I begin by reviewing our Coaching/Scouting staff and they're staying for another year. Coach Force had a better replacement as he was mostly VG in every category with good in everything else, but he had a poor and a fair and they happened to be on the DL where our Scout doesn't know anything and RB where we NEED help so Force stays.

WR Mike Pritchard retired. He was #6 WR last year and didn't play much even with the rash of injuries we had, but he will be missed as he was an original Brown and I've tried extending all the original Browns I can.

Our FA list is pretty short this year:
#3 RB Raymont Harris
#5 LB Barry Schneiderheinze (4th year restricted)
#2 Center Steve Gordon
RT Jason Fabini
Reserve G Joe Andruzzi
#1 DT Doug Brown
#2 DE Brandon Whiting

This leaves us with 43 players signed and $5,280,000 under the cap. I'm going to have to be frugal this year especially since I want to move up in the draft for a top notch RB. I place the Franchise Tag on DE Brandon Whiting as he should be cheaper that Brown and Fabini who are the only others worth keeping.

We recieve more trade offers for FB Edwin Bednarik and Blaine Davies, when is everyone going to get the hint?

We enter the FA market and the only worthwhile FA's are in positions like CB and WR where we are already stacked. There is no worthwhile RB's so I'm definately going to have to move up in the draft.

We do retain the services of Schneiderheinze, Andruzzi, and Whiting, but we lose the other 4.

I trade RB Lamont Foley who had about 2500 yards in 3 years to Washington for the 5th overall pick, I don't expect any top notch RB that might be there will drop any farther.

I also trade #3 QB Koy Detmer & our other 1st rd pick(16) to Detroit for their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rd picks(19).

DRAFT DAY

There is some good talent in the draft this year, especially at QB and DE, but we have plenty of talent thier, I'm looking at a RB in the mold of Earl Campbell, short but big and fast.

And at #5 we select out of Arizona State University, at 5'9", 238lbs,
Donnie Sheen!

1(5) RB Donnie Sheen-He's only at half his potential right now but that potential is nearly that of Blaine Davies, and that's says a bunch.
1(19) Noone worthy of another #1 pick nor the money associated with it so i trade it to San Diego for their 2nd Rd pick(8) and their 2003 #2.
2(8) RB Orlando Kennicott 6'1" 203 Colorado-We need a 3rd back and hopefully this guy will step up and push Sheen to have a big year, he's already nearly realized his potential which is about half full bars.
2(19) FB Earnest Astley 5'7" 204 Southwest Louisiana-Another position that this draft was plentiful with and he is worth the pick, not as good as Bednarik but a worthy successor giving us the flexibility in that position.
2(25) C Plaxico Carter 6'5" 279 Texas-A very capable #2 C behind starter Jeff Smith
3(19) QB Jesse Sieh 6'1" 190 Michigan-This guy is often times the #1 QB taken in a draft but not in this one. He's mostly potential right now but he's a better #3 that Detmer was and with him and Jeff Clemons they will provide great trade bait when they reach their potential.

Really there is no other players that catch my eye besides more CB's that we are already carrying 5 of so I let the Scout finish us up and none of them get signed but so you know he selected
DE Lenny Landot of Miami
WR Teddy Nelson of Wyoming
T Jose Purnell of Ohio
T Thurman Schulz of BYU

Denver tries moving the Broncos to Kalamazoo, MI but fails.

We sign our rookies including Donnie Sheen. Sheen signed for 7 years 16 million. Hopefully he'll earn every penny.

We sell 69,500 of our 70,300 season tickets

We trade T Ephraim Salaam for T Norm Galloway of Jacksonville. We also pick up a 3rd tackle to fill the roster.

We head into the preseason with 51 players signed at $2,400,000 under the cap, not too shabby.

Blaine Davies has now maxed out his potential and gives us the best starter in the league according to our scout!

We are considered at least very good at every position but DT where we're still a high good. We have the best starters at: QB, TE, G, CB.

Our cohesion has improved and we're no longer the last in the league!
Passing 53
OL 56
DL 62
Secondary 60

Darkillers CB project BJ Carr has taken over the starting CB role from Terrell Buckley.

PRESEASON GAMES:
CLEVELAND 42 INDY 21
CLEVELAND 6 CHICAGO 35
STL 13 CLEVELAND 34
TB 20 CLEVELAND 14

Davies had a subpar preseason and Sheen fluctuated with the team. 15/76 2 TD against the Colts, 9/24 against Chicago, 26/126 TD vs STL, and 14/8 against the Bucs.

Hopefully he'll get a little more consistent through the year.

After last season's 10-6 and second straight appearance into the Conference Final, I'd like to see us win the division this year and make the bowl, but I imagine Sheen will struggle at times as seen in his on again off again preseason. Davies is the key though, if he doesn't improve over his preseason numbers, we're doomed.
ONTO THE SEASON

We go into the season with two critical injuries to our defense. DE Jason Taylor has a broken finger and is out 3-5 weeks but i will attempt to get him some playing time because DE Brandon Whiting is out 2-3 months with a broken wrist, and we need defensive line help somehow.

Week 1
Baltimore 13 at Cleveland 30
Sheen has a subpar debut getting 36 yards on 12 carries but does score his first NFL TD.
Davies steps up going 19/29 286 1 TD, 2 INT but it is LB James Logan who is the game MVP with 2 INT as we get 4 as a team!

Week 2
Cleveland(1-0) 13 at St Louis(0-1) 12
A defensive struggle if there ever was one. Sheen gets the game ball for scoring the only TD, goes 73 yards on 15 carries. [b}Davies[/b] still looking for a breakout game 10/21 188 INT

Week 3
Cleveland(2-0) 30 at Tennessee(0-2) 7
Davies kicks it into high gear going 23/36 309 1 TD, 1 INT. He still has more INT than TD but he's finding his zone. Sheen is 22/88 1 TD rushing the ball.

Week 4
Cleveland(3-0) 24 at Cincinnati(2-1) 16
Our 3rd straight roadgame and this one against a team that has given us fits so far but Davies grabs another game ball going 21/42 297 2 TD, 1 INT. Sheen is pretty horrible gaining 27 yards on 10 carries.

We're a fourth of the way through and this team seems to come out gunning to start seasons. We have sole possession of first and are one of only a couple teams still undefeated. and we get a home game before going back on the road for 2 more. Besides the two DE injuries, we're staying pretty healthy.

Week 5
Atlanta(0-3) 9 at Cleveland 30
Davies 24/35 357 3TD, 0 INT. His first INT free game earns him player of the week and the Browns another win. [b]Sheen bounces back for 98 yards and Terrell Owens has a big game grabbing 6 balls for 131 yards and a TD.

Week 6
Cleveland(5-0) 48 at Baltimore(2-3) 3
Where do we start? 2nd year CB Jerald Mummert picks 2 passes off and returns one for a TD. Davies goes 20/38 308 TD, Sheen is horrible rushing 12 carries 3 yards but grabs 5 passes for 81 yards, but fellow rookie RB Orlando Kennicott gets 7 carries, 93 yards and 3 TD! You might think we should try to get Kennicott some more carries but Sheen needs the playing time to reach his great potential and Sheen is a much better reciever which helps out Davies a bunch.

Week 7
Cleveland (6-0) 34 at Carolina (4-2) 32
Our defense gives up the most yards by us this year but Davies steps up AGAIN going 24/35 381 TD pulling victory from the jaws of our first potential defeat.

Week 8
S.F. (5-2) 17 at Cleveland 37
WR Carl Pickens grabs 6 passes for 116 yards and 2 TD as Davies goes 27/48 347 4 TD in a big win. CB BJ Carr has 2 INT to lead the defensive charge.

Halfway through the season and we are 8-0! We are virtually assured of a playoff berth and we are doing a good job avoiding lengthy injuries as our depth is allowing us to rotate a little more. We are 2 games up on Pittsburgh in our division and Seattle has the second best record at 6-1-1. Here are some mid-season stats:
Davies 168/276 60.8% 2473 15 TD 7 INT 97.6 rating. 236 yards rushing Imagine if he didn't have that one sub 200 yard game in week 2, he'd be on pace for 5000 yards!
Sheen 406 yards 3.1ypc 4 TD
Kennicott 158 yards 4.9ypc 4 TD
Owens 34 catches 528 yds 4 TD
Pickens 25 catches 519 yds 4 TD
Stokes 23 cathces 393 yds TD
TE Stark 29 catches 324 yds 2 TD
Sheen 25 catches 297 yds 2 TD
FB Bednarik 21 catches 242 yds 2 TD
DT Mudgett and DE Taylor 4.5 sacks each
BJ Carr 5 INT
Law 3 INT
Mummert 3 INT

As seen in those recieving stats, Davies is spreading the ball around, it's almost as if we're the Rams.

Week 9
Cincinnati(4-3) 3 at Cleveland(8-0) 38
No slowing down. 2 yr LB Leon Roose grabs the game ball with 2 INT, one for a TD as we grab 6 INT as a team! KR Moe Jeter returns a punt for 86 yards and a TD.

Week 10
Cleveland(9-0)20 at Jax(5-3) 17 OT
We escape our first loss as Davies tried to give it away 21/38 265 3 INT!, but as we drafted him to do, when Davies can't win it Sheencan! 25 carries 215 yards, 2 TD in his biggest game yet, but it came at a price as he breaks his hand and is out 3-5 weeks! Kennicott is going to get his oppurtunity.

Week 11
Pittsburgh(7-2) 34 at Cleveland(10-0) 17
Davies did everything he could, 18/30 305, but it wasn't enough as we finally fall to the Steelers in what could turn out to be a huge game.

Week 12
Jax(5-5) 17 at Cleveland(10-1) 34
Davies 19/30 332 2 TD
Kennicott 10 carries 109 yards TD
Stokes 6 catches 124 yards 2 TD
Kennicott is making the most of his oppurtunity.

Week 13-The Rematch
Cleveland(11-1) 27 at Pittsburgh(8-3) 0
With this win, we clinch the division! S Lamont Evans INT ret for a TD, Kennicott12 carries 54 yards, Davies 25/39 292 TD
We took no mercy, revenge for our only lost.

Week 14
Tennessee(3-10) 11 at Cleveland(12-1) 37
Davies 23/35 286 3TD, Kennicott 25 carries, 133 yards TD. Kennicott is proving his worth, showing more consistency than Sheen did, but I still think Sheen is the real deal.

Week 15
We FINALLY get a bye, hopefully Sheen can recover as his hand is bothering him more than originally thought.

Week 16
Indy(6-8) 31 at Cleveland(13-1)41
A shootout led by none other than Davies 22/30 329 3 TD. Kennicott again gains 126 yards, scores a TD on 24 carries. TE Stark grabs 7 passes for 107 yards and 2 TD.

Week 17
Cleveland(14-1) 45 at Denver(7-7-1) 16
Davies was PHENOMENAL! 22/29 438 4 TD in the season finale. Stark is big again with 7 catches, 137 yards and 2 TD and Stokes has 6 catches 160 yards and 2 TD himself.

We finish with a 15-1 regular season record! and of course homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Final Divisional standings:
Cleveland 15-1
Pittsburgh 11-5
Cincy 8-8
Jax 7-9
Baltimore 6-10
Tennessee 4-12

We score 505 points this year and only gave up 238, both best in the league.

A look at the playoffs:
New England 10-6
Miami 10-6
NY Jets 9-7
Cleveland 15-1
Pittsburgh 11-5
Oakland 8-8

Dallas 9-7
Washington 9-7
Chicago 11-5
Green Bay 10-6
Detroit 10-6
Caroline 9-7

Washington beats Carolina 31-21
Green Bay beats Detroit 27-3
Pittsburg beats Miami 18-10
New York beats Oakland 27-17

Chicago beats Washington 35-3
Green Bay beats Dallas 24-17

New England beats Pittsburgh 41-6

We play the 10-7 NY Jets. We are still without RB Donnie Sheen.

We Trail 7-13 at the half

We win 17-13! Back to the conferance Finals
Davies has one of his worst games of the season going 14/32 175 yards 1 TD, 2 INT. Kennicott gains 67 yards on 14 carries, but it's the defense that is the star. LB James Logan 7 tackles, 1 INT, 1 Sack, DT BJ Mudgett 2 sacks 1 fumble recovery, CB Ty Law 2 INT.

GB beats Chicago to go the the FOF bowl 15-12

We have a rematch of last years AFC Final with New England who is 11-6

The Patriots get the ball first and with the first play from scrimmage, Drew Bledsoe shows that they aren't scared of the 16-1 machine that is the Browns and hits Simmons for a 73 yard TD.

Davies then executes the Browns offense to perfection going 4/4 for 53 yards and hits Terrell Owens for a 12 yard TD pass on our first drive. This game is going to be a war.

The defenses both do their jobs and we trade punts for a while before Davies finds Stark in the back of the endzone to put us up 14-7.

Not to be outdone, Bledsoe drives his team down the field where Robert Edwards runs in it from 5 yards out to tie the score at 14.

We get a FG before half and lead 17-14!

We aren't able to start the 2nd half as the Patriots did the first and are forced to punt. Early in the Pats first 2nd half drive though, disgruntled CB Terrell Buckley shows why he was an All-Pro last year by getting a big INT at the New England 40yard line. This leads to a 1 yard TD run by rookie FB Earnest Astley and we now lead 24-14.

Rollins hits his second FG of the game on our next drive, from 37 yards out and we are up 27-14. The Browns begin to celebrate on the sideline.

The Pats drive on their next possession but we eventually hold them to a 38 yard FG near the end of the 3rd quarter to close the lead to 27-17.

On the ensuing kickoff, star kick returner Moe Jeter breaks a few tackles, is at the 20, the 30, one guy to beat and he...STRIPS THE BALL and the Patriots recover and the Browns 35 yards line. With our backs against the wall the Patriots move inside the 10 yard line but we hold and they kick a 23 yard FG to close it to a one score game 20-27.

Kennicott who has had a good game til now can't grind out much clock and we're forced to give them the ball back with nearly 10 minutes left.

Again, the experienced Patriots drive the field before we hold and with 6:23 left kick another FG, this time from 41 yards out, and our lead is now shrunk to 27-23. Our heads are starting to droop down, we need another big drive.

We are successful in draining some clock, down to the 3 minute mark before having to kick.

Bledsoe puts his team on his back and drives inside the 30 before 2yr CB Jerald Mummert picks the ball off on the 25 yard line with 2 minutes left. The Browns are back to celebrating.

We fail to get a first down and the Pats burn their timeouts to stop the clock but will have the ball back with about a minute left and at their own 40 yard line.

Bledsoe to Simmons, out of bounds at our 28, :54 left on the clock.

Bledsoe to Glenn in the endzone, 28 yd TD, NE leads 30-27! The Browns are in shock. Davies will have one more chance and we have 3 timeouts.

The kickoff is through the back of the endzone and we'll start on our 20 with :40 left on the clock.

Davies to Stokes for 13 yards to the 33. Time out.

2 straight false start penalties and we are back to the 23.

Davies is picked off by the Pats and our season is over...

NE 30, Cleveland 27
Kennicott 20 carries 108 yards
Davies 22/36 232 yards 2 TD, 1 INT
Bledsoe 23/38 399 2 TD 2 INT

3 straight years to the AFC championship game, 3 straight dissapointments.

The Patriots will go on to win their 3rd FOF bowl in 4 years, 45-24 over the Packers.

Final stats for the year:

Davies 338/539 62.7% 4979 yards 31 TD 12 INT 102.7 rating, 461 yards rushing
Sheen 667 yards 3.5ypc 7 TD, 29 catches 327 yards 2 TD
Kennicott 638 yards 5.3ypc 7TD
Pickens 61 rec 1103 yards 7 TD
Owens 69 rec 994 yards 7 TD
Stokes 49 rec 920 yards 6 TD
Stark 55 rec 817 yards 6 TD
Taylor 12 sacks
Carr 68 tackles(led team), 7 INT.

Lamont Foley had 886 yards and 3 TD for the Redskins

MVP of the league is Terrell Davis who ran for 1657 yards.

Off Player of the Year: Blaine Davies
1st Team QB Blaine Davies
1st Team CB BJ Carr(congrats Darkiller)
2nd Team FB Edwin Bednarik

TEAM STATS:
4th rushing offense 2093 yards, 130.8/game
1st passing offense 5029 yards, 314.3/game
15th rushing defense 1751 yards, 109.4/game
2nd passing defense 3218 yards, 201.1/game

Herb's Eval of Darkillers 2000 season:
Team Performance: 63
Franchise Value: 83
Profit/Loss: 65
Difficulty: 71

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:
5yr G Raleigh Roundtree
5yr T Tony Hutson
5yr T Jamie Nails-Franchise
5yr DT Tony Williams
5yr DE Jason Taylor

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:
T Tony Hutson
DT Tony Williams
some other disgruntled linemen

Key pickups:
S Chris Canty
WR Terrell Owens
DT Doug Brown
DE Brandon Whiting
C Steve Gordon

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:
I see a couple good defensive guys that I'd like and there quite a few talented looking QBs but Blaine is doing great, though Jon Kitna was signed by KC so we'll need a new backup.
A few picks go by and I can't stand the thought of the guy I want getting drafted before I get a chance and I offer next years #1(22), this years #3 & 7 and backup C Lance Scott to Dallas for the #4 overall. A pretty fair trade as Scott is a quality backup but is now a #3 on our team and Dallas' #1 need was at C.

Anyway, we select...DT out of Stanford B.J. Mudgett!

Draft Report:
1(4)-B.J. Mudgett, DT, Stanford, 6-2, 299
1(22)-Leon Roose, LB, Notre Dame, 6-1, 241
2(22)-Jerald Mummert, CB, Missouri, 5-8, 225
4(22)-Jeff Clemons, QB, Washington, 6-1, 225
5(22)-Frank Spruce, LB, Maryland, 5-11, 232
6(22)-Moe Jeter, CB, LSU, 5-11, 168, he'll be our kick returner.

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:
Passing 56
OL 35
DL 45
Secondary 48, all last in the NFL

We'll see if our team can overcome though...

Let me start by giving a summary of what our roster looks like:

QB: Blaine Davies, Jeff Clemons, Koy Detmer
RB: Lamont Foley, Tiki Barber, Raymont Harris
WR: Terrell Owens, Carl Pickens, JJ Stokes, Chris Sanders, Matthew Hatchett, Mike Pritchard
FB: Edwin Bednarik, Ray Zellars
TE: Ronald Stark, Marcus Pollard
LT: Jamie Nails
LG: Rueben Brown
C: Steve Gordon
RG: Raleigh Roundtree
RT: Jason Fabini
T: Ephraim Salaam
G: Dan Neil
C: Jeff Smith
P: Quin Slay
K: Corey Rollins
Punt Ret: Moe Jeter, Terrell Buckley
Kick Ret: Moe Jeter, Chris Canty
DE: Jason Taylor, Brandon Whiting, Mike Mamula
DT: Doug Brown, BJ Mudgett, Christian Peter
LB: James Logan, Ted Ridgway, Leon Roose, Dan Brandenburg, Barry Schneiderheim, JR Farmer
CB: Ty Law, Terrell Buckley, BJ Carr, Jerald Mummert, Moe Jeter
S: Charles Mincy, Lamont Evans, Chris Canty

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...

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
Foley's debut was less the hoped though as he goies 13 carries for 38 yards, probably one of the factors in the Jags coming back, our inability to eat the clock.

Week 3 vs N.E.(1-0) 5pt fav: W 45-21
Jeter thought about doing it again but only got 48 yards to start this game as Davies again has a huge game going 24/33 for 288 and 2 TDs. Foley again only gained 57 yrds on 19 carries but Buckley has 2 picks and Taylor and Mudgett combine for 3.5 sacks.

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
We didn't dissapoint the odds makers as we continue to put on an offensive show. Lamont Foley gets the game ball running for 3 TDs, but only manages 80 yds on 30 carries. Davies struggles throwing no TDs and 2 INTs. Owens has a big day with 8 catches for 117 yards.

Carl Pickens is out 3-5 weeks with a broken finger.

Week 5 vs Tennessee(3-1) 11pt fav: W10-7
We have lots of injuries in this game and its not pretty but we win, improving to 4-0, alone on top of the AFC Central. Foley dislocates his elbow and Tiki Barber steps up going 80 yards on 14 carries.

Week 6 @ Baltimore(1-3) 10pt fav: W 33-0
Our first shutout, can this team be stopped? We're now 5-0 and dominating. Davies goes 25/38 for 255 and 3 TDs. Barber has a good game getting 72 yards on 9 carries, but it's the defense that stood out holding the Ravens to 210 yards of total offense most late in the 4th quarter.

Chris Canty broke his wrist and is added to a mounting DL.

Week 7 @ Tennessee(4-2) 2pt fav: W31-12
Another huge game by our defense as we force 6 Titan turnovers, 5 interceptions of McNair. Davies throws 3 more TDs.

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
We led at half but the Bengals experience proved too much as we are finally taken down from our undefeated pedestal. Foley returned and was very ineffective. Davies has a big first half throwing for 250 yds but fizzles in the 2nd half ending up with only 334.

Week 9 @ Green Bay(4-3) 2pt fav: L17-23 OT
2 Losses in a row, this one was ugly. Cleveland only manages 18 yards in the first 25 minutes of the game. We tie it late and have a 32 yd game winning FG try blocked at the end of regulation before losing in 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
Kordell absolutely tears apart our secondary going 25/35 for 301 and 2 TDs while Davies tries to match him throwing for 317 himself. The difference ended with Foley only getting 15 yards on 9 carries. This is now a MAJOR need.

We are now 6-3 and reeling, we need a turnaround fast.

Week 11 @ Indianapolis(6-3) 1pt fav: W 16-14
The only thing that can really be said is that with 2 minutes left in the game we punted the ball inside their 5 which led to a Jason Taylor sack for 2 points, big break indeed.

Week 12 vs Pittsburg(4-7) 6 pt fav: W 47-20
Thats more like our Browns! Buckley grabs game MVP honors for a 72 yards interception return for a TD but Davies grabs Player of the Week honors as he goes 21/29 for 348 with 3 TDs. Owens and Pickens both have big games getting 100 yards receiving each.

We now once again have sole possession of 1st place!

Week 13 @ 2nd place Cincy(7-4) EVEN L 16-48
The Bengals are tired of us having fun and jump out 31-0 early and hold on to win big. Davies goes 3/16 for 22 yards and 2 INTs before leaving with a concussion. Clemons relieves him going 11/14 154 yds and 1 TD but the game ends with 4 WRs on the DL

Week 14 @ Detroit(5-7) 6pt fav L 3-37
This team doesn't like losing as it seems to hurt them for a while. Davies must still be woozy as he goes 10/25 for 130 and 2 more picks.

Week 15 vs Baltimore(5-8) 8pt fav: L 10-20
We're falling like lead, Davies again only 11/27 191 and 2 INTs, I think he might need a CAT scan.

We're now 8-6 and fighting for our playoff lives, as after starting 6-0, we've gone 2-6!
I decide that Davies needs a week off, probable or not. Clemons has done well when he's had a chance and we can't risk permanent damage to not only Davies health but his psyche.

Week 16 vs Chicago(10-4) 1 pt fav W 37-26
How we were favored I'll never know, but Clemons goes 20/43 for 249 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs. Barber is the star though gaining 180 yards on 25 carries and getting 3 TDs, he officially takes the HB job for the rest of the year.

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
Seeing Clemons run the ship last game motivates Davies as he goes 20/29 for 291 and 3 TDs while Barber adds 21 carries for 83 yds and a score himself.

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
Our first meeting we won 24-10, but Denver is ready and behind Terrell Davis they finish the first half up 14-7. But our defensive coordinator spots something and in the second half we force 6 turnovers, 3 picks by Charles Mincy, and Davies throws 3 TDs on only 135 yards.

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
The game is an intense one as Bledsoe and Davies duke it out and we head into the half trailing 14-10.

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:
Davies: 15 games 241/438 55% 3509 yds 22TD/17INT 37 Sacks 81.8 QB rating 387 rushing yards
Tiki Barber 3 starts 121 carries 602 yards 7 TDs
Lamont Foley 13 starts 196 carries 505 yards 10 TDs
Terrell Owens 70 catches 1182 yards 4 TDs
Carl Pickens 56 catches 932 yards 7 TDs
JJ Stokes 32 catches 437 yards 6 TDs
James Logan 111 Tackles
Jason Taylor 10 Sacks
Brandon Whiting 9 Sacks
BJ Mudgett 4.5 Sacks 2 Fumble Recoveries in 8 games due to injury
Terrell Buckley 8 INTs

Team Stats:
14th Rushing Off
6th Passing Off
14 Rushing Def
13th Passing Def
7th 3rd Down Eff%
6th in Turnover Ratio at +8

MVP of the league is Emmitt Smith

Terrell Buckley is named as a 1st team CB
James Logan is named as a 2nd team LB

Herbs score:
Team Performance: 72/100
Franchise Value: 100/100
Profit/Loss: 65/100
Difficulty: 70/100

Score: 80/100