Though it was a fair question, I was a bit blindsided by it.  Tis was not the season to be bitter about Art Modell; after all, we thought that one got buried in New Orleans when this year's Hall of Fame class was announced without the inclusion of the late former owner of the Baltimore Ravens on it.  Now, I've made it no secret that I object to the very mention of Modell's candidacy for Canton, but the way I answer the question varies, depending on whether I'm occupying a barstool at the local pub or representing my city and this site on the radio.

On the heels of Jonathan Ogden's Hall of Fame speech, most notably the part where he thanked the owner of the team that gave him NFL life, there were scattered boos from those in attendance at the birthplace of American Football, about an hour south on I-77 from First Energy Stadium.  I wasn't asked about the boos; they were what they were, a reaction from a still-stung fan base that despises even the faintest whisper of the name of the man who took the heart and soul of our city to Baltimore for a little bit of blood money.  Had that been the question, I would have stated, without reservation, that I disagreed with the boos.  It was Jonathan Ogden's day, and those who booed were absolutely not booing the man that was still up to no good in Inglewood when the Browns played their last game at Municipal Stadium, so I found the jeers to be inappropriate.  If years from now, any part of Joe Thomas's speech isn't well received, I would not want the man to be booed.

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The Cleveland Browns' Josh Gordon has all the attributes that define the modern day wide receiver. His work ethic is questionable, his decision making is awful and he has a massive ego that stretches well beyond his modest achievements.

Maybe general manager Mike Lombardi was right all along. Gordon was a waste of a second round pick. In doing that former general manager Tom Heckert was just continuing a well established core competency of the Browns and wasted second round picks. But that's another story for another day.

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We have to say we were a bit surprised by the push back from some fans over the announcement that the Cleveland Browns are working to try and improve the game day experience at home games.

We know (hope?) some of it was general snark, but we read and head enough that it makes us wonder, with the biggest complaint being, of course, that the Browns should "just win more games."

We're fairly certain that the people on the business side of the franchise can effectively do their jobs without interfering in the more-important football side of the operation. As fans, shouldn't that be what we want? Let team president Alec Scheiner and the marketing people handle things like game day DJs, music (we like AC/DC; we don't near to hear Thunderstruck before a kickoff ever again), and hot dog races. That frees up CEO Joe Banner and general manager Mike Lombardi to focus on more important things, like acquiring good players, extending Alex Mack's contract, you know, the type of things that will make the enhancements everyone is currently talking about superfluous.

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The Cleveland Browns opened training camp on Thursday with new personnel and a new outlook on the defensive side of the ball.

While there will be plenty of new faces on defense this year, the most important addition may be defensive coordinator Ray Horton.

The Browns decided to make the switch to the 3-4 defense because, according to CEO Joe Banner, “most good teams play an attacking 3-4 defense,” citing Green Bay, San Francisco, Baltimore and Pittsburgh as examples. (Banner must have been otherwise occupied when the Giants won two Super Bowls playing a traditional 4-3. But that is a discussion for another day.)

Enter Horton, who comes to the Browns from Arizona and brings with him a 3-4 defense that is modeled after the one he learned from Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh. Make no mistake; this isn’t going to be your father’s 3-4 defense, but rather one that is based on a key principle in today’s NFL – making the opposing quarterback pay in the passing game.

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