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Browns quarterback Brian Sipe (17) sets up to deliver a pass while star offensive lineman Cody Risien (63) tries to hold off the pass rush of Los Angeles Rams and NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Jack Youngblood (85).

(Associated Press/NFL)

CLEVELAND, Ohio --

A countdown of the top 100 players in Cleveland Browns history. Players must have spent at least four seasons with the Browns. The ranking is based only on players' careers with the Browns.

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No. 32,

, quarterback, 1974-83

Brian Sipe, despite a stellar career at San Diego State, lasted until the 17th round of the 1972 NFL draft, when the Browns took him with the 330th overall pick.

He couldn't make the roster in his first two seasons, instead, working on Cleveland's "taxi squad," the rough equivalent to today's "practice squad."

Once Sipe got a chance to play in 1974 and 1975, he couldn't secure the starting quarterback job for Browns teams that went a combined 7-21.

Sipe couldn't take over as the starter until Mike Phipps was injured during the 1976 season opener. And no matter his status, Sipe was often doubted by critics who claimed he was too slight of build and/or too weak of arm.

But in 1980, Brian Sipe was the NFL's consensus MVP. And though the AFC Central Division championship the Browns won that season would be the lone team title during his tenure, the rather ordinary-talent teams Sipe led achieved some of the most improbable and compelling victories in team history.

The 1974 Browns, in the midst of what would be the second losing season in their 29 years, lost five of their first six games. Sipe made his pro debut with late appearances in two blowout defeats. In the second outing he threw six passes and three were intercepted. Then in Game 7, Sipe replaced a struggling Phipps with the Browns trailing the Denver Broncos, 21-9, early in the fourth quarter at Cleveland. Sipe directed two drives, capping them with his own 8- and 1-yard touchdown runs for a 23-21 Browns upset win. Sipe started the next five games and the Browns won two before coach Nick Skorich went back to Phipps for the final two contests, both losses.

The 1975 Browns and first-year coach Forrest Gregg lost their first nine games. Sipe took over for Phipps twice in mop-up roles and again in a game at Denver that the Browns lost, 16-15. Gregg started Sipe in the next two games, but truth was, no matter who played the position, the quarterback had little talent around him. Cleveland scored seven points in each of Sipe's two starts, and he didn't throw another pass in the remaining seven games, of which the Browns managed three wins.

Phipps played rather well in the final few 1975 games, showing off the strong right arm and the mobility that helped the Browns post a 17-6-2 record in the first 25 games he started after replacing the hobbled Bill Nelsen one game into the 1972 campaign.

Phipps threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter of the 1976 season opener against the New York Jets, but separated his right shoulder in the third quarter.

Sipe came on in relief again to close out the 38-17 rout of the Jets, and this time he would take full advantage of his opportunity. He started the rest of the way in 1976 except for one game, when Gregg gave Phipps -- recovered from his injury -- a start at Houston in Game 9. Phipps faltered and Sipe came on to help Cleveland to a 21-7 win.

With Sipe at the controls, the 1976 Browns, who had lost 21 of 28 games in the previous two seasons, finished 9-5, a game out of the playoffs and a game behind the AFC Central champion Steelers.

Sipe and the Browns began the 1977 campaign with wins in five or their first eight games. Sipe injured a shoulder early in the Game 9, 35-31 loss at Pittsburgh, though, and missed the rest of the season. Dave Mays was at quarterback as the Browns lost four of the last five games, ending at 6-8.

Then-owner Art Modell fired Gregg with one game left. Soon after the season's end he hired Sam Rutigliano, who had been an NFL assistant for 11 years, coaching skill positions on both sides of the ball.

Rutigliano's affinity for the downfield passing game was a perfect match for Sipe's style. The quarterback's accuracy, intelligence and toughness in the pocket, combined with a fine offensive line, the running of Greg Pruitt and Mike Pruitt, and a solid receiving unit featuring tight end Ozzie Newsome and wideouts Dave Logan and Reggie Rucker enabled the Browns' offense to flourish.

What prevented Cleveland from being a consistent, legitimate contender was a rather ordinary defense that always had a few good players but seldom came up with the big, game-changing plays.

The Browns went 8-8 in 1978 and then 9-7 in 1979, when they finished a game out of a wild card playoff berth.

The 1979 Browns arguably would have advanced to the postseason if not for the dynamic Greg Pruitt suffering a knee injury that limited him to 11 carries and five receptions over the last 13 games of the season, and a serious staph infection that sidelined star defensive tackle Jerry Sherk the final six games, of which four were Browns' losses.

Brian Sipe after the Browns' 31-7 home win over the Bengals on Nov. 23, 1980.

Sipe made second-team all-NFL in 1979, leading the 28-team league with 28 touchdown passes and placing second in passing yards with 3,793.

The "Kardiac Kids" nickname generally refers to the 1979 and 1980 Browns, as they posted one dramatic win after another. Always, it was Sipe revving them to full throttle. He led NFL quarterbacks in game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime with seven (third-best in league history) in 1979 and with four in 1980. Usually, Sipe led the Browns from behind to win in the last couple minutes or to tie and force overtime.

Cleveland lost its first two games in 1980, then won 10 of 12 before losing to the Vikings, 28-23 in Minnesota, on the last play of the game, a 46-yard touchdown pass lobbed from Tommy Kramer to Ahmad Rashad, who caught the tipped ball and stepped into the end zone. That forced the Browns to win their final game at Cincinnati to clinch the Central Division title, knowing, too, that a loss would likely knock them out of the playoffs. They won in typical fashion, overcoming a 17-10 deficit to take the lead on third-quarter touchdown throws of 35 and 34 yards from Sipe to Ricky Feacher. Don Cockroft's late field goal gave the Browns a 27-24 win, prompting a throng estimated as high as 15,000 fans to welcome the team at the airport.

The Oakland Raiders earned the right to meet the Browns in a divisional playoff game at Cleveland by topping the Houston Oilers, 27-7, in a wild card playoff.

The conditions for the first Browns home playoff game in nine years weren't quite what they and their fans would have ordered. The wind-chill factor once hit minus-36 during the game and the Cleveland Stadium field was covered with ice.

It was hard to fault Sipe's usually-reliable receivers for a few drops, including a couple potential TDs, and he -- like Raiders QB Jim Plunkett -- was understandably off-target on other throws.

Oakland led, 14-12, when the Browns got the football by stopping the Raiders on a fourth-and-one play at the Cleveland 15 with just over two minutes to go. Sipe connected with Newsome and Greg Pruitt on passes of 29 and 23 yards, respectively, directing the Browns to a second-and-nine play at the Oakland 13 with 49 seconds left.

The Browns had no sure route to victory. Cockroft had earlier kicked two field goals, but he was hobbled with torn cartilage in his left (non-kicking) knee, an early-season injury that led to back and leg problems that prevented him from fully extending the right leg he kicked with. The field and weather conditions, combined with his ailments, certainly didn't help Cockroft as he missed field goal tries of 48 and 30 yards when the game was scoreless. A bad snap led to a blocked extra point and another faulty snap with the Browns ahead, 9-7, early in the third quarter, prevented what would have been a 36-yard attempt.

Rutigliano called for "Red Right 88," a pass play designed to go to the rangy Logan in the end zone toward the right sideline. Sipe saw free safety Burgess Owens hedge toward Logan, but in the next instant, unbeknown to Sipe, Owens angled toward the other side and forced Newsome a bit off his route. Sipe's read signaled him that Newsome would be open and he passed into the wind that cut through the open end of the stadium. Strong safety Mike Davis stepped in front of Newsome and picked off the pass with 49 seconds to go, ending the Browns season. Oakland went on to win the Super Bowl.

The Browns would have never had the chance to come close to a playoff win without Sipe, though, and he was rewarded by being voted the league's Most Valuable Player. Sipe led the league with a passer rating of 91.4. Just 2.5 percent of his passes were intercepted, best in the league. Sipe was second in touchdown passes (30) and in passing yards (4,132). He was third with a 60.3 completion percentage. It was an era when teams threw downfield more often, leading to more interceptions and fewer of the short, easy completions common in today's game.

All of the dramatic wins over the two-year stretch overshadowed the reality that the Browns weren't especially deep and were beginning to age. Considered a championship contender going into 1981, the Browns, instead, collapsed in virtually every facet of the game and went 5-11. Sipe, too, played below his standards.

The 1982 NFL season was stalled after two games by a players' strike, and not resumed until Week 10. The Browns were 1-1 before the strike and 2-4 when Rutigliano benched Sipe in favor of Paul McDonald, a left-hander from Southern Cal picked by the Browns in the fourth round of the 1980 draft. Sipe didn't play as the Browns won two of their last three games to finish 4-5 and make the playoff field that had been expanded to 16 teams because of the strike-shortened season. Cleveland and McDonald lost a first-round playoff game, 27-10, to the host Raiders -- who had moved to Los Angeles.

Sipe and the Browns bounced back in 1983, going 9-7 but finishing a game behind the first-place Steelers in the Central Division and missing out on a wild card berth on a tie-breaker. Sipe didn't start two games -- which the Browns split -- because of a sore arm. He was fourth in the league with 26 touchdown passes and sixth with 3,566 yards throwing.

That was the final Browns season for Sipe, then 34, as his contract ran out. He had hoped Cleveland would offer him a new deal prior to the 1983 campaign. Instead, the Browns didn't make him an offer until late in the season, reportedly for $2 million over four years. By that time, Sipe knew that the one-year-old United States Football League was interested in landing him and some other quality NFL players. USFL rosters, in fact, were dotted by several players who would go on to fine NFL careers, including future Browns running back Kevin Mack, linebacker Mike Johnson and kick returner Gerald McNeil.

On Dec. 27, nine days after the 1983 Browns season ended, the USFL's New Jersey Generals, owned by Donald Trump, introduced Sipe as their new quarterback. His contract was reported to be for $1.9 million over two years, with an option year. It was a healthy raise over Sipe's last Browns contract, which was for three years at $315,000 per season.

Sipe had a solid 1984 season as the Generals went 14-4. They lost to the eventual champion Philadelphia Stars, 28-7, in a first-round playoff game after beating them twice in the regular season.

Trump then signed quarterback Doug Flutie, the 1984 Heisman Trophy winner from Boston College, for a deal reported to be for $3.1 million over three years.

New Jersey traded Sipe early in the 1985 training camp to the Jacksonville Bulls for a 1986 draft pick and other considerations. Twice, though, he injured his right (throwing) shoulder, sidelining him for much of the season, after which he retired. It also turned out that the USFL would fold before the start of the next season.

Sipe is the Browns' career leader with 23,713 passing yards, and his 154 touchdown passes are second to Otto Graham's 174.

Sipe, now 63, returned to San Diego State in 2009 as its quarterback coach. He and the Aztecs will visit Ohio State on Sept. 7. Sipe had coached Santa Fe (California) Christian High School to a 75-21-2 record and various championships from 2001-08. The school of about 400 students often defeated much larger schools.

Video:

Highlight plays for the 1979-80 Cleveland Browns, known as the "Kardiac Kids:"