The Drive, The Fumble....The Trade?

For two teams that only play each other once every three years in the regular season, the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos sure have some history. Mention the word 'drive' or 'fumble', or the names 'Elway' or Byner' to any Clevelander, and they'll want to punch something. Most NFL rivals are your division opponents, but if you ask most Browns fans what team they hate more than anyone not from Pittsburgh, and they'll tell you Denver. Denver took out Cleveland in the AFC Championship game in three straight seasons in the late '80's, and the pain still lingers.

Now, halfway through the season, the Denver Broncos are last in the league in rushing, while the Browns have a running back on pace for 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns that they were gifted from Denver. Finally, it appears that the Browns have stuck it to the Broncos for once.

One of Mike Holmgren's first duties when he took over the Browns in the spring was to overhaul the roster. His first move was trading Brady Quinn (currently 3rd on Denver's QB depth chart--yes, he's even behind 'Hair Gel Jesus' Tim Tebow) for two draft picks and Peyton Hillis.

At the time, most Browns fans didn't really care Quinn got traded, but most did care that 'all we got' for him was 'a couple draft picks and a white running back'. I guess we all needed to understand that Mike Holmgren is a lot smarter than all of us. This deal has easily been the most lopsided trade of the off-season for any team, and all Denver fans can do is watch in disbelief as Peyton Hillis keeps punishing opposing defenses while their team can't run the ball to save their lives.

For once...the Browns have stuck it to the Broncos. And damn does that feel good.