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.
Code:
2013 Regular Season Standings
AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Cleveland 12 4 0 .750 364 288 9-3 4-2
Pittsburgh 8 7 1 .531 286 320 6-5-1 3-3
Baltimore 8 8 0 .500 304 316 6-6 2-4
Cincinnati 6 10 0 .375 272 317 4-8 3-3
AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Jacksonville 12 3 1 .781 380 279 9-2-1 6-0
Tennessee 7 9 0 .438 337 336 5-7 3-3
Indianapolis 7 9 0 .438 368 403 4-8 2-4
Houston 4 12 0 .250 372 381 3-9 1-5
AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New York J 11 5 0 .688 336 307 9-3 6-0
New England 7 9 0 .438 300 329 5-7 3-3
Miami 7 9 0 .438 270 343 5-7 1-5
Buffalo 6 10 0 .375 356 397 3-9 2-4
AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Kansas City 12 4 0 .750 357 286 9-3 4-2
Denver 10 6 0 .625 355 304 7-5 2-4
Oakland 8 8 0 .500 355 369 6-6 4-2
San Diego 6 10 0 .375 326 350 5-7 2-4
NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Green Bay 10 6 0 .625 346 338 8-4 4-2
Minnesota 8 7 1 .531 390 317 5-6-1 2-3-1
Chicago 7 9 0 .438 344 298 7-5 3-3
Detroit 6 9 1 .406 251 286 4-7-1 2-3-1
NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Carolina 10 6 0 .625 361 300 8-4 5-1
New Orleans 8 8 0 .500 340 313 6-6 3-3
Atlanta 8 8 0 .500 356 290 6-6 2-4
Tampa Bay 5 11 0 .313 272 370 4-8 2-4
NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Philadelphia 12 4 0 .750 342 290 9-3 5-1
New York G 8 8 0 .500 352 354 6-6 4-2
Dallas 5 11 0 .313 344 383 4-8 2-4
Washington 5 11 0 .313 293 390 4-8 1-5
NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Arizona 12 4 0 .750 441 355 10-2 6-0
Seattle 9 7 0 .563 328 280 6-6 3-3
St. Louis 7 9 0 .438 343 353 5-7 2-4
San Francisco 3 13 0 .188 214 413 3-9 1-5
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.
Code:
2013 Summary for Cleveland Browns
Record: 12-4
Winning Pct.: .750
Cleveland Browns Team Rank
Rushes 403 24
Rushing Yards 1652 21
Yards Per Carry 4.09 15
Pass Attempts 568 10
Completions 360 4
Passing Yards 4051 8
Yards Per Attempt 7.13 10
3rd Down Conversions 41.1 15 (T)
Points Per Game 22.7 6
Turnovers 29 25 (T)
Turnover Margin -10 31
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 429 15
Rushing Yards 1656 14
Yards Per Carry 3.86 11 (T)
Pass Attempts 555 18
Completions 331 21
Passing Yards 3980 26
Yards Per Attempt 7.17 24
3rd Down Conversions 37.7 6
Points Per Game 18.0 5
Turnovers 19 27 (T)
Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 26 at BAL 20
2 28 at MIN 17
3 3 KCY 27
4 19 at BUF 16
5 27 PIT 3
6 26 MIA 7
7 26 at NYJ 20
8 28 NED 17
9 31 BAL 28
11 21 at CIN 19
12 31 CHI 26
13 27 at HOU 22
14 13 DET 16
15 10 CIN 13
16 31 at GBY 17
17 17 at PIT 20
$$WC PIT
Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
8 Clancy QB 463 300 3449 7.44 30 15
7 Houston QB 104 59 599 5.75 3 3
**Team --- 568 360 4051 7.13 33 18
Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
32 Ramsey RB 195 787 4.03 5
33 Arsenault RB 111 470 4.23 1
45 Pritchett FB 56 234 4.17 0
**Team --- 403 1652 4.09 7
Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
6 Norton TE 114 77 886 11.5 215 10
81 Blair WR 109 65 896 13.7 107 6
45 Pritchett FB 62 41 290 7.0 72 3
83 Tilton WR 60 39 492 12.6 104 3
84 Elizondo WR 69 38 525 13.8 107 4
86 Causey WR 46 27 351 13.0 66 4
30 Aguilera RB 23 18 130 7.2 64 1
87 Ellard WR 34 17 196 11.5 20 0
23 Goodwin FB 22 17 101 5.9 46 0
**Team --- 566 360 4051 11.2 872 33
Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
20 Eskridge S 93 28 1.0 0 3 11
24 Weed S 84 31 0.0 1 0 9
55 Davis ILB 82 32 11.5 10 0 0
91 Lake ILB 68 20 2.0 1 1 11
56 Perez ILB 66 36 2.0 4 2 5
26 Douglas CB 65 17 1.0 0 2 13
43 Richmond CB 60 22 0.0 1 1 16
72 Cascadden DT 54 22 2.5 6 0 1
28 Wickliff CB 36 4 0.0 0 2 2
99 Hendrix DE 36 15 8.5 27 0 0
92 Goodwin ILB 28 5 0.0 0 0 2
96 Bailey DT 28 7 2.5 3 0 0
76 Oliveira DT 25 10 4.0 4 0 0
93 Fox DE 18 7 4.5 7 0 2
77 Garner DE 18 7 0.5 3 0 1
**Team --- 879 276 44.0 79 11 75
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.