Phil Dawson said he didn't want to be labeled as a heretic and laughed out of Cleveland, so he kept one of his greatest career goals private for a long time. Dawson, though, has had Lou Groza's franchise field-goal record in his cross-hairs since the moment he joined the Browns about 11 years ago. When the Browns (1-3) host the Atlanta Falcons (3-1) on Sunday, Dawson could become the team's field-goal king. He needs to make just one more to tie Groza with 234 successful attempts. ''First thing I did when I got here in March of 1999 was pull out the record book,'' Dawson said Friday. ''I wanted to see where's the bar been set here. And I remember telling my wife way back then, I said, 'Someday that's going to happen.' '' Chasing down Groza, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is a monumental feat. Groza, who died in 2000 at the age of 76, played in 21 seasons, 216 games and nine NFL championship games with the Browns. He leads the franchise with 1,349 career points, followed by Don Cockroft (1,080) and Dawson (986). The Oakland Raiders signed Dawson as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Texas in 1998. After failing to catch on with the Raiders and the New England Patriots, Dawson got a chance with the Browns at the start of their expansion era. He's the only player on the team's current roster who has stuck around since then. Read more: http://www.ohio.com/sports/browns/104622929.html
