Still a Browns QB favorite, Bernie Kosar speaks at Pro Football Hall of Fame Luncheon Club

CANTON − Hall of Fame Luncheon Club crowds grow as big as the one that showed up Monday as often as the Browns play in the Super Bowl.

Speaker Bernie Kosar, the reason for the overflow, is among the few who could go on for 30 minutes about an apple a day keeping the doctor away.

The former Browns quarterback not only pulled it off; near the end, an audience member arose to tell him this was as important as any talk the club, born the same year as Kosar, has ever heard.

Kosar, 60, says he is in "the early part of the fourth quarter" of a life he hopes lasts long enough to see Cleveland in a Super Bowl.

Bernie himself is back, literally back, in terms of shape.

Less than eight years ago, he said, he was a mental and physical wreck, struggling to use multi-syllable words in fumbling sentences, with a body "two Pop-Tarts north of 320 pounds."

In his talk at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he said he is in a better place. He looked svelte. He said he is close to his 1980s playing dimensions of 6-foot-5, 220 pounds.

He was very nonspecific about current Browns quarterbacks even as he itemized what he had for breakfast: A smoothie full of celery, carrots and ginger, and a coffee, black.

Eight years ago his lifestyle included the fattest steak on the menu, drinks − he mentioned late-night shots over stories at bars − and fists full of prescription pills.

"Somehow," Kosar said, "I had to figure out how to save my life.

"I either was going to die or had to figure some stuff out."

Much of Monday's talk tied Kosar's "massive change in lifestyle" to his self-identified mission now, preaching a "holistic" approach to mental and physical health. With a nod to his Catholic faith, he called it "my homily."

He sparingly mentioned his company, Kosar Wellness, and some of his other business connections, including Aultman Hospital − Aultman executive Mike Gallina introduce him. He issued a gentle order to a crowd of people mostly older than he is:

"See a doctor once or twice a year. Use food as your medicine. Some lifestyle changes absolutely slowed down my cognative decline from a health and wellness perspective to be here today and be present."

"Sugar," Kosar added, "is your enemy."

He assured the crowd he regards Pittsburgh as the enemy, still.

"The AFC North is loaded," he said. "What the Steelers have, what the Ravens have, what the Cleveland Browns have, what the Bengals have … it's really good football.

"It pains me as a non-objective Browns fan to see some of these moves happening."

Kosar said the Steelers are a different animal after adding Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator and Justin Fields and Russell Wilson at quarterback.

"Pittsburgh's offensive system sucked the last five years," he said. "It's friggin' amazing they pulled off getting both of those quarterbacks."

Kosar said Fields, 25, can be a force despite his 10-28 record as a Bears starter.

He said the Browns, Steelers and Ravens all are leaning into the offensive mindset that worked in his day and works now, especially amidst a focus on smaller, quicker defenders.

"There's one very good way to handle small, fast guys, and that's run 'em over," Kosar said. "It's smart use of a tight end and a fullack to help impose your will. It's a very physical, kill-or-be-killed attidude.

"The Browns did some of that with Joe Flacco at the end of the year, even with offensive linemen whose names we didn't know.

"Joe Burrow makes Cincinnati an anomaly because he's so special — I love the way he throws the ball and handles a team — but the mere mortals have to run the physically sound Xs and Os."

Long before the identity of "Browns starting quarterback" amounted to "one disappointment after another," there was Kosar.

In March of 1985, Kosar, then a 21-year-old college star with the Miami Hurricanes, announced he would forgo his last two years of NCAA eligibility.

Kosar graduated from Boardman High School and considers himself a Youngstown guy.

His bold 1985 statement that he really wanted to play for Cleveland helped, but it wasn't what forever endeared him to Browns fans. It was the team's five straight playoff seasons, including three AFC championship games.

It was the way the team looked and felt with Kosar at the controls.

Today's younger crowd maybe knows who he is and was, and maybe doesn't, but the crowd he addressed Monday most certainly did.

Kosar was 23 when he helped get the Browns as close as they have ever come to a Super Bowl.

He quarterbacked the only three Browns teams to reach the AFC finals.

He spent years wanting a voice in directing the Browns but mostly was disappointed, mostly getting heard opining on the radio without a position on the team.

As a quarterback, he got hit innumerable times in the days before rules babied quarterbacks. His battle with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) has taken him to dark moments, giving him empathy for former NFL acquaintances who took their own lives.

There was pain in his voice as he cited suicide statistics among people in general.

On the lighter side, he said he has "come to grips with The Drive and The Fumble, "even if it took 35 years."

He has long since made peace with Bill Belichick, the coach who dumped him during the 1993 season.

Kosar made his last Cleveland start on Nov. 7 that year, a week before his 30th birthday.

For the record, Browns starting quarterbacks since then have been Todd Philcox, Vinny Testaverde, Mark Rypien, Eric Zeier, Ty Detmer, Tim Couch, Doug Pederson, Spergon Wynn, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Like McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, Bruce Gradkowski, Jake Delomme, Seneca Wallace, Colt McCoy, Brandon Weeden, Thad Lewis, Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel, Connor Shaw, Austin Davis, Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, Cody Kessler, DeShone Kizer, Kevin Hogan, Tyrod Taylor, Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum, Nick Mullens, Deshaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker, Jeff Driskel and Joe Flacco.

The size and attention level of Monday's crowd seemed to suggest there was only one Bernie Kosar.

Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Bernie Kosar speaks to Pro Football Hall of Fame Luncheon Club