2017 Regular Season
No massive injuries during the preseason, so we are primed and ready for the real thing. Indeed, QB Tyron Glover had a monstrous preseason, and looked sharp in all four games. Good sign for us. Turns out we will need him right away – Deion Brock has a groin pull, and Glover will have to start the season as the #1 option. Great.
Our other injury adjustment is moving LB Kurt Dodge into the reserve ranks at DE, so he will see time at both LB and at DE. (An injury to Jimmy Fox necessitated this) He’s a much better pass rusher than any of our true defensive ends, so we will get him time there when the situation warrants. This probably drops his overall playing time, but might make him more valuable to us overall. We’ll see how it works out.
Week 1: Cincinnati at Cleveland
We are outrushed, outgained, and outplayed at home in our opener, and drop a 20-13 one to division rival Cinti. Tough way to start out – we looked lost out there. Tyrone Glover dumping off the the outlet receivers, and we never get anything going at all. Ouch.
Week 2: Cleveland (0-1) at Minnesota (0-1)
An absolutely crazy game here – five total TDs scored by the defense or special teams, as we light up the scoreboard but lose 51-45 in overtime. Deion Brock’s four interceptions (not like him) are very costly – three are returned for scores, including one in the fourth quarter, and another in overtime.
Week 3: Cleveland (0-2) at Denver (1-1)
The “house of cards” concept is taking shape, I fear – and we are looking desperate. Venerable star QB Kim Roux leads the Broncos to a nice 31-23 win, and we are suddenly staring at 0-3. It’s been a long, long time since we were here.
Key stat so far: 4.53 yards per carry we are allowing. Wow.
Week 4: Tennessee (2-1) at Cleveland (0-3)
We finally come through with a good game – holding the Titans to 65 yards rushing and taking a 17-10 win at home. Very much needed. No turnovers, no sacks allowed, good game.
Week 5: Cleveland (1-3) at Jacksonville (2-2)
We dominate the rematch of our AFC championship game from last season, 22-6. Another nearly error-free game, and our run defense is getting its act together, it would seem.
Week 6: Cleveland (2-3) at Houston (1-3)
Just when we think we have momentum back on our side, we drop a stinker in Houston, losing 24-10. Deion Brock reinjures his groin, and we are ineffective without him. RB Gus Stewart I having all kinds of trouble this season – here he ends up with a measly 41 yards.
Week 7: Cleveland (2-4) at Baltimore (4-2)
We’re used to looking at these mid-season division games as a way to open up the gap – here we want to close it a little. Howie Gordon (long time ago Browns QB) leads the Ravens to a win here, 13-10, and our misery continues. The wheels have truly fallen of the wagon now.
Week 8: Indianapolis (5-2) at Cleveland (2-5)
We show signs of our former selves here, with a nice 34-17 win. Deion Brock is subbed in for an injured Tyrone Glover, and Brock is effective despite his nagging injury. Stewart goes over 100 yards, and things look pretty sharp. What gives?
This is our halfway point – where we usually share the major team stats. Not quite as peppy this time around, though:
Code:
2017 Summary for Cleveland Browns
Record: 3-5
Winning Pct.: .375
Cleveland Browns Team Rank
Rushes 217 11 (T)
Rushing Yards 857 13
Yards Per Carry 3.94 18
Pass Attempts 268 7
Completions 155 12
Passing Yards 1732 14
Yards Per Attempt 6.46 20
3rd Down Conversions 37.3 22
Points Per Game 21.7 7
Turnovers 11 20 (T)
Turnover Margin -1 16 (T)
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 227 29 (T)
Rushing Yards 853 21
Yards Per Carry 3.75 10 (T)
Pass Attempts 258 22
Completions 153 19 (T)
Passing Yards 1860 27
Yards Per Attempt 7.20 24
3rd Down Conversions 40.0 16
Points Per Game 21.5 23 (T)
Turnovers 10 13 (T)
Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
2 Brock QB 185 109 1249 6.75 10 4
1 Glover QB 82 46 483 5.89 3 1
**Team --- 268 155 1732 6.46 13 5
Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
39 Stewart RB 139 574 4.12 1
36 Baker RB 57 241 4.22 0
**Team --- 217 857 3.94 1
Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
**Team --- 425 128 20.0 34 8 30
Too early to write off the season, but two or three more losses might get us there, unbelievably enough. We need to get Deion Brock healthy, and get this offense clicking again.
Week 9: Pittsburgh (4-4) at Cleveland (3-5)
Glover and Brock have to tag team at QB again, but it works, and we win a 34-11 morale booster. We’re seeing the old Gus Stewart again – 172 yards rushing, plus a TD catch. Good showing, overall.
Tyrone Glover has hurt his knee, and now we have t sign Melvin Irwin – the journeyman who filled in for us last season, to be our #2 for at least a few weeks.
Week 10 is our much-needed bye, but we have some good and interesting news. DE Seth Hartman is coming along pretty well with his injury, and could be ready to play this season – maybe even within a couple of weeks. We don’t want to rush him, but boy would that help us out.
Week 11: Cleveland (4-5) at Cincinnati (4-5)
The offense looks sharp again, Deion Brock finishes the game on his feet, and we wallop the Bengals 31-10.
Week 12: Chicago (5-5) at Cleveland (5-5)
Even with a totally patchwork DL, we manage to throttle the Bears, and at 6-5 we are suddenly back in the postseason picture. We’re three full games behind Baltimore, so we are probably only in the WC hunt – but right now, 6-5 is good enough to get in. There are five teams within a game of us- so we need to keep up the solid play.
Week 13: New York Jets (9-2) at Cleveland (6-5)
Huge game – we really need this win, against a very tough team. Tyrone Glover is out again, but we’ll be hoping to see Deion Brock stay in the whole way this week. We activate Jimmy Fox and even Seth Hartman for the game, and hope to have a newly energized defensive line ready to play.
Deion Brock throws three TD passes, and leads the offense along the way to a 24-12 win over the Jets. Our running game is basically stopped, but our defense plays very well. DE Jimmy Fox is felled again with another injury, but DE Hartman makes it through okay – only 2 tackles, but he’s another usable body out there, and that means an awful lot for us right now.
Week 14: Detroit (4-8) at Cleveland (7-5)
We’re mostly back in shape, back to good solid football, few mistakes, and another 20-13 win. DE Hartman has 6 tackles and a sack – and his arrival into the lineup couldn’t be more welcome.
Meanwhile, in the NFC, Dallas is at 13-0, and threatening to put up a perfect season.
Week 15: Cleveland (8-5) at Pittsburgh (7-6)
This is a huge game – Pittsburgh is the only team remaining a game within us for the last wild cards spot – we stand at #6, they stand at #7, but if they win here, we lose control of our own destiny.
Gus Stewart shows them a real “bus” and he rolls for 197 yards to lead us to a 34-28 win, and a virtual lock for the wild card spot. Brock made one big mistake (interception for TD) but overcame that and steered us clear the rest of the way to a big win.
The good luck for DE Seth Hartman could only last for so long. He has been reinjured, and now will definitely miss the rest of this year – and maybe next year as well. We reach out to old friend Lincoln Limon, who comes back aboard for a short-term deal.
Week 16: Cleveland (9-5) at Green Bay (3-11)
It’s closer than we would have liked, but we escape with a win, 33-31. Now, even poor Lincoln Limon is out with an injury, and we are basically suiting up beer vendors to come play defensive tackle for us. It’s a comedy of errors. The thing is – our last game isn’t exactly meaningless…
Week 17: Baltimore (11-4) at Cleveland (10-5)
Believe it or not, we could still win the division. With a win here, at home, we would pull even with the Ravens, and split the season series. We would have the better division record, and I believe that means we’d be division champs. It’s fairly likely that we’ll end up facing the Ravens again in the opening week of the playoffs – but we’d rather play at our place than theirs.
It’s a tough battle, as expected, but we end up pulling it out, 19-16, and cap off an improbable late-season run to end up the 11-5 division winners. Our defense, bless their tired little souls, played a great game – the only TD Baltimore scored was on a fumble recovery. Unbelievable.
Code:
2017 Regular Season Standings
AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Cleveland 11 5 0 .688 410 299 8-4 4-2
Baltimore 11 5 0 .688 326 243 8-4 3-3
Cincinnati 9 7 0 .563 344 322 5-7 3-3
Pittsburgh 7 9 0 .438 370 408 4-8 2-4
AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Tennessee 13 3 0 .813 415 293 9-3 5-1
Indianapolis 11 5 0 .688 322 278 9-3 5-1
Houston 7 9 0 .438 270 336 4-8 1-5
Jacksonville 6 10 0 .375 317 342 4-8 1-5
AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New York J 13 3 0 .813 347 241 10-2 6-0
Buffalo 7 8 1 .469 256 299 5-6-1 2-3-1
Miami 5 10 1 .344 231 320 4-7-1 2-4
New England 4 11 1 .281 258 332 3-8-1 1-4-1
AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Oakland 9 7 0 .563 330 303 7-5 4-2
Denver 7 8 1 .469 369 325 7-4-1 5-1
Kansas City 5 11 0 .313 258 299 4-8 3-3
San Diego 3 13 0 .188 230 344 3-9 0-6
NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Minnesota 12 4 0 .750 386 353 10-2 5-1
Detroit 6 10 0 .375 250 280 6-6 3-3
Chicago 6 10 0 .375 309 367 5-7 1-5
Green Bay 3 13 0 .188 241 380 3-9 3-3
NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New Orleans 12 4 0 .750 491 258 9-3 6-0
Atlanta 10 6 0 .625 325 302 6-6 3-3
Carolina 7 9 0 .438 278 295 5-7 2-4
Tampa Bay 4 12 0 .250 286 424 4-8 1-5
NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Dallas 15 1 0 .938 386 277 11-1 5-1
Philadelphia 10 6 0 .625 355 314 7-5 4-2
Washington 9 7 0 .563 298 218 5-7 2-4
New York G 4 12 0 .250 260 369 2-10 1-5
NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
St. Louis 9 7 0 .563 246 257 6-6 3-3
San Francisco 8 8 0 .500 289 341 7-5 4-2
Seattle 8 8 0 .500 301 264 7-5 3-3
Arizona 3 13 0 .188 301 372 3-9 2-4
Dallas, obviously, slipped along the way to their perfect season – but still will be a major player in the title fight. Tough to say how much of a player we will be – we’ll be playing in the wild card round for the first time in years – and we won’t get that nice week of rest that we really, really could use this season.
Code:
2017 Summary for Cleveland Browns
Record: 11-5
Winning Pct.: .687
Cleveland Browns Team Rank
Rushes 489 4 (T)
Rushing Yards 2117 3
Yards Per Carry 4.32 7
Pass Attempts 480 28
Completions 296 25 (T)
Passing Yards 3384 22
Yards Per Attempt 7.05 12
3rd Down Conversions 42.3 12
Points Per Game 25.6 3
Turnovers 18 6 (T)
Turnover Margin +3 11 (T)
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 415 8
Rushing Yards 1535 3
Yards Per Carry 3.69 4
Pass Attempts 551 24 (T)
Completions 312 14
Passing Yards 3779 24 (T)
Yards Per Attempt 6.85 21
3rd Down Conversions 41.3 20
Points Per Game 18.6 12 (T)
Turnovers 21 18 (T)
Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 13 CIN 20
2 45 at MIN 51
3 23 at DEN 31
4 17 TEN 10
5 22 at JAX 6
6 10 at HOU 24
7 10 at BAL 13
8 34 IND 17
9 34 PIT 11
11 31 at CIN 10
12 41 CHI 6
13 24 NYJ 12
14 20 DET 13
15 34 at PIT 28
16 33 at GBY 31
17 19 BAL 16
$$WC IND
Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
2 Brock QB 381 236 2712 7.11 24 5
1 Glover QB 95 57 648 6.82 6 2
**Team --- 480 296 3384 7.05 31 7
Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
39 Stewart RB 328 1469 4.47 7
36 Baker RB 108 536 4.96 1
**Team --- 489 2117 4.32 8
Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
39 Stewart RB 84 60 471 7.8 202 5
80 Sellers TE 96 55 612 11.1 169 6
87 Newsome WR 85 47 627 13.3 125 5
84 Burroughs WR 80 44 605 13.7 82 10
81 Haass WR 46 26 308 11.8 50 0
83 Tilton WR 38 23 422 18.3 55 2
45 Brandon FB 26 23 166 7.2 74 3
**Team --- 480 296 3384 11.4 830 31
Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
55 Davis ILB 117 24 9.5 13 0 3
97 Blackwell ILB 107 44 1.0 3 3 10
24 Weed S 86 30 0.5 2 1 8
20 Eskridge S 85 21 1.5 1 3 11
40 Diaz CB 52 21 0.0 0 1 13
91 Dodge OLB 50 23 3.0 6 1 6
34 Callens CB 35 10 0.0 1 0 5
92 Ashford DT 35 15 2.5 1 0 0
50 Upshaw ILB 34 12 0.0 1 2 2
95 Jaramillo DE 31 8 7.0 29 0 0
47 Arnold S 23 7 0.5 0 1 2
46 Caston CB 21 4 1.0 1 1 3
70 Lane DE 18 3 4.0 5 0 0
**Team --- 811 246 42.0 89 13 66
Okay – let’s wrap up. QB Deion Brock had an unbelievable season. He had 4 interceptions in his debut against Minnesota, then only threw one more all year long. A 98.8 passer rating seems to show that last year’s numbers were no fluke. If he could have stayed healthy to play all 16 games, he could be in the MVP running. He actually saw his skills develop this year, too – we may not have seen his best yet.
Gus Stewart, despite a slow start, finished in his usual spot – a stone’s throw short of 2,000 total yards. He was again our top receiver for the season. As we started the year, I asked for 600 yards and 6 TDs from TE Sellers – and he delivered within 2% of that total, positively uncanny. (No sleight of editing there, either, I assure you)
Defensively, this was awful – we fielded so many combinations of guys on the DL it made my head spin (except Jerome Jaramillo, who stayed healthy all season long). But at the end of the line, we get the #3 defense in yards per carry allowed. Unbelievable. We were a little bit soft against the pass, and we saw CB Zach Callens finally lose his touch (an 18.4 rating this year) but overall, it’s hard to complain with the results.
We’ll shuffle ahead, and put together the best group we can for the playoff opener – at home.