What's Yours (Should Be) Mine: Brief History of "The Move"

Ken Blaze, USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 NFL season will have some historical, albeit depressing significance (for some), as it will mark the 20^th anniversary of the first kick-off in Baltimore Ravens franchise history. Or if you choose to look at it from the perspective of a Northeast Ohioan, the 20^th anniversary since the city of Cleveland was forced to miserably watch as ‘its team’ made the move to Maryland, and then go on to become one of the most successful franchises in recent memory. We’ll have a brief look at why the Cleveland Browns fan base should feel angered, slighted and even emphatically pissed, as well as why there might be a glimmer of hope for the future of this seemingly floundering franchise.

The 1996 offseason proved to be a mixed bag of emotions for fans caught in the middle of the relocation process. With the city of Cleveland no longer having a franchise to cheer for, (as the Browns wouldn’t be reinstated until the 1999 season as an expansion team) fans watched as the Ravens selected offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden (4^th overall), and linebacker Ray Lewis (26^th overall) in the first round of the 96’ Draft. Both would go one to have Hall of Fame careers (Lewis is not eligible until 2018, Ogden was elected in 2013), and while Ravens fans cheered, Browns fans were left feeling like a scorned ex-lover who is repetitively pondering ‘what if’ and ‘that should’ve been me us’. 

 Since the Browns’ reinstatement in 1999, they have amassed a record of 87-185, have had only two winning seasons, 2002 (in which they finished 9-7 and made their lone playoff appearance, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-36 in the Wild Card game), and again in 2007 (finished 10-6 but failed to make the playoffs due to the Tennessee Titans owning the tiebreaker). In the same time span, the Ravens have a record of 157-115, 10 playoff appearances (including Super Bowl wins in 2000 and 2012) against only four losing seasons (2002, 2005, 2007, 2015). 

John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer

After drafting Joe Flacco in 2008, the Ravens have only used three other quarterbacks, all of which played in the 2015 season due to injury (Flacco tore his ACL/MCL in Week 11). The Browns? 15. Yes, I said…15! The list includes to likes of Johnny “Party-Like-a-Frat-Bro” Manziel, Brandon “Let’s-Take-a-28-Year-Old-Man-in-Round-One” Weeden, Brian “Four-Pick-Playoff-Game” Hoyer, and Ken “Noodle-Arm” Dorsey, to name a few. As you can tell, there are many, many, many, many, MANY reasons why fans in Cleveland should be disgusted and envious by what Baltimore has accomplished, but despite all the negativity in past seasons, there is reason to still believe.

A few days ago, Cleveland traded away the #2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the first-round (8^th overall), third-round (77^th overall) and fourth-round (100^th overall) picks this year, as well as a first-round pick in 2017 and second-round pick in 2018. This now gives them 12 picks in 2016, including six in the top 100. If the front office execs, as well as first-year head coach Hue Jackson have done their due diligence in the scouting department, this could be the year that reinvigorates the franchise and just might bring a little 'bite' back to the Dawg Pound.