ARTICLE ON PHIL DAWSON

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Phil Dawson, who thrived in a wind-swept, lakefront stadium in which his team so often failed, is no longer a Browns kicker.

The franchise’s most consistent performer since its return to Cleveland in 1999 agreed to terms with the San Francisco 49ers today. Dawson wrote on [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: "Hey, Cleveland. Thank you for a tremendous ride. Your love, support & encouragement have blessed me deeply."

Dawson’s departure was widely presumed, but that won’t likely assuage the feelings of fans who grew to appreciate his steady production in the face of so many losing seasons.

Dawson reunites with former Browns special team coordinator Brad Seely in San Francisco and gives himself a legitimate shot at Super Bowl ring. The Niners reached the title game last season -- losing to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-31 -- despite the spotty kicking of David Akers, who ironically also was let go by Browns CEO Joe Banner when they were together in Philadelphia.


"The 49ers just got better on the field & in the locker room!" former Browns linebacker Scott Fujita wrote on his Twitter account. "Congrats to @phil_dawson_4! Good things happen to good people!"

Dawson was not immediately available for comment and it's unclear whether the club made an offer to the keep the last of the "1999" Browns. But the organization, which entered free agency with the most salary cap room, has plenty of cash to spend.

Banner was asked by reporters Monday in Phoenix, site of the NFL owners meetings, whether he understood Dawson's popularity in Cleveland.

“I do and I don’t. It’s just relative," Banner said. "I’ve been in the league a long time and I understand players that have been on one team a long time, played as well as he has, have the affection that he deserves from the fans. I understand that.”

The 38-year-old Dawson made his first Pro Bowl last season, converting 29 of 31 attempts. His conversion percentage (93.5) ranked second among NFL kickers in 2012. As if defying age, he’s made 14 of 15 attempts from at least 50 yards in the past two seasons, including all seven in 2012.

Dawson would have had a chance to break Lou Groza's all-time scoring mark (1,349 points) in 2013.


For the second time in recent seasons, he saluted Browns fans as he left First Energy Field after the team’s final home game of the 2012 season in case it was good-bye.

After the season finale in Pittsburgh, Dawson used his Twitter account to send this message: "Hey Cleveland, you are a special place. It has been a privilege to play for you this season. Hope to see you again. know that I love y'all.”

Dawson seemed resigned to leaving as players cleaned out their lockers on New Year's Eve. The kicker pulled aside an Associated Press reporter and showed him what he scrawled in an adjoining cabinet where he kept his cleats: "Phil was here 1999-2012."

"Prison style," Dawson told AP reporter Tom Withers.


In a league that doesn't value kickers as it does positional players, Dawson was among the most highly respected members of the Browns. Teammates decorated his locker in Hawaiian-style the day after he was named to the Pro Bowl.

Only two other players in NFL history -- Tampa Bay tight end Dave Moore (2006) and San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Ray Brown (2001) -- had waited at least 14 seasons to earn their first trip to Honolulu, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

In Dawson, the 49ers are obtaining the ninth-most accurate field-goal kicker (84.0 percent) in league history. About the only thing the 49ers don’t know is how Dawson performs in an long postseason run. He appeared in only one playoff game, during the 2002 season, and has played on just two winning teams.

Randell60 wrote:I guess it's safe to say now, that Joe Banner is officially an idiot!!!

That was one hire I really didnt like at all, Heckart was doing a damn good job building the Browns, and before anyone says what about Weeden, that was all WHATS HIS NAME, The great Mike holmgren, even people around the NFL thought that would be a bad move allowing Heckart to get way and Lombardi, that guy is a freaking idiot bottom line. hell they dont even have a fg kicker on the roster, they dont just fall from the sky, unless you want a bad one, sure there are many FG kickers out there to bring in but most of them couldnt kick an extra point unless they close their eyes and say 100 hail mary's, where in the hell are they going to get a guy like Dawson that understood how to kick in the winds that come off of lake erie and swirl around that stadium, odds are they will draft a kicker and to graba good one you are looking at least in the 3rd or 4th rd unless you are the Raiders and they get them in the 1st round, years ago they drafted Ray Guy in rd 1 and they took Janakowski in rd 1 as well. We wont be doing that automatically in 2013 like we did with Dawson unless the Browbs get very lucky.