Cleveland Browns: 15 Favorite players of the Dawg Pound Era
By Backwoods
12. Bob Golic
I do wonder if he offered near as much of an earful to offenses as he does nowadays on his talk-radio show. Bob Golic was simply a beast as a nose tackle. My wife, an Indiana native and just recently a football enthusiast, was shocked to see one of her favorite characters from Saved by the Bell: The College Years on a Browns pregame show. There wasn’t much the “Big Dawg” couldn’t do on the field and we have yet to find much that he can’t do off of it as well.
11-9. Slaughter, Langhorne and Brennan
Perhaps it just seems wrong to split up the greatest trio of receivers in Browns history. Webster Slaughter and his slashing deep-ball receptions, Reggie Langhorne and his dependably soft hands and Brian Brennan with his fearless jaunts into the middle of defenses. Each filled their roles to perfection and each complimented the other. No matter where Bernie Kosar chucked it, good hands were waiting.
Playing together for five years, all three find themselves in another top fifteen list, being the Browns all-time receiving yardage category.
8-7. Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield
Arguably the greatest pair of shutdown corners in NFL history, Dixon and Minnifield were a crucial element of the 1980s defensive powerhouse in Cleveland. Aside from their on-field prowess, they are also the founding fathers of what we know today as the Dawg Pound.
6. Kevin Mack
Have you ever been run over? Most who faced Kevin Mack have. Nicknamed the “Mack Truck” for obvious reasons, Mack was a brutal runner who would not shy away from a hit. Rather, he would knock defenders backwards and keep on trucking. In 1985, he and fellow running back Earnest Byner made history by each running for over 1,000 yards, a feat only accomplished six times in NFL history.
I must confess that I nearly extended my list to 16, specifically to include Byner, who I had pencilled in at the No. 16 spot. Many of you may disagree with Mack being so far above Byner, but I cannot think of any running back that I enjoyed watching more than the “Mack Truck”.