would eventually accept an offer—an offer A MUCH MORE HIGHLY PRINCIPLED mike brown turned down first btw—to leave town with the second version of the REAL BROWNS AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. the third version? totally pampered by the press. espn gave them a great grade for their draft EVEN WHEN THEY DIDN’T HAVE ANY FIRST DAY PICKS. HELLO. A DDN HEADLINE YESTERDAY SCREAMED “BROWNS SIGN ALL OF THEIR PICKS.” MEANWHILE CINCI SIGNED FOUR PICKS, TOO, AND THEY ARE SOMEHOW LAUGHABLE FAILURES. i bet the browns wish THEY had six more draft picks to sign.. but they don’t because they suck. lmao.By jimi
July 23, 2008 6:50 PM | Link to this
the fact is brown’s fans had a choice back in the sixties: 1) root for the man that invented the browns, heck he invented MODERN FOOTBALL, they named the flipping team AFTER HIM. or 2) root for the bum that knew less about football than YOU do,who would eventually accept an offer—an offer A MUCH MORE HIGHLY PRINCIPLED mike brown turned down first btw—to leave town with the second version of the REAL BROWNS AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. the third version? totally pampered by the press. espn gave them a great grade for their draft EVEN WHEN THEY DIDN’T HAVE ANY FIRST DAY PICKS. HELLO. A DDN HEADLINE YESTERDAY SCREAMED “BROWNS SIGN ALL OF THEIR PICKS.” MEANWHILE CINCI SIGNED FOUR PICKS, TOO, AND THEY ARE SOMEHOW LAUGHABLE FAILURES. i bet the browns wish THEY had six more draft picks to sign.. but they don’t because they suck. lmao.By Joe
July 24, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this
Hey, Chick. I just had a couple questions. You see, I remember you saying that Bodden is one of the only guys in the league that can cover Chad. It’s just, if I recall, Chad only was able to find the endzone in 4 games last season. The first was in your opener against a horrible Ravens’ pass-defense. Then he found the endzone twice in Week 2 against Cleveland’s horrible pass-defense. His efforts were in vain, however, as they just couldn’t keep pace with the Browns’ offense. Then, Chad couldn’t find the promised-land until Week 12 against another horrible pass-defense in the Titans. Then Chad was kept out of the endzone until the Bengals’ meaningless season finale against another horrible defense in Miami. So, my first question is this: What happened to Chad in the other 75% of his games? Was he getting covered the way you argued that almost nobody could cover him? Or did he just think that it wasn’t important for him to come out and make plays in three quarters of his games? You argued that our defensive secondary won’t be able to pick up the slack with Bodden gone. Well, you are right in saying that Bodden was a decent press-coverage CB. He was also a gambler. Last year, when he wasn’t getting picks, he was giving up points. Like those two TDs in Wk. 2 to Johnson (I don’t see how you can say that Bodden was great at covering Johnson, when 25% of Chad’s TDs came against Bodden). But now, whether you love it or hate it, Bodden has left the Browns. So Eric Wright has to step up and start. He will be the guy lining up across from Johnson this year. Did Eric Wright do anything to show he can handle that sort of responsibility? I recall a game against the Patriots. If I’m not mistaken, the Pats’ offense wasn’t particularly bad last year. Rookie Eric Wright was assigned to cover somebody named… um… Mandy Ross, or something. I don’t know. I just seem to remember people trying to say that he was a pretty good receiver. If I recall, Brady dropped back to pass 40 times that game. This Mandy Ross dude was nowhere to be found that game. Nowhere. It was because little Eric Wright was glued to his hip and matching him step for step. But, what do I know? I’m sure Chad is a better receiver than whoever that guy was. It wasn’t like he set any records or anything. But, even still, the Browns did lose a starting-quality CB. That would be something to worry about for our Cincinnati games, if the Bengals didn’t lose a starting-quality receiver. And we got a pro-bowler in return. The Bengals just got a bunch of bad press-coverage. But I understand. That sort of stuff happens when a guy gets arrested for the 273rd time or whatever it was. Oh, and Johnson decided he was going to make a mockery of your teams’ offense. How does that work? A guy that under-achieved last year comes out and starts demanding to be traded because “he just wants to win.” It might just be me but, when your star player comes out and accuses your team of not being committed to winning, it would seem to signal some trouble in paradise. That seems a little hypocritical. I mean, Johnson has spent the past several years getting your team penalized every chance he gets with his elaborately-planned celebrations. Personally, I have no problem with Chad wanting to be Chad. If that is what he wants to do, let him do it. It is entertaining for his fans. But the guy knows he is going to get his team slapped with some penalty yards for it. If Chad is really committed to winning as much as he says he is, wouldn’t he just take a second to execute an ordinary celebration move? Or at least not celebrate his TDs when his team is still trailing? But the drama he created this offseason, coupled with his completely nonsensical and illogical arguments and the ensuing, attempted recantations, seem to indicate to me that not even Chad knows what Chad wants. Chick, if you could find the time, I would forever be in your debt if you could explain these apparent anomalies to me. I just want to try and understand your side of things and, right now, it isn’t making a lot of sense.