Cleveland's Revival: A Dawg Pound Tale

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Staying in his adopted home state, Coach Sam Freday, formerly of Bowling Green, has signed with the Cleveland Browns. Here, he will look to rebuild a team, and a city, that has been struggling for years. He knows this will not be easy, as he is a first time NFL coach that lacks the knowledge needed to survive at the NFL level.



It all started in May 2014, when the Browns took QB Johnny Manziel in the 1st round of the NFL draft. The buzz that was brought up throughout the city was truly amazing. The Indians of the MLB had made the playoffs the year before, and now there was hope for the Browns, the longest struggling franchise in the city. The buzz would get stronger a few months later, when LeBron James decided to return home. Now, Cleveland sports fans were ready to shatter their reputation of being stomped on by everyone. They were ready to compete, so GM Ray Farmer made the bold move of hiring Sam Freday from Bowling Green, after he led them to a 34-9 (as of now) record through 4 seasons, the best 4 year mark in school history. Ohio fans took notice, so many of them approve of the move.



House Rules:
Game: Madden 15
Console: Xbox One
Skill: All-Madden
Rosters: Default*
Sliders: GutterPhenom16
Quarter Length: 12 minutes
Accelerated Clock: On
Minimum Play Clock: 20
Game Speed: Normal
Coach Firing: On
Relocation Settings: Everyone
Salary Cap: On

*The default rosters do not have Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, or Ben Tate on the Browns. They aren't too shabby, so I'm just going to use those.

As always, don't post until I give you my command.

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Season Recaps:

2014:

Spoiler

11-5, 6-2 at home, 2nd in AFC North, #6 seed in AFC Playoffs, lost in Divisional Round

Cleveland Browns 2014 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 7	at Pittsburgh Steelers	Lost, 44-38 (OT)
Sep 14	vs New Orleans Saints	Lost, 44-38 (OT)
Sep 21	vs Baltimore Ravens	Won, 25-19
Oct 5	at Tennessee Titans	Won, 21-16
Oct 12	vs Pittsburgh Steelers	Lost, 37-29
Oct 19	at Jacksonville Jaguars	Won, 37-33
Oct 26	vs Oakland Raiders	Won, 41-35 (OT)
Nov 2	vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Won, 27-24
Nov 6	at Cincinnati Bengals	Lost, 20-14
Nov 16	vs Houston Texans	Won, 38-31
Nov 23	at Atlanta Falcons	Won, 55-52 (OT)
Nov 30	at Buffalo Bills	Lost, 41-21
Dec 7	vs Indianapolis Colts	Won, 37-31 (OT)
Dec 14	vs Cincinnati Bengals	Won, 35-23
Dec 21	at Carolina Panthers	Won, 37-31 (OT)
Dec 28	at Baltimore Ravens	Won, 38-28
Jan 3	at New England Patriots (AFC Wild Card)	Won, 24-21
Jan 10	at Baltimore Ravens (AFC Divisional)	Lost, 31-28

Super Bowl Champs:
XLIX: Baltimore Ravens 24, New Orleans Saints 20
L: Cleveland Browns 35, Green Bay Packers 31

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Stats:

2014:

Spoiler

Cleveland Browns Stats - 2014
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	INT	RAT
Johnny Manziel	362/528	5,136	9.7	321.0	80	41	26	105.1
Brian Hoyer	2/2	13	6.5	1.0	7	1	0	133.3
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
Andre Ellington	342	1,545	4.5	37	3	13	118.8	4
Johnny Manziel	78	628	8.1	38	4	10	39.3	9
Isaiah Crowell	89	392	4.4	32	1	4	24.5	1
Ray Agnew	2	6	3.0	3	0	1	0.4	0
Terrance West	1	3	3.0	3	0	0	0.3	0
Josh Gordon	1	2	2.0	2	0	0	0.1	0
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	20+	YDS/G	YAC
Josh Gordon	88	1,467	16.7	11	79	15	91.7	342
Miles Austin	56	735	13.1	8	61	4	45.9	248
Jordan Cameron	55	762	13.9	5	41	6	50.8	206
Andrew Hawkins	43	631	14.7	4	68	8	48.5	333
Andre Ellington	37	523	14.1	2	69	8	40.2	588
Danny Amendola	36	495	13.8	6	80	5	35.4	182
Isaiah Crowell	18	120	6.7	2	20	1	7.5	145
Travis Benjamin	15	211	14.1	1	34	4	13.2	61
Gary Barnidge	8	103	12.9	1	23	1	6.4	23
Glenn Winston	3	58	19.3	0	24	2	58.0	8
Jim Dray	3	22	7.3	2	17	0	1.4	2
Ray Agnew	2	22	11.0	0	15	0	1.4	14
Blocking					PCAKE		SACK
Alex Mack					11		2
Joe Thomas					6		2
Joel Bitonio					14		5
John Greco					4		3
Breno Giacomini					0		4
Michael Bowie					1		2
	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	PD	INT	TD
Karlos Dansby	109	--	109	6	18	1	0	0
Tashaun Gipson	99	--	99	2	6	4	3	0
Donte Whitner	93	--	93	3	7	1	4	0
Barkevious Mingo	62	--	62	6	11	0	1	0
Paul Kruger	54	--	54	13	22	0	0	0
Joe Haden	46	--	46	0	3	4	5	0
Justin Gilbert	45	--	45	0	2	4	3	0
Craig Robertson	43	--	43	1	7	1	0	0
Desmond Bryant	32	--	32	10	16	0	0	0
Champ Bailey	28	--	28	0	0	1	3	1
Pierre Desir	25	--	25	0	1	1	0	0
Phil Taylor	21	--	21	12	13	0	0	0
Jim Leonhard	16	--	16	0	0	0	1	0
Scott Solomon	15	--	15	4	6	0	0	0
Johnson Bademosi	15	--	15	0	0	1	0	0
Ahtyba Rubin	15	--	15	5	6	0	0	0
Chris Kirksey	12	--	12	0	1	0	0	0
Ishmaa'ily Kitchen	12	--	12	2	4	0	0	0
Zac Diles	4	--	4	0	0	0	0	0
Sione Fua	2	--	2	0	1	0	0	0
Isaiah Trufant	2	--	2	0	0	0	0	0
Armonty Bryant	1	--	1	0	0	0	0	0
	Kickoffs					Punts
Returning	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	RET	AVG	TD
Travis Benjamin	46	947	20.6	31	0	13	9.3	0
Andrew Hawkins	19	402	21.2	26	0	0	0	0
Jordan Cameron	2	14	7.0	9	0	0	0	0
Jim Dray	1	9	9.0	9	0	0	0	0
Miles Austin	1	6	6.0	6	0	0	0	0
Craig Robertson	1	3	3.0	3	0	0	0	0
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
Billy Cundiff	12	19	63	50	65	65	100	101
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
Spencer Lanning	27	1,092	68	40.4	894	0	1	4

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Reserved for Awards

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Browns Acquire Andre Ellington from Cardinals



In what is essentially his first move as an NFL coach, Sam Freday and his Cleveland Browns front office have acquired HB Andre Ellington from Arizona in exchange for ROLB Jabaal Sheard. The move came out of nowhere, especially since the preseason hasn't even started.

"We wanted to go out there and get a solid back to support our offense when we need to. With all of the drama at the QB position, we thought it would be a good idea to go out and get Andre. The Cardinals were offering him, so it all worked out for both sides. Hopefully, he sees as a bright a future for himself here as we do. We can't wait to start working with him."

The Browns play their first preseason game on Thursday in Detroit. Look for him there. Andre looks good in orange. He played at Clemson before coming into the NFL.

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5 Questions for the Browns heading into the preseason



Who will start at QB in week 1?

I'm sure that is the question of everyone's minds after the controversy that the real life Browns are having. In Coach Freday's final days with Bowling Green, he thrived on a mobile QB, having Zach Long step up and make a case for Heisman. (Remember that I'm still doing my Bowling Green franchise, it's not over.) That logic would seem to fit the mold of Johnny Manziel, but that is what the preseason is for. Hoyer will be given a chance to prove himself.

Which side of the ball will be better in 2014?

As of now, it looks like the defense. With one of the most underrated secondaries in the league, it will be fun to see how they handle some of the most potent passing offenses in the leagues, like the Saints, Steelers, and Falcons. The trade for Ellington does help the offense a bit. Coupled with Josh Gordon, the offense has some firepower as well.

Please Note: Gordon is not suspended in this game. I will sit him out for the first 10 games to provide a more realistic feel.

What do you expect the record to be for the Browns in 2014?

That is still too far out to tell. Those details will come in the Official Season Preview, before Week 1 of the Regular Season, the same week Coach Freday will release his 1st depth chart.

On the defensive side, who will step up at ROLB now that Jabaal Sheard is gone?

Part of the reason that trade was even made was to give Barkevious Mingo a chance to grow further as an NFL player. He is still young, and has the potential to do great things for this defense. He will rely upon coaching and the mentoring of veterans like Joe Haden to really get him into true form.

What will Coach Freday's Offensive style be? We know it was up-tempo and fairly pass oriented at Bowling Green.

Tune in to the 1st preseason game against the Lions to find out.

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My regular season game recap format will be the same as the Bowling Green dynasty.

Game Recap: Preseason Week 1
Lions 52, Browns 24


It didn't matter much at the time, but Johnny Jam-boogie found Marlon Moore for a TD with about 1:30 to play.

That wasn't what he was expecting. Thankfully, it's only the preseason. But Coach Freday was overwhelmed in his NFL coaching debut, although it really wasn't that bad at first. The Browns went right down the field on their first drive, and stopped the Lions on the next drive. Things were looking good, but it went downhill from there. Brian Hoyer started, going 3-10 for 35 yards and 2 INTs, and then got hurt early in the second. He was fine, but then benched. Manziel threw for 400 yards, but with 3 INTs. Andre Ellington (6 car, 25 yards, 1 TD) and Isaiah Crowell (14 car, 63 yards, 6 rec, 124 yards, TD) appear to be bright spots in the run game. Crowell also scored on a 55 yard screen play. Marlon Moore caught 6 passes for 82 yards and the aforementioned TD.

As for a starter, it appears to be leaning towards Manziel even further. He'll start next week's game at the Redskins. I'm tweaking the sliders a bit, since Joique Bell ran for 250 yards and 4 TD. I'm looking to make them more realistic. If I like them in the next game, I am going to sim to the regular season. Since the rosters are up to date, there is no need to cut anybody (at least not to my knowledge). I'll announce any preseason trades or FA signings throughout the league before I give the Regular Season Preview.

You guys are free to post, by the way. My fault for forgetting to mention it.

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Game Recap: Preseason Week 2
Redskins 30, Browns 24


Brandon Meriweather ended the hopes of a Hoyer-led comeback by making a spectacular INT.

Things were better this time. Coach Freday is continuing to use the preseason to learn more about his team. He learned today that in order to produce the most effective and efficient offense, the Browns must be a run first team. Andre Ellington played 2 and a half quarters, and scored in the 3rd. Isaiah Crowell proved his value by thriving on screen passes as well as getting big yards on the ground when its needed.

Quarterback play was also better. Money Manziel led a great first drive before being taken out at the end of the quarter. Hoyer finished it off with a beautiful 3 yard touchdown, then played the rest of the game. He did throw two INTs, but they weren't really any fault of his own. Marlon Moore continued to show a strong upside by hauling in an 80 yard TD pass from Hoyer in the 4th. He finished with 4 catches for 95 yards, and caught both of Hoyer's touchdown passes.

The defense is also improving. Colt McCoy, the Redskins starter, led two drives down into the red zone, and the Browns defense came up with two big stops. After the starters came out, Cleveland had some problems stopping the run. Roy Helu ran for over 100 yards, and Robert Griffin III threw for 142 with 2 TDs of his own, but Buster Skrine came up with a big interception in the third, his 2nd of the preseason. The Browns couldn't convert the turnover into points, however.

The Full Stats:
Manziel: 3-4, 34 yards, 0 TD, 1 car, 9 yards (played 1 series)
Hoyer: 12-25, 173 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT (played rest of game)

Ellington: 12 car, 69 yards, 1 TD, 3 rec, 41 yards
Crowell: 6 car, 30 yards, 2 rec, 40 yards

Moore: 4 rec, 95 yards, 2 TD
T. Benjamin: 3 rec, 31 yards

From the Author: These sliders seem about right. I'm going to sim the rest of the preseason, and then start the season. I haven't decided who will start. Both Manziel and Hoyer have key strengths. It will come down to who I trust more to limit bad decisions. I will announce the starter before the Season Preview post.