Pluto's book shows how NFL fumbled the new Browns
By Zachary Dzurick
Sports
Published Dec. 8, 2004

I didn't even make it through the first page of award winning Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter Terry Pluto's latest book, "False Start: How The New Browns Were Set Up To Fail" before I threw it across the room.

Pluto acknowledged that many readers have that reaction.

"They tell me they pick it up and then put it down then go back to it," Pluto said. "It is like watching a train wreck. You sort of need to look and know what happened."

The book is billed as "the book the NFL really doesn't want you to read." Pluto connects the dots and shows Browns fans why the NFL did not give the organization an opportunity to succeed.

Pluto will be at the Westlake Borders on Monday from 7-8 p.m. to meet fans and autograph copies of the book. Pluto has already made 15 appearances regarding the book, but this will be his first in the Westshore.

"It has been really cool to get out and meet fans," Pluto said. "But many times fans line up and just shake
their heads like they are at a funeral."

Terry Pluto

Pluto said he wrote the book because he believed fans needed to know that the true villain in the Browns' departure and then mediocre return was the NFL.

"Unadulterated greed," Pluto gave as the short answer to why the NFL allowed Cleveland's passion to leave town in the first place and then be set up to fail in its return.

In the book Pluto shows how NFL owners held up making a decision on new ownership to bleed as much money as they could. As a result, the Browns were not given enough time to start an organization.

"Jacksonville and Carolina had 18-20 months to prepare. Houston had about two years," Pluto said. "The Browns were given half of that."

For example, Pluto shows that no matter who was hired to be the first coach, they did not have a real chance to succeed because of the late start and high unrealistic expectations of the front office and the fan base plus a lack of talent. Pluto indicates NFL owners made sure that the embarrassment of Jacksonville and Carolina making the conference championship games in their second season would not happen again.

In the book, Chris Palmer discusses why he made the decisions he did when he made them. Palmer said if he knew he only had two years, he would have insisted on more veterans and played Detmer. While Pluto doesn't proclaim Palmer the world's best coach, he shows how Palmer was a good, sincere man who didn't have a chance. Pluto doesn't slam Carmen Policy; however, if you a Browns fan who wasn't fond of him, you can come to your own conclusion on how Policy did more harm than good.

Pluto uses letters from fans to highlight the passion of Browns fans and why they stay loyal to the team. Pluto said those letters are from true Browns fans which he believes are not the fans the national media portrays.

"The people who wrote me are not the fans in the Dawg pound," Pluto said. "The love of the Browns is passed down generations. They loved Bill Nelsen, Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar. It is not the fan who calls talk radio. It is a fan who doesn't need a Super Bowl but wants a entertaining and winning team. A team that might go all the way."

Pluto uses the letters to show how many fans started following the Browns because they went with their grandfather or their dad or mom and now how they talk to their own kids. Pluto notes how since the Browns have returned, they have not been able to find one player that the community has latched onto.

"Whose jersey do you wear?" Pluto said. "There is not one player in six years. Couch? Courtney Brown is always hurt. William Green had his troubles."

Even with the recent Butch Davis mess, Pluto believes the true Browns' fans are still there.

"Every game is sold out and TV ratings are through the roof," Pluto said. "One guy wrote a letter and listed all the reasons not to follow the Browns and then ended it 'What time is the next game?' If you stop getting angry then you have a problem. It is like my old Cavs columns -- no one would respond. I still get letters and emails about the Browns that pour in. Browns fans are looking for any reason to fall in love again."

Pluto believes that the Browns can be turned around. He said that the Browns' next hire is crucial.

"If Randy Lerner hires the right guy, you can get healthy in two or three years," Pluto said. "For the next general manger, they need to get a football guy first where they did that backwards before. Carmen Policy even admitted that Dwight Clark wasn't supposed to be the one to make football decisions."

Pluto gave small-market Green Bay as a perfect example.

"No one says Green Bay can't compete in the NFL because of market size like they would in baseball or to a lesser extent the NBA," Pluto said. "In football any city can compete, but you can't make big mistakes. If you miss on a Warren or Couch it really hurts. A first or third overall pick has to be a star and not just a starter to justify their salary. If they bust, then you lose money to get other impact players."

While Pluto said that "Our Tribe" was his most personal book, this book also was personal because he was around for all of it.

"I grew up in Cleveland," Pluto said. "I get it. It all depends on where you grew up. If you grew up on the West Coast you don't get it. In the Midwest in towns like Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh, then sports are a bigger deal. It is the culture of the town."