2004 Regular Season
As we start of the regular season, rookie LB Clarence Frederick is already hurt, and won’t be able to start the season in the lineup. I shuffle the deck a bit, and start Derrick Regalado instead. He may not give up the job – he’s bee effective as a substitute, now we’ll give him a real shot.
We roar to a 2-0 start, looking good with Arsenault and Glover seemingly 100%. DT Harvey Gustafson, pushed into a starting role due to injuries, is named MVP of our next game, with 7 tackles and 2 sacks to help us beat Denver 16-6. We need overtime to beat Buffalo, by stay undefeated and get to 4-0. Good start – we are rolling right along.
The stage is set for a division showdown – we host Pittsburgh, who are also unbeaten through four games. Lots on the line – we’ve edged them out for the last two division titles, but they are the big threat, of course. A big fourth quarter propels us to a 20-12 win over the Steelers, and puts us ahead in the division race.
Miami (of course) ends our thoughts of a perfect season, but we make it to our halfway point at 6-2, and still in the division lead. Glover has been solid at QB (16/6 ratio is god, but a 6.36 ypa is only marginal, I think). Arsenault has 696 yards carrying the bulk of the load for us. Cedric Goodiwn is having a very nice year, with 61 tackles at the halfway point, and we have notched 27 QB sacks so far. Our defense remains tough – we are #1 in yards per carry allowed. Signs point to “yes” here in Cleveland.
Later in the season, we lose two in a row, and slide to 7-4. That’s cause for some concern. Of course, we are crippled with injuries, but that’s nothing unusual. I reshuffle again (mostly on the front seven, where we have now lost two more starters), and try to come up with the magic formula.
We get a big win on the rebound, but lose Tyrone Glover again – out for 7 weeks. That projects right into the playoffs, so he may be done. We’ll fall back to young Marco Clancy – he’ll become our #1 the rest of the way, it seems. I’m sure Bobby Silvers is sitting by his phone, waiting for the call. Who knows?
We reel off two wins behind Clancy (and a rejuvenated running game), and practically lock up the division at 10-4. Baltimore is 8-6, and still has slight hopes – but we should be okay.
The injuries on our defensive front are becoming comical. It’s as if every guy plays for one or two games, gets hurt, and gets replaced by the other guy coming off the injured list – who then himself gets hurt in a game or two, and it never ends. We’re going to again have 15 guys with 40 tackles on the season – everybody is playing a half season, it’s crazy.
Regardless, we win out for the regular season, and get our postseason berth in fairly good order behind young Marco Clancy.
Code:
2010 Regular Season Standings
AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Cleveland 12 4 0 .750 355 240 9-3 5-1
Cincinnati 9 7 0 .563 329 301 5-7 3-3
Baltimore 8 8 0 .500 291 295 5-7 3-3
Pittsburgh 5 11 0 .313 239 282 3-9 1-5
AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Indianapolis 14 2 0 .875 407 247 11-1 6-0
Jacksonville 7 9 0 .438 309 390 5-7 3-3
Houston 7 9 0 .438 337 385 6-6 2-4
Tennessee 3 13 0 .188 213 404 2-10 1-5
AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New York J 11 4 1 .719 344 255 8-3-1 4-1-1
Miami 10 6 0 .625 361 285 6-6 0-6
Buffalo 8 6 2 .563 339 345 7-3-2 4-0-2
New England 8 7 1 .531 367 364 5-6-1 2-3-1
AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Kansas City 12 4 0 .750 276 215 9-3 5-1
Oakland 8 7 1 .531 341 268 7-5 3-3
Denver 5 11 0 .313 272 318 4-8 3-3
San Diego 2 14 0 .125 226 422 2-10 1-5
NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Green Bay 8 8 0 .500 335 336 6-6 4-2
Chicago 8 8 0 .500 350 388 6-6 3-3
Detroit 7 9 0 .438 323 309 7-5 5-1
Minnesota 1 15 0 .063 240 437 0-12 0-6
NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Tampa Bay 6 8 2 .438 277 336 5-5-2 4-2
Carolina 7 9 0 .438 212 278 6-6 4-2
Atlanta 6 10 0 .375 250 297 5-7 3-3
New Orleans 5 11 0 .313 268 360 4-8 1-5
NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Philadelphia 14 2 0 .875 446 199 10-2 6-0
New York G 10 6 0 .625 341 307 8-4 2-4
Washington 8 7 1 .531 350 319 7-4-1 4-2
Dallas 6 10 0 .375 309 353 4-8 0-6
NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Seattle 12 4 0 .750 326 239 9-3 4-2
San Francisco 10 5 1 .656 327 216 8-3-1 4-2
Arizona 10 6 0 .625 321 270 6-6 3-3
St. Louis 4 11 1 .281 309 330 3-9 1-5
There’s obviously been tumult in the league – last year’s Superbowl combatants are both going to miss the playoffs. Must be a bug – that could never happen in real life.
Regardless, here is the summary of our season:
Code:
Front Office Football 2004
2010 Summary for Cleveland Browns
Record: 12-4
Winning Pct.: .750
Cleveland Browns Team Rank
Rushes 442 15
Rushing Yards 1709 18
Yards Per Carry 3.86 21
Pass Attempts 592 9
Completions 351 5
Passing Yards 3842 9
Yards Per Attempt 6.48 17
3rd Down Conversions 39.8 16
Points Per Game 22.1 5
Turnovers 19 6 (T)
Turnover Margin +6 8
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 408 9
Rushing Yards 1452 6
Yards Per Carry 3.55 4
Pass Attempts 559 20 (T)
Completions 299 9
Passing Yards 3611 16
Yards Per Attempt 6.45 16
3rd Down Conversions 35.1 5
Points Per Game 15.0 5
Turnovers 25 14 (T)
Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 28 BAL 21
2 39 at ATL 10
3 16 at DEN 6
4 23 at BUF 17
5 20 PIT 12
6 17 MIA 26
7 23 NYJ 21
8 27 at NED 30
9 22 at BAL 16
11 17 CIN 20
12 10 NOS 16
13 41 JAX 10
14 17 at CAR 3
15 14 at CIN 9
16 27 TBY 13
17 14 at PIT 10
Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
2 Glover QB 434 257 2817 6.49 20 9
8 Clancy QB 158 94 1025 6.48 4 4
**Team --- 592 351 3842 6.48 24 13
Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
33 Arsenault RB 351 1370 3.90 7
32 Ramsey RB 48 160 3.33 2
**Team --- 442 1709 3.86 10
Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
85 Sasser WR 112 59 767 13.0 148 5
81 Blair WR 86 54 772 14.2 80 4
84 Whiting TE 60 38 410 10.7 144 0
18 Holmes TE 63 37 356 9.6 85 4
89 Rose WR 75 37 428 11.5 78 4
86 Causey WR 75 37 450 12.1 44 3
33 Arsenault RB 40 28 180 6.4 103 1
36 Woodson FB 29 25 157 6.2 91 1
**Team --- 589 351 3842 10.9 837 24
Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
92 Goodwin ILB 102 30 2.0 0 2 6
52 Regalado OLB 87 24 8.0 12 1 3
24 Weed S 65 25 0.0 1 1 9
72 Cascadden DT 57 32 11.5 8 0 1
46 Ellery S 55 24 1.0 0 1 4
91 DiGiacomo OLB 52 20 5.0 2 0 2
43 Richmond CB 50 14 1.5 0 2 11
97 Holton DE 47 16 16.0 23 0 0
39 Callens CB 45 13 0.0 0 2 8
42 Wickliff CB 43 9 0.0 0 2 5
90 Casey ILB 38 13 2.0 0 1 5
95 Gibson DT 20 5 1.0 3 0 0
75 Gustafson DT 20 16 7.0 12 0 0
31 Cowley S 17 6 0.0 0 0 1
98 Fisk OLB 17 10 1.0 1 0 1
78 Huffman DE 16 6 0.5 8 0 1
**Team --- 834 280 65.0 87 13 59
We slipped a good deal in the second half – on both offense and defense. Roderick Arsenault led the league in rushing for most of the season, but faded and finished second by about 80 yards. Newcomer Marlon Sasser had a nice season for us as our starting split end, and he fended off rookie Marvin Causey pretty well to post a good season. If we could get the QB position stabilized, we might be able to post some bigger receiving numbers.
Amidst the DL injury problems we had, two guys stayed healthy all year – DT Gary Cascadden had a wonderful year on the inside, and DE Butch Holton was great on the outside. Both ought to get some all-pro recognition – they were both spectacular. Both are signed through next season – then they might get pretty pricey.
As we head into the postseason, I’m a little skittish about our QB situation – Clancy is playing well, but he’s got a dinged-up knee and behind him we have two untested unknowns. It seems like it’s time for an insurance policy – and we re-sign QB Bobby Silvers to another short-term deal, to the delight of the Browns’ faithful. Hopefully, he can just help with morale and form – but if he has to play, we’ll slot him at #2.
Fortunately, we have a bye week to recover from out many wounds, and hopefully get into place.
2010 Postseason
Here is our injury report, heading into the playoff game against the Jets.
Code:
Willie Oliveira, LDT - Strained Triceps Muscle, Probable, full strength in about 1 week.
Harvey Gustafson, RDT - Broken Finger, Probable, full strength in about 1 week.
Marco Clancy, QB - Sprained Knee, Probable, full strength in about 1 week.
Tyrone Glover, QB - Dislocated Elbow, Questionable, full strength in about 2 weeks.
Stanley Fisk, WLB - Strained Triceps Muscle, Probable, full strength in about 2 weeks.
Rodney Huffman, RDE - Strained Elbow Tendon, Out, full strength in 2011.
Ricky DiGiacomo, WLB - Torn Rotator Cuff, Out, full strength in 2011.
Kris Gibson, LDT - Degenerative Hip Condition, Out, full strength in late 2011.
Ian Goodwin, FB - Impaired Vision, Out, return to full strength unknown.
Glover, Huffman, DiGiacomo and Gibson are all on IR. We have a number of second-stringers in key positions, yet again.
New York Jets (12-4-1) at Cleveland Browns (12-4)
The spread is Cleveland by 3, assessing the game as a basic draw on talent. They have a great QB in Harrison Stanford, behind a superior offensive line. They have a tough defensive front, but I think their secondary can be picked on – they picked up S Thurman Jacobs from us this offseason in an attempt to strengthen back there, but we might be able to work on their corners. We will still try to pound the ball, but will keep the air game at the ready, of course.
We get the kid of first quarter that we like – a field position battle, lots of punts. We get a break when safety Kirk Weed gets through to block a Jets punt, and we take over at their 26 yard line. We connect on a 36 yard FG to take the lead late in the first quarter.
Big turn of events in the second quarter, as we drive deep but give up an interception in the Jets’ end zone. They respond with a long drive, get to our four yard line, but we hold on fourth and one yard to go – so we take over on downs. No scoring on the exchange, but a lot of drama in a close, low-scoring game thus far. The Jets take advantage of the field position, though, and tie it up before the half.
In the middle of the third quarter, Arsenault breaks a 22-yard run to get to the Jets 20, our deepest attack yet. He runs again to their 12, and we are in excellent position. WR Causey drops a sure TD pass, and we have to settle for another kick, and go ahead 6-3. The Jets respond with a solid drive, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, they tie it up again at 6-6.
The Jets capitalize on their momentum, stop us cold, take over near midfield after a short punt, and drive the short field to post the game’s first TD, and take the lead 13-6 with half a quarter yet to play. We’re not a great come-from-behind team, but suddenly we will need to open things up. Clancy hits Sasser and Causey for first downs, and gets us out to midfield. Time is not a pressure quite yet, but we are down to five minutes and change. Sasser for 14, then Whiting for 10, and we move to the Jets’ 13 yard line. Sasser jets into the end zone on a timing pattern, and we pull even with the Jets on the score, 13-13.
With three minutes to go, the Jets get going quickly, and hit a strike downfield to get to our 43 as the two minute warning sounds. We yield a painful third down conversion (a 13 yard completion on 3rd and 10), and they get into position for another late FG – going ahead 16-13. We bumble the return, getting only to the 13 yard line – and with 25 seconds remaining things look very bleak. Our final two plays are in vain, and we end up losing in our playoff opener yet again, and yet again by a mere field goal.
It’s Indianapolis and Philadelphia in the Superbowl, and the Eagles get a 13-0 shutout win.
Code:
2010 Awards List
Award Player Team
Player of the Year Jacques Cheatham PHI
Front Office Bowl MVP Jacques Cheatham PHI
Coach of the Year Not Yet Awarded
Legend of the Game Not Yet Awarded
Offensive Player of the Year Jacques Cheatham PHI
Defensive Player of the Year Leon Coughlin GBY
Offensive Rookie of the Year Danny Duran CHI
Defensive Rookie of the Year Leon Coughlin GBY
All-League First-String Quarterback Jacques Cheatham PHI
All-League First-String Running Back Douglas Cleary WAS
All-League First-String Fullback Myron Peterson SEA
All-League First-String Tight End Carson Dittman IND
All-League First-String Wide Receiver Josh Andruzzi HOU
All-League First-String Wide Receiver Dan Doyle KCY
All-League First-String Center Victor Surdyk NYJ
All-League First-String Offensive Guard Kirk Copeland CIN
All-League First-String Offensive Guard August Dempsey STL
All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Ned Ford NED
All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Kenneth Craft CHI
All-League First-String Punter Lionel Connell KCY
All-League First-String Kicker Scott Schultz NOS
All-League First-String Defensive End Willie Chenoweth DEN
All-League First-String Defensive End Brian Kavanagh HOU
All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Bryant Magana TBY
All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Tod Greco NOS
All-League First-String Inside Linebacker Angel Montoya CIN
All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Leon Coughlin GBY
All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Edward Crandell SFO
All-League First-String Cornerback Douglas Downing NYG
All-League First-String Cornerback Nathanial Stiles TBY
All-League First-String Safety Tony Dancy CHI
All-League First-String Safety Thomas Huth TBY
All-League Second-String Quarterback Jarod Russell MIA
All-League Second-String Running Back Jeremy Coble BUF
All-League Second-String Fullback Michael Potts SFO
All-League Second-String Tight End Tory Hammock TEN
All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Shannon Gadsden NED
All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Harold Skeen JAX
All-League Second-String Center Lawrence Niles WAS
All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Randall Ayotte SEA
All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Nicolas Rosenfeld SFO
All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Dennis Rameriz BUF
All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Andres Sullins PHI
All-League Second-String Punter Corwin Hughes DEN
All-League Second-String Kicker Clifton Randle SEA
All-League Second-String Defensive End Cole Harrison STL
**All-League Second-String Defensive End Butch Holton CLE
All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Weldon Maggard DAL
**All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Gary Cascadden CLE
All-League Second-String Inside Linebacker Hayden Brown CAR
All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Micheal Stone PIT
All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Jerry Padron TEN
All-League Second-String Cornerback Vincent Seals SEA
All-League Second-String Cornerback Jose Moffatt IND
All-League Second-String Safety Major Hargett MIA
All-League Second-String Safety Scott Jacobs BAL
League's Fastest Man A.J. Ralston SFO
League's Strongest Man Kermit Simmons CIN
Philly’s QB Jacques Cheatham has become the uber-player, bringing down the league MVP award three years running, and now leading his team to the title.
I’m glad to see my two stalwart defensive linemen making the all-pro team, much deservedly, I think. With so many injuries, having two guys make it the whole way and do so well was a key ingredient in our relative success.
Season Wrap-up
Another season basically at the same level. We play good enough defense, no matter who’s actually slotted in the lineup, that we win a good number of games. But I don’t know that we really have all the answers on offense. Marco Clancy was adequate, and will push to start next year – but does he have enough weapons?
We’ll have tough free agent decisions in the coming offseason, and I don’t really know whether we ought to pursue retaining players (especially ones who have had injury problems) or re-stocking with new faces.
Regardless, it’s a good dilemma to be in – standing at 12-4 and trying to decide how to get better.