Herb's score:
66/78/6471 Year Score 70
Franchise value:
488,270,000 (#4)
Stadium Fair (33)
Roster Excellent (100)
Support Excellent (99)
Economy Good (46)
Retirees:
WR Stokes
DE Mamula
We keep both coach and scout. Force has improved: now one Poor and two
Fairs. Johann still Poor at DL.
47 players under contract; $9.7MM under cap.
Good news: only Ridgway is unsigned.
Bad news: 21 players' deals expire this year.
I can't justify franchising Ridgway; there are seven higher-rated free
agent LBs. So, no franchise tag at all this year.
Last year we cleared $41.2MM, compared to $55.8MM the year before. With
attendance at 100% last year, we raise ticket prices.
We get trade offers for Mincy, Bednarik, Sheen, and Mudgett. None are
worthwhile.
We have only the 3, 4, and 5 picks this year.
We quickly resign about two-thirds of our potential defectors to two
and three year deals.
We make early offers to LBs Kirkland and Lewis, and WR Weber. Moderate
offers. Weber and Kirkland sign immediately with other teams. We increase
our offer for Lewis. No reasonably-priced DLs seem to be around. Lewis,
the rat, resigns with Baltimore (in our division of course) for $2MM less
than we offered !
We decide to wait and see what's available after camp.
We discard offers for Sheen, Adams, and Owens.
There are three fantastic 8.0 prospects in the draft: QB, DE, and DT.
We jump on it, trading our 3 and 4 pick, LB Logan, backup OT Galloway,
and next year's 2 pick for this years #2 in the whole draft from Minn.
Either DL would be a godsend. I HOPE the Giants take the QB, since I don't
need that temptation: his lowest potential is 95.
They take a lower-rated RB !
I just cannot justify a backup QB that good who won't play until Davies
is retired. We take the DE.
1 - Matt Champion, 6-1, 277, 3.9/8.0, Dartmouth, 46/98 37/94 98
5 - K.C. Morton, 6-3, 212, Tennessee, for special teams
We sign them, giving Champion an obscene $7MM bonus.
Bad news: Pickens' ratings are melting like summer snow ! No wonder our
scout says we need a WR !
After camp we need to see what we can do.
OK, we do need a WR, but we have trade-bait, three decent players at FB
and C, a linebacker or two we can spare.
We signed Davies to a five-year deal.
Blockbuster: we trade backup QB Clemons (Sieh is about as good now,
with better potential), #3 RB Barber, and the 2005 #1 pick for an impact
WR: Harvey Wallace from San Diego.
Wallace, 5-8, 182, out of Notre Dame, is 276/3962 21 TDs in four years.
I'll try to re-stock the draft bin, but we badly need a WR to replace
the drooping Pickens.
We trade Lester, our #3 FB, for a second-round pick in 2005.
We trade McElleheny, backup CB, plus a 4, for a 1 and a 2 - a good deal,
in my estimation.
We leave Hatchette, Pickens, Brandenburg, Hudson and Canty unsigned,
and sign a QB and RB off the scrap heap to fill the roster. Also a DT and
DE for deep depth.
EXHIBITIONS
We bench our stars and go 1-3. Injuries are CB Buckley, 3-5 weeks,
knee, and Seller, 0-2, groin.
GAME 1 @Cleveland 0-0 -2 Baltimore 0-0
Davies hits new addition Wallace for a 23-yard strike. After a sack,
Whiting recovers a Marais fumble. Then Davies fumbles in the red zone,
Bednarik recovers and scores: 14-0. Law picks up a fumble in the open
field. Duke and Roose go out hurt. We trade FGs: 17-3. And, in a reverse
of last year, Sheen scoots for 10-yard TD to put it away . A very solid
defensive effort.
Cleveland 24 Baltimore 3
Roose is really hurt - out 2-3 months - we sign Bernstein to keep him off
the depth chart
Duke has a sprained knee and we'll leave him in the lineup
Davies 12/28 160 1 TD
Sheen 28/91 1 TD
Duke 7 stops
Whiting 2 sacks, Champion 1 sack in his first game
Game 2 Cleveland 1-0 -2 @Minnesota 1-0
Davies to Owens for 5 yards: 7-0. Whiting injured; Champion is in the
game. They tie it up. 28 yards to Pickens: 14-7. Trade FGs: 17-10. Eckman
cops a 93-yard PR for a TD. Law intercepts.
JOHN MADDEN: Pat, I was talking to Coach Force before the game, and he
believes that his team is finally ready to play up to its' talent level.
And, Pat, now I believe it, too.
Davies to Owens again: 31-10. To Stark: 38-10. And on and on.
Cleveland 45 Minnesota 10
Davies 20/31 359 5 TDs
Sheen 15/45 but it didn't matter
Stark 9/102 1 TD
Duke 8 tackles
GAME 3 - Cleveland 2-0 -4 @Jax 2-0
Quick FG by Rollins. Sheen for 6 on the ground. Davies to Owens for 22.
17-0. Sheen for a 23-yarder. The young RB is making a statement here. He
wouldn't talk to the press all week, but now he's doing his talking where
it counts. FG and 27-0 at the half. It ends, mercifully. Our second
straight road victory.
Cleveland 43 Jax 17 (and not as close as it looked)
Davies 25/34 421 3 TD
Sheen 22/131 2 TD
Owens 7/125 1 TD
Pickens 4/105 2 TD
Wallace 7/85
Evans 6 stops
Mudgett 2 sacks
GAME 4 - @Cleveland 3-0 -9 Cinn 1-2
Davies goes out early (2 passing attempts) with a hyperextended knee. That
is the story.
Sieh 9/23 111 1 TD no Int
Sheen 19/126 1 TD
Duke 8 stops
Whiting 3 sacks
Cinn 29 Cleveland 22
At the quarter pole we're tied with Baltimore for best power rating,
and for the division, at 3-1.
The scout says to leave Davies in. The injury report says Doubtful. He has
a 125.8 QB rating, with 9 scores and no picks. This is tough. I need to
consult with the owner(s). Rest him or risk him ?
GAME 5 - @Cleveland 3-1 -5 Green Bay 2-1
Sheen ran one in and then the dam burst.
Green Bay 35 Cleveland 7
Sheen 9/24 1 TD
Sieh12/28 209 4 INT
Stone 2/4 39 and the start next week if Davies isn't ready
Duke 10 stops 6 assists
Mudgett 3 sacks
We extend Stark and Duke by one year each.
GAME 6 - Cleveland 3-2 -3 @Tennessee 2-3
Davies is Questionable and he goes back in. We break on top 17-7. A Sheen
run and Davies to Owens. Sheen again. Rollins adds two FGs.
Cleveland 30 Tennessee 7
Davies 12/20 186 1 TD
Sheen 25/126 2 TD
Duke 8 stops
Taylor 3 sacks
Buckley 2 INTs
Mudgett 7 stops 1 sack 1 fumble recovery
Farmer and Carr are both out 3-5 weeks with broken feet (one each)
Roose still out (inactive)
Morton (rookie LB) bruised sternum - three LBs hurt in all
This means Brandenburg and Bernstein are starting, with Duke in the middle
Luckily we face 1-4 Chicago....
We extend Brandenburg's contract.
GAME 7 - Cleveland 4-2 -5 @Chicago 1-4
Grunt. Chi gets 25 first downs to our 16, and outgains us 266 to 148 in
the air.
Chicago 34 Cleveland 27
Davies 12/18 148 1 TD (he's obviously not 100%)
Sheen 24/113 1 TD
Mudgett 9 stops, Duke 8, Law 7 and a pick for a TD
Brandenburg has 6 and Bernstein 3 - not disgraceful
Whiting breaks a finger 3-5 weeks
Stark tears a thumb ligament 2-3 months
Worse, the scout suggests benching both of them...
GAME 8 - @Cleveland 4-3 -4 Detroit 4-2
7-7. 17-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. 20-17. A gritty win.
Cleveland 20 Detroit 17
Davies 20/41 258 2 TD
Sheen 17/94
Wallace 7/82
Duke 9 stops 5 assists
Mudgett, Taylor 1 sack each
HALFWAY
Davies is 100% again.
Carr Probable Broken Foot
Farmer Questionable Broken Foot
Morton Questionable Sternum
Peters Questionable Elbow
Roundtree Probable Broken Finger
Whiting Questionable Broken Finger
Stark Out Thumb
Cohesion 65/71/61/66
Tied for division with Baltimore at 5-3
Leading league with 218 points scored
Tied for 5th with a 70 power rating
Tied for 2nd with +9 takeway ratio
Davies 13/0 TD/Int 112.5 Rating leading league
Sheen 159/750 8 4.7 avg TDs
Pickens 26/521 4 TD
Owens 24/422 4 TD
Wallace 27/381 1 TD
Brown 44.4, Roundtree 43.2, Nails 40.6 BPct (a big reason for Sheen's
yardage total)
Rollins 15/17 FGs
Duke 63 tackles
Mudgett 8, Whiting 5, Taylor 4.5, Champion 3 sacks
Law 4 Ints
Injuries have hurt, especially at QB. I didn't get the suggestion to
adjust run % in time, so did not make that adjustment while Davies was
dinged. Sheen has been much more consistent. Pickens' dropoff was
evidently less then I feared. Wallace has yet to really explode. Another
decent LB would really take the pressure off Duke. The D has had five
games giving up 17 or less, and we lost the other three, yielding 29, 35,
and 34. This has probably been the single biggest key so far.
SECOND HALF
Roundtree, Whiting, Farmer and Carr are cleared to start. I leave them in;
we need to generate some Ws.
GAME 9 - @Cleveland 5-3 -6 Pittsburgh 4-4
We play Pitt, get the bye, and play Pitt again. Hmmm. Quickly it's 14-0
us. Thery make 2 FGs and we miss one: 14-6 at the half. Boom - they tie it
up with a Stewarrt pass and the two-point conversion. Gut check time. A FG
by Rollins makes it 17-14. Stewart again and we trail by 4. Then by 7.
Davies first Int seals the loss.
Pittsburgh 24 Cleveland 17
Davies 12/22 155 1 TD 1 Int
Sheen 20/83
Owens 5/93
Duke 16 stops 2 assists
no sacks, no picks and again the defense can't keep a mediocre opponent
off the board
We're half a game back of Baltimore and we can use the bye to heal up a
little bit.
Farmer and Carr get healthy.
GAME 10 Cleveland 5-3 +4 @ Pitt 5-4
Pitt 51 Cleveland 27
Taylor pulls a groin, Bednarik stretches a ligament, both 3-5 weeks to
heal.
Davies14/30 248 1 TD 1 Int
Sheen 14/41 1 TD
Duke 8 stops, and again no sacks or picks
Stewart throws for four scores
The press reports that Coach Force got his butt kicked in a bar.
The division looks like this:
Balt 7-3
Pitt 6-4
Cinn 5-5
Cleveland 5-5
Jax 4-6
Tenn 3-7
We probably need to go 5-1 to make the playoffs.
Stark, Bednarik, Taylor are out.
And I feel like the Village Idiot; with this roster we should be 8-2.
GAME 11- Cleveland 5-5 -5 @Cinn 5-5
Quickly behind 0-3, we fumble the kickoff and it's 0-10. Then THEY fumble
a punt and we capitalize: 9 yards Davies to Wallace. 7-10. Soon it's 5
yards Davies to Kennicott and we lead 14-10. It's very wet, and we capture
another fumble. FG as the half ends: 17-10. Can the D hang in ? Maybe.
Soon it's 17-16 and tense. A FG and a pass to Pickens, and we lead 27-16.
They come right back 27-23. We recover their onside kick. 5 points up and
4 minutes left. Another TD to Wallace ! They score again. Again we cover
their onside kick.
Cleveland 34 Cinn 29
Heavy casualties: Mudgett, Canty, Adams, and Smith join the list, but only
Smith leaves the lineup.
Davies 23/31 347 4 TD a real Davies game finally !
Sheen 21/28
Wallace 7/102 2 TD a breakout game here
Duke 10 stops
GAME 12 - @Cleveland 6-5 -6 Tennessee 4-7
They all matter now. Can we sustain the offensive effort ?
I guess so.
Cleveland 40 Tennessee 6
23-7 in first downs
Davies 25/33 448 3 TD a personal yardage best and the 3rd best all time
Sheen 14/50 1 TD
Wallace 7/98 1 TD
Pickens 6/81 1 TD
4 players with 4 tackles
Sellers 2 sacks
Brandenburg and Buckley one INT each
It's:
Pitt 8-4
Baltimore 7-5
Cleveland 7-5
and we play Baltimore this week.
GAME 13 - Cleveland 7-5 +4 @Baltimore 7-5
At the end of the first quarter, we're down 0-10 with 2 total yards (not
counting special teams). 0-13. Then we get a roughing the kicker penalty
and capitalize: 7-13. They try to crush our morale with a 60-year TD just
before the half. We get 3 as time runs out: 10-19. We get three, and they
get a 72-yard score. 13-27. And it ends, finally.
Baltimore 37 Cleveland 27
Davies 15/25 302 2 TD
Sheen 16/46 1 TD
Owens 4/115
Wallace 4/71 1 TD
The D lost this game.
Duke 11 tackles
no sacks, no picks, and two gigantic pass plays for scores.
Pitt 8-5
Balt 8-5
Cleveland 7-6
We activate Roose and deactivate Hatchette.
GAME 14 - Cleveland 7-6 -4 New England 9-4
Perhaps not the optimum time to meet our nemesis...Pitt and Baltimore's
opponents this week are both 5-8...we can only control what we can
control...rumors in the press that Force is talking suicide, resignation,
or something...anything, really
Both teams miss early FG tries. Sheen breaks off a 41-yeard ramble to the
end zone ! Mincy gets a pick and we get 3 points. Bledsoe to Jefferson:
10-7. A bad - very bad - penalty and Kennicott is ejected for throwing his
helmet - this could be the spark we need. Halftime.
Law stops a deep drive with a pick. Davies to Astley: 17-7. Bledsoe right
back 17-14. Our D needs a stop ! 17-17 with 5 minutes left. This is the
season. Force is coughing up blood on the sidelines. Kennicott is arrested
for beating up a fan in the tunnel.
FG New England. 46 seconds left and Davies hits Owens down to the NE 20.
Nothing. Sheen for 11. we kick to tie and make it.
OT: A good runback and a penalty and we're at midfield. Sheen for -3, a
pass to Wallace for 9 - third and four. Davies sacked.
Fair catch at the 14. Bledsoe back, a seven step drop, he cocks and throws
and LAW INTERCEPTS AND RUNS IT BACK 49 YARDS FOR A TOUCHDOWN ! Kennicott
head-butts a security guard. Force yells himself hoarse. Baltimore and
Pitt both lose and it's a three-way tie for the division !!!
Damn you, Jim Gindin !
<break>
Davies 20/40 277 1 TD 1INT
Sheen 24/89 1 TD
Wallace 5/85
Roose 9 tackles (fresh legs)
Mudgett 1.5 sacks
Law two INTs (and his pick of Cleveland's virgins)
GAME 15 - Cleveland 8-6 +6 @Jets 8-6
Stark, Bednarik, Taylor and Carr are all back in the lineup although
hurting.
The Jets have an 89 power rating, the best. We are at 70. In the AFC East,
three teams are 9-5, two 8-6. That's a tough division.
Baltimore plays 5-9 KC, while Pitt faces an enraged New England.
We start even 10-10. Then Evans intercepts Vinnie in the end zone. Two FGs
and a Vinnie pass and we trail 16-17. Then Martin scores on the ground:
16-24. We roar back to tie it up on a three yard toss to Sheen. Vinnie
again and we trail by 7. We get a FG, but...
Jets 31 Cleveland 27
Baltimore wins by 1 point and Pitt loses.
Davies 22/37 319 2 TD
Sheen 25/124
Owens 6/112
Wallace 6/85 1 TD
Duke 7 tackles
All year long it's been pass defense that has killed us. Our sack total is
low; all three of our DEs were hurt on and off all year. Our corners look
darn good. Next year we might want to look at Everett Andersen, Minnesota
safety, who really can cover the middle of the field, or a similar player.
GAME 16 - @Cleveland 8-7 -5 Jax 6-9
Cleveland 31 Jax 10
Davies 12/23 183 2 TD
Sheen 6/31
Kennicott 2/95 1 TD
Evans 10 stops
Mincy 2 Ints, Buckley 1
Mudgett 1 sack
But it's meaningless...we don't make the playoffs.
1st ROUND
Tampa Bay 31
Arizona 24
Jets 30
Baltimore 27
Green Bay 25
Dallas 15
Indy 31
Miami 13
2nd ROUND
Tampa Bay 20
Atlanta 10
Green Bay 17
Washington 10
Oakland 31
Indy 21
New England 45
Jets 21
3rd ROUND
Tampa Bay 31
Green Bay 10
Oakland 20
New England 17
FOF BOWL
Tampa Bay 17
Oakland 6
Blaine Davies made OPY and 1st team all league. Our K, Corey Rollins,
made 1st team also. Rufus Duke made 2nd team.
Blaine finished with 245/415 59%, with league leading average 9.18 and
rating 110.5. More incredible was his 30/3 TD/Int ratio, the best I've
ever seen. The less said about our backup QBs the better.
Donnie Sheen was 299/1242, a 4.1 avg, with twelve scores. Again. some
inconsistency game to game.
I did notice two things watching games: Sheen had a very large amount
of -3 yard attempts, and the O-line must have had 50 false start
penalties.
Kennicott had the only other rushing score. He was 54/298 and 5.5.
Davies was 57/335 and 5.8, with many third down draws and scrambles to
keep drives alive.
Owens 55/1078 6 TD
Wallace 67/989 6 TD
Pickens 53/864 6 TD
Hudson and Astley had 3 scores, Stark and Sheen 2, Bednarik and Kennicott
1.
Eckman had one PR TD, with decent 9.8 and 24.9 averages.
Rollins was a very nice 35/39. Slay averaged 38.8.
Our best BPct'ers were:
Lofton 50
Roundtree 44.4
Bednarik 42.8
Smith 40.9
Adams at 29.0 may need to watch out for Guy taking his spot next year.
Duke had 125 tackles, third in the league and was extremely consistent
Evans had 70.
The next two LBs, though, Brandy and Farmer, had 55 and 40 in 14 and 12
starts respectively.
Roose's injury hurt, and we need Champion, or someone, to replace Taylor
soon to generate more pressure.
Sacks
Mudgett 10.5
Whiting 6.5
Taylor 4.5
Champion 3.0
INTs
Law 6
Mincy 5
Buckley 4
Evans 3
Brandy, Carr, Mummert 1 each
All in all, over the past two seasons, the team under-achieved on the
field, but added to the talent base with Duke, Wallace, Guy and Champion.
I did save the game numerous times, but never reloaded. I think I followed
the house rules completely. I never called a play, tinkered with game
plans, changed coach or scout. I predict that we are on the verge of a
dynasty.
We finished 9-7, tied with Pitt, with Baltimore at 10-6. Four playoff
teams came out of the East. We have only four unsigned players. Numerous
players are dinged, including Sheen and Duke, but I don't think any are
really going to be affected next season.
