Friday, September 10 Browns' building begins By Mark Cannizzaro Special to ESPN.com

It's one of the most compelling questions as the NFL enters its 1999 season: How soon before the new Cleveland Browns compete with the league's more established big boys?

	Top pick Tim Couch isn't surrounded by a lot of offensive talent.

With the real season upon us and Cleveland salivating to see its first regular-season game after three years of depressing, football-less Sundays, we won't know the answer until the Browns unveil what they have on the fieldl.

That begins with Sunday night's opener against the hated Steelers at the new 73,000-seat Cleveland Browns Stadium, where it'll be as rabid as it ever was at the old Municipal Stadium.

After watching the Browns in preseason, during which they won two of five games (it should be noted right away that preseason records are always misleading), several things are clear.

First, it's going to take some time before the Browns are playoff contenders. They lack too much -- most notably offensive firepower -- to contend right away.

Second, No. 1 overall pick Tim Couch doesn't appear to be such a slow learner, and it doesn't seem to matter that he came to the NFL from a run-and-shoot offense. Though Ty Detmer will start to open the season, look for Couch to be playing soon.

Third, the Browns look like they're building soundly, paying early attention to the interior lines and worrying about the skill positions when they can -- such as in next year's draft (more on that later).

Fourth, though there's an obvious grace period with an expansion team, especially with Clevelanders simply giddy about having a football team to root for again, fans become greedy quickly. And so, in this day of free agency and liberal player movement, the Browns will be expected to mount a playoff charge soon.

Detmer got a feel for just what he's dealing with in Cleveland while on the golf course during the offseason.

As he walked off the course, several fans started barking at him.

"These guys looked like they had had a few, and they just started barking at me," Detmer said. "My dad looked over and said, 'Now I know why you wanted to play here.' "

There will be growing pains, but the process will be entertaining -- particularly once Couch is unveiled.

The Browns will benefit from owner Al Lerner, who bought the franchise for $530 million, and is willing to do anything to make the Browns a winner. That's a far cry from double-talking cheapskate Art Modell, who made a mess of the Browns before finally sneaking out of Cleveland.

In the end, though the three football-less years were painful for Clevelanders, it'll probably turn out for the best.

Browns president Carmen Policy, formerly of the 49ers, has brought a lot of his people in from San Francisco, such as director of football operations Dwight Clark, and a number of former 49er players who've tasted success.

In fact, the Browns' starting backfield is made of up for former 49ers -- Detmer at quarterback, Terry Kirby at tailback and Marc Edwards at fullback.

Detmer, who's in Cleveland to serve as Couch's mentor, said, "I know Tim is the guy for the future, but I can't worry about that right now. That's not why I came here. I came to start. A player can never look over his shoulder."

Detmer will need all of his skills to drum up points for the Browns, who are very short on skill-position players. Kirby, for example, is a journeyman back who has never fully carried the load for a team, spending most of his career as a third-down back.

Leslie Shepherd, the Browns' top receiver, had been only a complementary player for the Redskins. Rookie Kevin Johnson has shown some big-play potential with three preseason touchdowns -- but that was preseason.

In all, half of the Browns' roster consists of rookies (12) and players they took in the February expansion draft (14).

Among the free agents they signed are linebacker Jamir Miller, punter Chris Gardocki, Kirby, Shepherd and center Dave Wohlabaugh, a key signing because he anchors an experienced offensive line, which should be Cleveland's strength. He's joined by tackles Lomas Brown, a 15-year veteran, and Orlando Brown, who played with the old Browns.

This is where Clevelend differed a little bit from previous expansion franchises Jacksonville and Carolina, both of which had two years to build (Cleveland had less than a year). The Browns seem to be taking a path closer to that of Jacksonville, hoping to find lasting success, rather than that of Carolina, which was a flash in the pan.

"Offensively, we're going to have to work," said Browns coach Chris Palmer, who came to Cleveland after serving as Jaguars offensive coordinator. "We're going to have to be blue-collar and go down the field and execute. And if we're not executing, we could have a long day."

Palmer acknowledged that it's going to be tough for the Browns to score, which means it'll be tough for them to win. However, with the league's easiest schedule, Cleveland could give the lowly Bengals a run to avoid the cellar in the AFC Central.

A realistic first-season goal for Browns fans would be to hope for five wins, be euphoric about six and figure on three or four.

And when the season is over, the Browns will have plenty to choose from in the 2000 NFL Draft.

Should they pick first, look for the Browns to tap into either prolific Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne (5-foot-10, 253 pounds), a certain Heisman Trophy candidate after rushing for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of Wisconsin's opener, or Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington, who some are comparing to Lawrence Taylor.

Another skill-position possibility for Cleveland in the 2000 draft is all-everything receiver Peter Warrick, the Florida State star who likely will duel Dayne for the Heisman. Warrick is everything the Browns need -- he's a great receiver who can score any time he touches the ball, and he returns kicks and punts. He alone could be worth a win or two more if Cleveland had him now.

Two other terrific receivers to watch are UCLA's Danny Farmer (6-4, 210) and Arizona's Dennis Northcutt. One local running back who could be a steal is Miami of Ohio's Travis Prentice, who's likely to set the NCAA career touchdown record this season.

Once Cleveland has another draft under its belt and is able to tap into a few more free agents next offseason, it shouldn't take long before the Browns are in contention. If Palmer stays the course and make the right additions, the Browns could be competing for a playoff spot as soon as 2001.

"At first, (some fans he's encountered) were like, 'We're glad to have you back; Just beat Baltimore and we'll be happy,' " Detmer said. "And then it was, 'You're going to lead us to the playoffs.'

"There's really never a grace period in the NFL."

First things first, though. And that's Sunday night's true unveiling of the new Cleveland Browns, which is certain to be emotional.

"I don't know what I'll do," Policy said. "I think there will be lots of hugs and lots of tears. It's going to be a truly memorable and emotional moment."

The Johnson Jump?
Johnson told Palmer that every time he scores a touchdown in front of the Dawg Pound he's going to jump into the stands -- a copy of the "Lambeau Leap" in Green Bay.

Palmer's response: "He told me to get there first," Johnson said.

Welcome back to the battle
Steelers owner Dan Rooney is fired up about Sunday night's date with the Browns.

"No. 1, getting back and playing our big rival is very important," Rooney said. "It's just exciting that the Browns are returning, too. Even if we weren't playing them, I'd be interested."

The Bubby factor
Turmoil reigns in Denver, where the fallout from Mike Shanahan's decision to bench Bubby Brister is still a major issue in the Broncos' locker room.

Brister, who said he was "disappointed" and "shocked" by Shanahan's decision to bench him in favor of Brian Griese after the Denver coach preached all summer that Brister was his No. 1, revealed this week that he considering quitting the team after hearing the decision.

"If it was just between me and Mike, I probably wouldn't have come back," Brister said. "But I didn't want to walk out on my teammates and my assistant coaches."

After Brister was told of his benching, he left for his Colorado cabin to think things over. In the end, he said, a number of teammates talked him into staying. He later met with Shanahan. When interviewed, Brister still spat out his words with a hint of venom.

"I'm not happy with what happened," Brister said. "I can't lie. I am very disappointed."

Shanahan offered this damage-control response: "If he wasn't bitter and didn't feel bad, he wouldn't be made up of the right stuff. Bubby is a competitor. He's a warrior. He wants to play. I want him to play. We're going to need him.

"As I told Bubby, he's going to come in and play a lot this year. Brian Griese will have some growing pains. I think Bubby will help our team most coming off the bench, giving us a spark. He's a lot more relaxed on a backup role. Bubby is going to win a lot of games for us this year."

Sharpe a marked man
If the Brister unrest wasn't enough of a distraction for the two-time Super Bowl champions, they enter Monday night's season opener against a Miami Dolphins team that can't wait to take a few shots at loudmouth tight end Shannon Sharpe.

Sharpe, in his usual speak-before-he-thinks mode, insulted the Dolphins last season after the Broncos beat Miami in an AFC divisional playoff game.

Moments after the Broncos' win, leaving Denver only one game away from Super Bowl XXXIII at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Sharpe said to the Dolphins, "How does it feel to have the Super Bowl at your house, and you're not invited?"

Then, talking about Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, Sharpe said, "They talk about our quarterback (John Elway) but Marino looks like he needs to get his retirement papers in order."

And finally, Sharpe said of Dolphins' coach Jimmy Johnson, "Tell Jimmy to have his office ready, because we're going to need it to break down game film (for the Super Bowl)."

The Dolphins can't want to take a few shots on the field at Sharpe in Monday night's season opener at Mile High Stadium.

"I'm going to be real careful here," Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor said. "I really don't want to get into that until after the game Monday. The things he said last year were a bunch of nonsense. He had no business saying any of that stuff. And, yes, you remember. I'm sure we'll talk about it during the game. I know if he says anything to me, I'll have something to say to him."

One Miami player, who requested anonymity, was appalled to see Sharpe featured in GQ Magazine for his trash talking.

"When I was growing up, a coach would bench a player for talking so much garbage," the Miami player said. "Today, the guy gets a write-up in GQ magazine mostly for being a punk."

Parcells' personal patsies
With Tuna Bowl V set for Sunday -- when the Jets and Patriots meet for the fifth time since Bill Parcells abruptly departed New England after Super Bowl XXXI -- the emotions are already rising. Things are particularly intense in New England, where the players and coaches are trying to figure out how to beat their old coach.

Since Parcells left, the Patriots have lost three of four meetings with the Jets. And the one win came only because Jets kicker John Hall had a 29-yard field goal blocked with 16 seconds remaining in the first meeting.

What's alarming to the Patriots is that, in each of the three losses since that gift overtime win for New England, the margin of defeat has grown -- from 24-19 to 24-14 to 31-10.

Pats coach Pete Carroll, a former Jets head coach, believes New England players have had a hard time keeping their emotions in check against their former coach.

"You can go beyond where you need to go. You can get caught up in the hype," Carroll said. "So it's important that we're mature about it, handle it well, and know that it's an immediate thing and just have fun with it and the fans have fun with it, and we go about our business doing football.

"To put things in perspective, everybody's going to talk about this game off the charts and all," Carroll went on. "We've got to go get it, and it's a critical opportunity for us to cash in on, but next week (the Indianapolis game) is just as important. Hopefully, we'll keep it in a good perspective."

Tuna reels in a former Fish
Dating back to last season, when he first joined the Jets, outspoken linebacker Bryan Cox has been whispering in Parcells' ear about a former teammate of his.

"If they let this guy go, you've got to sign him," Cox told Parcells. "This guy can play football."

The guy, versatile running back Bernie Parmalee, finally came free this week when the Dolphins released him on the final cutdown day.

"I called Bryan up and told him, 'Quit bugging me, I got the player,' " Parcells said after signing Parmalee on Monday.

Parmalee, who'll be 32 next week, replaced veteran Keith Byars on the Jets' roster because he's a special-teams demon, having led the Dolphins in kick coverage tackles the last two seasons. That kind of fire on special teams is an immediate route to Parcells' heart.

Parmalee, a native of Jersey City, N.J, said, "This is great. I've got an opportunity to play for one of the greatest coaches that ever coached. When my career is done, I can say I had the opportunity to play for the big Tuna. It's good to know that."

He can thank Cox for the plug.

Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post writes a weekly AFC notebook for ESPN.com that appears each Wednesday.