![]() He also led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 1,511. ![]() Johnson went to the Pro Bowl and made All-Pro for the Giants in 1970, with 1,027 yards and an NFL-leading 263 rushing attempts. Kanicki would be voted as one of the Top 100 Browns of all time. He wasn't good at actually running disciplined patterns like Warfield. Jones had made a living catching balls from Fran Tarkenton, who was famous for scrambling and ad-libbing, with Jones getting open like a teammate in a pickup basketball game. The only problem was that Warfield continued to make Pro Bowls and eventually made All-Pro in 1971, while Homer Jones only caught 10 passes for his Browns career. To replace Warfield, crafty Modell traded 1969 first-round draft pick running back Ron Johnson to the New York Giants, along with starting defensive tackle Jim Kanicki, for superstar wide receiver Homer Jones. Phipps would throw 40 TDS in his Browns career versus 81 INTs.īut that is not the end. 3 pick in the NFL draft, which was used on quarterback Mike Phipps. So he first traded wideout Paul Warfield, for the No. However, Nelsen's knee problems made the Browns front office nervous and he was not considered a long-term solution.Īfter the 1969 season, Modell decided he had to make another move. Nelsen was a terrible quarterback for Pittsburgh but was very good for Cleveland. Browns starting quarterback Frank Ryan was no longer viable due to a shoulder injury, and the team felt another option was necessary. Well, that got packaged with quarterback Dick Shiner and was sent to Pittsburgh for Bill Nelsen. He was slowed by injuries the following year but continued to have success in 1970 with 774 yards. That seemed like a no-brainer! A second-round pick, even a year in the future, seems like an incredibly high pick for a four-year backup, but remember that they played six exhibition games per season back then, so the 49ers probably knew him pretty well.Īnyway, all that McNeil did for San Francisco was to make the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team in 1968, with 994 yards and an NFL-leading 71 receptions. So, when Modell was offered a second-round draft pick in the 1969 draft from San Francisco for backup wide receiver Clifton McNeil after the 1967 season, and he decided to take the trade. The Browns had two Pro Bowl wide receivers in Gary Collins (19) plus Paul Warfield, who had made it as a rookie in 1964. Good job, Art.įans have no idea how incredible the Browns organization was in the 1960s. Rather than suffer Modell's humiliation, he elected to retire. However, Brown was making more money as a Hollywood star. ![]() Well, Modell chose to put the hammer down and show Brown who's boss. This came after Modell chased away future Hall of Famer Jim Brown, who was tardy coming to training camp because of his second career as a movie star.įilming of The Dirty Dozen had been delayed in France in 1967, and millions of dollars were at stake. For a while, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell, fancying himself a football genius like Al Davis, acted as his own general manager and traded away three future Pro Bowl talents between 19.
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