Written by Greg Popelka

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We all have had those moments. Moments an old boss of mine used to call, “Oh, sh*ts”.  Circa 1993, I was a young loan officer in the mortgage business. People were buying houses like mad, and refinancing again and again, on a regular basis. It was a great time for refinancing, so one might assume it was a great time for mortgage companies. That was true- only, those of us who were selling the mortgages were among a work force that was about twice the size of what it needed to be. We were everywhere, and there was hardly enough business to go around. Mortgage companies were fine with that, since we were paid on commission.

 

So, there was heavy competition to win business. We commonly trimmed closing costs- and our commission- in an ongoing effort to fill “the pipeline” with business. Occasionally, under pressure and in a rush, one of us would mistakenly quote and lock a rate at terms we couldn’t honor without losing money. That was an “Oh, sh*t”.

At the mention of the name of former Browns linebacker Dwayne Rudd, young and old Browns fans conjure a shared image: the player standing on the football field, palms raised. Sans helmet.

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The 2002 Cleveland Browns would be the second season of the Butch Davis era in which he served as head coach and general manager. They were only in their fourth year since their 1999 reincarnation after the original, historic, well-supported franchise was suddenly ripped out of Cleveland by owner Art Modell. Davis had been the hotshot coach of the Miami Hurricanes football program, and had taken measures to clean up its thug image. He also sported impressive credentials as a Dallas Cowboys assistant coach through their highly successful decade of the 1990s. His impact on the Browns was immediate. After a 5-27 record over its first two seasons of expansion football, the team turned in a respectable 7-9 record in Davis’ inaugural 2001 season.  They jumped out to a fast start, until a couple of tough losses derailed their playoff hopes. One loss was an excruciating game that got away in Chicago. The Browns were up 21-7 with 30 seconds left in that game. The Bears scored, recovered an onside kick, scored again on a ‘Hail Mary’ pass to tie the game, and then won it in overtime on a tipped pass from Browns quarterback Tim Couch that resulted in a ‘pick six’. The team faded over the last month and a half. Bottlegate is a disgusting memory that happened in there, somewhere, as well.

The Browns were buoyed by the success they’d enjoyed in 2001, however, and 2002 was highly anticipated by both players and fans.

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When Dwayne Rudd became eligible for the NFL draft back in 1997, his reputation from his time at the University of Alabama was that of a hard-hitting, speedy ballhawk. He was considered to be a top ten pick. The Minnesota Vikings were delighted that he fell to them at number 20.

Rudd played the Will (weakside; opposite the tight end side) linebacker for a couple seasons for the Vikings, and was good enough to command double teams by opposing offenses. After a couple leg injuries, along with increased depth at linebacker for Minnesota, he moved to the Sam (strongside) . He was Second Team All Pro in 1998. Rudd became a free agent after the 2000 season.

Davis snatched him up, and Rudd was to become part of a solid veteran presence on the Browns’ defense.

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The Browns began the 2002 season at home, vs. Kansas City. The Chiefs were coached by the highly respected Dick Vermiel, and boasted an offense led by quarterback Trent Green, tight end Tony Gonzalez and running back Priest Holmes.

Offense ruled the day. Browns backup quarterback Kelly Holcomb threw for over 300 yards, and wide receiver Kevin Johnson (a former Syracuse quarterback) hit on an option pass to Quincy Morgan for a touchdown, as well. The success in the passing game was fortunate, since the Browns could not muster a running game against the Chiefs. Jamel White was the leading rusher for the Browns, with 42 yards on 12 carries. In his NFL debut, first round pick William Green gained 17 on 8 carries.

The Chiefs’ game plan was to blitz a lot, and Holcomb made them pay. Seven Browns recorded receptions on the day. He hooked up on three touchdown passes- to Dennis Northcutt, Andre Davis, and Morgan.

Conversely, Priest Holmes ran roughshod over the Browns. 2001’s NFL rushing champion accumulated 122 yards – and four touchdowns. Three of them came in the fourth quarter.

Still, the entire game came down to a Chiefs ‘Hail Mary’ pass from their side of the fifty yard line, with time expiring and the Browns up, 39-37. As Green dropped back to chuck it deep, the Browns’ DBs backpedaled to defend. The Browns’ defensive line collapsed the pocket, and Dwayne Rudd dragged Green to the turf. He later said he rolled over on his facemask and watched the stadium clock register “0:00”. Rudd rose to his feet and in one motion, grabbed the facemask with both hands and sent an underhanded helmet toss high into the air. WE WON!!!

Rudd's only problem was that prior to Green being downed, he made eye contact with offensive lineman John Tait, who was behind him. At the last moment, Green lateraled the ball to the 6’6”, 328-pound Tait. Tait began to lumber for positive yardage. Most of the Browns’ defense was either in the offensive backfield, near Trent Green, or near the end zone, to defend the expected pass. A couple Browns players ran down field with Tait; to some observers, it seemed they were in no hurry to tackle him. They just needed to keep him out of the end zone, right? Because the clock had expired, and this was the final play. Tait was finally brought down at about the Browns’ 26 yard line.

But wait. There was some confusion after the play. The Browns appeared to have won, but there was a flag on the field. It was back near the original line of scrimmage- offensive holding? No? It was on the defense? For unsportsmanlike conduct? “Oh, sh*t.” Unbeknownst to him at the time, Dwayne Rudd had removed and thrown his helmet before the play was over. That is a no-no. And, the game cannot end on a defensive penalty. So: after John Tait’s 28-yard run, the refs tacked 13 yards for the penalty (half the distance to the goal). Kansas City was awarded an untimed play. Kicker Morten Anderson came on and converted the 30 yard chippie. 40-39, the Chiefs won.

Interestingly, while with Tampa Bay, Dwayne Rudd found himself in a 2003 Monday night game in which a similar play occurred. The Indianapolis Colts attempted a game-winning field goal with no time left on the game clock. The attempt was no good. However, Rudd’s teammate, Simeon Rice, drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the try. The Colts were permitted to line up and try again, for an untimed play. The second kick was good.

Surely, this opening game would kill the Browns’ season, would it not? They were not good enough to be able to withstand giving games away. Incredibly, however, they did weather that horrible loss, earning a trip to the playoffs on the final week of the season.

Al Lerner died during the 2002 season. Years later, it was widely accepted that the team had taken on so many veterans- and their corresponding payroll- in a win-now effort for their ailing owner. Butch Davis cut and declined to re-sign several veterans prior to 2003. Gone were offensive lineman Dave Wohlabaugh, defensive back Corey Fuller, and linebackers Earl Holmes, Darren Hambrick- and Dwayne Rudd. 2003 was shaping up to be a transition year.

Oh, sh*t.

Thank you for reading. Sources included the Cleveland.com Plain Dealer Browns game story database; Wikipedia; Cleveland Browns’ website’s History pages; the online SIVault.