San Diego Browns Backers

Close ups of our raffle prizes for Sunday's game.

This week's raffle prizes

Okay peeps, we get Sunday off. Next we play the Falcons on October 2nd.
Check out the latest ballcaps

It's Game Day (night)! Kickoff is at 5:25pm. Our game watching event is at the Jolly Joker, 5225 Kearny Villa Road.

Come have dinner with your Browns family and watch the game. Good food, Great Lakes beer and the Browns on the big screen.

Don't make me come find you! Raffle prizes as well.

The Browns reached out to me and asked that we provide them with a video of us cheering and going crazy. They wish to use the video on the stadium jumbotron when the Browns host the Chargers on October 9th. So, please wear your Browns gear and be there this THURSDAY evening to watch Thursday Night Football.

Do I need to remind you that we play the Steelers? I've attached the raffle prizes for your review!

Be there and Go Browns!

Raffle Prizes for TNF vs the Steelers.

You can't win 'em if you don't show up to play! Go Browns!!

well, that sucked. Time to move on. Technically, as soon as the game was over it became Steelers Week.
Thursday night at the Jolly Joker. Kickoff is at 5:25 (I believe), so be there. Ice cold Great Lakes beer, good food and your Browns family.
Raffle prizes and of course a win against the Steelers!!

Browns vs Jets is what’s on the TVs at the church of the NFL.
Worship services are help at the Jolly Joker Tavern—5225 Kearny Villa Rd.
Doors open at 9:00am, so if you want a seat, be there before kickoff at 10:00am.

Update for this Sunday’s Game vs the NY Jets:

If you were one of the 200+ who showed up for week one you may have experienced a few opening day issues: sound for the game, lack of adequate wait staff and no viable sound system for announcing raffle numbers.

On Monday I met with Dan, the bar manager to get these items addressed. He will have more wait staff available and trained (his A team). He showed me how to adjust the sound volume so we can hear the game. I will be bringing my sound system to the bar so the raffle numbers can be heard by all when we do the raffle at the end of the 3rd quarter.

On the bright side, we got our next order of Great Lakes beer delivered, the Jolly Joker’s food was much better than the old Elbow Room and we didn’t have parking issues like we did last year when we were downtown.

Kickoff is at 10:00 am and doors open at 9:00 am, so get there to get a seat. If you have any issues, let me know so I can get them addressed. Go Browns!!

Here's our raffle prizes for this week. Grand Prize is a signed mini helmet by Demetrious Randall.

Ya can't win if you don't play. You can't play if you don't show up.

Don't make me come and find you!!

While this isn't the "GRAND" prize this week, it is cool. I attended the infamous Browns/Jets TNF game where Baker came off the bench and led us to victory. This was the game card in a frame. Yep, that night Budweiser Fridges were finally unlocked. It was an awesome game experience. Post this in your Browns man cave or she shed!!

And Brownie makes his mid-field debut this Sunday! Go Browns!

It’s game day. The church of the NFL starts at 10:00am. Get there early to get a seat.

Here's tomorrow's raffle prizes. You can't win if you don't show up!

here's a game day graphic for ya!

It's official--The Jolly Joker is the home of the San Diego Browns Backers!! Be there Sunday if you want a seat.

I put the sign up today. Here we go Brownies, here we go!!

Okay, it’s official—The Jolly Joker is now the home of the San Diego Browns Backers. The sign provided by The Cleveland Browns is mounted over the bar.
See you on Sunday!

Yep, you can get a 75th Anniversary SDBB T shirt this Sunday at the Jolly Joker where we’re watching the Browns play the Panthers.
Don’t make me come find you!!

Here's another (almost) grand prize for this weekend. A signed jersey by the great (for a season) Josh "Puff" Gordon. High quality, stitched numerals and name.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday at our new (old) home--The Jolly Joker Tavern (the old Elbow Room).

Ice cold Great Lakes beer, 100% all beef hot dogs with stadium mustard, and your extended Browns family in the house!!
You better be there.

Become A Backer

If you're reading this and haven't "officially" joined the San Diego Browns Backers, please click on the link and join up. No cost and we as a club get judged on our membership growth. Go Browns!!

https://fans.clevelandbrowns.com/become-a-backer

Become A Backer Browns Backers Worldwide is the official fan club of the Cleveland Browns and exists as a non-profit organization to actively support and positively promote the team.

Yep, we’re a week away from our opening game-Browns at the Panthers.
We’ve got Great Lakes beer ordered and on the way to San Diego, same with Cleveland Stadium mustard.
BTW, the raffle prizes this season are epic!
Go Browns!!

Yep, we’re a week away from our opening game-Browns at the Panthers.
We’ve got Great Lakes beer ordered and on the way to San Diego, same with Cleveland Stadium mustard.
BTW, the raffle prizes this season are epic!
Go Browns!!

The Great Lakes Beer has been ordered. It will arrive before the Panthers Game.
Meet us at the Jolly Joker for opening weekend and get a 100% Beef hot dog with REAL stadium mustard and an ice cold Great Lakes beer.
It will feel like you're back in The Land (except with better weather).
Go Browns!

Yep, I’m back home from Browns Training Camp. I brought back plenty of prizes too.
Additionally, I’m announcing out new viewing location for this season—The Jolly Joker Tavern in Kearny Mesa. You probably remember it as the Elbow Room! It’s gonna be an epic season peeps!

As you know, last year was a challenge regarding our viewing location. We ended up downtown at Tacos El Tuerto/Costal Cantina. The proprietors were nice, but the location had issues.

So, just like the line in the famous song by The Who "meet the new boss, same as the old boss", we're returning to our old home for the 2022-23 season.

Our main viewing location will now by the Jolly Joker Tavern (the old Elbow Room), 5225 Kearny Villa Rd in Kearney Mesa.

Who says you can't go home? Yeah, that's a Bon Jovi tune as well!

See you there week one with awesome raffle prizes!!

I’m back from The Land. Nothing pi**es off a true Browns fan from seeing Steelers stuff at the Home Depot! Go Browns!

2022 Browns Training Camp. Hot n sticky and Cleveland Browns football

You know you’re at First Energy Stadium when you see the gallon size stadium mustard!!
Go Browns!!

I’ll be landing in Cleveland after midnight. Tomorrow is the Browns Backers President’s weekend of activities and my chance to score awesome Browns Raffle prizes. I’ll also be trading our T shirts with other Browns Backers clubs. Then Training camp on Saturday—weather permitting!! Go Browns!!

Make Your Vote Count!

The Browns want to know your opinion regarding painting a logo at midfield.

Vote here:
https://web.witcontests.com/browns/sweepstakes/vote/firstenergyfield-220730

Make Your Vote Count!

Here's another one to print out and post on the fridge!!

Post it on your fridge!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Browns moms worldwide!!

Building The Browns 2022: New Additions (Ep. 2)

Episode 2 just dropped...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEdx5cY7e0I&list=PL8e8AglnIrCcCoEbogW0IeSxP13v5e8gY&index=3

Building The Browns 2022: New Additions (Ep. 2) In this episode of get an inside look how pass game coordinator/wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea works with the scouting staff to evaluate...

Draft Watching Party-Day 2

Joins us at The Tilted Stick in Ocean Beach to watch the Browns pick at # 44. We'll have our own little raffle for a signed Wilson Football by former Brown Aaron Shea.

Tilted Stick is located at: 4970 Voltaire St, San Diego, CA 92107

Round 2 starts at 4:00pm on Friday, April 29th

Be There!! Go Browns!!

Building The Browns 2022: Into The Offseason (Ep. 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N6VPRYjdpQ

Building The Browns 2022: Into The Offseason (Ep. 1) The Emmy award winning series returns for it's eighth season. In this first episode, members of the coaching staff look to develop their c...

My take on THE TRADE (its long)

My thoughts on Baker Mayfield leaving and Deshaun Watson becoming a Cleveland Brown
Preface: I always liked Baker’s moxie and chip on his shoulder attitude. I thought he was a good fit in Cleveland as we needed someone willing to “stick it to the MAN” type of attitude.
In 2018 there were 5 highly rated quarterbacks and Baker was chosen first by former GM John Dorsey. Dorsey the previous year selected Patrick Mahomes after moving up from 27th to 10th to grab Mahomes for Kansas City. History has shown that it was a very shrewd move. Say what you will about Dorsey, but overall, he’s a pretty good “old school” judge of football talent.
The knock on Mayfield has always been that he’s “undersized” for the NFL. When you examine the front office and coaching staff when Baker was first drafted it was a mess because the head coach reported directly to the owner and not the GM. Both Hugh Jackson and John Dorsey have huge egos. There wasn’t a cohesive team working together in the Browns management structure.
2018 stated as a s**t show with Hugh Jackson and new OC Todd Haley fighting behind the scenes which led to both being fired after 8 games. Baker started the season as the rookie 3rd string QB and was elevated to 2nd string early in the season. I was there when he came off the bench on the Thursday night game against the Jets where he led his team to their first victory in almost a year and a half. He showed the NFL and Browns fans something special that night. The mid-season change in coaches led to Baker and his new OC, Freddie Kitchens, playing a sort of back yard football which saw the Browns win five of their last 8 games. Baker rolling of the pocket was something to see and for the most part his accuracy (a pre-draft strength) was on display.
2019 was the season of great expectations when the Browns loaded the roster with OBJ and some other free agent talent. The Browns were touted as a Super Bowl hopefuls and a Sports Illustrated cover. The kiss of death. Freddie Kitchens was elevated to HC with lobbying behind the scenes from Baker. 2019 ended up being a s**t show with the front office not being in sync and disappointing on the field results. The Browns were trying to be a “bombs away” type of team when they were built to run the ball. At the end of the season the owner fires the HC, asks Dorsey to only handle player personnel (a demotion), which he declined, and the Browns were, again, starting over. Baker has now had 3 HCs and 3 OCs in his two years with the Browns. Additionally, teams around the league now had almost 2 years of film to study on how to defense Mayfield and his tendencies as a QB.
The Haslams embraced Paul DePodesta’s analytics-based plan to build a team and to align the management, personnel and coaching departments with a clear chain of command. Andrew Berry was brought back as GM, DePodesta stayed in his position and Kevin Stafanski (DePodesta’s choice for HC instead of Kitchens after the 2018 season) as head coach. This gave the Browns a new management structure with three men who valued each other’s experience and for all outward appearances were devoid of ego. They were singularly focused on winning. Imagine that!!
The 2020 season saw two things happen, Covid changed how the league functioned with many games played in almost or empty stadiums. The second was the team started to gel under Stefanski’s low key, levelheaded coaching style and the loss of OBJ for the season after game 7. The Browns swept the NFC east teams as well as the AFC south teams for 8 of their 11 wins. The high point was the thrashing of Pittsburgh in their stadium in the wild card game of the playoffs. But Baker played poorly in the opener against the Ravens, week 6 vs the Steelers and at home against the Raiders. Additionally, with the game on the line and an amazing come from behind effort, he was unable to finish one last drive against the Ravens, at home on national TV, for the win. Baker was often staring down his receivers, and not progressing through his reads. His last second “miracle” pass for a TD to Donovan Peoples-Jones vs the Bengals could have just as easily been dropped. Additionally, he had yet developed an ability to “shut out the noise” regarding the fans or media criticism. It’s great to play with a chip on your shoulder, but you must be able to inspire your teammates and have them play above their heads in do or die situations. At this point in his career, Mayfield wasn’t at the level of other top tier QBs like Mahomes or Arron Rodgers or Tom Brady who can come from 3 scores down to find a way to win. Was it his ability as a leader or as a QB that was his short coming?
Which leads us to this last season, another lost season of great expectations. After the last draft, where the Browns appear to have drafted two pro bowl worthy players, the Browns are built to WIN NOW! The weak links appear to be at QB, punter and kicker.
The opening game Baker is picked off in an attempted comeback against the Chiefs. Losing again to the Chargers with the game on the line. The injuries and the “I can push through” this attitude to try and play was a mistake. Fault also lies with Browns management in sending Baker out hurt to try and win games. Or, was it their way of seeing how he handled adversity? The medical staff cleared him to play. Could he inspire his team to rise and play over their heads….even with key linemen injured and Baker playing under duress? Browns management was evaluating what they had as their “face of the franchise”. Then Baker doesn’t shake hands after the narrow win against the hapless Detroit Lions, the clubhouse is split after the OBJ drama and forced exit. This showed management that their QB was still not mature and able to “tune out the noise”.
As the season wound down and the Browns playoff hopes were crushed, the QB was publicly criticizing his coach. Another lack of maturity episode on display for all to see. So, Browns management goes into the off-season with the mantra, “we’ll examine every position on this team with the chance to upgrade our football team.” At the combine they committed to Baker for 2022, unless one of the top rated QBs came available. Once they reach out to interview Watson, Baker breaks his self-imposed exile from social media to say goodbye. Then, butt hurt, he demands to be traded two days later. Again, emotional immaturity on display. Sure, you can have hurt feelings, but direct that correctly into making yourself a better man, QB and teammate. I love the guy, but he’s shown me that he’s not all that and a bag of chips so far.
So, let’s look dispassionately at Baker Mayfield. In 4 seasons he’s played under 2 GMs, 4 HC, 4 OCs and 5 QB coaches. HE worked to improve his footwork but in 2021, lapsed back into some bad habits, footwork wise. Teams have figured out (especially our AFC North foes) how by keeping Baker in the pocket he becomes easier to defend and knock down his passes. Unlike Drew Brees, Mayfield hasn’t figured out how to be a successful “in the pocket” passer. While his game is to extend plays and roll out, if you keep him bottled up, he can be sacked and stopped for a loss. Once injured, opponents didn’t fear his arm strength or accuracy and stacked the line daring Mayfield to beat them, so running the ball became more difficult and the Browns were a one dimensional team.
Did poor play calling lead to losses?—yes. Did Stefanski tailor his offense to Mayfield’s strengths?—no. Was Mayfield coachable?—looking like not really. Was Mayfield a clubhouse leader?—hard to tell. Other than Case Keenum saying how tough Mayfield was for playing hurt, no current or former player has rushed to his defense, so you be the judge—my vote is no. At this point in his career, is he a top 5, or even top 10 QB?—no.
If you examine the last 30-40 years of NFL Drafts, drafting a QB in the first round yields, at best, a 50/50 chance you get a franchise QB. Of the 5 drafted in 2018, two are washouts--Darnold and Rosen. Allen and Jackson are legitimate franchise QBs (who saw Jackson as a franchise QB??) and the jury is still out on Mayfield. Will Baker ever be a top-rated NFL QB or is he just a serviceable starter ala Kirk Cousins? It’s looking more like Baker Mayfield is a serviceable starter and not a top 10 QB.
So, is Deshaun Watson a top 5 or top 10 QB? —yes. Is giving up 3 first round draft picks worth it?—yes! Allow me to explain. Today the Browns are at pick 13. Are they assured of a pro bowl type player at 13?—maybe. If Watson comes in and the Browns go deep into the playoffs, the next two 1st round picks could be in the mid to low 20’s or maybe 30-32. The two, day 2 picks would bring serviceable players and possibly even starters, but again, no guarantees. The Browns didn’t have to give up any front line talent—this is huge because the Browns are built to WIN NOW. No addition by subtraction.
So, the Browns surrender 5 draft picks with the probability of possibly 4 of them being serviceable starters with 1 pick at 13 this year who might be a star. If the Browns win with Watson, then it’s a fair trade. If Watson comes in and plays at Baker’s level of play, then this sets us back a decade.
Is Watson a PR black eye? —yes. What it shows is our front office has analyzed what we have on our team right now. The best backfield in the NFL, solid O-line (barring injury), solid defensive back end, better LBs and if we can solidify our D line, a solid top 10 defense. Our kicking game is our Achilles heel.
The Browns have made a calculated move here. I’m betting the analytics boys have done their homework and determined that the Browns, as currently constituted, are better than where we were at the end of the 2021 season. If the Browns are winning the bandwagon will grow and the PR black eye will fade away.
To Baker Mayfield—Thank you for giving us your best effort. We deeply appreciated your play, community efforts and you brought us a taste of playoff football. I will always remember the thrill of winning that Jets game and an almost full house standing for almost 10 minutes still screaming in delight after the game was over. That night you delivered for a win starved franchise. We will be eternally grateful for what you gave us—hope and some winning football.

As a man and an NFL quarterback we wish you well on your life’s journey. We will still root for you, except when you play against the Browns. Good luck and Godspeed young man.