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2001 Cleveland Browns
Home | Draft Board | Awards Board | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | 2034 | 2035 Herb's Eval of Darkillers 2000 season: Overall: 71 Nobody retires during the offseason as they are anxious to meet their
new GM I do a quick eval of our staff and decide that Martin Force definately earned his keep by making the playoffs and will stay but I think Erik Hart gave him some bad talent and I sign away Erik Johann, a 33 year scout for the pitiful Chiefs who had the #1 pick last year and have it again this year. He is an upgrade in every area besides DL where he goes from Fair to Poor, but otherwise he has 6 VG and 2 Goods, so I think its a quick boost. I also take off the Franchise tag on G Jerome Daniels, in fact I eventually cut him, and after much deliberation place it on T Jamie Nails. Currently there are 34 players signed and we are $11,810,000 under the salary cap. I begin the F.A. period and recieve two trade offers: Miami offers 2nd rd pick(5) for last years #2 pick FB Edwin Bednarik, I decline KC offers WR Raymond Wiggins, a nice looking wideout, and the #1 overall pick for QB Blaine Davies, I accept...I mean decline. I determine that the Key FAs we have going into the pool are: Obviously our lines look like they could be hurt bad, I do some renegotiating with some of our overpaid players and get us to $19,500,000 under the cap and head into the FA signing period. I'm trying to build cohesion levels so I try to resign most everyone I can and not bring aboard too many new faces but some names catch my eye and I go after some linemen to offset any we might lose and a safety where I feel very weak. I also nab Terrell Owens to play alongside fellow former niner JJ Stokes. We end up doing quite well Key Losses: Key pickups: We also resigned Jason Taylor much to my surprise as 3 others teams bid higher for his services. Indy offers us their 1st rd pick(19) for Jason Taylor, Decline Jax offers DT Kelvin Pritchett & 2nd rd pick(12) for Edwin Bednarik, popular guy Onto the draft: Anyway, we select...DT out of Stanford B.J. Mudgett! Draft Report: After the draft GB offers DT Burt Hampton and 2002 #2 for Jason Taylor, decline I offer DT Shane Dronett(the odd man out of a now stacked DT position) & 2002 #5 for KC's 2002 #1 I also sign TE Marcus Pollard to fill a missing TE spot I needed and we now have 51 men signed and no room under the cap, but I have guys that can step up in case of injury so hopefully we're ok. We come out of training camp and Detroit offers us T Juan Owens and 2002 #1 for BJ Mudgett, declined. We sell 68,800 of our 70,300 Season Tickets and our franchise value is now #1 at $446,600,000, roster strength 100 and support of 93, Go CLEVELAND!!! On the downside though is our cohesion: We'll see if our team can overcome though... First off, I'm going to wait to start 2002 until Darkiller gives his official word as to his keeper, don't want to accidentally cut him if it's someone other than Davies.Let me start by giving a summary of what our roster looks like: QB: Blaine Davies, Jeff Clemons, Koy Detmer There is no stalworths on defense but it is pretty solid, with the secondary being the heart of it all. I would like to improve the LB core next year though. I will start a new post for the season... 2001 Preseason:We go 2-2 and survive with only a minor injury to Doug Brown who is probable with Turf Toe The only stellar performance came in the 3rd preseason game vs Chicago where rookie QB Jeff Clemons went 17/31 for 269 yds and 2 TD in a losing effort, hopefully a sign that he'll prove to be a good backup. Outlook: After Darkillers run to the Conf Finals, I'd like to continue to improve and have a birth in the FOF bowl, but as I think luck had as much to do with last year as our talent, I'll be happy making the playoffs again. Onto the Regular Season!!! Week 1...BYE, well, I guess this will help Brown get ready to start the season with everyone else... Week 2 @ Jacksonville(1-0) 1pt fav: W 31-22 We set the tone early as rookie Kick Returner Moe Jeter returns the
opening kickoff 92 yards for the score! Jacksonville mounts a late
comeback but the Browns were too tough as Blaine Davies starts the season
strong going 17/31 for 285 and 2 TDs Week 3 vs N.E.(1-0) 5pt fav: W 45-21 Doug Brown's Turf Toe is acting up again and is now out 3-5 weeks. Week 4 vs Denver(2-1) 10pt fav: W 24-10 Carl Pickens is out 3-5 weeks with a broken finger. Week 5 vs Tennessee(3-1) 11pt fav: W10-7 Week 6 @ Baltimore(1-3) 10pt fav: W 33-0 Chris Canty broke his wrist and is added to a mounting DL. Week 7 @ Tennessee(4-2) 2pt fav: W31-12 Stokes is added to the DL with a torn caf muscle, out 2-3 months. Week 8 vs Defending FOF Champ Cincinnati(4-2) 7pt fav: L 21-28 Week 9 @ Green Bay(4-3) 2pt fav: L17-23 OT Sanders is our 2-3 months with a dislocated knee. The 2 straight defeats drops us into a tie with the Bengals for the division lead. Week 10 @ Pittsburgh(3-6) 2pt fav: L 17-23 We are now 6-3 and reeling, we need a turnaround fast. Week 11 @ Indianapolis(6-3) 1pt fav: W 16-14 Week 12 vs Pittsburg(4-7) 6 pt fav: W 47-20 We now once again have sole possession of 1st place! Week 13 @ 2nd place Cincy(7-4) EVEN L 16-48 Week 14 @ Detroit(5-7) 6pt fav L 3-37 Week 15 vs Baltimore(5-8) 8pt fav: L 10-20 We're now 8-6 and fighting for our playoff lives, as after starting
6-0, we've gone 2-6! Week 16 vs Chicago(10-4) 1 pt fav W 37-26 We're 9-6 and we actually control our own destiny. If we beat the Jags we'll win a tie breaker with them as we'll have beaten them twice, if we lose, we're out, there is already 6 teams with 10 wins in the AFC. Week 17 vs Jax(10-5) 4pt fav: W 37-17 We will host our first ever playoff game as we head into the playoffs for the second straight year. Wild Card round vs Denver(10-6) 5 pt fav W 37-21! Divisional Playoff @ Oakland(11-5) 3pt underdog. Do you realize this is the first time we've been a dog this year? Amazing. The game is a defensive battle, the way I like them and Oakland leads 7-6 at the half. Jeff George gets a quick TD pass in the 2nd half to extend the lead to 14-6 going into the 4th quarter where Davies leads us down the field and hits JJ Stokes for an 8 yard score followed by a 2pt conversion to Terrell Owens and we're tied at 14! A Terrell Buckley interception sets up a game winning field goal attempt with :12 left and it's..........GOOD! W 17-14 We're going back to the Conference Finals where we meet 1999 FOF champs the N.E. Patriots. We beat them in week 3 45-21, let's hope they don't remember. Conference Finals @ New England(13-4) 2pt fav Unfortunately New England adds 10 more real quick in the 2nd half and a late rally makes it closer than it really is. We will fall 1 game short for the 2nd straight year. L 18-24 New England goes on to play the Dallas Cowboys(13-4-1) in FOF bowl III. N.E. wins 27-14 to win their 2nd championship in 3 years. Key stats for the year: Team Stats: MVP of the league is Emmitt Smith Terrell Buckley is named as a 1st team CB Herbs score: Score: 80/100 Next year: WE NEED A RUNNING GAME
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