I think a combination of a rule regarding the Akron players and a way to restrict yourself in free agency will make it a bit tougher. I've found that the best way to maintain incredible depth in 2k4 is to simply go out and get the bargains you're talking about, especially along the defensive line. I don't even bother with resigning my stud defensive linemen any more because I know there is going to be, at least, an affordable one that can start for me on the free agent market.

It's kind of funny that we have complained about free agents insane asking prices in previous versions and now that they are closer to being in line with the NFL now. It makes free agency a lot easier for human controlled teams, because as you stated, the computer doesn't seem to recognize that there is a player out there whose asking price is a 1/3rd of the player that they are currently bidding on.

Actually, my team continues to make money - though very little, overall. I think our profits were around $10 million last year- se we are close to just breaking even. Yes, I am paying my coordinators a lot - maybe a good system that reined that in would be wise. Will give it some thought.

I always liked the local "flavor" you had for your past teams.... I like that rule (and I find you tend to do that even without the rule)... But maybe restrict it even more (MAC players from Ohio schools)?

Also, perhaps limiting your veteran non-team FA pursuits to 3 total during the 2 FA periods (this is what I do). It allows you to really acquire any player you TRULY want, while not going over the top with tons of value... All injury filler has to be unsigned rookies or players with 12+ seasons experience...

Just my 2 cents...

Chas

Interesting rule idea... I do think that I need to do something with the free agency process. I generally don't like the idea of artificial limits on pursuits, but that might be as good as it gets.

I was thinking that I'd only allow myself to pursue one player at any time -- but I think that would have me getting the players I want, just later in the FA process and presumably cheaper as a result. Might be counterproductive.

How about something along the lines of: You may go after your own free agents, persue at any time 1 otherwise unpersued FA, and persue any other persued FA? This would seem to get at your idea that the computer doesn't seem the say bargains as you.

Way back when I was messing with a Vikings game, I added a house rule that said the team must run at an aggregate profit over the years. If the team fell into the red, I was planning to punish myself by only signing my draft choices and min-sal free agents until I got the team back in the black.

I was moving along at a slow pace, so I don't know the long term ramifications of things like new stadiums, etc., but I had to run a few years at 60% of the cap to make sure I didn't end up in the red, and I never had enough money for good coaches or scouts.

For the short time I ran the dynasty, I liked the rule a lot though. I started with an empty cupboard, so I had the luxury of running big profits up the first two or three years, and they held me over while I started building a new stadium. But I constantly had to keep an eye out for the bottom line because I was afraid that if I ever fell into the red, it could create a nasty spiral (can't sign good players, lose more games, fan interest drops, lose more money, etc.) that would take a few years to climb out of.

Maybe some twist of this rule could make things more difficult and interesting for you?

I had this idea too, you should consider yourself free to try to bid on any player the computer's trying to sign, while maybe steering completely away from the guys without offers, or limit the number in some way.

House Rule Revisions

As the team has reached a very high level of performance, I have decided to revisit my house rules, and toughen things up a bit. I would like to face more of a challenge overall than I have been, so I am going to introduce a few new house rules.



House Rules
(Revisions in italics)

Empty Cupboard Framework

-Start 2004 with empty roster, and never use players from before the 2004 rookie draft

Team Finances

-Keep ticket cost index below average of two nearest geographic rivals

-After any two consecutive seasons with financial losses, must remain 10% under salary cap, with escalation of 10% for each succeeding loss year

Player Contracts

-Only may pursue one free agent (not including current players without contracts) during any time of the FA period

-Only contract renegotiation allowed is to “cap out” offer to a player, unless player demands renegotiation

-All offers to free agent players requesting a bonus must include a bonus as large as the largest annual salary we offer

Trades

-May only offer trades during the draft

-May only accept trade offers that pass the “fairness test” (alter offer then accept it)

Positional Usage

-No player may start out of his primary position group (LG may start at RG, but not at LT)

TCY Tie-In

-Beginning with 2015 roster, team must have at least one player from my TCY program (currently Akron) at each major position group (QB, RB/FB, WR/TE, OL, DL, LB, DB, P/K)

2013 preseason

With a few new rules to follow, we head into our next offseason. (I had finished the 2012 season in TCY, but just had not yet generated the draft file – so I’m re-starting with FOF, and will get to TCY after this season ends) Our Browns were bridesmaids this year – we’ll try to follow the goings-on with San Francisco a little bit, also – just to see what a dominant champion does to follow up.


Transitions and League Observations

We have no retirements, yet again. Eventually, that bug will strike – but we remain a pretty young team – our oldest players are just hitting their 10th year.


Front Office Decisions

My 62 yeard old Head Coach, Earnest Carlyle, is up for a new deal. He’s obviously presided over our rise to becoming a power team, and it would make sense to keep him on.

However, I feel like we have stagnated a bit, despite the incremental moves forward. And to the surprise of many, I bring aboard a new head coach – going a bit younger, cheaper, and getting a guy who might have a better focus on keeping our players fit and ready to play. I’ve been awfully frustrated by our annual parade of injuries.

Head Coach: K.C. Hansen, 50
Career Record: 70-94-1
EX: Injury Avoidance
VG: Off PC, Def PC
Good: Mot, Disc

Earnest Carlyle manages to latch on in Philadelphia, so he will get the chance to content for a championship there, as they have a powerful team coming back, with star QB Jacques Cheatham still there. Cheatham’s injury last year killed the Eagles’ chances to three-peat as champions, but if he can get back on track, they should be very tough again.


We have to reduce ticket prices a bit, to accommodate the lousy economy locally. (Cincinnati dropped theirs, and we are pinned to them, in part)


Roster Review

Do you make massive changes to a team that went 15-1 the previous season? The book says no – but we’ll have some tough decisions ahead. We have about $26m in cap space, and 31 players signed. Add it up, and see the players who are up for new deals, and it will become pretty obvious – we have a tight offseason ahead, and won’t be able to bring nearly everyone back.



Marco Clancy demanded and got a contract extension last season, but promptly reinforced our impression that he’s too fragile to depend on. James Houston is developing nicely, and is a solid #1A to Clancy for us – we’re fine if he has to play. Gordon will re-sign cheaply, and we’d love to bring him back he will be the #3 for the coming year, almost certainly.


Problem contract #1 – Roderick Arsenault. He wants a deal for about $4 million per season – how can we justify that? The 49/49 is pretty far – that’s about what he rate at this point. It’s tough to say how much we would lose if we had to go with Ramsey, or some cheap free agent as our main back for the year.


Eric Pritchett is a pretty complete player, and is clearly a better overall player than Mickey Woodson, who has taken an injury blow and is a lesser player than before. I still like the “get out of the way” model at FB, and Pritchett (who had 70 passes thrown his way last season) isn’t really that kind of guy. Tough to say what to do here. They are all cheap – all three can stay.


Jonathan Holmes was a machine for us – only 9 starts, only on the field for 390 pass plays, but he got 132 passes thrown his way (fully 1/3 of the total) and racked up all-pro numbers in that time. Extremely productive when healthy – how much is this guy worth paying for? He wants over $6 million a season, which probably rules him right out for us – unless he slides until after the draft and rethinks. My guess is he gets paid – elsewhere.

Tony Thomason is a guy who would improve with playing time, I suspect – but I doubt he’ll ever really get the chance to show it. A last resort for us there.


Zach Blair has proven to be steady and reliable – two straight nearly identical seasons, with 44 straight healthy starts. That really helped last year. He’s only looking for $1.1 million to sign for this year – I’ll try to extend that into a longer term deal, and lock him up as our starter for the next couple of seasons.

That leaves us with a dilemma elsewhere – particularly at split end. I like the tandem of guys we used primarily last season, with Causey as the fairly stable guy and Sasser the big hitter. Problem is, Sasser now wants to be a star somewhere, and to be paid like one. If we go into this season with Blair and Causey as our starters, we lack that guy to “stretch the field” a bit. I think we probably need to spend either some money or a draft pick to add some flash to this group.


This unit has worked very well, and we ought to be okay coming into the year. RT Donnie Thornton had a very good season for us last year – a huge improvement over his first. I’d like to lock him up long term, but it will take at least $1.5m per year to do so. We may be in wait-and-se mode with this one – it won’t be an immediate offer.


I will need to look at the Akron options here in the draft, but I like the twosome we have on hand right now, if we can keep them.


We have a solid returning corps of players here, but will not be able to re-sign DE Moseley (wants big bucks) or DT Gustafson (lost most skill after injury). DT Oliveira is the positional leader and the lynchpin for multiple affinities – so he should return. We probably need one more DE in the mix, especially since DT Bailey is no sure thing.


Curtis Davis came from nowhere to become a star for us, and will return as our strong-side starter. Cedric Goodwin, though, is the tougher call. Can he still start for us in the middle? If, so we need to have a Plan B – Casey? Both Casey and Perez are looking for handsome payouts, so they might both be off the list.

Then there’s Ricky DiGacomo, who has worked out to be very solid – but he wants $8 million a year – well beyond anything we can afford for one player. Warren Holmes looks like a fairly affordable re-signing, and he may have to start at WLB this year if we lose DiG, as expected. Regalado is really a pass-rushing specialist, and has been helpful in reserve on the DL and at LB, but I don’t see him as a starting alternative.


We have Deon Richmond locked up, and it’s clear that he’ll start again. He doesn’t make a lot of big plays, but he has become a pretty reliable cover man in our man-up schemes. Zack Callens has been a starter, and is suited to our system. Calvin Wickliff is a decent player, but he’s not that great in man coverage, and that’s really what we want to do on defense. So, he ends up as a nice reserve player, but not a starting option, I don’t think. Jamie Freeman is never going to be a solid player – decent #3 or #4, that’s all.

Brett Maxwell’s contract demands all but rule him out – he’s thinking $6 million a year – no chance there.

Eskridge will be our starter and star at safety. I’d like to re-sign Kirk Weed, and assuming he comes back we’ll be okay here.

So – we have 3 offers in as the FA period starts: WR Blair, DT Oliveira, and S Weed. I have other players we will watch and hope to pursue, but for now, these are the top of our list.

I wonder how this is playing with the talk radio shows in Cleveland? Sort of like the Dungy situation in Tampa maybe. Either that or you are a very hated man in Cleveland. I wonder how many GM's in the league would have the balls to make a move like this? Of course if you win it all this year the fans will be like Carlyle who.

Great read so far! I did wonder about this though:




Seems like you have gotten future year draft picks several times when trading down in the 1st round. Was this rule changed?

Free Agency

Looking elsewhere at available free agents, I find a LB who looks promising – Ed Lake ha played for Chicago the lat two seasons, and seems to be developing into the type of player who would fit us well at MLB. He might be cheap, too – he will be my fist outside target player.

Safety Robbie Wilkins looks like a potentially very good addition, and pretty affordable, too. CB Darrell Douglas was cut by Dallas, and could be a good value pickup as well. I don’t however, see any free agents that I’ like t spend a ton of money on – so if we do layout big bucks, it will probably be on one of our own, like LB DiGiacomo.


We kick off the FA process – and there is a lot to report right away. Our players are being bid on all over the place. DE Cris Moseley is signed by Miami right away, and they are talking to S Deron Ellery too. LB Rick Casey, our solid reserve middle linebacker, has a fat offer from Jacksonville. And WR Tampa Bay is courting speedy WR Marlon Sasser.

It’s Oakland, though who is making the biggest push. They have offers in to both LB Ricky DiGiacomo and CB Brett Maxwell. Both are very fat, long term offers – and both are probably out of my reach to try to match. Oakland’s alleged top needs are on offense, but this duo would really bolster their defense this year, I think.


We have landed LB Ed Lake, and have successfully re-signed S Kirk Weed, who will return to the starting lineup for us. Neither WR Blair nor DT Oliveira has another offer, so I expect they will be aboard soon, too.

DE Henry Garner has only missed one game in five seasons. He’s no star, but we could use that kind of stability around, and we put in a fair offer for him. He quickly accepts.

A new offer to S Robbie Wilkins follows, and he quickly accepts – and will become our third safety and all-around utility player there.

I have shied away from any big-money contracts – but now that seems to have been a little too tight. We still have $22 million in cap space, and I don’t know what to do with it. Should we have spent $8 million on a weak-side linebacker? I guess I will keep my eye on the best-looking prospect still out there in the market – three-time all-pro receiver Dan Doyle. Over 4,000 yards in the last three seasons makes him an elite target – and he’d be the type of playmaker that we’d love to have in our offense, to be sure. He’s seeking $11 million a year – huge money, of course, but it’s not inconceivable that we could squeak together a one year tender in that neighborhood.


We get to week 12 of the process – and WR Zach Blair finally re-signs with us. That leaves RB Arsenault, TE Holmes, and RT Thornton still priced out of the market. I get an offer in to R Donnie Thornton, trying to lock him up for three seasons. It takes him a few weeks, but he accepts the deal. Meanwhile, Miami sneaks in and makes a move to sign WR Dan Doyle – and their team really is taking a very interesting new shape for the coming season.

I go ahead and wrap up the first 20 stages – we’ll have another look at some of these guys when we get into the post-draft phase.


2013 Rookie Draft

This draft includes a number of familiar faces from our Akron days:

P Rodney Clearly (4.9, 41/51) Looks like a decent punter, good distance, decent complementary skills make him a possible flyer – for our team, fairly likely

QB Deion Brock (4.1, 23/49) Looks like a typical project QB – has mixed skills. Coule evolve into a usable roll-out type QB, got a great 46 on the test. Probably a mid to late round pick. Good target for us, if possible.

CB Bert Schneider (4.0, 23/48) Brilliant college player looks like a zone specialist for the pros, very high volatility makes him a wild card.

K Edward Oskia (3.7, 19/45) Could be passable pro project – probably not an excellent option, though.

QB Dustin Poole (2.7, 16/30) Early dropout from college, very high volatility, probably a hit-or-miss kind of guy. Has some good skills – might be a flier.

T Joseph Barber (2.6, 13/29) Looks like a decent run blocker, probably undrafted.

MLB Louis Sherman (2.5, 15/28) never quite developed in college, and looks like a longshot here.

If we can grab QB Brock in the 4th round or so, and maybe have a look at a couple more guys after the draft, we might get 3-4 Zips to stick this season.



Sitting at pick #31, it’s a long time to wait. Ideally, we’d like to see a quality running back available for us in this draft – I think that’s the right direction for us to go there (young). But we’ll probably play the hand we’re dealt, and will be looking BPA.

Looking realistically, the player I’d like to see fall to us is T Claude Mueller, from Middletowo, Ohio by way of Ohio State. Looks like a powerful, solid O-lineman, with a fabulous college season in his wake – a great pickup for us.

Alas – Mueller is selected at #21 overall (Cincinnati, the other local angle team grabs him), and we’ll have to look elsewhere.


In Neal Lynn, we land a pretty promising pass rusher, settling for a solid player at a “tough-to-fill” spot. DE Dwight Lofton, from the 7th round, might end up being a real steal – if he pans out, he might be pretty darned good.

CB Deusenberg is a man coverage specialist, and might end up being a good “system” selection for us. WR Tilton is the fly-pattern specialist I wanted, and should help us with the offensive speed that I want to have on hand. QB Deion Brock, as expected, was an easy mid-round grab.


Late Free Agency

First order of business – RB Roderick Arsenault has seen the light, and is now seeking a very modest deal. I put in an offer to keep him around – his leadership will be valuable, even if his skills continue to decline.


We also talk to veteran wide receiver Harold Elizondo. He is not a true burner, but even though he’s in his 10th season he has been a pretty effective playmaker. He’s not looking for that much in salary, and we try to entice him to come our way with a two year offer.

After Elizondo signs, I realize that we have not found a solution at tight end, and Jonathan Holmes remains stubborn in his demands for huge money. Devin Norton has been little used by New England, but we like his promise – and make a three year offer. I also have in mind a scheme for FB Eric Pritchett to see time at FB, where he might even better use his receiving skills.


I make a quick check of our chemistry situation – and am disappointed to see that newly-signed safety Robbie Wilkins doesn’t seem to like CB Deon Richmond, our secondary leader. I think it over, and decide to instead approach Deron Ellery for an extension, which I know won’t ruffle any feathers. We get Ellery aboard again, and let go Wilkins before trouble brews.


Among our URFA pickups is fascinating RB prospect Lincoln Zimmerman, who simply doesn’t look like much. However, he had over 1,800 yards running for Southern Cal, and my scouts rate his volatility at 90 – we would love for him to have a big breakout and become a contributor.

Heading into camp, I make one last signing – MLB K.C. Perez. He’s solid, fairly cheap, and with some uncertainty about the durability of our starter at MLB, a wise investment. We pass on even a one-year deal with TE Holmes – and expect that someone else will land him on a one year cheap deal for this season.

Yes, I decided to change the rule. On one or two occasions, Imade trades that i felt were balanced, but had to involve future picks to be so. Moving down from #1 overall to the middle of the first round realistically would involve a first rounder - and when I couldn't find any team with two firsts in the current year's draft, I went with my next best option - dealing for this year's first and next year's first instead.

I still will not make trades that take advantage of what I perceive to be the real AI weakness there -- that the game doesn't properly recognize that all future draft picks are not equal. It's too easy for your team, as a perennial power and late-picker to swap top picks with a perennial doormat and early-picker. So, I won'tmake any trades that have elements of that - and I suspect now that we're a pretty good club, we won't be trading down much anyway (the only time this has come into play).

BTW QS, not sure if you noticed, but the past two years, no team in your division has had a losing record (heck, last year no team finished worse than 9-7). Two years back, the third place team would've won two of the other 7 divisions outright and tied for the division lead in two other divisions.

Sounds about right, Quik. I know you're very aware of the AI's weaknesses and how to avoid taking advantage of them, I just thought I might have missed a change. Will be interesting to see how this goes forward with the new restrictions. I'm going to start doing the before/after camp thing in my own dynasties, that seems pretty useful!

Yes, our division suddenly got brutal, didn't it? Don't know how long that will last, but it's tough playing so many games against (at least) decent teams. We're holding our own, though...

I don't know - in the first year, I don't think the FA rule had a material effect on anything. I think I still got all the same players I would have had I not used any restriction at all. And I'm already sensing that the TCY connection might not be that big a deal either. Dunno...

Training Camp

We have 61 players in camp this year – a bit fewer than usual. Regardless, we ought to be in good shape at nearly every position. WR won’t be terribly deep, but we should be okay there. We’d like to get a young RB to pan out and help – but that’s not even essential.


It’s nice to see a really good camp from your QB – and Marco Clancy delivered there. he jumped up in both current and future ratings – not a monster leap forward, but noticeable for sure. Good sign.

Rookie Deion Brock jumped a little bit, too – and that might secure his spot on the roster for us. I admittedly had hoped for a jump from RB Lincoln Zimmerman – but instead we see that he’s just the only one of the lot who didn’t fall apart. Jeremy Battle is probably the most usable of the three rookies, but none look like great prospects.

TE Devin Norton was a great find, and I think he will be a suitable heir to the “dominating tight end” position on the offense. He could be every bit as good as his two predecessors, and the offense seems to lend itself to good production over the middle.

I’m encouraged by what we see so far of DE Neil Lynn – now we need to get him signed and ready to play. DE Dwight Lofton won’t end up being the superior DE I had hoped he could be – rather, he’ll probably end up being a passable pass rusher from time to time. About what I should be getting with a seventh round pick.

I realize that I inadvertently left us short at the OLB positions – and I do so only after releasing Wendell Hamilton. (D’Oh!) So, I slide DE Lofton back to SLB, and we pick up one free agent – another blast from the Browns’ distant past, Kim Jervey.

Bit of a shame – 2nd round pick CB Blaine Duesenberg is just not what I had hoped for at all – and I ultimately decide that we’ll just eat his cap hit now rather than waiting it out. He doesn’t even make the team. El Bust-o.


Season Analysis

Our cohesion is still very high: 85-100(94)-91-90, which puts us in the to five in every category. Our team chemistry remains strong – only two conflicts on the whole team (rookie WR Tilton and T Barber). We don’t have quite as many affinities as in the recent past, but we are still much to the positive in that regard.

Our roster rating is a 66 – second best in the league, far behind Jacksonville (new home to WR Marlon Sasser, incidentally) SF has a 61, for what that’s worth.

We come in as conference champions, and should be a favorite to get back to a top playoff spot again. New coach – might make a difference, of course. We have had to make some personnel changes, too – but this is largely the same team as last year’s offering. What to expect? We have to shoot for the top, once again.

2013 Regular Season

As we get out of the preseason, we have a few new roles established. RB Danny Aguilera is going to take on the third-down back duties, and will be in for a lot of our passing downs. This job might eventually end up with FB Eric Pritchett, but for now Aguilera gets a crack at it. But Roderick Arsenault again comes into the season as our #1 back for first down duty – and we expect he’ll still get more than half the carries.

On defense free agent signee Ed Lake will start at the weak LB slot, taking over for the departed Ricky DiGiacomo. Lake is a solid run defender, and will help out I think – a very good replacement, for a value price.

And I end up with Darrell Douglas starting at CB alongside Deon Richmond, to my surprise. I just couldn’t justify keeping Zach Callens there, as other guys have far better overall skills. Douglas gets the first look, with Calvin Wickliff ready to play if needed.


In our opener, Clancy throws for 356 yards, and we need them all to beat Baltimore 26-20. We roll again over Minnesota, but we lose Arsenault for a few weeks with a broken foot. Time to reshuffle the RB crew, I think. Kendrick Ramsey, who did well in week two in relief, will be our starter.

Week three is Kansas City – who beat us last season. Marco Clancy is also hurt – he’ll have to miss this game as well. We get thrashed by the Chiefs, 27-3. No contest.

We limp to a win over Buffalo, but we simply are not the same team without Clancy and Arsenault. 450 yards in two games – our production has been cut in half. We get back on track, though, posting almost 400 yards of offense as we pound Pittsburgh.

We stand at 4-1, which is fine. San Francisco is 2-3 so far, with their first-string QB (new signee John Powers) out with an injury. They have a rookie QB at the helm, and it’s not working out well. Tyrone Glover got away from the 49ers, and is now starting for the Giants, basking in the glow of his Superbowl MVP award and the ensuing cash bonanza.

Marco Clancy returns, and is right back in form – throwing for 280 and 2 TDs against 4-1 Miami. TE Devin Norton, as predicted, has already become a top target for the offense, and leads the team in receptions with 32 in six games. Kendrick Ramsey keys our next win, with 124 yards and the game-winning TD in overtime to beat the Jets.

Roderick Arsenaut is working his way back into the offense, but it’s Marco Clancy (playing with a sprained thumb even) who now is our centerpiece. He has become an attacking QB, and our offense is pretty highly powered when he is playing.


After getting to 7-1 at our halfway point, we now must face Baltimore again – who has won all their games since we beat them, and are 6-1. At least Cincinnati is falling apart, meaning one patsy in the division. Behind Clancy’s 4 YD passes, we eke out a 31-28 win, and give ourselves a bit of breathing room in the division race. Just a bit. (Clancy might have had one of those “perfect” QB days: 27/35 for 317 yards, 4TD/0Int – if not, then pretty close, y/a is the only weak point, I’d guess)

We roll onward, winning a few close ones, until finally dropping another one against Detroit, of all teams. We’ve clearly become a pass-first team, which is fine – but we need to be ready to play a controlled game when they really count. We lose our second straight when we allow the division patsy Cincinnati to run for 232 yards against us – not good for our awe-inspiring run defense, there. At 11-3, we by no means are all set – we still have three teams within one game of us for the bye weeks, so we need to get things right.

And we’ll have to do it, again, without Arsenault. He’ll miss a few weeks with a bum shoulder. We need to rally.

Kendrick Ramsey give us yet another solid game, and we beat Green Bay, 31-17. But a loss to Pittsburgh in our finale leaves things up in the air a bit – we’re in the playoffs, but the seeding is up to the other games.


A 12-4 record is pretty good – but not good enough for a bye week. Kansas City beat us head to head, and they get the #2 seed behind the Jaguars. We have to host Pittsburgh for a rematch of our regular season finale, where they beat us to earn their way into the playoffs.


We are down in every meaningful category. Our running game is anemic, and our passing game – while prolific overall – isn’t terribly efficient. On defense, we are used to being in the top handful against both the run and pass – this year we settle for middle-of-the-pack.

The Cleveland fans may, indeed, have my head. Philadephia, under my former coach, is back on top and enjoying their well-deserved bye this weekend. Ouch.

Hey, that's some spoiled fans if they want to run you out of town after another AFC North division win and a 12-4 record. Boy did San Fran have a fall for the ages though, from undefeated to a league-worst 3-13 record?! From a top-3 scoring offense and overall best scoring defense to dead last in scoring and scoring defense? Whew, now that would be something for fans to complain about.

QS, your dynasty has prompted me to try the same thing on my own. I'm confused as to when the best time to cut the players is for the empty cupboard, though. When I tried it, using a HeavyReign file, I ran it through one season, ended the season, then cut everyone and got new players at the start of the new season. The first year was fine, but now it's telling me I have 65 million in lost cap room and can barely afford to field a full team, even with the miniscule salaries my guys make.

Should I be cutting the players before I end the first season, or will this matter?

I know you've already implemented new house rules in an effort to make this more difficult, but I had another idea I thought I'd throw out there anyway. You could carry the empty cupboard concept throughout your career. For instance you could say that every 5 years or so you had to start over again....perhaps keeping 5 players that you had grown attached too and then releasing everyone else and starting over. At that time you could also restrict your FA pursuits like you did in the beginning, where you could only go after first year players in the first, first and second year players in the second, and so on.

Just a thought...

I nearly ran into this, also. I think the best way t do it is to cut about half of your team in year one, and then the other half at the very beginning of year two. You'll have big dead cap space in both years two and three, but with a roster of only youngsters, it won't matter. Good luck.

M E M O R A N D U M

TO: QuikSand, General Manager
FR: President of the General Partner
RE: Season success


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

At the outset of this offseason, we had words about the front office direction of this club. I emphasizd the importance of winning the league championship for our fiancial stakeholders. You argued that a new on-field leadership would advance those goals, and convinced me and others than releasing Coach Earnest Carlyle would serve our interests.

I see that Mr Carlyle has successfully restored the championship stature of the Philadelphia club. Meanwhile, under new leadership, our club has regressed, and is not among the top contenders. This outcome is not acceptable.

If Mr Carlyle and his Eagles advance further into the postseason than do our Browns, the ownership group will be required to make changes to team management. At that point, we will call upon you to discover a family concern, which will require you to direct your attentions away from your responsibilities to this club. I hope this is not misunderstood.

Good luck on the remainder of the season.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

???

Apparently, playing in the wild card round is not what the boss has in mind.

2013 Postseason

AFC Wild Card Round: Pittsburgh (8-7-1) at Cleveland (12-4)

We host Pittsburgh, a team we know pretty well. Their QB Pereyra has had a good season, but we think pressuring him will be a key to success here. We will probably throw it around a good bit, also.

In the first quarter, we look sharp, and get ahead 10-0 with two scores on our first two possessions. We knock Steelers’ QB Pereyra out of the game on a sack, and they have to go to their backup. Clancy throws four interceptions in the first half, but our defense holds things in check, and we lead 10-3 at the break, fortunately.

It’s not a great day for us, but we do have them under control the whole time, and tack on a couple more scores in the third quarter. A 20-3 win is fine – and we head into the divisional playoffs – but as a road team, unfortunately.


FC Divisional Playoff: Cleveland (13-4) at Kansas City (12-4)

KC has been our nemesis – beating us the last two regular seasons. Should be another tough matchup – KC has a solid team top to bottom. We’ll go with our vanilla attack, and try to turn the tables on them. RB ROderick Arsenault is dinged up, but he will start.

We trade punts through the first quarter, and KC finally gets on the board with a long FG in the early second. KC penetrates deep on us next possession, but DT Gary Cascadden comes up with a huge sack to stop them inside our five – and they again settle for three. But the Chiefs drive again and get in this time on a 16-yard reverse run. We get a late drive to their 15 yard line, but lose a fumble and fail to score yet again. 13-0 at the half.

Midway through the third quarter, we’re finally on the board, with a pass to Elizondo. But a costly interception by Clancy on our next possession gives the Chiefs position for another kick, and it’s 16-7.

We start the fourth quarter pinning the Chiefs at their 2 yard line with a mighty punt. Our defense holds, and we get a golden opportunity – we take over at their 48. Big runs by Aguilera and Ramsey finish the drive, and we pull within two points, down 16-14.

With under 6 minutes left, down two, we face a fourth down at the Chiefs 37 – very tough call. Oskia, our kicker, isn’t the most reliable guy. This would be a 54-yarder. I think I’d be inclined to give it a try, if I were calling the shots. Especially since my job is in the balance, potentially.

We line up for the FG… but there’s a false start on the play. And an injury! WR Blair is hurt, apparently seriously. How this happened on a false start… well, I understand. Regardless, after the penalty and injury, we have little choice but to punt it to them.

Our defense holds, and we get it back at our 28. We get a first down, but also a penalty, and eventually face 4th and 5 from our 30. A quick hitch to TE Norton and we’re back in the saddle. However, Clancy throws an interception, and that ought to seal the deal. Kansas City wins, 16-14, and our Browns are eliminated from the postseason, once again.


Arizona beats Jacksonville to win the Superbowl – they won the first one in 2003, and now have two trophies on the mantle, along with Dallas and Philadelphia.

Philadelphia, incidentally, also lost a close game in the divisional round. I’m not sure how that will ultimately reflect on my career path.


Season Wrap-up

Well, the team certainly took a step backward. We dropped from the elite defensive teams, and our offense shifted toward more risk – and we ended up losing at the hands of taking those risks, I think. The team definitely needs work… but I can’t believe that we’re due for a true makeover – just a few tweaks here and there. Marco Clancy, though, is a mystery. If he wants huge money next season, does it make sense for us to pony up? So far, we’ve been a franchise gaining success by never overpaying – we have done well with whoever we could afford, for the most part.

Tough to say what’s around the corner, now.


TE Devin Norton, not surprisingly, is our only honoree this year. Not a major surprise – we had platoons and role-shifting all season long.

We’ll head toward the 2014 season with more than our usual degree of uncertainty. About the QB situation, about the drop from the defense, and about my job stability as well.

Crossroads time... I'm not much for polls, but I'm interested in input. For continuity purposes, I think it would be reasonable for me to be fired from Cleveland... translating me to taking over a new "empty cupboard" franchise in the same league. That might allow me to start over, with a new and tighter set of rules.

Any readers care one way or the other?

It sounds like what you'd like to do (taking over a new team in the same league). That makes me all for it.

I vote for take over a new team with tighter rules(read salary restrictions) on yourself. Even though you didn't win it at cleveland I think you showed this set of rules jsut isn't tight enough.

Be happy. Get fired. Build a new one.

I like the idea of you taking over a new team...but you should do whatever it is that'll keep you enjoying this dynasty.

Quik,

I don't think you should be fired, but you'd rather seek new challenges in a warmer climate...Like Cincinnati.

--tim

I'll follow this dynasty either way, Quik.

FWIW, I think having an owner-imposed salary cap at X% (75%?) of the league cap is probably the only house rule you'll really need.

I don't think you should be "fired", a 12-4 season is good enough. I'd be interested to follow Clancy, Arsenault and the others for another season to see if you can get the team back on track.

BTW, the readers could act as a "board of directors" to make decisions. 4-2 in favor of firing the Cleveland GM. Sort of an RPG element to induce events outside your control.

Fire the GM ! Start with a new team !

I like that idea, actually.

I think I am going to play another season of TCY (perhaps with a switch to a new college, even) and let this continue, but I'll abide by the will of the readership.

I plan to continue the FOF 2004 career, in any event -- I'm just unsettled about what form and fashion that should take. I' on the fence about really continuing with TCY, though - I'm going to play one more season as a "test" to see how much I really like/dislike playing that game...

More to come.

QS -

I suggest that you take a page from the career path book of many other NFL players/coaches. Specifically, you should "retire" so that you can spend more time with your family.

Then unretire the very next season when, as has happened with all of those who came before you, you realize that your family would rather that you not be around so much.

I think you should give Cleveland one more go around, to see if this season was an aberration. If you have another declining season, then maybe a "firing" would be in order.

Well I'd like to continue with this dynasty too, but would think you would have the good will in Cleveland for one more season before they run you out of town.

After a couple days away, I have regained access to FOF games.

I checked the TCY and FOF 2004 status -- and there are two opportunities that would allow some continued synergy between the collegiate and professional sides of this dynasty. In TCY, I have been offered the had Coaching jobs at both the University of Cincinnati, and at the University of Tennessee. Both of the counterpart NFL teams are listed as "amenable" to my taking over there, as well.

If I am going to continue with both halves of this career (TCY and FOF), then my pretty strong inclination will be to pursue one of those two situations.

I'll confess, though, that I am about 50/50 whether I want to continu with TCY at all. I'm reallynot getting a lot out of my time spent there, and as my workload tightens in the coming weeks, it might make sense to focus where I am enjoying myself more... with FOF.

More to come... just catching up on this for now.

UC
UC
UC

how can you not want to "stick it to Cleveland" twice a year for shepherding you out the door?

--tim

Over the holiday time, I went ahead and played another season of FOF 2004, without bothering with TCY. So, it seems I have made my decision.

A new season with Cleveland (yes, I stayed) will be posted here fairly soon.

2014 preseason

After some contemplation, I have returned to the fold for another round with the Cleveland Browns. After a slightly disappointing season, the expectations remain pretty high – and we will have to deliver this year, or else it will mean my job, no doubt.

Transitions and League Observations

We have no retirements. Our only lingering issue is RB Jeremy Battle, who has yet to play a down for us, and may never be able to. He is still hurt, and will very possibly be on IR again this year.


Front Office Decisions

Scout Kim Donaldson is still young, and still developing in his role. I make an offer to bring him back, and he comes back, fairly cheaply. Here is his snapshot:

Scout Kim Donaldson, 42 ($350,000)
VG: WR
GD: QB,PK,DL,LB,DB,Young Talent
AV: RB,OL


Roster Review


We have quite a lot of cap room this season – so we’ll have chances to perhaps bring in a player or two to try to make a big push for the title this season. That should be our goal, I think.


Re-signing QB Marco Clancy is a big decision – I’m reluctant to sign him, since he has been so unreliable with his health. His production leapt last season, but I am gun-shy. James Houston also needs a deal – he has proven to be a very solid #2, and at least a consideration for the top job if he’s more reasonable than Clancy is. Gordon and Brock are both usable backups – but probably not starting material.


RB Roderick Arsenault is sitting on a career total of 11,456 yards rushing – he’s already accomplished nearly everything, including winning a title. He’s just a supporting-caliber player at this point, but we will try to get some more out of the old guy this year, which will probably be his swansong season.

We really need a more serious workhorse running back, either by the draft or by free agency. A pretty high priority for our club there. Nobody on the roster is ready to be a true #1 option.


Eric Pritchett has assumed the top spot here, and is the sort of versatile player that helps out in lots of ways. Solid. TE Devin Norton stepped immediately into the featured TE role in our offense, and could be primed for a career season ahead.


Another solid season from the steady WR Zach Blair – he’s not that flashy, but is dependable and productive. Elizondo and Causey split time at the split end position due to injuries, but both were pretty effective. Rookie Tilton was surprisingly active (492 yards) and will continue to offer a playmaker off the bench for us. Ellard is the group leader, and has been decent as well. I’m pretty content with this returning group – probably as much as any on the team.


O.J. Owens has been a solid starter for us, but he now seeks monster money and will walk. That leaves Ellis Pond, if we re-up with him, as the presumed starter. He should be okay, but not a dominating run blocker. Guards Thornton and Gruber are both pass-inclined, as are starting tackles Heinlein and Thornton. We could use some more beef up front – we’ll see if there is a quality free agent we might add at either C or even LT.


I’ll weigh my options here. Creighton has been good, but Oskia’s main attraction was the fact he is from Akron. If we drop that part of the career, he probably fades away.


DE Jimmie Fox’s demands aren’t ridiculous, and he is a mentor to the younger DE – so we will try to keep him around. DE Tim Hendrix is looking for superstar cash, and he won’t get it from us. We have talent, but not great talent here. Inside, I like Cascadden a lot, and will try to re-sign him, even though the asking price is some $7 million a year. Zach Bailey is on his way to becoming a very productive player – he’ll get time alongside Oliveira, our positional leader. Another group I’m generally happy with, though a bit more depth would be welcome, as usual.


Curtis Davis has become the undisputed leader of the LB corps, with another great season from the strong side “blitzbacker” position. K.C. Perez was very effective at MLB last season, and that might spell the end of Cedric Goodwin’s time as our nominal starter – he just cannot stay healthy for more than a game or two at this point. We do need to add at the OLB spots – just to fill out the roster a bit more. Ed Lake will probably retain the weak-side starter position.



Darrell Douglas was passable as a starter for us last season, but I’m not too excited by the prospect of his return to that role. Our defense slipped last season, and I think adding a solid second corner to play next to Deon Richmond (if we get him back) would help a lot. I love our safeties – Weed has evolved into a brutally punishing tackler, and Eskridge is just a complete player.


My top re-signing priority is DT Cascadden, plus we’d like to re-up with DE Fox, CB Richmond, and one of our establish QBs. Past that, we will see where things fall – we have places to make additions, and places to stand still.

Target positions for free agency: RB, CB, C, T, K

Free Agency

We turn down an initial trade offer for G Mickey Thornton. It’s a second rounder, but he’s a solid player with two years left on his contract, and is just rounding into his top form. I’d prefer to keep him around.

I start putting in offers for my players, and am very disappointed to see CB Deon Richmond’s demands – he wants star-type money, nearly $5m per season. That will be tough – I can afford it, but the reason I can is because I don’t overpay my players, and paying Richmond $4-5 million would be doing so. We’ll have to make a plan at CB – because I don’t see that working out, unless he revises downward a good deal.

So, as we start the FA period, the only players of my own I have a bid in for are DT Gary Cascadden (4yrs, $30m), DE Jimmy Fox, and LB Darrin Regalado (situational pass rusher, cheap).


We are looking for a new RB to add to the roster, and I’m having trouble finding anyone who really fits. The best name was come up with in the free agent market is, believe it or not, 11th year veteran Daniel Newman – who played his first four seasons with us. We put in a modest offer to Newman, but will be looking for RB talent in the upcoming rookie draft as well. I decide to pass on RB Jeremy Coble, who wants $4 million a season, and doesn’t seem to have a whole lot more to offer. And we know that Newman at least can be a major threat out of the backfield in the passing game, which can help us. Daniel Newman’s 7,200 career rushing yards rank 13th – just two spaces behind Jeremy Coble’s 7,393, but well behind Roderick Arsenault, the career leader.


After week one, we have some issues to resolve. First is that CB Deon Richmond has immediately accepted a huge offer from San Diego – to my surprise. He gets $13, over 3 yrs in a heartbeat, and is smart to take it. I wanted to pay him half that. Now we are suddenly in trouble at CB, I think.

QB Marco Clancy is also hearing from San Diego, and I have to decide now whether I want to have him aboard again. We have the money – it’s hard to suggest that we should just let him walk without a backup plan already rolling ahead. It will have to be a good deal, but I think we’ll try to lure him back. I come up with 1yr, $12 million – that’s $6 million guaranteed up front, and a chance to land another signing bonus in a year. I hope that will compete with the big money boys who are courting him for six year deals.

DT Gary Cascadden has accepted our offer – so he is delivered. We also pick up LB Clarence Frederick, who spent one season in Indy, but will return to our weak side rotation, I expect. We are the only team pursuing RB Newman, so we expect to land him also.

In week 3, QB Marco Clancy accepts our offer, and will play for us for the $12 million. That drops our available cap space to under $10 million, and limits our ability to pursue any more big players. We do pick up CB Zack Callens, after a pretty good year with Detroit he’s a free agent again, and has the man coverage skills that we like to see.

We eventually land both DE Fox and RB Newman, and bring them back aboard. At this point, with the offseason moves we have made, it looks like we’ll be in “one more shot” mode, rather than “go for it” mode – as we will be featuring mostly the same players as last season. I ad fancied the notion of picking up one or two big-time players for short-term contracts in an effort to make a big “push” – but Marco Clancy’s $12 million deal occupied the cap space that we probably needed to do that.

2014 Rookie Draft

Into the rookie draft, we have a pretty complete team. I think we could use additions at RB and CB, and depth almost anywhere, but I don’t feel desperate at any position. Picking at #29, it’s probably a good thing that we can be flexible.

I have never made a blockbuster trade to move up to take a player – but this year, I am tempted. I really feel like a star RB would add a lot to this team, and there’s a rookie who seems to be perfectly suited. Gus Stewart from LSU looks like the real deal – and I’m convinced he’d be a difference-maker for us. But, he seems likely to go with a very early pick… so I would have to give up an awful lot to take him, I suspect.

When RB Stewart is still there at pick #3, I make an offer: My #1 this year and next, my #3 this year, and WR Elizondo to Tampa Bay for their #1 pick (#3 overall). They spit in my eye – not even close. I keep trying, and eventually it works out—we send them our first round picks this year and next year, along with this year’s second rounder and next year’s third rounder. Harold Elizondo stays put with us. This is the biggest trade that we have ever engineered, but I like the “go for it” attitude that it represents, as I’m totally willing to hitch our fortunes to RB Gus Stewart.


We love Gus Stewart, and are pleased with the rest of the draft. LB Stuff (great name) should be a good run-stopper inside, and we’ll plan to move Sinclair outside. T Ford should be a solid reserve, as will C Weber. K Mo Crain should be a major upgrade.


Late Free Agency

As we are readying to round out the roster, we get word that WR Zach Blair plans to hold out for a new contract. We have cap space if we need it, but I’d really rather not commit big money to him. I’ll confess he is underpaid, but I’d rather have him here for cheap – I think we may not yield here.

On second thought – we may not have the cap space we thought, after all. Moving up for RB Stewart upended the cost of our draft – and he’s going to be expensive. With 49 players signed, we have $7.5 million remaining – but Stewart is going to cost at least $4 million for this year.

MLB Cedric Goodwin receives an offer from Detroit – and our longtime defensive leader might finally be departing. He clearly can’t start any longer – he simply breaks down. I don’t see how we can match the $1.3m/yr offer they are making, so it looks like he will be out of here.

As we approach training camp, I talk again to Zach Blair – but he’s fixated on a multi-year deal for about $3 million a season. I simply cannot afford it. So, I have signed a number of rookie receivers, and am working on a backup plan for the WR position. Tentatively, I might move Marvin Causey to start as our flanker, and use Jimmy Ellard as the backup there. We’d then have to rely on Cornelius Tilton and at least one rookie as reserve players. Not that bad – though I admittedly do prefer having the familiar face of Blair in the flanker role.


Training Camp

We spend a bit more time in the weight room this season – another attempt to cut down on the ridiculous injuries that have befallen us in past years. We’re not as deep on the DL as in the recent past, too – so staying healthy would be a great blessing.


I’m pleased to see RB Stewart retain all his forecasted ratings – now we just need to get him signed. He gets along great with Roderick Arsenault, who has also become a RB mentor. Couldn’t be a better situation for a promising young back.

I don’t think we got a whole lot with our other draft picks, all told.

Season Analysis

We finally get Gus Stewart signed, by dropping to five years. He looks as good advertised, with near-top potential in nearly every category. He will immediately step into our featured role, casting our two older vets into supporting roles. Gus Stewart sits atop the Green Page, with K Mo Crain and 2nd year QB Deion Brock also on the list. Not bad.

We have cohesion rated at 85-100(85)-93-96, pretty darned good. And after a couple of preseason games, WR Zach Blair has returned to our lineup (ending his holdout) – so we have a chance to improve on the passing game. (Indeed – our rating there jumps to 89 upon his return) Our roster rating is 96 – second only to Arizona.

This year should be a chance to get back into the think of the championship hunt. We have a potentially big impact rookie on offense, and have most of our faces returning from last season on defense. An improvement defensively overall, and perhaps more stability at QB, and we ought to be right there. A title here is the goal, and is not out of the question. Falling far short will be cause for heads to roll, possibly mine.

2014 Regular Season

As we ready to start the season, one thing I said we couldn’t afford has already struck. We are already decimated on the DL with injuries:


This is pretty tough to handle, as we haven’t even played a regular season game yet. We sign one placeholder guy in Skip Coleman, but will have to depend on our LB corps, I think, to get any pressure.

Preseason Week 5: Philadelphia at Cleveland

Actually, a pretty big matchup – as we face our old coach Earnest Carlyle, who has the Eagles back in top form. We use a split rotation at RB, with Arsenault getting 14 carries, Stewart 13, and Newman 13, as our ground game is pretty strong all day. Clancy goes 17 for 20 on the day, but is felled with a minor injury, and James Houston has to finish up the 29-21 victory.

We’re ready for the season, I figure – everyone is primed and prepared for the real thing.

Week 1: Cleveland at Cincinnati

We edge the Bengals in a mostly FG battle, with rookie Mo Crain going 5 for 5, including the game winner in OT. Not exactly a superior start, but a win. We got carries for all three backs, also – with Newman leading the way with 13-54 on the day. Marco Clancy’s 4 interceptions probably held us back from having a big afternoon here.

Week 2: Atlanta (0-1) at Cleveland (1-0)

We really get rolling here, notching a 52-17 win. Clancy throws 4 TD passes (including two to the ever-surprising Cornelius Tilton) and rookie Gus Stewart gets three short TD runs (though only 32 yards on the day). TE Devin Norton has over 100 yards, and is off to another good start for the season.

We have lost veteran RB Daniel Newman for an injury – but clearly he’s not the focus of the offense that he might have hoped to be.

Week 3: Kansas City (1-1) at Cleveland (2-0)

Our high-flying offense has to eke out 13 points to get this win, but we extend to 3-0 with a narrow 13-10 victory. Roderick Arsenault outgains Gus Stewart as each have 12 carries – Stewart isn’t hitting the ground running quite as quickly as we might have hoped, but we’re winning games.

Week 4: Tennessee (1-2) at Cleveland (3-0)

We settle for another low-scoring, uninspiring win – but the defense plays pretty well as we prevail, 10-0. We are +7 in turnover margin, which may be the single best reason why we are 4-0 and not 2-2 at this point. The team is not really dominating at all.

Week 5: Cleveland (4-0) at Jacksonville (1-3)

Jacksonville is looking pretty bad this year, and we are installed at 18-point favorites here. We make it a push with a 35-17 win. This, it seems, is Gus Stewart’s breakout game – he runs 17 times for 182 yards as we pulverize the Jags. TE Devin Norton is again a force, with 11 catches for 146 yards – dominating the underneath coverage schemes of the Jags’ overmatched defense.

Week 6: Cleveland (5-0) at Houston (2-2)

We get another point spread push here, with a 17-7 win. TE Devin Norton has 5 more catches to push his season total to 38 through 6 games (second highest of anyone in the league) – he’s on a path to break any TE record in the league, but our offense has generated these numbers before, so it’s no major surprise.

Week 7: Baltimore (6-0) at Cleveland (6-0)

If you were wondering who was our nearest division rival – now you know. Baltimore has kept pace with us, and even has looked better in my book. We have a great first half, and build a solid 21-0 lead. Baltimore storms back, but we hold on for the 27-21 win. Stewart and Clancy are both sharp, and we win with ball control, basically.

We got 7 sacks on them (including 3.5 by young DT Bailey, who is getting lots of playing time this season due to injuries), and that made a big difference – our impaired OL kept Clancy protected, and we avoided the big, bad play. A big win in the division.

Week 8: Indianapolis (4-3) at Cleveland (7-0)

Another pretty solid effort offensively, as Stewart is very solid and Clancy is effective (but makes his share of mistakes, too). Another TD for WR Tilton, who remains very productive even though he has shifted roles nearly every week for us. (I’m starting to love this guy – 36 passes thrown his way, 26 catches for 342 yards and 4 TD)


At the halfway point through our season, here’s our stat snapshot:


It’s our offense that is carrying the team, generally, while our defense gives up yards but not points (we’re #1 in causing turnovers). Not a totally dominant effort, but we’re doing well with it, obviously. You don’t complain at 8-0.


Week 9: Cleveland (8-0) at Pittsburgh (2-6)

On paper, the Steelers don’t pose much of a threat. But we need to take very game seriously – especially with Baltimore just behind us at 6-2. Thos one is not an easy win, but we get the 27-20 victory to stay unbeaten. Another big game for rookie back Gus Stewart, who tallies 153 yards on the ground along with a TD reception.

QB Marco Clancy pulls up with a hamstring pull, and is listed as questionable. I decide to let him sit for a couple of weeks, rather than invite another more serious problem. Plus, with Cinti falling twice in a row, we are almost assured of a bye week, which is the real prize we’re after right now.

Week 11: Cincinnati (5-4) at Cleveland (9-0)

We play a pretty close to error-free game behind James Houston, and beat the Bengals 13-3. Not a bad effort, but again not very dominating.

Week 12: Cleveland (10-0) at New Orleans (6-4)

Marco Clancy returns, and we end up in something of a shootout with the Saints – it goes down the final play, and Clancy hits Zach Blair for a 38-yard TD strike as time expires to give us the 27-24 win, to keep unbeaten. Clancy is still a bit dinged up, and I think Houston will be ready to go again.

Week 13: Cleveland (11-0) at New York Jets (3-8)

James Houston is super-sharp, and we pound the hapless Jets 37-7, looking again like a power team. We get RB Daniel Newman back into action, but he re-injures his ankle, and is now done for the year.

We lose DT Gary Cascadden to another injury – this time an elbow, but it’s just one more in a series that has plagued him all season. Of course, we just locked him up to a big money, long-term deal – so now he can become a slagging shell of his former self.

Week 14: Carolina (2-10) at Cleveland (12-0)

We’ve got James Houston in again, as Clancy probably needs the rest. With Houston in the fold, we play okay – but barely escape with a win here. Carolina scores with a minute left, but cannot convert the two-point conversion, and we hold on 22-20.

Week 15: Pittsburgh (5-8) at Cleveland (13-0)

TE Devin Norton has fallen off his 100-catch pace, and now will be sidelined with an injury for the rest of the way. Indeed, he suffered a serious injury to his ankle, and his recover is not at all assured.

Week 16: Cleveland (14-0) at Tampa Bay (4-10)

Well, it was bound to happen. Tampa Bay gets two late field goals, and manages to tie, and then pass us, to win this one, 23-20. James Houston is disappointed, after trying to step into Earl Morrall’s shoes – but we can’t hang this one on him. I’m much more worried about our defense—we’ve suffered injuries all along the front seven, and are struggling to field even a passable team up there.

Week 17: Cleveland (14-1) at Baltimore (8-7)

When these two teams were at 6-0, this season-ender was looking like it might be a huge one. Alas, the teams have gone in different directions since we beat them in week seven.

We put a 24-7 hurting on them to wrap up the season, and will head into the playoffs as the top seed in the AFC, as the path to the Superbowl once again runs right through Cleveland.

Big issue, though—QB Marco Clancy, back after a few weeks off, came down with a bum wrist, and now is doubtful for the next few weeks. My guess is that he will be back, but it’s no lock. We’ve had peculiarly bad luck getting our starting QB to be ready for the playoffs, and this year may be yet another chapter in that saga.


Well, this year, the comparisons with Philadelphia have abated – the Eagles dropped back to mediocrity, and we have soared to new heights. Arizona (remember them from the roster ratings?) looks tough from the NFC.


The efficiency of our running game received a major boost by the addition of a star back in Stewart. Our passing game remained fairly prolific, though not all that efficient. Marco Clancy – making $12 million this season – simply was not all that much of an improvement over our second stringer James Houston. Even though our one loss came under Houuston’s watch, we will think long and hard about Clancy’s contract for next year—we could afford to add three solid players for that kind of cash.

Our offensive line did okay, despite losing star left tackle Bennie Heinlein to a serious injury. We shuffled guys around – and our lack of quality depth was exposed. But the group performed pretty well together, and we came away with reasonable stats. LG Mickey Thornton, pressed into service at LT, had perhaps his best season.

Defensively, a season-long injury to DT Oliveira and nagging problems with DT Gary Cascadden pushed DT Zach Bailey into a featured role – and did he ever deliver! 47+11 tackles and 14 sacks made him an unbelievably productive force inside on our D-line. LB Curtis Davis had another superior season from the strong-side position as our main blitzing threat, and our secondary held together fairly well (considering the paltry investment in our CB position). We caused 41 turnovers – tops in the league – and that stat along played a major role in the season success. A little extra depth would have been really useful in the front seven, but all told, we can’t complain.


We head into the playoffs with this injury report:


It’s hard to tell from that list, but our defensive front has been really wracked by injury this year. DE Jimmie Fox is off the list for the first time I can remember, and having only one DL there is a blessing. LB Ed Lake missed most of the season, and Darrin Regalado played hurt more often than not. QB Clancy’s injury is troubling – but we have pretty high confidence in James Houston’s ability to lead the offense, as need be.

2014 Postseason

We get to host a familiar foe, as Cincinnati beats Indy to advance to the divisional playoff round.

AFC Divisional Playoffs: Cincinnati (10-7) at Cleveland (15-1)

We are made 7 point favorites here – seems a little low to me, but we hope to deliver on that promise. The Bengals will be led by undrafted rookie QB Kenny Capstick, as their starter Mo Treadwell suffered an arm injury late in the season. Capstick, though, has them on a four-game winning streak, and has energized the team a bit.

On our first possession, Stewart rips off a 46 yard run, but we miss our FG and stay empty. We each miss a FG en route to a scoreless tie midway through the second quarter, until Cinti finally breaks through with a TD pass from Capstick to give them the lead. We respond with a quick drive for a FG, and it’s 7-3 at the halftime break.

In the third quarter, we get a TD pass from Houston to Tilton, and take the 10-7 lead. Our defense keeps the Bengals in check, and we add on a FG with 2:25 left, to take a seemingly secure 13-7 lead. Capstick goes for it all from midfield, and CB Douglas picks off the pass – emblematic of our season, there. The Bengals get it back with well under a minute, and have one last chance. From our 22, with 22 seconds left, they get three tries, and lose five yards. On fourth down, LB Perez makes it through and nails Capstick, and seals the deal for our 13-7 win.


AFC Championship: Houston (11-7) at Cleveland (16-1)

We are made a paltry 3-point favorite at home in this game, as Houston comes in on a little roll of their own. With Marco Clancy still ailing a bit, we will go with James Houston at QB, and try to avoid beating ourselves. The winner will take on defending champions Arizona in the Superbowl.

Houston is led by future hall-of-famer QB Kim Roux, and a pretty solid supporting cast. They seem to have decent players everywhere – a team built an awful lot like ours has been, I’d say.

We have lost OL Mickey Thornton to an injury, requiring us to move Bennie Thornton (no relation) over from RT to start at LT. Our OL has suffered three serious injuries this season – more than we have ever had before.

We get the ball first, but both defenses are sharp, and we trade punts. We get a couple of first downs, but James Houston throws a rare interception, and we end up with a turnover deep in Houston’s territory. Kim Roux leads them on a nice drive, and they go up 7-0, with the aid of a few penalties on our defense. In the early second quarter, they get another TD from Roux, and take a 14-0 lead. Our 15-1 regular season record looks pretty far in the rear-view mirror right now.

We get on the board with a long FG, but 14-3 is shallow relief. Our defense gets us the ball back, but we turn it over again – Houston’s second pick of the game. That’s the halftime score.

In the middle third quarter, we get a big play – finally. Houston’s return man bobbles a punt, and we get the fumble. Rookie LB Stuff grabs the ball and he takes the free ball in for the score. It’s now 14-10, and we have hope again. In the early fourth quarter, we get another FG, and pull within one – setting the stage for a dramatic final stanza.

Houston drives deep into our territory, but Roux’s pass into the end zone is picked off by Zach Callens, and we avoid a real problem. But with 2:18 left, they add a FG to their lead, and take a 17-13 margin – requiring us to score a TD to get it back.

We quickly get into a threatening position, with a big run by Stewart and a big pass to FB/TE Goodwin. But Houston is picked off again, and this one nails the door shut. Houston moves on to the Superbowl, and we get to console ourselves with a fine regular season.

Season Wrap-up

Arizona pounds Houston 35-7 to wrap up their second straight championship. (Sounds weird, doesn’t it?)


I’m not at all surprised to see RB Gus Stewart getting OROY, but to see him wrap up the
Player of the Year honors is a huge surprise to us – he didn’t even make the all-pro team. Good also to see DT Zach Bailey get laurels for his spectacular season, and also for TE Devin Norton – who again missed hitting the big 1,000 yardd marker by a couple of missed games.

A few former Browns made the list as well. Seattle’s LB Greg Daveria started with us, and C O.J. Owens played for use before signing with them as well. Oakland got a great season out of DE Tim Hendrix – whose injury struggles caused him to leave Cleveland.


Alas – no title this season, but what do we make of it? 15-1 is nothing to sneeze at, but I am honestly disturbed by many underlying stats – I don’t think we were nearly that dominant. Where is our top-rated defense? This year we got by with lots of turnovers – can we count on that again?

Much to be concerned about, I think…

I'm sitting here wondering what kind of numbers Stewart could put up with an OL more geared towards the run then it sounds like yours is... Love the dynasty and hope to see you guys get back to the Super Bowl again soon.

Very fair point. My line and game plan both definitely favor the pass -- but having Stewart could affect that. Though, I do think that a pass-heavy offense offers a good back many opportunitites to get draws and other plays that can go for highly efficient results. It's fairly common, I think, for a RB in FOF to have 5.0 ypc when he plays in a pass-heavy offense. Much touugher to maintain that kind of average when the defense knows he's coming.