2012 Regular Season
In the preseason, we lose FB Mickey Woodson for the year – so rookie Eric Pritchett will get celled right into service. He’s more versatile than Woodson, and I suspect he will end up working into the passing game more than we would have expected Woodson to have.
In our opener, it’s a pretty predictable outcome – we get a nice big day out of Marco Clancy, a big play for a TD from our defense, and a comfortable victory. Clancy gets the game ball with 4 TD passes, and we look pretty comfortable in our more pass-inclined offense.
After our second win, both Clancy and Arsenault are dinged up. Arsenault will take the second chair in the running game behind Ramsey, but I’ll keep Clancy in. Ramsey delivers with just over 100 yards, and we get 6 for 6 from K Jeremy Vallejo, and an 18-0 win.
We get to 4-0, and have barely been challenged. Clancy is 10/5, and if e can keep up the 2:1 ratio, we will be in good shape. We get two more pretty easy wins, and at 6-0, look very good. Marco Clancy’s 14 TDs are tied for the league lead, and his 95.8 passer rating is better than anything we have ever seen from our team.
We have injuries at wide receiver – with both Rose and Rose out for the season. I hit the free agent pool, and grab an old friend – WR Nathan O’Rourke. He played for Oakland then New Orleans the last two seasons – we welcome him back, and will use his versatile skills in the passing and return game.
We lose at Kansas City, ending our winning streak at six games to open the season. We get back on track with two more wins, but then we have a shift in our season. At 8-1, we have a prolific passing attack, but now we’ve lost QB Marco Clancy for six weeks, and even backup James Houston is dinged up. This will be a challenge.
And just in time for us to travel to 7-2 Cincinnati – our closest rivals in the division. James Houston, though, delivers under the gun – with 3 TDs to lead us to a 24-6 win. The following week, we beat Pittsburgh 13-10 with a last second field goal from Vallejo. That sets up a matchup with 10-1 Houston – a showdown for the conference top seed. In the big showdown, we manage to get a 17-14 win in overtime, moving to 11-1 on the season.
We are facing a serious problem at WR, with so many injured players that we are filling holes with whatever we can find. I grab a rookie RB to try to fill in at both RB and WR, and we now have our rookie starting FB also slotted as the #2 running back. Everyone who can play is being called into service. Of course, in one game, the new face at RB is immediately dropped onto the IR list – this is downright tragic.
Not even through the season – here’s our injury report:
Code:
Player # Pos Start Health Injury Full Strn.
**Rodgers, Clifton 31 RB Out Pulled Quadriceps8 Weeks
**Woodson, Mickey 36 FB Out ACL Damage to the7 Weeks
**Ellard, Jimmy 87 FL Out Ruptured Elbow Te27 Weeks
**Rose, Mickey 89 SE Out MCL Damage to the7 Weeks
**Causey, Marvin 86 SE Out Separated Shoulde3 Weeks
**Gustafson, Harvey 75 RDT Out ACL Knee Surgery 21 Weeks
##Aguilera, Danny 30 RB Doubtful Hyperextended Kne2 Weeks
O'Rourke, Nathan 80 FL Doubtful Pulled Groin 4 Weeks
Clancy, Marco 8 QB Questionable Broken Ribs 2 Weeks
Ramsey, Kendrick 32 RB Questionable Pulled Calf Muscl2 Weeks
Hendrix, Tim 99 RDE RDE Questionable Sprained Knee 3 Weeks
Houston, James 7 QB QB Probable Strained Triceps 2 Weeks
Arsenault, Roderick 33 RB RB Probable Knee Tendinitis 2 Weeks
Holmes, Jonathan 18 TE TE Probable Bruised Heel 2 Weeks
Fox, Jimmy 93 LDE Probable Deep Thigh Bruise2 Weeks
Oliveira, Willie 76 LDT RDT Probable Knee Tendinitis 2 Weeks
Goodwin, Cedric 92 MLB MLB Probable Sprained Thumb 3 Weeks
We win another in OT, over Baltimore, and we have the division all wrapped up. TE Jonathan Holmes has regained the lead in receptions and receiving yards, despite only making seven starts this year. He has had a few pretty big games along the way.
In our finale, we get Marco Clancy back into the starting lineup – back and healthy, and ready for a playoff run. We trash Cincinnati, and manage to put together a 15-1 season, easily earning the conference’s top seed.
Code:
2012 Regular Season Standings
AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Cleveland 15 1 0 .938 413 201 11-1 6-0
Baltimore 9 7 0 .563 322 249 7-5 3-3
Pittsburgh 9 7 0 .563 257 297 6-6 2-4
Cincinnati 9 7 0 .563 295 343 6-6 1-5
AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Houston 12 4 0 .750 351 273 8-4 3-3
Tennessee 8 8 0 .500 296 268 6-6 3-3
Jacksonville 7 9 0 .438 378 338 6-6 3-3
Indianapolis 5 11 0 .313 311 348 4-8 3-3
AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Miami 10 6 0 .625 281 257 8-4 4-2
Buffalo 7 9 0 .438 348 313 5-7 3-3
New England 7 9 0 .438 272 319 5-7 3-3
New York J 6 10 0 .375 291 353 4-8 2-4
AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Kansas City 9 7 0 .563 317 314 7-5 5-1
San Diego 7 9 0 .438 271 330 6-6 3-3
Oakland 5 10 1 .344 269 301 4-8 3-3
Denver 4 12 0 .250 297 410 3-9 1-5
NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Minnesota 10 6 0 .625 356 290 8-4 5-1
Chicago 7 7 2 .500 355 354 5-5-2 3-2-1
Detroit 7 8 1 .469 286 295 5-6-1 1-4-1
Green Bay 7 9 0 .438 356 391 5-7 2-4
NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Carolina 13 3 0 .813 393 251 10-2 5-1
New Orleans 11 5 0 .688 426 308 7-5 4-2
Atlanta 8 7 1 .531 342 347 5-7 3-3
Tampa Bay 2 14 0 .125 211 370 2-10 0-6
NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Washington 10 6 0 .625 358 307 7-5 4-2
New York G 7 9 0 .438 291 337 6-6 3-3
Philadelphia 6 10 0 .375 279 325 6-6 3-3
Dallas 3 13 0 .188 299 422 3-9 2-4
NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
San Francisco 16 0 0 1.000 409 196 12-0 6-0
Seattle 7 8 1 .469 270 283 5-6-1 2-4
Arizona 7 9 0 .438 258 287 5-7 3-3
St. Louis 3 13 0 .188 194 375 3-9 1-5
Odd – after winning two titles, the Eagles fall apart and drop out of the playoff picture altogether. But the real story across the way is the 49ers, who rolled to a 16-0 perfect regular season, and have their sights set on the league’s first flawless finish. We, among other teams, aim to prevent that.
Curiously, the 49ers got key contributions from a couple of ex-Browns. RB Daniel Newman is their main ball carrier (over 1,000 yards this season) and they picked up QB Tyrone Glover to be their backup this year (he started and won three games).
Code:
2012 Summary for Cleveland Browns
Record: 15-1
Winning Pct.: .937
Cleveland Browns Team Rank
Rushes 459 9
Rushing Yards 1810 12
Yards Per Carry 3.94 19 (T)
Pass Attempts 626 2
Completions 391 1
Passing Yards 3745 10
Yards Per Attempt 5.98 27
3rd Down Conversions 44.3 10 (T)
Points Per Game 25.8 2
Turnovers 25 15 (T)
Turnover Margin +6 7
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 362 4
Rushing Yards 1168 1
Yards Per Carry 3.22 1
Pass Attempts 563 20
Completions 276 1 (T)
Passing Yards 3137 2
Yards Per Attempt 5.57 1
3rd Down Conversions 29.3 1
Points Per Game 12.5 2
Turnovers 31 4
Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 37 at PIT 14
2 26 WAS 15
3 18 at BUF 0
5 41 DEN 16
6 28 OAK 5
7 30 at SDO 13
8 21 at KCY 24
9 29 at BAL 25
10 20 PIT 7
11 24 at CIN 6
12 13 PHI 10
13 17 HOU 14
14 23 at NYG 21
15 20 BAL 17
16 28 at DAL 7
17 38 CIN 7
Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
8 Clancy QB 311 186 2012 6.46 18 8
7 Houston QB 297 194 1654 5.56 13 9
**Team --- 626 391 3745 5.98 31 17
Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
33 Arsenault RB 260 1066 4.10 6
32 Ramsey RB 100 416 4.16 1
45 Pritchett FB 49 181 3.69 1
**Team --- 459 1810 3.94 9
Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
18 Holmes TE 132 90 864 9.6 165 6
85 Sasser WR 122 69 818 11.8 181 6
81 Blair WR 120 68 760 11.1 108 9
45 Pritchett FB 70 44 278 6.3 88 1
86 Causey WR 47 32 337 10.5 36 5
80 O'Rourke WR 32 16 229 14.3 35 0
**Team --- 626 391 3745 9.5 767 31
Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
55 Davis ILB 87 32 13.0 11 1 7
91 DiGiacomo OLB 70 26 6.5 0 0 4
24 Weed S 67 26 1.0 0 2 10
92 Goodwin ILB 61 15 1.5 0 5 6
72 Cascadden DT 55 22 8.5 12 0 0
20 Eskridge S 52 25 1.5 1 2 10
43 Richmond CB 50 13 2.0 0 2 11
25 Maxwell CB 46 9 0.0 1 5 23
76 Oliveira DT 36 16 5.5 8 0 1
99 Hendrix DE 34 11 10.0 25 0 1
39 Callens CB 29 4 1.5 0 1 13
90 Casey ILB 28 8 0.0 1 2 2
94 Moseley DE 27 12 5.5 5 0 0
52 Regalado OLB 16 1 1.5 4 0 1
**Team --- 786 239 68.0 87 20 92
A solid season from both of our young quarterbacks – put their stats together, and you’d have an all-star candidate, I think. Arsenault is declining, but still productive – and we got good effort out of Ramsey when he played as well. TE Jonathan Holmes played very well when healthy – he will be a tough decision for next season.
Defensively, a great season from free agent LB Curtis Davis, who delivered a star-caliber season playing at strong side linebacker. DT Gary Cascadden helped anchor a great defensive front, and we put up the double: #1 in yards per rush and pass. Only SF allowed fewer points on the season – the defense was just superior.
Well, with two teams towering over their respective conferences like this, it would be a shame to see anything but a giant showdown in the Superbowl. We will try our level best to deliver on that.