Village Challenge II - 2028 and beyond

[Darkiller]

Village Challenge II

Season 2028

For 2027 :
Team Performance : 72/100
Franchise Value : 100/100
Profit Loss : 58/100
Difficulty : 74/100

YEAR END SCORE : 78

Please welcome the following players for induction
into the Hall of Fame this season:
Donny Dayoc
Mercury Oliver
Deron Gunn
Adam Foley
Vincent Winslett

Two players retired : DE Sedrick Copeland and CB Roy Mathews.
Unfortunately Lee clark decided to hang on for a 16th season and I am forced to franchise him...This is a blow to this team, but nothing we can do about it.

I decide to keep our Head coach Courtney Joseph and lead Scout Erik Johann since they've done a remarkable job so far and both still have outstanding skills (especially Courtney).

45 players are already signed for 2028 and only 1 starter is a FA (S Arnold Storey) but QB Clark is a keeper so no need to question any move : he HAS to be franchised.

Financially speaking, we are not that good : our profit last year went down by 85% and our costs jumped 12% (this explains our 58/100 in profit).
Still the attendance is 100% (fan loyalty as well) and we made the playoffs for a 25th time in 29 seasons so I will raise ticket prices a little.

We are currently $48,410,000 under the cap and i'm now going to renegociate a bunch of contracts of high profile players. We need to cut our costs a bit but as I said, the Lee Clark unretired issue is a blow since he will NOT start and will cost us a lot.
Except Clark we only have 5 players FA including 11 year S Arnold Storey which we will try to resign -but we won't be "agressive"- ; we won't keep the other 4 backup FAs.

Our team is so good at every positions that it is kind of scary : we don't have any particular need and i feel like a spoiled child. The thing is, though, we actually have too many "star" players that are -it's obvious- expensive.
I don't want our Browns team to become the FOF version of the 2000 Washington Redskins.
So I may trade some players this year or the next to make room for younger, cheaper players.

Instead of going "strong" in the free agent market (which is an expensive market and -sorry- but we NEED to be more careful financially wise), I will look for trades. I'm most willing to give up a couple 1st round picks for nice cheaper veteran players.

Free-Agency :
Starting Safety Arnold Storey decided to accept our 1 year $5M offer. And we also signed a backup Center Lamont Walz (5 year Vet, former 1st round pick -31st overall in 2024-) who has some good capacities and should be an efficient backup to starter Leo Sheldon.

Trade Offers :
The Detroit Lions have inquired about Kurt Wiese and are willing to give their n°1 pick this year (16th) + FB Hunter Shreiber.
The New York Giants come up with an interesting offer : their n°1 pick (7th) + a Center for RB Casey Beyer.
Both offers are rejected though.

The 2028 NFL Draft :

We own three 1st round picks (10th, 15th, 31st) as well as a 2nd, 3rd and a 4th rounder.

The Quarterback issue :
Now we have to be serious on the QB topic.
No more fooling around from one guy to another we have to settle on a prospect and STICK with him long term.
I said many times I didn't like Lee Clark, and he proved me right since he never really fullfilled the expectations placed in him. Anyways, barring devastating injuries, he won't start this year.
On the roster we currently have two young QBs :
Dwight Benson (6 year vet) who is now pretty advanced in his "developpement" and had has winning experience.
the other QB being Sammy McKnight (3 year vet) who has NEVER started any game and is still a "work in progress" compared to Benson.
Both, though, have great potential (and both were 2nd rounders).
Benson is a 5"11 QB whereas McKnight is 6"4 (this COUNTS for me )
Actually 6"4 is one inch taller than what I look for (6"2 - 6"3) but this McKnight guy seems to have intangibles that I like and he reminds me of a young Blaine Davies or some great QBs that i've had over my careers.
A look at this year's draft QB prospects and no one stands at all except for a certain Leo James (6"2 220 pounds out of Kansas) but i'm not thrilled.
So basically the options are as following : either stich with Benson OR McKnight...or trade for a QB...or wait until next year.
We will adress that AFTER the draft.

With no particular need and no outstanding prospects, this draft is not what I envisionned so it is Trade time ! and will benefit from it greatly
I trade our 1st pick (10th) + our 2nd rounder for Minnesota's top flight TE Marvin Welch !!!
Welch is arguably the best TE in all of the NFLn he was the 7th overall pick in 2023.
He is young (6 year vet) with umbelievable ratings (98/95/97/97/96/92/98) !!!
the scouts rate Marvin Welch currently at 94 with an future estimate of 99 !
This is a huge trade since we couldn't have done a better job in the draft with that 1st pick.


2028 Draft Report:

Rnd 1 (10th) - pick traded to the Vikings for NFL's best TE Marvin Welch

Rnd 1 (15th) - Reuben Hopkins, G, Wesleyan (27/74 32/94 68) scouts say he has a potential of 96 which would make him a star..he's currently at 38 (4th G out of 5 on roster)

Rnd 1 (31st) - Leo James, QB, Kansas (23/68 30/91 25/84 20/74 22/85 90 26/84 17/58 96 84)
Scouts rate his with a future at 86. Hiw weakness is his throwing power (58) but he is a great scrambler (96) and could avoid the pressure by using his legs. Doesn't seem -at 1st glance- as talented as Benson or McKnight but except from the throwing power rating, could be special. Will be tested in Pre-season.

Rnd 3 - Alex Holmes, CB, Texas A&M (5/17 2/10 35 100 97 11) absolutely horrible ratings except for...Kick and Punt returns where he will be a blast to watch. He's already a lock for returning those and I hope for a bunch of TDs this year.

Rnd 4 - Warren Lewis, CB, Boise State (26/65 23/52 44 70 96 65) Nothing too special about him, will be a backup if he makes the team.


Trade Offers
The Jaguars want G Duane Henson,
The Rams want Kurt Wiese and the Colts want...newly acquired TE Marvin Welch
all trades are rejected again.

We sign every players and waive backup CB Lincoln Lindsay.
I will keep all 4 QBs on the roster for the Pre-Season and i'll make some clear cut decisions for our future after it.

We then trade long time Starting TE Bruce Pearson (14 year vet now, replaced by Welch) + a 1st rounder next year + a 4th rounder for Kansas City's Kicker Blaine Chandler (ranked 2nd among NFL Kickers).
K Chandler is just in his 3rd NFL season (2nd in the NFL only to a 15 year vet) and has great ratings of 80/84 98 96.
We release Kicker Moe Riley.

We trade 7th LB Jim Rich (a promising young one but we arlready more than full at the position) for the Eagles n°1 DE D.J Givens.
Then we sign FA DT Darnell Starks (a good player that gives us some much need space at the DT position)

We release 3rd RB Moe Flemming, saving us some cap room, and we sign FA RB Otis Hawkinks to take his job at a lower cost, Hawkinks being also slightly better than Flemming.

We are $30,060,000 under the cap at the start of the pre-season
The Browns sell 99,900 season tickets for the season out of a capacity of 99,900.

After training camp we sign FA T Van Chandler (84 82 63) to a 1 year $2M deal.

The Browns are "worth" $2,532,360,000 (1st NFL)
Stadium (98) 1st
Roster (100) 1st
Support (99) 1st
Economy (54) 13th

Pre-season along with QB analysis :

We finish the preseason 3-1 and the offense looks as good as ever recording 35, 34 and 43 points in 3 of the 4 games we played.
At QB we played McNight, Leo James and Benson and let Lee Clark be inactive all the time.
the result was very very positive for the young QBs and Sammy McNight, though listed at 66 (to 77 for Benson) WILL BE the Browns starting QB.
I believe he has more upside than Benson. As for rookie Leo James, he had a very good pre-season and will develop into a true QB soon.

McNight 15/22 134 3 1 *** 9/15 123 1 0 *** 11/17 132 1 0 *** 7/8 102 3 0
Benson 8/11 120 1 0
James 8/18 105 0 1 *** 7/12 62 0 0 *** 12/15 163 2 0

Pre-Season Totals (for the 2QBs that played in more than 1 game) :
Sammy McNight 42/62 (67,7%) 491yards 8TDs 1INT
Leo James 27/45 (60%) 330yards 2TDs 1INT

Injury Report:

Nate Borders, RB - Torn Thumb Ligament, full strength in 2-3 Months
Brenden Swift, DT - Broken Arm, full strength in 2-3 Months
D.J. Givens, DE - Hyperextended Knee, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Herb Dill, T - Sprained Ankle, full strength in 0-2 Weeks

The first two are big blows to this football team. Nate "the bookstore" Borders is as talented a RB as we've ever had but i'm starting to question his ability to stay healthy. Hopefully he can rest his wounds quicker than what the docs envision.

I've made the decision to go with McNight and develop him into an All-League QB and a future great. Benson was told of the front office's decision yesterday and didn't say more than this " I expected something like this to happen since i didn't play a lot in pre-season. Browns want to go in another direction than what i expected, too bad...but i'll look for an opportunity to start anyways".

Also good to see that in the 3rd pre-season game (a win over Saint Louis) Casey Beyer had a HUGE game : 21 carries for 193yards 9.1yds/c 3TDs !

Roster Cohesion :

passing (73)
Off Line (92)
Deff front (93)
secondary (87)

Sammy McNight is the Cleveland Browns starting QB and Leo James is the backup. Dwight Benson will be the 3rd stringer and Lee Clark will be inactive.
I take some big risks here letting the top two QBs (according to scouts) at positions #3 and inactive but this will pay in the long run. I have no doubts about it.
Sammy McNight will become a great QB and Leo James will have a fine career either as his backup or better.

McNight, entering his 3rd NFL season, has only thrown 14 passes so far and will make sunday his very first Regular Season start.
He picked jersey #8 because as he said wednesday to the media "Steve Young was my favourite QB, though i wasn't even born when he retired after the '99 season..."



[This message has been edited by Darkiller (edited 01-14-2001).]

[Darkiller]

regular season 2028 starts :

Week 1 Browns @ Lions (Bucs were 9-7 last year) - 5pt fav : L 10-14
The offense didn't not click in Sammy's first start. Casey Beyer left the game early in the 2nd quarter and Borders -though injured- had to step in and play despite being diminuted.
Also, we had a tremendous amount of game injuries as our offensive starters on the line all were injured at some point during the game.
McNight was sharp in the first half before those injuries forced him to throw more downfield and his play deteriorated...
It will probably take some time for him to adjust and be the leader the Browns are expecting since Blaine Davies and let's not forget that Blaine's first few games were terrible.

McNight 20/38 245yards 1TD 2INTs
Borders 15 for 54 yards
Etaton 7 catches for 87 yards 1 TD
Chapman had 1 sack and Storey and Gordon each had 7 tackles.

RB Nate Borders is now out long term with a torn thumb ligament. He is placed on IR.
In the meantime we sign FA RB Karl Andersen to provide some depth at the position.
Casey Beyer will carry the team at RB this year. with the young McNight starting, I hope he'll deliver.

****************
IMPORTANT

I just took note that Subby made QB Dwight Benson one of his two keepers. Actually it had me change a few things already since I considered trading him even before pre-season. My plan was to keep McNight, James and Clark and make a MEGATRADE with Benson. After Lee Clark not retiring...now i have the one i expected to trade, that i must keep lol.
complicated. So as for now, I'll keep 4 QBs on the roster (a first for me) and i leave myself a few weeks to decide what I do about it.
So Sub, i'm sorry about it, really, but I had made my mind about all this before your post actually so i can't turn back and start Benson now that i made my decision on McNight. The good thing, though, is that Benson is STILL on the team...and who knows what can happen.
***************

Dwight Benson gets the n°2 job back from rookie 1st rounder Leo James since he's now secured to stay a Brown now that Subby made him his keeper.

Week 2 Browns (0-1) Vs Steelers (0-1) - 9pt fav : W 23-13
The first win of McNight's career and he played a very solid game. The running game wasn't too good with Casey Beyer going from a 15yard run one time to a -10yards the next time. Was tough to "build" any drives. Kicker Chandler (whom we traded for) was 3/3 in FGs and made a 57 yarder

McNight 17/29 211yards 2TDs 0INT
Beyer 23 for 62 yards
Welch 3 catches for 54 yards
Theophilakos had an interception


Week 3 Browns (1-1) @ Bengals (2-0) - 3pt dog : W 27-14
A huge win...going at Cincinnati against an undefeated Bengals team and coming back with such a performance feels good.
McNight had his best game as a pro -first time over 300yards- and was the game MVP.

McNight 27/34 322yards 2TDs 1INT and 1 TD rushing.
Beyer 19 for 76 yards
Jeffries 6 catches for 84 yards 1 TD
Storey and Bell each had an interception
Ogden had 4 sacks in the game !!!
Tubbs had 9 tackles.

Herb Dill, T - Hip Pointer, full strength in 3-5 Weeks
We need to make a decision on our 4 QBs soon. things will be settled for good after this week's game probable. For now, only the Steelers and Raiders badly need a QB, but the Steelers are in our division and I clearly don't want to see one of our guys winning against us. We wait one more week to see if a team's need at QB comes up.

Week 4 Browns (2-1) Vs Ravens (2-1) - 1pt fav : W 48-15 !
with less than 4 minutes to be played in the 1st quarter, RB Casey Beyer ran off right tackle for 96 yards and a touchdown. ESPN called it "the run of the year so far". a great effort !
Beyer was unstopable today having a career day, while McNight was just tremendous as well picking apart their secondary with a mix bullet passes and long gains. The defending AFC Central champions Ravens got a look at how good this Browns team can be.

McNight 22/29 289yards 2TDs 1INT (you got to like that kind of quarterbacking)
Beyer 28 for 213 yards 3TDs (including the 96yard TD run) + 5 catches for 40 yards
Etaton 7 catches for 94 yards 2 TDs (what a game for him also)
Theophilakos had 2 interceptions
Woodson, Tubbs and Sapp each had 1 sack

Beyer was named NFL's Offensive Player of the Week.

After 4 games, QB Sammy McNight has a 92,5 QB rating (2nd in the NFL) with 62,4% (3rd NFL) of passes completed, 1067 yards (4th NFL) 7 TDs (3rd NFL) and 4 INTs.
Thanks to his great performance against the Ravens, RB Casey Beyer is currently ranked 5th in the NFL with 361 yards (4.6yards/c) and 3 TDs.

Checking the teams-need list, i see that there are still the Raiders and Steelers only looking for a QB. No way the Steelers can come to a transaction like that one with us so we'll see with the Raiders what they can offer. If i'm not 100% satisfied with any of their proposition, i'll stick with 4 QBs this year waiting forcing Lee Clark to retire after the season since he's been nothing but inactive so far.

Nothing satisafactory there so i'll keep it this way. very unusual for me and the Browns to carry 4 QBs on the roster but because of the keeper rule we have to right now. Lee Clark should have retired last season, he'll finish his career in casual clothes.

Week 5 Browns (3-1) Vs Jaguars (3-1) - 9pt fav : W 31-13
We dominated that game easily. The Jags were never in position to beat us. This is our 4th straight win and it put us in sole 1st place in the division. We have one last home game before the bye week

McNight 18/33 306 yards 1TD 1INT
Beyer 23 for 79 yards 2 TDs
Jeffries 6 catches for 151 yards 1 TD
Welch 7 catches for 96 yards (this IS a TE !)
Storey had an interception as well as...Holmes !!! (the CB I drafted -to return kicks- with horrible covering skills ! )
Woodson had 2 sacks


Week 6 Browns (4-1) Vs Packers (2-2) - 11pt fav : W 28-25
We avoid a late 4th quarter comeback from the Packers to continue the winning streak going confident into the bye week. Once again QB McNight had a productive game and seems more and more at ease under center. It looks like the players are rallying around him.

McNight 28/41 333 yards 1 TD 1 INT also 1 rushing TD
Beyer 14 for 63 yards
Jeffries 5 catches for 91 yards
Storey had an interception
Odgen had 2 sacks and Sapp and Woodson both had 1.

Bye Week.
Except from Nate "the bookstore" Borders -injured reserve, out long term unfortunately- every other player is in in great condition


Week 8 Browns (5-1) @ Ravens (4-2) - 2pt dog : W 24-10
Despite torching the Ravens 48-15 earlier in the season, and not losing since then, Vegas decides that we're underdog going into Baltimore. This game is lopsided again as we take an early advantage but the hero is Kicker Chandler who nailed in two HUGE FG : 58 and 57 yarders in the same game !!! The team really looks good and i'm very confident in QB Sammy McNight who's more and more looking like a playmaker...

McNight 20/34 218 yards 1 TD 1 INT and another TD rushing
Beyer 24 for 90 yards
Jeffries 7 catches for 79 yards
Storey had an interception
Holmes (yes...still the same guy LOL) had 1 sack !
Tubbs had 11 taclkes


Week 9 Browns (6-1) @ Jaguars (3-5) - 2pt fav : W 44-17
One for the books.
The Browns have now won 7 in a row, are atop the AFC Central with a 1-year-as a starter- QB and their starting RB on IR.
QB Sammy McNight is playing better and better and had a career day !

McNight 25/41 313 yards 4 TDs 0 INT
Beyer 16 for 61 yards
Jeffries 5 catches for 87 yards 1 TD
Welch 3 catches for 23 yards 2 TDs
Woodson had 2 sacks; Tubbs, Givens, Sapp and Chapman each had 1.

Mid-Season Report :

Injuries :
Nate Borders, RB - Torn Thumb Ligament, out. IR
Leo Sheldon, C - Broken Nose, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Lamar Tubbs, LB - Sprained Ankle, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
O.J. Briggs, LB - Bruised Shoulder, full strength in 0-2 Weeks

McNight : 61.7% comp (1st) 2237 yards (3rd) 14 TDs (3rd) 7 INTs Rating : 92,7 (2nd)
Beyer : 154 attempts for 654 yards (8th) 4.2yards/c 5 TDs
Jeffries : 35 catches for 612 yards 17,4yards/c 3 TDs
Theophilakos : 40 tackles
Odgen : 6.5 sacks
Storey : 4 interceptions

What to say ?
with all those changes i made in the starting lineup (on offense for the most) being 7-1 and riding a 7 game winning streak is great. Hopefully, things will continue to click together.
QB Sammy McNight is doing a heck of a job and -as for now- his learning of being an NFL QB is going on very very well.

[Darkiller]

eek 10 Browns (7-1) @ chiefs (2-6) - 5pt fav : L 20-24
a couple of missed FA in the first half. we're down 0-10 then we comeback in the game but some late scores from the Chiefs in the 4th quarter kill us.

McNight 17/30 191yards 1TD 2 INTs (might be his worst game this year)
Beyer 16 for 48 yards 1 TD (still not where he should be)
Jeffries 4 catches for 92 yards
Woodson and Tubbs each had an interception
Storey had 8 tackles.


Week 11 Browns (7-2) Vs Titans (3-6) - 7pt fav : W 31-9
A great effort after last week's disapointing outcome. QB Sammy Knight played superbly and led the team to an all important divisional win that gives us a perfect (for now) 7-0 record in the division. At 8-2 we are tied in 1st place in the division with the Bengals.

McNight 20/32 289 yards 3 TDs 0 INT
Beyer 11 for 73 yards
Jeffries 8 catches for 99 yards 1 TD
Etaton and Welch each had a receiving TD as well.
Storey had an interception
Odgen, Gordon, Wiese and Bell each had a sack. Woodson had 2 sacks.

Week 12 Browns (8-2) @ Bills (7-3) - 8pt dog : W 37-16
We took an early lead and never let go. Despite not throwing for a lot of yards, the McNight-led Browns won. Casey Beyer had a great game (at last !) and it helped.

McNight 16/29 149 yards 2 TDs 1 INT
Beyer 24 for 160 yards 1 TD Offensive Player of the Week (2nd time this year)
Jeffries 5 catches for 49 yards 1 TD
Holmes RETURNED A PUNT 56 yards for a TD and had an interception as well !!! (man o man you'll be scared when you'll see his poor ratings...how can the man be so good for now ? not only is he returning kicks and punts the way I envisioned him to do so when I drafted him...but he also manages to make plays on the secondary where, well, he souldn't even play )
Odgen and Swift each had 1.5 sacks

Week 13 Browns (9-2) Vs Colts (7-4) - E : L 35-45
an awful game, our first home loss of the year. The first half was a true catastrophee and despite a rally in the 3rd quarter, that wasn't enough to fill the gap.

McNight 15/38 250 yards 3 TDs 1 INT
Beyer 14 for 22 yards 1 TD
Henderdon 6 catches for 80 yards and 1 TD (u know things aren't normal when Henderson is the leading receiver of the team...)
Hutchins returned an interception 75 yards for a TD
No sack in the game.

Now the all important game of the year, the two leading teams in the division square off this afternoon :

Week 14 Browns (9-3) Vs Bengals (9-3) - 2pt dog : W 24-17
that was a close a game as there is. Down by 3 with less than 4 minutes to play we manage to tie the game with a 48 yard Chandler FG, than we intercept the QB and Sammy McNight throws a perfect TD pass to Jeffries to seal the win ! GREAT FOOTBALL GAME

McNight 23/39 254 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs
Beyer 20 for 122 yards
Etaton 5 catches for 64 yards 1 TD
Dunkelberger had 1 interception

Arnold Storey, S - Dislocated Elbow, full strength in 2029
this is a big blow since he was our team leader with 6 interceptions and was 3rd with 56 tackles.

Week 15 Browns (10-3) @ Titans (4-9) - 5pt fav : W 37-10
The team is balanced and the big plays on defense help the offense set up a few scores without much work.
Despite losing our best secondary player Arnold Storey last week, the defense stepped up big time and had 2 interceptions that were critical to our winning the game.

McNight 13/22 151 yards 1 TD 2 INTs
Beyer 21 for 84 yards
Henderson 5 catches for 77 yards
Bell returned an interception 28 yards for a score, Hutchins had an INT as well.
Sapp had 1.5 sacks.
Bell, Ogden, Swift and Woodson each had 1 sack (5.5 sacks on the day by our defense !)

Raymond Etaton, WR - Dislocated Knee, full strength in 2029
A starting receiver goes down, he had 52 catches for 728 yards and led the team with 10 TDs.
We place him on IR and sign FA WR Calvin Douglas.


Week 16 Browns (11-3) Vs Vikings (5-9) - 6pt fav : W 10-7
If anyone doubts who the better QB is just watch this, with McNight in the game we had 10-0 early 2nd quarter lead but Sammy sprains his ankle and must leave the game. Backup QB Dwight Benson comes in and FAIL TO LEAD THE TEAM TO SCORE ANY POINT in almost 3 full quarters. Granted our defense was strong enough to prevent a loss...

Benson 11/21 130 yards 0 TD 1 INT (score 0-7 when on the field in 3 quarters) rating : 51,6
McNight 8/13 79 yards 1 TD 0 INT (score 10-0 when on the field for 1 quarter)
Beyer 21 for 91 yards
Porter 4 catches for 55 yards
Woodson had 2 sacks, Wiese and Odgen both had 1

I agree though that Benson's lack of action this year must have gotten him rusty.
this wins gives us the AFC Central title back...and Homefield advantage throughout the playoffs

Week 17 Browns (12-3) @ Steelers (4-11) - 3pt fav : L 7-9
Since we already clinched, we let a handful of veteran starters inactive for this meaningless game, they will be able to heal their various injuries.
A game where just go nowhere, down 0-6 whith 1m20 seconds left QB Sammy McNight finds Henderson for a 42 yard TD that gives us a 7-6 lead but with 9 seconds left to play, the Steelers are able to score a FG.

McNight 15/25 209 yards 1 TD 1 INT
Beyer 14 for 44 yards
Henderson 6 catches for 130 yards 1 TD (steps up BIG since Etaton was lost for the year)

We finish the regular season 12-4 (best record in the AFC, 2nd best NFL) and so we have Homefield advantage during the playoffs.

Gerald Dunkelberger, S - Sprained Ankle, full strength in 2029
Arnold Storey, S - Dislocated Elbow, full strength in 2029
Jumbo Bell, CB - Bruised Ribcage, full strength in 2029
Brenden Swift, DT - Broken Finger, full strength in 2029
Herb Dill, T - Sprained Knee, full strength in 2029
Raymond Etaton, WR - Dislocated Knee, full strength in 2029

Some work to do injury wise.

Regular Season Stats :

QB McNight 16/16 58,7% comp (3rd) 3809 yards (4th) 28 TDs (1st) 16 INTs Rating : 87,2 (3rd)
These stats compares FAVORABLY to those of Blaine Davies and Lee Clark at the same stage of their careers. For his 1st season as a starter McNight led in TDs and was the 3rd ranked QB.
He should be All-League right away.

RB Casey Beyer 16/16 294 attempts (4th) for 1298 yards (3rd) 4.4/c 8 TDs
WR Robbie Jeffries 14/16 62 catches for 992 yards 6 TDs
WR Raymond Etaton 14/14 52 catches for 728 yards 10 TDs
WR Jim Henderson 4/16 46 catches for 688 yards 5 TDs (he IS good...)
TE Marvin Welch 16/16 47 catches for 551 yards 5 TDs (he IS good as well )
DE Reggie Odgen 13 sacks (8th NFL)
DE Gene Woodson 12,5 sacks
S Arnold Storey 12/13 games played, 6 Interceptions
LB Seth Gordon 16/16 76 tackles 16 assists
LB Lamar Tubbs 15/15 76 tackles 22 assists

Now the Playoffs.

[Darkiller]

Playoff teams :

AFC
Browns (12-4)
spangles (10-6)
Jets (10-6)
Bengals (12-4)
Colts (10-6)
Bills (10-6)

NFC
Falcons (13-3)
Eagles (11-5)
Bears (9-6-1)
Saints (11-5)
Generals (10-6)
Packers (9-6-1)

Wild Card Week-end :
Bills @ Jets : 10-27
Packers @ Bears : 16-28
Colts @ Bengals : 17-19
Generals @ Saints : 17-34

All home teams won.

Divisional Playoffs :
Saints @ Falcons : 38-27 ! The NFL's best team is out !
Bears @ Eagles : 19-20
Jets @ Spangles: 10-14

Cleveland Browns (12-4) Vs Cincinnati Bengals (13-4) -2pt dog :
The games starts very bad for us as the Bengals QB completes all of his first 9 passes and the Bengals take a 7-0 lead after their first drive. They add a FG on their next series and the score is 10-0 for them.
We don't feel too good but then QB McNight shows that he's not scared at all of any post-season jinx (did somebody say Lee Clark here ? lol ) and drives the team back in the race smoothly.
A 7 yard TD pass from McNight to Henderson late in the 3rd quarter gives us the edge than RB Casey Beyer finishes off the work with a 1 yar TD run.
after being down 0-10 we end up winning this one 24-13

McNight 24/30 271 yards 1 TD 0 INT (Offensive Player of the Week)
Beyer 24 for 151 yards 1 TD
Jeffries 7 catches for 102 yards
Briggs had 1.5 sacks and Tubbs had 1 sack.

Conference Championship Games

Saints @ Eagles : 0-10

Cleveland Browns (13-4) Vs Charlottesville spangles (11-6) -3pt fav :
50 seconds played in the game, and McKnight completes to Porter for a 79 yard touchdown! 7-0 Browns.
On the next series, the Spangles QB is intercepted and Beyer runs in for a TD a couple plays later 14-0. It is a total mismatch as we go into halftime leading 24-0 and already thinking about the SuperBowl's flight tickets.
We win the AFC Championship game by a score of 41-9.

The Browns are back in the SUPERBOWL

Still i can't help but this time concentrate IMMIDIATELY on our next game, the last time I was in charge we made it to the SuperBowl only to lose miserably in that game to the Bucaneers and the season was over on a sour note and I still have a bad taste in my mouth about that one. I don't want that to happen again so I talked to the players in the locker room
"We won one game today, there is another one to play next week : this is it. And until next week's game is won and behind us, NOTHING, I repeat : NOTHING HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED."

We need that one badly to make it 5 for us and tie the hated Patriots.

McNight 19/37 281 yards 2 TDs 1 INT
Beyer 20 for 118 yards 2 TDs (Offensive Player of the Week)
Porter 4 catches for 112 yards 2 TDs
Theophilakos had 3 Interceptions !!! (Defensive player of the week), Gordon had 1
Ogden had 2.5 sacks and Tubbs had 2.

SUPERBOWL 2028

Cleveland Browns (14-4) Vs Philadelphia Eagles (13-5) -1pt fav : W 41-3
Weather: 27 degrees, fair.
That game was a close to perfection as you can ask by a Quarterback. Do you remember Steve Young in the SuperBowl ? well, Sammie McNight had the same game in the most important day of his life.
I pasted the scoring drives so that you can see for yourself.
Over the last two games (Championship game + SuperBowl we have scored a combined 82 pts and were outscored only 9 pts !)

1Q: 03:16 CLE - Blaine Chandler 41 field goal.
2Q: 11:32 CLE - Drew Francis 19 pass from Sammie McKnight.
2Q: 11:32 CLE - Blaine Chandler extra point.
2Q: 04:15 CLE - Marvin Welch 7 pass from Sammie McKnight.
2Q: 04:15 CLE - Blaine Chandler extra point.
3Q: 14:24 CLE - Robbie Jeffries 11 pass from Sammie McKnight.
3Q: 14:24 CLE - Blaine Chandler extra point.
3Q: 08:27 CLE - Marvin Welch 10 pass from Sammie McKnight.
3Q: 08:27 CLE - Blaine Chandler extra point.
3Q: 04:37 CLE - Burt Porter 6 pass from Sammie McKnight.
3Q: 04:37 CLE - Blaine Chandler extra point.
4Q: 13:35 PHI - J.T. Hines 48 field goal.
4Q: 10:31 CLE - Blaine Chandler 48 field goal.

QB McNight is SUPERBOWL Most Valuable Player.
his stats : 22/31 245 yards 5 TDs 0 INT !!!!
and he left the game at the end of the 3rd quarter...This is probably the finest performance by a QB in the VCII SuperBowl History.

Benson 1/1 11 yards
James 1/2 16 yards

RB Beyer 20 for 102 yards
Welch 6 71 11.8 17 2
Francis 5 79 15.8 19 1
Porter 3 23 7.6 10 1
Jeffries 3 32 10.6 11 1

Theophilakos had 2 Interceptions
Van Brocklin had 1 interception

WE ARE SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS AGAIN
I'm really proud of that 2028 team...the way they played. incredible.
QB McNight, for a first season as a starter was just umbelivable with a SuperBowl ring and great stats..
look at the honors,

QB Sammy McNight : All-League 1st team QB - SuperBowl MVP
TE Marvin Welch : All-League 2nd team TE
DE Reggie Odgen : All-League 2nd team DE

[WebEwbank]

Great year !

Sammy is clearly the guy we've been waiting for. He just needs to sustain this level of play.

Hopefully Lee "The Ghost of Christmas Past" will retire NOW.

I would like us to reconsider a de-keeperizing rule. It didn't hurt us too badly this yeat, since Darkiller chose (righty) to hold onto all three good young QBs. I personally have probably lost 25 Bowls to QBs I traded away early in theeir careers.

The purpose of keepers is to create continuity, and disincent us from roster churning, especially since we usually have as many draft choices as we can handle. However, it's kinda like marriage without the option. Once a guy is no longer contributing, and is taking up significant $ and a key roster spot,I think the GM who keeperized him should be able to say: shoot the sucker. What do you guys think ? Possibly we could even set criteria for gauging uselessness: number of games atrted in the previous year, lack of effectiveness statistically, whatever. I would prefer just letting the sponsor give the current GM permission to get rid of him.

Our depth is incredible. We took some heavy losses and kept winning. The new TE is a major plus. Beyer seems to be ready whenever we need him.

Best of all we seem to have reloaded without a pause, replacing our aging vets without losing momentum.

I think we could be in a period where we win 5 out of 8 Bowls, or maybe 3 out of 5.

[Subby]

Great season Darkiller - and nice find in McKnight (at least I can say I drafted him )

I thought for sure you would continue to develop Benson - and I made my Keeper pick with that assumption in mind - if I had known you were going in a different direction I wouldn't have placed the tag on Benson. If its ok with everyone else, I would like to change my keeper to Beyer.

I still dont think we should be able to de-keeperize - it should at least take a simple majority vote.

[WebEwbank]

OK - I support the vote-to-dekeeperize idea.

I move we dekeeperize Lee Clark

[Darkiller]

I believe Lee Clark WILL retire during this offseason, he has been inactive since training camp so the guy would be mad to stick around one more year... lol.

As for you Subby, i definitely agree that you should switch onto Beyer for your keeper.
There's nothing I can see "against" that since it clearly helps me in my QB mix for next year.

Web, i'm not too keen on that idea of de-keeperization, although if Clarks comes back next year, I might change my mind.
btw LOLOLOL @ Lee "the ghost of Christmas past" Clark...that was funny

Ok so here are some new keepers :

Subby : RB Casey Beyer
Darkiller : QB Sammy McNight.
I'll probably pick my 2nd keeper when my turn is over.

[Subby]

I dont think we should be able to de-keeperize guys (like Clarkster) who have been around for a while - only in extenuating circumstances (injury the year after seriously affects skill-level, etc)...

[WebEwbank]

I'll stop whining about Clark.

Nate Borders will be my 2nd keeper.

[Syrinx]

Great season and Bowl Win Dark! I hope to see a repeat in 2029, 3 out of 5 would be great, after our long drought.

Also, you are going to run a total of 3 seasons, to catch back up, right?

It's interesteing to see the different styles of each GM. Subby and I like our grind-em out smashmouth seasons (notice my two bowl MVP's were RB's) Dark is clearly a QB type of guy.

So where did this monstourous Defense focus come from? Web, Royal? is that you guys?

Keepers: I feel that we shouldn't de-keeper anyone, ever. There are 2 main reasons I think we shouldn't "de-keeper" someone:
1. Loyalty for aging players who are sliding, we made them keepers for a reason, now we should stick with them.
2.Tough choices. Frankly, this is a little too easy(something like 26 post season appearances in 30 years?). We need to be "stuck" with players to make it a little harder.

Subby, if you believe in Benson, you can have him as your keeper (or you can take Beyer as you most recently indicated). Just because Darkiller doesn't like his height doesn't mean we have to abandon him, Benson did help us win that 2025 Bowl. Either way we have an interesting situation with QB and RB keepers. As I see it a lot of our cap problems are due to too many "stars" at those positions. Should be fun to sort out

Royal, with Foster retiring you have the option to add another keeper. Although with your turn coming up soon, I guess you'll probably wait.

Subby, when you update the Web Site next, you should add Burt Milne to the HOF list. He didn't make the Browns HOF, but he made the League HOF. He also had 2 of his 4 career All-Leagues selections durring his 7 years with the team. He was on the Browns longer then any other team in his 19 year career.

[Subby]

Ill stick with Beyer - I think it would be more advantageous if we stuck with one QB. Although I still think Benson would have been just as good...

I love Beyer and Borders...its a shame they couldnt have played one after the other, but with The Bookstore's propensity for injury its prob for the best.

Ill add Milne to the site, but I need his spreadsheeted stats...hint, hint...

Jospeh has 2 Bowls in 5 seasons...not bad!

[Darkiller]

I agree with Syrinx.
keeping the "keepers" will make it harder for us in the long run.
Also, as you pointed out, this is true that we have different styles of Gmanaging and this is what is so cool i believe.

I'll play three seasons to catch up.
I'm out tonight so if I don't comeback home too late, i'll post the season' stats.

Subby, this is going to be fun with the two star RBs being keepers now. They're are both outstanding and it should be exciting to see who wins the starting job next year when "the bookstore" comes back after a year in rehab.
I have concerns about his being so injury prone but he's a true talent.
anyways, with Border and Beyer on the roster, we clearly have two top notch RBs that are the entire league's envy



[This message has been edited by Darkiller (edited 01-15-2001).]

I agree, no dekeepering.

Also a belated congrats in store for Darkiller.

Syrinx, I know I have went defense alot in my years: Mudgett, Wheeler, Hamilton, Foster, Wiese.

I would say Web is the trading guru, Duke and Borders off the top of my head and I think he traded for a big name WR too.

Then again I also took Sheen and Beyer. Of course I NEVER would have thought Beyer would have stayed so long and been named a keeper.

I will wait to name my keeper during my next phase.

[Darkiller]

2028 Cleveland Browns Team Stats :

We scored 436 pts (best NFL)
We were outscored 258 pts (2nd best NFL)

Offensive totals :
Passing : 246,1 yards per game (7th NFL)
Rushing : 126,9 yards per game (10th NFL)

Defensive totals :
Passing : 221,8 yards per game (20th NFL) - we'll have to work on that one.
Rushing : 79,6 yards per game (2nd NFL)

[Syrinx]

Darkiller, any News on 2029?

[Subby]

Yes - I was wondering that meeself.

On a different note - TRO and I are the only ones from the VC II brethren taking part in the WLC - I would be happy to see Syrinx and WebEwbank in the challenge as well, time permitting.

I didnt include Darkiller only because I want him to devote his energy to passing the game file along :P

Hehehehe.

[Darkiller]

Village Challenge II

Season 2029

For 2028 :
Team Performance : 100/100
Franchise Value : 100/100
Profit Loss : 100/100 (!)
Difficulty : 73/100

YEAR END SCORE : 97 This is the highest score obtained so far.

Welcome the following players for induction into the Hall of Fame :
Nathan Ward (Kicker)
Pat Ross (kicker)
Cary O'Neill
Phillip Fennell
Jeffrey Hayes
Richie Tweedie


Two players retire : QB lee Clark (at last) and S Geral Dunkelberger.
Clark spent the ENTIRE 2028 season in casual clothes, being inactive all season. His retirement was expected and anticipated and comes as a relief for the defending SuperBowl Champions Browns.

We keep intact the entire headcoaching and scouting staffs since they did a great job once again last season.
As for ticket prices, we were obviously wise to raise them in 2028 because that gave us a perfect 100/100 in Profit (against only 58/100 the year before.)
Tickets will rise once again in 2029 since we won the SuperBowl.

Costs :
2027 $458,050,000
2028 $379,970,000 = -17%

Profit :
2027 $18,050,000
2028 $265,000,000 = + 1368% (!)

45 players are already signed for 2029 with 2 starter being FAs (LB Lamar Tubbs and G Duane Hanson). I decide to franchise Hanson even so he's a 15 year vet for three reasons :
1- He is regarded as the best FA available among all players this year
2- great Guards are very hard to find and we are loaded with top quality LBs already.
3- young QB McNight still needs to learn and I don't want to hurt the offense's cohesion this year.

With $61,840,000 under the cap we have enough room but we have great players already and no big needs. Therefore there is no need to spend bucks on the FA market.
It is more important to continue the process of rejuvanating the team with young players WE draft.

Trade Offers :
The Redsinks offer a backup WE + their 3rd round pick for our top Center Leo Sheldon...where do they think they are ?! common Mr Snyder, stop being ridiculous.
The Cowboys offer their 2nd round pick for 12 year starter FB Lee Clarence.
The Vikings offer QB Alan Page + their 2nd rounder for DT Brenden Swift.
The Bengals offer DE D.J Van Dyke + their 1st rounder (30th) for LB Gary Sapp.

I consider that last trade for a moment since Sapp is a 10 year vet with a $6M cap figure (highest among our talented LB Corp) but decided against it because these are the Bengals (we fought with them badly last year for the Central title) and their DE has a foolish $11M figure and he's clearly not worth it.
the other trades weren't accepted as well.

FA LB Lamar Tubbs is seeking for a $15M/year contract that would make him not only by far the highest paid player on the team but also probably the highest paid LB in the NFL.
No way we'll spend that much regarding how set we already are.
If he and his agent don't sign for much less, than unfortunately, he's gone.

After renegociating contracts (a lot of actually...) with our now only $32,580,000 under the cap.
Our star players and keepers are asking for a lot of money obviously and it is becoming increasingly difficult to please everyone.
I resigned all the keepers to -at least- 3 year deals for now.
All-League and SuperBowl MVP QB Sammy McNight is currently paid just under $3M dollar and wants $18M. He's set to become FA after the season.
I'll wait a bit to offer him something, because I don't want him to become "cocky" and, at the contrary, i'd like him to feel some pressure of having to succeed once again if he wants the money to be shown.

Anyways, we'll have to be cautious and careful now in our renegociating contracts.
LB Lamar Tubbs signed a 5 year $118M contract with the Bengals...
These guys want to beat us badly.

The 2029 NFL Draft :

We own two 1st round picks (13th and 14th) as well as a 2nd, 3rd and a 4th and a 7th rounder.

2029 Draft Report:

Rnd 1 (13th) - Troy Goldhammer, CB, Oklahoma (29/70 32/85 100 83 86 65). Currently ranked as the 4th best CB on the roster but as a potential of 92 which is best among all CBs.

Rnd 1 (14th) - Henry Berosik, S, Iowa (31/78 48/100 92), right now is 4th and last Safety on the roster but as a potential of 99 !

Rnd 2 - Alfred Bueter, LB, Northwestern (42/84 28/66 35/84 78). Our LB corp is the deepest and most talented in all of the NFL so Bueter will serve as the 6th LB. He has a potential of 81 but this is still not enough to make him one of our top 5 LB...He'll fill the LB hole on the roster left by Tubbs' signing with Cincy.

Rnd 3 - Clarence Rodgers, QB, Notre Dame. Nothing great about him, he'll be a career backup. Taken in case we make a trade with Dwight Benson and then he would be our 3rd string QB. If we don't trade Benson this year, Rodgers will be probably cut.

Round 4 & 7 traded to Arizona for their 4th rounder in 2030.


After the Draft, QB Sammy McNight is an idolized player, his ratings top Benson's and he now asks for $26M per year...

After signing our draftees, we found ourselves in a very very tough salary cap situation with ONLY less than $7m left under.
We have 51 players signed.
WE have to make a trade and/or release some players.

We decice to trade WE Bud Porter since he's in the last year of his contract (14 year vet) and clearly will not be resigned next year. He has a cap figure of almost $7M and the scouts now rate him no better than 4th wideout on the depth chart.
Last year he didn't start any game and had 28 receptions for 355 yards.
He's clearly a player past his prime and we can't afford him anymore unfortunately.
He played as a starter for 11 years with us, most of them alongside Robbie Jeffries.
Twice he topped the 1000 yard receiving mark
His two best years were 2019 (72 catches 1044 yards) and 2023 (58 cacthes 1129 yards and 11 TDs).

Porter is trade to Charlottesville Spangles for a 2nd round pick next year.

Trade Offers
The Rams want DE Kurt Wiese, and prose T Rondell Briggs and next year's 1st round pick.
rejected of course.

We sign 1 FA WR (Marty Ackerman) and resign another (Calvin Douglas) that played with us last year but who went on to test -unsucessfully- the FA market and came back with us for $2M.
Browns legend Robbie Jeffries (the team's all time leading receiver - he now has more catches and yards than Hall of Fame Harvey Wallace) is now the 3rd WR on the chart behind Raymond Etaton and Jim Henderson.

Then we waive 2nd year CB Warren Lewis whom I drafted last year as a backup. Our 1st round pick CB this year is a much better player, or will be a much better player.
We sign FA Tackle Scott Riti to a 1 year deal because we only had 3 tackles on the roster.

We trade backup QB Dwight Benson to the NFC's New York Giants along with a 6th and 7th rounders for their n°1 pick next year.
We now have two former Browns QBs playing in the NFC East (Benson with the Giants and Roger Brentlinger with the Redskins).
I believe we would have made a megatrade last year with Benson but that was not possible at that time, unfortunately his value
decreased a little since he didn't play much during last year's championship season.
That trade also gives us a little bit of room and helps us sign 2 FA players to fill our 53 man roster.
We are now just $2,100,000 under the cap after trading Benson and signing the DT and the DE.

The Browns sold 99,900 season tickets for the season
out of a capacity of 99,900.

The RB controversy:
Casey Beyer is ranked by our scout at 74 and Nate Borders at 68
Beyer's future is estimated at 78 while Borders' would drop to 60.
This is almost certainly because of the bookstore's season ending injury in a pre-season game last year.

I won't favor any of the two RB but instead will let them battle in preseason games and see who plays the best before making
a decision regarding my starting RB.


The Browns are "worth" $2,568,720,000 (1st NFL)
Stadium (93) 2nd
Roster (100) 1st
Support (99) 1splay
Economy (58) 10th

Pre-season :
We finish 2-2 with most of our starters being inactive. Also we rested Sammy McNight is games 3 & 4 so that he did not risk an injury.
With the starters inactive, our offense struggled but the defense, once again, looked fine.
The RB situation is a tough one with Borders clearly being the most efficient in games 1 & 2 and Beyer being better in games 3 & 4.
I will start Casey Beyer in the season all opener and see what happens.
Nate was the starter before getting injured in pre-season last year and Casey had a great season for me. Therefore he'll get the start and we'll
see from there.

The injury Report :
Clarence Lee, FB - Dislocated Shoulder, full strength in 3-5 Weeks
Brenden Swift, DT - Dislocated Shoulder, full strength in 3-5 Weeks
Reggie Ogden, DE - Bruised Ribcage, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Otis Hawkins, RB - Stretched Knee Ligament, full strength in 3-5 Weeks
Gene Woodson, DE - Stretched Knee Ligament, full strength in 3-5 Weeks

Our rookies first round picks CB Troy Goldhammer and S Henry Berosik had very good pre-season games both of them.

Roster Cohesion :

passing (80)
Off Line (96)
Deff front (98)
secondary (83)

Regular season to come soon

[Subby]

Glad to hear that about Jeffries. Now he has moved into the 3rd position on the depth chart, Henderson and Etaton can spend the enxt 10 years as our killer WR tandem...

To bad we didnt get more for Benson - do we have a decent backup QB? I am worried he and Brentlinger are going to bite us in the ass.

Tubbs too - did he just refuse to renegotiate? Is that why he made it to FA? I cant believe the contract he got...amazing.

[Syrinx]

Darkiller, do you use a lot of 3+ WR sets?

I'd love to see Jeffries make 30-50 grabs this season out of the 3rd slot if your offense can produce it (Similar to Henderson back in 2025). Have his current values fallen below the 80's?

[Darkiller]

Yeah I use a lot of 3 WR set and I believe Jeffries will still end up with a good bunch of catches if healthy.
He is now rated at 76 by our scout.

Tubbs refused to renegociate...his contract his clearly amazing, we couldn't afford that of course since we are in serious cap trouble...

Subby, this is going to be interesting to see how Benson and Brentlinger fare now. I'm confident we made the right decision though.

I'll play the regular season saturday.

[Subby]

Dark - can you send the file with Clark's last season in it to Syrinx so that he can compile Clark's stats for the web site?

Thanks, and yes that was a run-on sentence.

I may have to skip a turn if I can't get FOF 2 reinstalled soon, I can't find my order # dang it.

[Subby]

Just buy it again...its only 20 bucks...Ill kick in half if it means you not losing your turn...

[Darkiller]

regular season 2029 starts :

Week 1 Browns Vs Falcons (were 13-3 last year, best NFL record) - 9pt fav : W 26-19
A good win against a tough Atlanta team. Our secondary came up big intercepting the QB 3 times but we allowed a 93 yard TD pass
early in the 4th quarter that brought the game back on the line (almost).
QB McNight had a strong game before being intercepted on the last play of the game and seeing it returned 98 yard for a TD.
The game was already out of reach for the Falcons though.

McNight 14/33 194 yards 2 TDs 1 INT.
Beyer 19 for 93 yards
Henderson 5 catches for 91 yards
Sapp, Petine and Theopilakos each had an interception
Ogden had 1.5 sacks and Givens 1.
Still had 9 tackles


Week 2 Browns (1-0) Vs Texans (0-1) - 6pt fav : W 40-10
No problems here with Sammy McNight playing again so very well, the game was already over after 1 quarter since he had completed
by then 11 of 14 passes for 185 yards and 3 TDs !!! we were up 21-0 after just 1 quarter and never let go afterwards.

McNight 25/42 for 342 yards 3 TDs 1 INT and another TD rushing
Beyer 14 for 84 yards
Etaton 7 catches for 88 yards 1 TD
Hutchins had 1 interception
Ogden had 2.5 sacks


Week 3 Browns (2-0) @ Jaguars (2-0) - E : L 29-34
A tough game we were behind most of the time trying to catch up. We made a nice rally towards the end of the game but that
clearly wasn't enough and failed to recover the onside kick on the next series. game was over.
McNight was good again, his 2nd interception was due to forced bombs at the end to gain needed yardage.

McNight 15/25 345 yards 3TDs 2INTs
Beyer 24 for 40 yards (1.6 yards per carry !) one more game like this and Borders gets the nod.
Jeffries 6 catches for 126 yards 1 TD
Ogden had 1.5 sacks
Still had 9 tackles.


Week 4 Browns (2-1) Vs Ravens (1-2) - 6 : L 20-23
this loss is awful, i have rarely seen a less disciplined football team. 14 penalties...most of the time Holding by the offense
on the 1st play of the series...2nd & 20 to start off.
McNight was sacked 8 times in the game, for big yards.
We now find ourselves 2-2 having lost two straight critical games to divisional rivals. We're next to last in the division
but Jaguars and Bengals also both lost this WE and lead the division at 3-1.
We must win next week.

McNight 22/42 255 yards 2TDs 2INT
Beyer 16 for 70 yards
Etaton 5 catches for 79 yards
TE Welch had 2 TDs.
Peterman and Hutchins each had an interception
Ogden had 1 sack
Sapp had 10 tackles.


Week 5 Browns (2-2) @ Bengals (3-1) - 6pt dog : W 17-16
the all important win...that wasn't pretty at all. Our defense against the run allows big plays all the time and the
offense is not clicking well so far. Still we are 4 teams with a 3-2 record atop the division. Nothing's lost, or won yet
but we'd better play now. I'm concerned as well with our secondary that doesn't produce any big plays...
By the way, LB Tubbs who signed that mega buck contract win Cincy had 5 tackles and 4 assists today..

McNight 15/25 185 yards 2TD 2INT
Beyer 21 for 128 yards
Henderson 5 catches for 36 yards 1 TD
Wiese, Ogden and Swift each had one sack

Week 6 Browns (3-2) @ Steelers (2-3) - 4pt fav : W 32-25
still unpretty but it is a win and this is what counts. Defense's still a source of concern. We head into the bye week at
4-2 atop the division along with the Bengals. RB Casey Beyer had a career game but was robbed of OPW honors, stangely he
wasn't even the game's MVP.

Duane Hanson, G - Torn Thumb Ligament, full strength in time for the playoffs

McNight 16/28 230 yards 0 TD 1 INT
Beyer 24 for 130 yards 4 TDs !!!
Henderson 5 catches for 88 yards
Bell had an interception returned 35 yards for a TD, also led the team with 7 tackles.
Wiese had 1.5 sacks, Tubbs Ogden and Swift each had one


Week 8 Bye Week


Week 9 Browns (4-2) @ Ravens (3-3) - 2pt dog : W 38-10
A huge game by RB Casey Beyer. The offense played well and the defense held. This win is a revenge from a home loss to those
same Ravens earlier in the season. We seem back on track in sole 1st place in the division.

McNight 13/29 153 yards 2 TDs 2 INT
Beyer 26 for 166 yards 1 TD
Henderson 5 catches for 67 yards
Still had an interception
Wiese had a sack;

Week 10 Browns (5-2) Vs Bengals (4-3) - 3 pt fav : L 11-21
There is something wrong with this football team ; for some reason we don't seem to take advantages of our opportunity and
we make silly costly mistakes. QB McNight leads the league in TD passes and is 2nd in yards but he trows too many picks.
looks like a young Brett Favre. He must settle down a bit in the second hald if we want to make the playoffs.

McNight 20/36 313 yards 1 TD 2INTs
Beyer 16 for 53 yards
Henderson 5 catches for 56 yards
Peterman had one interception
Swift had 2 sacks and Tubbs one.

Mid-Season Report :

Injuries :
Duane Hanson, G - Torn Thumb Ligament, full strength in time for the playoffs
Seth Gordon, LB - Sprained Ankle, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Jumbo Bell, CB - Sprained Knee, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Casey Beyer, RB - Turf Toe, full strength in 0-2 Weeks

McNight : 53.4% comp 2010 yards (2nd) 15 TDs (1st) 12 INTs Rating : 78,5 (should be much better by season's end)
Beyer : 160 attempts for 764 yards (3rd) 4.7yards/c 5 TDs
Henderson : 38 catches for 624 yards 16,4yards/c 4 TDs
Sapp : 53 tackles
Odgen : 9.0 sacks (!)
Hutchins : 2 interceptions

Thanks sub Actually I didn't think it could still be bought, if it can then hell, 20 bucks is worth the VC II

[Darkiller]

regular season 2029 starts :

Week 1 Browns Vs Falcons (were 13-3 last year, best NFL record) - 9pt fav : W 26-19
A good win against a tough Atlanta team. Our secondary came up big intercepting the QB 3 times but we allowed a 93 yard TD pass
early in the 4th quarter that brought the game back on the line (almost).
QB McNight had a strong game before being intercepted on the last play of the game and seeing it returned 98 yard for a TD.
The game was already out of reach for the Falcons though.

McNight 14/33 194 yards 2 TDs 1 INT.
Beyer 19 for 93 yards
Henderson 5 catches for 91 yards
Sapp, Petine and Theopilakos each had an interception
Ogden had 1.5 sacks and Givens 1.
Still had 9 tackles


Week 2 Browns (1-0) Vs Texans (0-1) - 6pt fav : W 40-10
No problems here with Sammy McNight playing again so very well, the game was already over after 1 quarter since he had completed
by then 11 of 14 passes for 185 yards and 3 TDs !!! we were up 21-0 after just 1 quarter and never let go afterwards.

McNight 25/42 for 342 yards 3 TDs 1 INT and another TD rushing
Beyer 14 for 84 yards
Etaton 7 catches for 88 yards 1 TD
Hutchins had 1 interception
Ogden had 2.5 sacks


Week 3 Browns (2-0) @ Jaguars (2-0) - E : L 29-34
A tough game we were behind most of the time trying to catch up. We made a nice rally towards the end of the game but that
clearly wasn't enough and failed to recover the onside kick on the next series. game was over.
McNight was good again, his 2nd interception was due to forced bombs at the end to gain needed yardage.

McNight 15/25 345 yards 3TDs 2INTs
Beyer 24 for 40 yards (1.6 yards per carry !) one more game like this and Borders gets the nod.
Jeffries 6 catches for 126 yards 1 TD
Ogden had 1.5 sacks
Still had 9 tackles.


Week 4 Browns (2-1) Vs Ravens (1-2) - 6 : L 20-23
this loss is awful, i have rarely seen a less disciplined football team. 14 penalties...most of the time Holding by the offense
on the 1st play of the series...2nd & 20 to start off.
McNight was sacked 8 times in the game, for big yards.
We now find ourselves 2-2 having lost two straight critical games to divisional rivals. We're next to last in the division
but Jaguars and Bengals also both lost this WE and lead the division at 3-1.
We must win next week.

McNight 22/42 255 yards 2TDs 2INT
Beyer 16 for 70 yards
Etaton 5 catches for 79 yards
TE Welch had 2 TDs.
Peterman and Hutchins each had an interception
Ogden had 1 sack
Sapp had 10 tackles.


Week 5 Browns (2-2) @ Bengals (3-1) - 6pt dog : W 17-16
the all important win...that wasn't pretty at all. Our defense against the run allows big plays all the time and the
offense is not clicking well so far. Still we are 4 teams with a 3-2 record atop the division. Nothing's lost, or won yet
but we'd better play now. I'm concerned as well with our secondary that doesn't produce any big plays...
By the way, LB Tubbs who signed that mega buck contract win Cincy had 5 tackles and 4 assists today..

McNight 15/25 185 yards 2TD 2INT
Beyer 21 for 128 yards
Henderson 5 catches for 36 yards 1 TD
Wiese, Ogden and Swift each had one sack

Week 6 Browns (3-2) @ Steelers (2-3) - 4pt fav : W 32-25
still unpretty but it is a win and this is what counts. Defense's still a source of concern. We head into the bye week at
4-2 atop the division along with the Bengals. RB Casey Beyer had a career game but was robbed of OPW honors, stangely he
wasn't even the game's MVP.

Duane Hanson, G - Torn Thumb Ligament, full strength in time for the playoffs

McNight 16/28 230 yards 0 TD 1 INT
Beyer 24 for 130 yards 4 TDs !!!
Henderson 5 catches for 88 yards
Bell had an interception returned 35 yards for a TD, also led the team with 7 tackles.
Wiese had 1.5 sacks, Tubbs Ogden and Swift each had one


Week 8 Bye Week


Week 9 Browns (4-2) @ Ravens (3-3) - 2pt dog : W 38-10
A huge game by RB Casey Beyer. The offense played well and the defense held. This win is a revenge from a home loss to those
same Ravens earlier in the season. We seem back on track in sole 1st place in the division.

McNight 13/29 153 yards 2 TDs 2 INT
Beyer 26 for 166 yards 1 TD
Henderson 5 catches for 67 yards
Still had an interception
Wiese had a sack;

Week 10 Browns (5-2) Vs Bengals (4-3) - 3 pt fav : L 11-21
There is something wrong with this football team ; for some reason we don't seem to take advantages of our opportunity and
we make silly costly mistakes. QB McNight leads the league in TD passes and is 2nd in yards but he trows too many picks.
looks like a young Brett Favre. He must settle down a bit in the second hald if we want to make the playoffs.

McNight 20/36 313 yards 1 TD 2INTs
Beyer 16 for 53 yards
Henderson 5 catches for 56 yards
Peterman had one interception
Swift had 2 sacks and Tubbs one.

Mid-Season Report :

Injuries :
Duane Hanson, G - Torn Thumb Ligament, full strength in time for the playoffs
Seth Gordon, LB - Sprained Ankle, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Jumbo Bell, CB - Sprained Knee, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Casey Beyer, RB - Turf Toe, full strength in 0-2 Weeks

McNight : 53.4% comp (1st) 2010 yards (2nd) 15 TDs (1st) 12 INTs Rating : 78,5 (should be much better by season's end)
Beyer : 160 attempts for 764 yards (3rd) 4.7yards/c 5 TDs
Henderson : 38 catches for 624 yards 16,4yards/c 4 TDs
Sapp : 53 tackles
Odgen : 9.0 sacks (!)
Hutchins : 2 interceptions


Week 10 Browns (5-3) @ Broncos (1-7) - 2pt fav : W 45-21
RB Nate Borders gets his first start of the year with Casey Beyer being questionnable.
It is a win or what ?! ok so the Broncos are clearly not among the best in football this year but still, what a performance
by Sammy McNight !!! and the Bookstore made a great comeback

McNight 27/45 402yards 5TDs 1INTs (best game of the year by any QB in the league !)
Borders 19 for 116 yards 1 TD (should earn a comeback player of the week honor lol)
Henderson 8 catches for 126 yards 3 TDs (whaoo)
Theophilakos had 2 interceptions & Petine had one.
Wiese had 1.5 sacks


Week 11 Browns (6-3) Vs Steelers (4-5) - 11pt fav : W 33-2 !
For the second straight week, McNight was unstoppable and led the Browns to yet another offensive showdown.
The team is playing much better right now, hopefully everything will continue in that way.
Also, RB Nate "the bookstore" Borders had another consecutive 100+ yard game...

Brenden Swift, DT - Hip Pointer, full strength in 3-5 Weeks

McNight 21/35 298 yards 3 TDs 1 INT
Borders 23 for 127 yards
Henderson 7 catches for 86 yards
Welch 5 catches for 49 yards 2 TDs
Hutchins and Theophilakos each had an interception
Odgen & Chapman each had a sack

Week 12 Browns (7-3) Vs Jaguars (3-7) - 10pt fav : W 17-10
Casey Beyer, who was having a very fine season before being injured 3 weeks ago and missing 2 games, comes back in the
starting lineup. Borders was so good during his own 2 starts that I won't hesitate to switch if needed.

McNight 12/31 146 yards 2 TDs 2 INT
Beyer 23 for 95 yards
Etaton 3 catches for 45 yards 1 TD
Hutchins had an interception
Ogden had 2.5 sacks

Seth Gordon, LB - Turf Toe, full strength in 3-5 Weeks

Week 13 Browns (8-3) @ Saints (5-6) - 5 pt fav : W 24-21
We had the game in hand leading 24-7 with just under 10 minutes to play but our secondary came up short allowing 2 big play
TDs that brought the game back in reach for the Saints with just a minute to go...we escaped this, this time...

McNight 16/34 256 yards 2 TDs 1 INT
Beyer 17 for 15 yards
Henderson 5 catches for 83 yards 1 TD
Hutchins had 1 interception returned 69 yards for the score.
Tubbs had 2 sacks and Wiese had one.

With 4 games left in the regular season, we are in sole first position in the AFC Central with a 9-3 record.
The Bengals are second with 8-4 and the Titans third at 7-5.

Week 14 Browns (9-3) Vs Titans (7-5) - 7pt fav : W 20-13
A very solid game both on offense and defense, this is our 8th win in 9 games and along with the Titans & Bengals losses
we are now well intranched ready to capture the Central title.
Ross Borders, the Patriots starting QB is out now and NE has now lost 3 in a row so we are tied with them at 10-3 for
homefield advantage.

McNight 20/33 221 yards 1 TD OINT
Beyer 21 for 43 yards
Henderson 7 catches for 59 yards
Sapp has 10 tackles and 4 assists


Week 15 Browns (10-3) Vs Spangles (9-4) - 6pt fav : W 7-6
An important one against the current AFC West leaders for a first round playoff bye.
former Brown WR Bud Porter is the Spangles leading receiver with 64 catches for 855 yards and 4 TDs.
a disgusting game to watch...missed opportunities, missed FG...low score. Nothing was good, except that we won again.

McNight 14/26 161 yards 0 TD 0 INT
Beyer 22 for 61 yards 1 TD (Borders will start next week)
Etaton 5 catches for 39 yards
Theophilakos had one interception
Wiese had 2 sacks.


Week 16 Browns (11-3) @ Jets (9-5) - 2pt dog : L 3-30
For the second straight week, we are awful. This loss is well deserved and though we have now won the AFC Central title,
we are in a three place tie for a bye week with the Patriots and the Spangles. Next week's game is a must. Today's loss marks
the end of a 6 game winning streak.

McNight 14/33 165 yards 0 TD 1 INT (only 1 TD pass over last 3 games for league's TD leader)
Borders 8 for 0 yards (!) Beyers comes back next week in starting lineup.
Jeffries 6 catches for 54 yards
Chapman had 2.5 sacks


Week 17 Browns (11-4) @ Titans (9-6) - E : L 20-46
Another disturbing loss. Our december month was not a good one obviously and i'm not pleased at all.

McNight 14/33 169 yards 2 TD 3 INT
Beyer 17 for 84 yards
Jeffries 5 catches for 53 yards 1 TD

We finish the regular season 11-5, AFC Central Champions but we have to go through the Wild Cards. For once we are the
onmlly team of the Central division to play in the Post-Season.

Duane Hanson, G - Concussion, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Arnold Storey, S - Concussion, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Leo Sheldon, C - Broken Jaw, full strength in 2030
Brenden Swift, DT - Hip Pointer, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Jim Henderson, WR - Hyperextended Elbow, full strength in 2030
Al Pettine, S - Sprained Back, full strength in 2030
Dale Still, LB - Broken Nose, full strength in 2030

Regular Season Stats :

QB McNight 16/16 52,2% comp 3828 yards (4th NFL) 30 TDs (1st NFL) 21 INTs Rating : 77,9 (very prolific but the rating is down, too
many interceptions and a low completion percentage.)

for comparisons :
Dwight Benson (traded to NYG) was the second to last ranked QB in the NFL this year with a 60,3 rating, 12 TDs and 22 INTs and
2422 yards in 15 starts.


RB Casey Beyer 13/16 268 attempts for 1122 yards (21st) 4.1/c 7 TDs (26 RBs went over 1000 yards !!!)
WR Jim Henderson 16/16 70 catches for 1055 yards 8 TDs (looks like a breakout year)
WR Robbie Jeffries 0/16 63 catches for 919 yards 3 TDs (and he DIDN'T START ANY GAME
WR Raymond Etaton 16/16 54 catches for 763 yards 8 TDs
TE Marvin Welch had 37 receptions and 8 TDs.
DE Reggie Odgen 14 sacks (11th NFL)
LB Gary Sapp had 109 tackles
Hutchins and Theophilakos both had 5 interceptions

Playoff teams :

AFC
Seahawks (12-4)
Colts (11-5)
Browns (11-5) Defending Super Bowl Champions
Jets (11-5)
Patriots (11-5)
Chiefs (10-6)

NFC
Lions (11-5)
Rams (10-6)
Cowboys (9-7)
Bears (9-7)
Texans (9-7)
Eagles (9-7) Defending NFC Champions

Playoffs this afternoon

[This message has been edited by Darkiller (edited 01-21-2001).]

[Syrinx]

Good season, watch out for those nasty Pats in the post-season. Our December slump is not a good sign going in to the playoffs. Hope we can turn it around. Good Luck!!

Could you clean up the stats a bit? You have Jeffries listed twice with different stats, the first time it shows him starting 14 games. I assume this is someone else's stats, seeing as how he was the 3rd wide out.

Great to see my draftees producing: Ogden, Henderson and "The Greek" and even the aging Jeffries I'm sure McNight will settle in over his career, good afterthought pick there Subby.

[Darkiller]

Wild Card Weekend

Houston @ Chicago : 22-39
Philadelphia @ Dallas : 17-31
New England @ New York Jets : 14-38 ( )

Cleveland Browns (11-5) Vs Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) - 1pt fav : W 58-25 (!)
The Chiefs come to town to play ONLY their 3rd ever postseason game !!! in 30 seasons, the Chiefs have made the playoffs twice and are 0-2.
On the other hand, we will play the franchise's 65th postseason game today (44-20).
The Chiefs are totally inexperienced in the playoffs and it shows as we put on the best game of our season (so far) dominating like we did last year in the playoffs.
QB Sammy McNight seems to be a clutch player who raises his level of play when great games come (remember the SuperBowl last year?), as he, too, played his best game of the year (Offensive Player of the Week).

McNight 25/39 343 yards 5 TDs 1 INT (10 TD passes for him over last 2 playoffs games -SuperBowl 2028 + WildCard 2029-)
Beyer 17 for 108 yards 1 TD
Douglas 7 catches for 148 yards 3 TDs !!! (he was the 5th WR this year w/ only 16 catches for 307 yards and 1 TD all season ...)
Bell had 2 interceptions (Defensive Player of the Week)
Swift had 2.5 sacks
Ogden and Woodson each had 1 sack

Dale Still, LB - Broken Nose, full strength in 2030


Divisional Playoffs

Chicago @ Detroit : 17-23
Dallas @ St Louis : 24-27
New York Jets @ Seattle : 12-27

Cleveland Browns (12-5) @ Indianapolis Colts (11-5) - 3pt dog : L 14-27
a mirror of our 2029 season...
we didn't exist in that game.
The SuperBowl Champions Browns will not repeat as they are knocked out early in the post-season. Down 7-20 at the half, things looked already bleak and it didn't get any better afterwards.
Time to move on, we have some VERY DIFFICULT decisions to make regarding our cap...

McNight 10/33 190 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs
Beyer 19 for 53 yards
Jeffries 3 catches for 57 yards 1 TD
Gordon, Swift and Odgen each had 1 sack
Theophilakos had 9 tackles.

Championship Games

AFC Championship
Indianapolis @ Seattle : 13-17

NFC Championship
St Louis @ Detroit : 20-24

2029 SuperBowl
Detroit Lions Vs Seattle Seahawks : 14-35
The Seahawks are SUPER BOWL Champs for the 1st time.

[Darkiller]

Subby, the first "Jeffries" line in the stats was a wrong one from last year. I erased it.

2030 will be difficult I believe because our cap situation is BAD and we'll probably have to let go a handful of starters...i'm scared just to think about it.

[Darkiller]

i'll post the 2030 free-agency + draft + pre-season tonight. and i'll play as much as I can on the regular season.

Coming off a disapointing divisional playoff exit following a SuperBowl title in 2028, the Browns are looking to get back on top.

the team has had to reload and get rid of some players to fit the cap. this should be an interesting year.


staay tuned for more VCII Browns Football soon

[Darkiller]

Village Challenge II

Season 2030

For 2029 :
Team Performance : 84/100
Franchise Value : 100/100
Profit Loss : 64/100 (!)
Difficulty : 72/100

YEAR END SCORE : 83 :

Stadium :
Construction of a new stadium for your team has just
been completed. The capacity of the new stadium is 99,900
and it has 399 luxury boxes and 199 VR boxes.


also, we've signed a new 7-year television contract. more money.

Please welcome the following players for induction
into the Hall of Fame this season:
Jon Clemons
Dana Cox
Kendall Bozarth
Blake Ellis


Please say goodbye to the Cleveland Browns All-Time leading receiver Robbie Jeffries who called it a career after 14 glorious seasons establishing new Brown records with 11930 yards and 79 TD catches.
Robbie is a lock to be inducted in the Browns Hall of Fame in 3 years...

So here is the cap situation :
we are in VERY BAD shape actually (around $55M under) but this not enough since we only have 40 players signed and 6 starters now FA !
It was IMPOSSIBLE to sign these guys last year because -they are star players- and they ask for top salaries that we couldn't afford last year (we were $2M under the cap entering the season opener) and that we will have trouble affording AGAIN this year.
Here is the list of the 6 FA starters :

QB Sammy McNight (franchised player cuz he's a keeper)
CB Jumbo Bell
DT Riddick Tubbs
WR Jimmy Etaton
DT Reggie Ogden
CB Darryl Hutchins

Trade Offers :
The Rams propose RB Machaldo + their 1st Rd pick (32nd) for DE Kurt Wiese.
The Bills propose DE Darrell Kafka + 2nd round pick for FB Brett Jilinek.
both trades are rejected.

Out of the three players we tried to resign regarding our cap situation,
DT Reggie Odgen signed with Atlanta and WR Jimmy Etaton went to Indianapolis, the team that knocked us out last year in the Playoffs.
But we signed DB Darryl Hutchins to a 5 year deal and grabbed WR Lincoln Shapiro (6 year vet, former #4 overall pick and Offensive rookie of the year in 2025)
Shapira had 81 catches for 1062 yards last year, so he should help us fill the gap of Etaton's departure.

With Jeffries retired, WR Jim Henderson now has to step up for good.
WE currently have just 2 wideouts signed, we'll try to get one in the draft if possible

3 trades for Jelinek, Woodons and Theophilakos are rejected.
We then renegociate a bunch of contracts and wait for after the draft to sign QB Sammy McNight to a long term deal. He's currently ranked at 83 by our scour with a future at...100.

The 2030 NFL Draft :

We own two 1st round picks (17th and 33rd) as well as two 2nd, a 3rd and two 4th and a 5th rounder.
there is a GREAT wide receiver in this draft, Stanley Lewinsky 6"0 195 lbs out of Maryland. Obviously he should go high so i'll try to trade up.
The San Francisco 49ers use their #1 overall pick on a RB (for the 2nd year in a row) since last year's #1 RB had a "bust" season.
The 49ers also own the #2 overall pick so we go for the trade :

We send our two 1st rounders + 2 high priced aging starters (S Arnold Storey -13 year vet- and Duane Hanson -16 year vet-) for the 49ers' #2 pick and TE Jordan Kendall (we need a backup to Marvin Welch).

2030 Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Stanley Lewinsky, WR, Maryland (63/96 100 77/100 94 100 !)

the scouts rate him at 83 (2nd best behind Shapiro's 86 and ahead of Henderson) with a future at 100 !

Rnd 2 - Brian Brigance, T, Florida (powerful Tackle that will provide interesting depth)
Rnd 2 - Warren Robbins, CB, Baylor (could become a very good CB)
Rnd 3 - Rickey Hosken, CB, Baylor (should be a career backup, but a good one)
Rnd 4 - Randal Winslett, WR, Western Carolina
Rnd 4 - Rodney Bruce, RB, Florida
Rnd 5 - Willie Browning, G, Florida State

Lewinsky, I believe, is going to become the next Wallace/Jeffries for Sammy McNight.
the three later picks are not sure at all to make the team. we shall see in time.

After the Draft, QB Sammy McNight agrees to a 5 year, $155M deal including a $10M signing bonus and a base salary of $19M for this season. McNight is locked until 2034.

"We can't get done what we need to get done on this football team without Sammy McNight"
Cleveland Browns" General Manager talking to the media after QB McNight signed his huge contract, making him the highest paid player on the team.

The Browns sold 99,900 season tickets for the season
out of a capacity of 99,900.

Trade Offers
We reject of couple of offers for G Ben Vanderclute and DE Gene Woodson.

We only have 48 players signed so far...we need 5 more but we are ONLY $7,220,000 under the cap and that IS NOT enough to sign that many players. We have to find a way and will probably have to cut loose one or two stars that we have. There is no other choice.

In the FA pool we see that there is available WR Mel Schwartz (4 year vet, former 1st round pick) who was last year the All-League 1st team WR with 95 catches for 1311 yards !
He has been released by the Colts (he killed us in the Divisional playoffs) for salary cap reasons obviously and is now willing to play this year for just over $6M.
We will release newly acquired FA WR Shapiro and his $14M cap and grab Schwartz. That move -not a bad one- will help us gain a valuable $8M without losing too much on the field...

We then sign FA Safety Ronnie Butkus and resign WR Marty Ackerman both for the league's minimum for veteran players.

MEGA TRADE :
we send T Herb Dill (2nd highest paid player on team with over $16M salary) to San Diego against young T Floyd Stargell and young outstanding DE prospect Donnie Bailey.
This move gives us more cap room, one more player, and a good replacement at Tackle.
Herb will be sorely missed but we HAD to trade him.

We now sign FA G March Darden (potential to be a great one, he's young too.) and DT Tony Harper.
We are now set with all 53 players signed and $12M under the cap (2nd best in the NFL).

Conclusion : all this restructuring will result in almost certainly lower rankings in terms of cohesion and a bunch of guys signed only for the season. Which means basically that we will have to continue the process of getting rid of some expensive stars if we want to buil a team next year...Good luck Royal
that was tough for me, and I believe it'll be for you as well though I cleaned the house a little.


The Browns are "worth" $2,411,190,000 (1st NFL)
Stadium (75) 9th
Roster (100) 1st
Support (99) 1s
Economy (53) 12th

Pre-season :

Injury report
Seth Gordon, LB - Sprained Ankle, full strength in 3-5 Weeks
Brenden Swift, DT - Shoulder Tendonitis, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Antonio Dela Cruz, G - Bruised Sternum, full strength in 3-5 Weeks
Mack Darden, G - Turf Toe, full strength in 0-2 Weeks
Darnell Starks, DT - Sprained Knee, full strength in 0-2 Weeks

We go 1-3 in the pre-season (our first losing preseason in year i believe) having lost our last 3. Fortunately for us, this is JUST preseason and doesn't count.
Now let the real season begin, with our starters getting their jobs back.

Roster Cohesion :

passing (73)
Off Line (93)
Deff front (91)
secondary (87)

Regular season to come soon

[WebEwbank]

The salary crunch comes at a tough time. We seem to be on the verge of entering a period of prosperity in the won-loss column, especially with our new, young QB, double-barreled tailbacks, and rejuvenated receiving corps.

However, we're so deep that we may be able to cut payroll without ruining our talent base.

Darkiller, you're on the right track trading our high-priced vets for good young players (without bonus obligations). We may even have to cut back on the top-ten draft picks we used to build the team in the first place. That's a shame, since talent later in the draft is usually not front-line talent, as you know.

It's tough, sending our stars away, but football, as Jerry Jones says, is a "bidness".

Dying to see how we fare in the coming season...

[Syrinx]

With Jeffries retirement, I'm going to go ahead and name Graham "The Greek" Theophilakos as my replacement keeper. I would have named Ogden, I think, but he wasn't willing to stick with us. It was a toss up between "The Greek" and WR Henderson, and I decided to go with D this time around.

Jeffries had a great run with us, including helping to bring us back to the Super Bowl.

I'm glad someone named the Greek a keeper, he's one of my favs.

I'm looking forward to getting the file back, though I still need to repurchase but 20 bucks is very worth the VCII.

I've already played the 2nd segment of the WLC too so I have time in the next week to do it.

Good luck in 2030 Darkiller, and don't worry about player contracts, TRO is ready to negotiate

[Subby]

Seeing as I pulled off mega-deals to get Dill and Etaton, I am slightly bummed. In retaliation I am benching McKnight during my two-year tenure...

Just Kidding

[WebEwbank]

Meat ! That's what these players are: meat. Overpaid, blow-snortin', hooker-eatin', two-timin', bookie-owin' meat. We sign 'em, we cut 'em, we buy 'em and we sell 'em.

Gosh, I hope the Bookstore gets a chance to regain his starting role this year and adds another leauge record or two (total yards from scrimmage one season, total points one season...)

Rock on.

Since I missed the WLC deal, I'm deep in a New Orleans Beignets career and just completed two consecutive 19-0 seasons - a first for me. In the first one I was down by 10 with 4:30 left in the Bowl, scored a TD, got the onside kick - bless you, Andy LaTendresse - got the FG and won in OT. In the second one my stud QB went out in Week 17 and we still rolled. Cafe au lait, baby. Paul Prudhomme for President.

[Darkiller]

I'm in classes until satyrday afternoon so I'll finish my 3rd and last season (2030) this WE and I'll pass the file so that Royal can have it by mondya morning - since I don't think most of you guys will be playing FOF sunday night -

I look forward to a fine season although I retooled the team quite a bit.

take care

[WebEwbank]

Just a thought: Darkiller, are you planning to be Stateside anytime soon ?

If so, we should all hook up for a team banquet...non-virtual avec liquids.

[Subby]

Massachusetts, Virginia, Missouri, Georgia, France.

Obviously my house is right smack dab in the middle, plus I am only 10 minutes from Dulles airport...

I'm not a Missourian. I'm a Kansan, the land of Oz, just to get it straight

[Subby]

Nebraska...Missouri...Kansas - its all the same to us East Coast Intellectual Elite

[Darkiller]

gosh I would love that guys

I plan to work in the States once i'm finished with my studies...that shouldn't too long.

btw, for who are you rooting for sunday, Giants or Ravens ?

[Syrinx]

Well I respect neither of them (for one reason because my team beat them each), but I guess I feel that the Ravens Defense is clearly better then any other unit out there, so i'm rooting for them. (Also my close ties to the Virginia and Maryland, makes me respect Baltimore more then NYC)

I'm actually a 49ers fan like you Darkiller, but I'm looking for the Ravens to win, though I wish Art Modell would burn to a crisp first

Perhaps Subby is the best to answer, he is in Raven territory more or less.

BTW Darkiller, I heard a rumor that Jerry Rice, as most everyone knows won't be returning to SF, but I've heard two teams he is interested in playing for: The Raiders, uggh, and the Chiefs(otherwise known around here as the KC Former Niners). I would love to see him 10 times at Arrowhead next year, even if it isn't with his real team

[Subby]

Im a lifelong Redskins fan - so I cant root for another NFC East team.

Go Ravens.

Did that sound hollow enough?

[WebEwbank]

Rooting for (very mildly) and predicting Giants by 24-13. If betting, the over looks pretty good. People forget that Baltimore has a scoring defense/special teams unit - which won the fantasy superbowl for my wife, incidentally.

I would like to see Sam Gash win though - he got shafted by Pete Carroll in New England.