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?)
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2014 Awards List
Award Player Team
**Player of the Year Gus Stewart CLE
Front Office Bowl MVP Mercury Shoemaker ARI
Coach of the Year Not Yet Awarded
Legend of the Game Not Yet Awarded
Offensive Player of the Year James George WAS
Defensive Player of the Year Clifton Gomez DET
**Offensive Rookie of the Year Gus Stewart CLE
Defensive Rookie of the Year Jim Foley JAX
All-League First-String Quarterback Brent Shimada ATL
All-League First-String Running Back James George WAS
All-League First-String Fullback Thomas Bachechi DEN
All-League First-String Tight End C.J. Dunn JAX
All-League First-String Wide Receiver Ken Johnson SEA
All-League First-String Wide Receiver Freddie Craddock STL
All-League First-String Center Monty Nunley CHI
All-League First-String Offensive Guard Joe Foster WAS
All-League First-String Offensive Guard Kirk Copeland CIN
All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Martin West NED
All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Eddie Welch ARI
All-League First-String Punter Greg Mahoney NED
All-League First-String Kicker Nicky Rhodes OAK
All-League First-String Defensive End Brian Kavanagh BAL
All-League First-String Defensive End Cole Harrison STL
All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Bryant Magana TBY
**All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Zach Bailey CLE
All-League First-String Inside Linebacker Clifton Gomez DET
All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Greg Daveria SEA
All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Heath McIntyre NOS
All-League First-String Cornerback Roosevelt Voigt BAL
All-League First-String Cornerback Bryan Long CAR
All-League First-String Safety Louie Shipway SDO
All-League First-String Safety Major Hargett STL
All-League Second-String Quarterback Jacques Cheatham PHI
All-League Second-String Running Back Steve McConkey HOU
All-League Second-String Fullback Mickey Bernstein NYG
**All-League Second-String Tight End Devin Norton CLE
All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Hugh Haley ATL
All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Lamar Donnelly MIN
All-League Second-String Center O.J. Owens SEA
All-League Second-String Offensive Guard August Dempsey ATL
All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Aaron Jacobs DAL
All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Lionel Battle NYG
All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Conrad Kingsblood SFO
All-League Second-String Punter Robert Duffy CAR
All-League Second-String Kicker Herb Collins CIN
All-League Second-String Defensive End Tim Hendrix OAK
All-League Second-String Defensive End Julio Landolt WAS
All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Emile McCoy BUF
All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Dennis Allen ATL
All-League Second-String Inside Linebacker Thurman Shelton NED
All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Zack Reich CIN
All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Leon Coughlin ARI
All-League Second-String Cornerback Harris Jacobs NOS
All-League Second-String Cornerback Will Wolf JAX
All-League Second-String Safety Vernon Strong DET
All-League Second-String Safety Tony Dancy CHI
League's Fastest Man A.J. Ralston MIA
League's Strongest Man Rich Fisk NYG
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…