Denver Broncos Have "New" Browns' Number

Chris Palmer couldn’t do it. Neither could Butch Davis. Ditto for Romeo Crennel.

Now Eric Mangini gets his first shot against the Denver Broncos.

Since 1999, the Browns have lost all four meetings to the team from the “Mile High” City, most recently the 34-30 comeback victory last year at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

In 2000, Tim Couch threw for 266 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions, while his counterpart, Brian Griese, threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns.

The Browns were demolished, 44-10.

The second meeting came in 2003 under Davis.

Running back Clinton Portis scorched the Browns’ defense for 139 yards on 38 carries and two touchdowns. Kicker Jason Elam kicked both the game-tying and game-winning field goal to put the Broncos on top 23-20 in overtime.

Crennel’s first chance against the Broncos came in 2006. The Browns’ offensive line allowed quarterback Charlie Frye to be sacked three times and couldn’t overcome a 17-0 deficit in the fourth quarter.

This game also marked the final appearances for cornerback Gary Baxter and offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon. Baxter blew out both knees after attempting to break up a pass and Carthon resigned two days following the game. The Browns lost 17-7.

Finally, this past season, the Browns squandered a 23-10 third-quarter lead and allowed ex-Bronco quarterback Jay Cutler to throw for 447 yards and three touchdowns. It marked Brady Quinn’s first career start and he performed well, throwing for 239 yards and two touchdowns. However, the Browns fell to Denver for the fourth time since 2000, 34-30.

Some encouraging news for the Browns is that Quinn played well against Denver on only a couple days' practice with the first team (the game came on a Thursday night). This time around, he will have had a full week of preparation, but without the target of both his touchdown passes, Kellen Winslow.

Overall, the Browns have not had much success against Denver, going 5-17 in the regular season and 0-3 in the postseason (yes, we all know how those games ended).

If the Browns want to end this losing streak, they need to play 60, not 30 minutes of mistake-free football and control the clock on offense.

The Broncos front three may be the worst in the league and quarterback Kyle Orton was very unimpressive last week before his miracle pass at the end of the game.

We will see if this is the week that Mangini can earn back his famous nickname of "The Mangenius" by accomplishing something his three predecessors were unable to do.