As the film played and the coaching savior explained his defensive system, Gerard Warren was warming up to the idea he and the Cleveland Browns were about to experience happy days.
Romeo Crennel, who had just helped win three of the past four Super Bowls as defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, was now in charge of the Browns. One of Crennel’s first tasks was to call in Warren and explain the team’s new 3-4 defensive system.
A defensive tackle in the Browns’ old four-linemen, three-linebacker set, Warren probably would be a nose guard in the 3-4 alignment. The meeting, Warren said, lasted an hour.
“He was showing me how I’m going to fit into the defensive scheme, and then after we finished with the meeting he said, ‘Well, we’re probably going to trade you,”‘ Warren said. “I’m like, why the heck did you sit down with me for an hour about me playing in your defense? That’s the only thing that ticked me off. But I don’t think that was Romeo’s call. I don’t think Romeo wanted me to leave.”
Every week in the NFL, in almost every game, there is a player who is about to take on his former team. This story line will be taken to an extreme Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The Broncos won’t just be taking a former Brown in Warren to Cleveland. They will be taking their entire starting defensive front four to a place all four called home as recently as 2004.
There can be no precedence for this. Warren, who twice sacked Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer in a 2003 game, Michael Myers, Ebenezer Ekuban and Kenard Lang were ultimately considered not good enough for a Browns organization that finished 4-12 in 2004, 6-10 in 2005 and are off to a 1-4 start this year.
Yet, that same Forsaken Foursome has been deemed worthy enough to play for a Broncos team that finished 13-3 in 2005 and is 4-1 while setting NFL defensive standards this year.
“I’m glad I’m gone from that 5-11, 4-12 part of it,” Myers said. “We’re about winning here. They’re in that rebuilding phase again. So it was a good call for me to come here.”
For the Browns, there were salary considerations with Warren and Courtney Brown – another Cleveland-turned-Denver defensive lineman – and needs to fill. In return for all those Broncos’ defensive linemen, the Browns wound up with running back Reuben Droughns and a draft choice converted into veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer.
The primary cause for the mass exodus of Browns defensive linemen, however, was the 3-4 alignment Crennel brought with him from New England. The link between former Browns and current Broncos was defensive line coach Andre Patterson. He coached with the Browns in 2003-04 and the Broncos beginning last year.
“It is not unusual for players to leave a team and come back and play them,” Browns general manager Phil Savage said. “For them to all end up at one place is the unusual part of this story. There are no hard feelings on our part. We just felt we had inherited 4-3 players as we were going forward with a 3-4.”
In their first appearance in Cleveland since leaving two years ago, Myers and Ekuban said this game doesn’t quite have a going-home feel because they spent more time with the Cowboys than the Browns. Lang made his initial mark with the Redskins.
With Brown hobbling on crutches, that leaves Warren as the headliner to this coming- home party.
“I hope the fans there treat him with respect,” Myers said. “They can’t put it all on him. He’s not supposed to score touchdowns or carry the ball.”
Warren was the Browns’ first-round draft choice, third overall, in 2001. After helping the Browns improve from 3-13 in 2000 to 7-9 in his rookie season then 9-7 with a playoff appearance in 2002, Warren became acquainted with the tougher side of the professional football business.
“After we got to the playoffs, they broke up the whole team for ’03,” Warren said. “And that’s when the finger-pointing started.”
More than a few fingers were pointed at him. The criticism Warren received in Cleveland – mainly, he didn’t meet the expectations of a well-paid, first-round pick, and his attitude had soured – has been replaced by flattering descriptions of “Big Money” well spent in Denver.
“Here it’s a little easier to just concentrate on football,” Warren said. “There it was about trying to scrap up a victory here and there. Here it’s about trying to get to the Super Bowl.”
The Brown-cos
The Broncos’ starting front four defensive linemen played for the Browns in 2004 and have helped Denver hold opponents to only one touchdown through five games this season. Broncos reporter Mike Klis breaks down Denver’s fearsome foursome:
Gerard Warren, defensive tackle
The Broncos had a choice: Pay Trevor Pryce or pay Warren. “Big Money” won.
Michael Myers, defensive tackle
Soft-spoken and unsung, leads team with 4 1/2 tackles for loss.
Kenard Lang, defensive end
Magnetic personality has no sacks since opener, but had four solo stops against Oakland.
Ebenezer Ekuban, defensive end
High-motor overachiever is tied for team lead with 2 1/2 sacks.
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
