Offensive Line

calfoxwc

Larry Csonka was 6'3" - I knew his sister Nancy.

Don Nottingham - no highlight video of him -

but he was "the Bowling Ball" but was only 5'10", harder to get a hold of, and was only 210 lbs. But he was stocky, and

powerful, no fear, like a rocky mountain goat violently headbashing with another rocky mountain goat.

He caught passes out of the backfield, and also -returned kicks-.

https://www.nfl.com/players/don-nottingham/stats/career

I did find this video of him, though - he ended up with hearing loss from all the collisions....

The Gipper

I had some dealings with some other members of Larry Csonka's family. Perhaps a nephew/cousin. Let's put it this way: they were basically scumbags, thieves, that thought because the uncle/cousin had been an NFL player that it gave them carte blanche to screw people over.

calfoxwc

the roosevelt and ravenna teams back then - I remember one of them had some super star guy who could return kicks, wr? and

nobody could ever catch him. Everybody knew his name back then. I don't remember it now. lol

The Gipper

@calfoxwc said:

the roosevelt and ravenna teams back then - I remember one of them had some super star guy who could return kicks, wr? and

nobody could ever catch him. Everybody knew his name back then. I don't remember it now. lol

There was Tom Campana who went to OSU...but did not quite make in in the NFL...but did play in the CFL...but I think his Dad played like 4 years for the Bears. Stan White....OSU/Colts . Stan Boykin, OSU may not have played in NFL, but did ....and there have been many Boykins that went there...in fact I see 7 Boykins that played in the NFL. At least half of them may have gone to Kent Roosevelt. Tom DeLeone was on that team. OSU/Browns.

Mike Adamle was just a year ahead of that Quartet.

The Gipper

The 1966 Kent Roosevelt-Ravenna classic had everything: High stakes, high drama and a star-studded collection of talent on both sides unmatched in the rivalry’s rich history. An astonishing total of six future NFL draft picks took the field at Bowers Field in Kent for that now-infamous contest between two undefeated teams with the Metro League championship on the line......

The powerful Ravens were led by big, rugged senior running back Don Nottingham and coached by Nunzio “Foot” Polichene, who was in his first year after taking over from legendary Ravenna mentor Harry Gilcrest. Nottingham would go on to star at Kent State University and play in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins, winning the Super Bowl with Miami in the 1973 season......

An astounding five players from that 1966 Kent Roosevelt team went on to become NFL draft picks, including all three running backs in senior Mike Adamle and juniors Jerry Brown and Tom Campana Jr.

Adamle starred at Northwestern University and played in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Chicago Bears. Brown also played at Northwestern and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers before going on to a distinguished coaching career which continues to this day (Brown currently serves as the assistant head coach at Northwestern). Campana Jr., meanwhile, was a standout for Woody Hayes at Ohio State and was drafted by the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals before embarking on a successful career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

The 1966 Rough Riders also featured junior center Tom DeLeone and junior linebacker Stan White, both of whom later starred at Ohio State with the younger Campana. Both DeLeone and White went on to outstanding NFL careers, DeLeone as a center for the Cleveland Browns and White as a linebacker with the Colts and Detroit Lions.

Note: I believe that Mike Adamle's Dad, Tony, was the Browns official team physician for many years.

The Gipper

Adamle on a 1951 football card

No. 74, 54

Position:

Linebacker, Fullback

Personal information

Born:

May 15, 1924
Fairmont, West Virginia

Died:

October 7, 2000 (aged 76)
Kent, Ohio

Career information

College:

Ohio State University

NFL Draft:

1947 / Round: 12 / Pick: 105
(By the Chicago Bears)

Career history

Cleveland Browns (1947–1951, 1954)

Career highlights and awards

3× AAFC Champion (1947, 1948, 1949)
2× NFL Champion (1950, 1954)
2× Pro Bowl selection (1950, 1951)
First-team All-Pro (1951)

Career NFL statistics

Games:	75
Rushing Yards:	255
Touchdowns:	2
Interceptions:	7
Fumbles recovered:	6

calfoxwc

@the-gipper said:

I had some dealings with some other members of Larry Csonka's family. Perhaps a nephew/cousin. Let's put it this way: they were basically scumbags, thieves, that thought because the uncle/cousin had been an NFL player that it gave them carte blanche to screw people over.

I didn't know that - but Nancy was a sweetheart - in hs. Larry was some years ahead of me, he was well liked.

calfoxwc

@the-gipper said:

There was Tom Campana who went to OSU...but did not quite make in in the NFL...but did play in the CFL...but I think his Dad played like 4 years for the Bears. Stan White....OSU/Colts . Stan Boykin, OSU may not have played in NFL, but did ....and there have been many Boykins that went there...in fact I see 7 Boykins that played in the NFL. At least half of them may have gone to Kent Roosevelt. Tom DeLeone was on that team. OSU/Browns.

Mike Adamle was just a year ahead of that Quartet.

Campana, I think that was him. Blazing fast. The Boykins were a succession of terrific hs players.

calfoxwc

but getting back to the offensive line.....

When Harris went in for Hubbard, I didn't expect him to play terrific. I figured things would go wrong.

I was wrong. He's very, very smart - and can PLAY:

https://www.brownsnation.com/who-is-nick-harris/

TexasAg1969

@calfoxwc said:

but getting back to the offensive line.....

When Harris went in for Hubbard, I didn't expect him to play terrific. I figured things would go wrong.

I was wrong. He's very, very smart - and can PLAY:

https://www.brownsnation.com/who-is-nick-harris/

I think some really underestimated how very excellent Bill Callahan is as an OL coach. We should not have been surprised that Harris was very prepared to just step right in when the need was there. There is a reason our OL as a whole has become one of the very best in the NFL.

SdBacker80

@calfoxwc said:

but getting back to the offensive line.....

When Harris went in for Hubbard, I didn't expect him to play terrific. I figured things would go wrong.

I was wrong. He's very, very smart - and can PLAY:

https://www.brownsnation.com/who-is-nick-harris/

Now that our Oline is set for the next couple years it is great to hit on a 3rd day of the draft depth piece that we can develop the next couple years and maybe groom to take over in 2022. I hope we can do it again in 2021.

Dutch Oven

@the-gipper said:

Stan Boykin, OSU may not have played in NFL, but did ....and there have been many Boykins that went there...in fact I see 7 Boykins that played in the NFL. At least half of them may have gone to Kent Roosevelt.

The story I heard about the Boykins - and there always seemed to be a Boykin every year playing football at Roosevelt for generations - was that the family actually started out in Ravenna, but someone from the city of Kent "reached out" to some family members with "city jobs" and the family moved over to Kent. I think the Boykins are related to the Sanders family in Ravenna, which produced most likely the best Ravenna player since Nottingham - Marcus Sanders. He had 81 touchdowns in his high school career and rushed for 7,002 yards from '96-99.

Tour2ma

Meanwhile back at the thread...

Nice little article...

Here's to fat-assses everywhere.

==============================================================================================================================================

Browns O-line doesn't seek praise but has full appreciation of those closest to it

The big men up front have been the foundation for the Browns’ dominance in both the run game and passing attack

Dec 23, 2020 at 05:34 PM Anthony Poisal Digital Media Contributor

The Browns' 2020 offense has put itself in the company of one of the best units the franchise has ever assembled.

Cleveland's 152 rushing yards per game is the most by a Browns team since 1978. The team's 43 scrimmage touchdowns are already tied for sixth-most in franchise history, and the 368 total points this year are seventh-most by a Browns team.

Those numbers are a credit to the run game and passing attack, which have battered defenses over the course of the Browns 10-win season and recent 5-1 stretch.

But both of those units owe a large chunk of their success to a group that's easy to overlook on a winning football team: the offensive line.

No Browns position group arguably has been more consistent than the five big men up front. They've ascended into one of the top-ranked offensive lines in the NFL, and their ability to protect the pocket and steamroll through any defensive line has been the true backbone behind the Browns' offensive success.

"They are always on point when it comes to everything," offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said last week. "They are always prepared. That is a group of guys up front I am really proud of."

Coaches and players have raved about the offensive line all season, and their play has always backed them up. Guards Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio have been ranked among the best linemen in football, according to Pro Football Focus, while tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin and center JC Tretter have marvelously managed their week-by-week assignments.

In pass protection, they've helped give quarterback Baker Mayfield a league-leading 2.7 seconds of time in the pocket. That's up from 2.3 seconds in the pocket last season, which ranked 27th in the league. The unit has allowed just one sack since Week 13, the fewest in the NFL.

In the run game, there's plenty of stats to show their worth. Running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are the only running backs on the same team this season to have over 790 rushing yards. The Browns have rushed for 100 or more yards in all but two games this season, and the offensive line has made several highlight reel-worthy blocks that have led to chunk plays on the ground.

"I love those boys up front," Mayfield said. "It's unbelievable. We have a great group that is extremely focused."

https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/browns-o-line-doesn-t-seek-praise-but-has-full-appreciation-of-those-closest-to-

The Gipper

Nah, let's not go there.....too boring.

Pink bunny suit time.

Orion

...and now our shiny new LT is on the COVID list. I hope he's bathing in hand sanitizer and can test negative.

browns52

@the-gipper said:

Yes. As you may know, both KR and Ravenna were in the same conference as Norton where I went. I had a bit of an older friend who played either DL or LB for Norton at the time Nottingham played for Ravenna...and also when Larry Csonka played for Stow. He said that Csonka was a cream puff compared to Nottingham to try to tackle.

my wife just told me all the browns wr's are out for the jets game due to covid....i don't have an iphone....is she looking at the right info....higgins...landry...jones....wtf...we are done if so.............jets will clobber the browns due to covid....what a strange season it has been....someone let me know what the fuck is going on..please...

Dutch Oven

@browns52 said:

my wife just told me all the browns wr's are out for the jets game due to covid....i don't have an iphone....is she looking at the right info....higgins...landry...jones....wtf...we are done if so.............jets will clobber the browns due to covid....what a strange season it has been....someone let me know what the fuck is going on..please...

Go to the Browns vs Jets Meadowlands II thread...

The Gipper

Yes. As you may know, both KR and Ravenna were in the same conference as Norton where I went. I had a bit of an older friend who played either DL or LB for Norton at the time Nottingham played for Ravenna...and also when Larry Csonka played for Stow. He said that Csonka was a cream puff compared to Nottingham to try to tackle.

my wife just told me all the browns wr's are out for the jets game due to covid....i don't have an iphone....is she looking at the right info....higgins...landry...jones....wtf...we are done if so.............jets will clobber the browns due to covid....what a strange season it has been....someone let me know what the fuck is going on..please..

Why the hell did you reply to what I wrote with this?

Are you on drugs?

browns52

@the-gipper said:

Yes. As you may know, both KR and Ravenna were in the same conference as Norton where I went. I had a bit of an older friend who played either DL or LB for Norton at the time Nottingham played for Ravenna...and also when Larry Csonka played for Stow. He said that Csonka was a cream puff compared to Nottingham to try to tackle.

my wife just told me all the browns wr's are out for the jets game due to covid....i don't have an iphone....is she looking at the right info....higgins...landry...jones....wtf...we are done if so.............jets will clobber the browns due to covid....what a strange season it has been....someone let me know what the fuck is going on..please..

Why the hell did you reply to what I wrote with this?

Are you on drugs?

no but you are a fucking asshole if there ever was one....fuckass moron...you know as much aboiut football as a fucking turd does...dickhead..

Tour2ma

@browns52 said:

no but you are a fucking asshole if there ever was one....fuckass moron...you know as much aboiut football as a fucking turd does...dickhead..

Strangest Holiday greeting ever!