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Th e Cleveland Browns were established in 1946 and are members of the American Football Conference, North Division, of the NFL. They were originally on the All-America Football Conference, (AAFC), and became part of the NFL after the AAFC's demise. Since becoming a member of the AFC in 1970, they have not played in a league championship. In 1995, when owner, Art Modell announced that he was taking his team to Baltimore, the back-lash was phenomenal. There were over 100 lawsuits filed and even the Pittsburgh Steelers fans, Cleveland's arch rival, protested. Sponsors pulled their support, as well. Their final game, "The Battle of Ohio" against the Cincinnati Bengals was the scene of seats ripped from the stands and thrown onto the field, several fires, and assaults. The Browns did not have another team until 1999. When Modell left Cleveland, he had to give Cleveland all of the rights to the Cleveland Brown name, colors, and history. The 1999 Browns considered themselves to be a part of the original 1946 team.
The Cleveland Browns will be entertaining the "Dawg Pound" this season 8 times. The open air stadium on the shores of Lake Erie opened in Sep., 1999 on the same site of the former Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Browns have 16 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which include Jim Brown, Ozzie Newsome, and Paul Warfield.
To date, the Cleveland Browns have never made the Super Bowl Game, and their last appearance in a playoff game was in 2002. The Cleveland Browns are hoping that their 2010-11 season will greatly improve after their dismal 2009-10 record of 5-11. The Browns surprised the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 11 with a 6-3 win in a field goal battle, but lost every game until Dec. 10, 2010 when they ended the season with a 4 game winning streak.
The Browns released quarterback, Derek Anderson one day after trading an undisclosed draft choice to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Seneca Wallace, a 7 year veteran of the NFL. In his 14 games as a quarterback, he completed 60% of his passes and threw 25 touchdowns. Wallace also has experience as a wide receiver. Cleveland also signed former Carolina Panther, Jake Delhumme as back-up quarterback.
Cleveland Browns - 2011 NFL Schedule
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