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Herb's Score
67/100 team
77/100 franchise
68/100 profit
69/100 difficulty
overall 71

HOF
Joey Galloway

Stadium Good 41
Roster Exc 100
Support Exc 99
Good 52
Value $1062,270,000

Profit up from $43MM to $71MM

Retirees
Batch (darn - can't fire him)
Wallace
Mudgett (keeper)
Sheen (keeper)
Quinn

So, we certainly need a back...and more...

We have 46 players under contract, with $8.6MM left under the cap. No free agents at all, so no franchise tag.

Following the vote, I immediately trade Green, our illegal T, to Detroit, which trailed the league last year with 2 wins, for a 7th round pick. It hurts, but we still have two good young tackles.

I reject trades for Lofton, Tinsdale, Burnim, and Casey.

We have no 1st or 2nd rounder this year, so I jettison some over-priced players.

We send G Ostroski and CB Delgado, plus next year's 2nd and this year's 3rd, to Buffalo for the #2 ovverall pick this year.

We send LB Vrabbel to Miami, with this year's 6th and two 7ths, for the #6 overall.
This frees cap space and positions us for two impact players.

This gives us $30.5MM under the cap, and we go to free agency.

We make a serious play for DT Long, a former #1 overall 9-year vet, and milder offers for LBs Alcott and Middleton.

Nada. At the end of the auction we pick up G Franklin ($9.3mm over 3) at his asking price.

Hopefully the draft will yield an RB and a DT. We refuse offers for Galyon and Wheeler.

First, at #2, we pick up Louis "Captain" Kirk, a smallish 6-2, 274 DT out of Rice. He is rated 48/89, 43/100, 95.

Then, at #6, we grab Rico Rodriguez, a 5-9 198 RB out of Clemson. No Sheen, but the highest-rated RB by our scout this year.

In Round 4, We grab Darryl Butler, a 5-10 237 LB South Carolina Gamecock, to replace Vrabel at backup LB.

That's it, but we did get two frontliners.

Training camp complete, we reject an offer for Burnim. We have over $11MM left, and 46 players signed. We pull DE Clinton off the scrap heap, and save the rest for emergency signings.

We trade RB Delgado to the Giants, along with our 5th and 6th pick in 2017, for their 2nd rounder in 2017, and replace him off the scrap heap. Renegotiate a few contracts, and pick up an excellant C on a one-year deal for depth, leaving us $16.5MM under the cap.

3-1 through the exhibitions, with two serious injuries: Burnim out 2-3 months with a thumb, and Bushon 3-5 weeks with a groin pull.

The regular season, I hope, tomorrow.

We sign LB Sammy Fujimoto and WR Terry Ellis for depth.

Looking around the roster, our O-line is very strong, T rated 85/100, G 99/100, and C 100/100. Our starters have years of experience: 3,2 (T), 7,6, (G), 11 (C).

In cohesion we are:
88 Exc Passing
74 VG O Line
80 Exc Def Front
88 Exc Secondary

Week 1 - Tennessee 0-0 @Cleveland 0-0 -4
We jump out to a 20-0 lead and coast in.
Davies 16/28/297 2 TDs
Rodriguez 26/131 1 TD
Garcia 7/152
Milne 4/5 FGs
Monroe 9 stops 2 assists
Hamilton and Clinton 2 sacks each
Cleveland 33 Tennessee 25
Casualties include McElroy and Corbett each out 3-5 weeks

Week 2 - Jax 1-0 @Cleveland 1-0 -7
Mirror image of last week - we fall behind 0-17, including an INT runback for a TD, then don't quite catch up.
Davies 17/38/187 1 TD 1 INT plus 6/38 1 TD on the ground
Rodriguez 16/43
Ellis 6/54
Monroe 9 stops 2 assists again
Champion and Clinto a sack each
Swift and Carr an INT each
Jax 24 Cleveland 19
Dougherty and Wheeler out 3-5 weeks each

Week 3 Cleveland 1-1 @Baltimore 1-1 -2
Uninspired. We actually led in total yards 335-321, but settled for field goals and punts too often. The press is not happy.
Davies 13/25/178 1 TD 1 INT
Rodriguez 18/85
Garcia 6/73
Foster 8 tackles, Kobeski 7
Baltimore 31 Cleveland 13

Week 4 - Pittsburgh 2-1 -2 @Cleveland 1-2
Huge road win where we jump out 27-0 in the first half.
Davies 23/35/339 4 TDs 1 INT
Rodriguez 22/70 1 TD
Garcia 9/152 1 TD
Foster 8 stops
Champion a sack, CLINTON, making the most of his starting opportunity with Burnim hurt: 3 SACKS
The wounded are healing nicely.
Cleveland 41 Pittsburgh 21

Break time with:
Jax 3-1
Cinn 3-1
Cleve 2-2
Tenn 2-2
Pitt 2-2
Balt 2-2
tight or what ?

Week 5 - @Cleveland 41 St Louis 10
Davies 10/22/241 1 TD 1 INT
Rico 22/98 2 TD
Bushon 4/169 1 TD
Ferderer 6 stops
Clinto 2.5 sacks, Eddings 2, Hamilton 1
Matthews a pick runback for a TD - his specialite de la masion
A very solid overall game.

Week 6 - @Cleveland 33 Pitt 11
We hold then to 2/13 on third downs.
Davies 13/23/169 1 TD
Rico 29/129 1 TD
Ellis 5/89
Swift 7 stops
Foster an INT

Week 7 Cinn 17 @Cleveland 13
This time, we were 3/13 on third downs.
Davies 22/37/350 1 INT
Rico 21/68 1 TD
Garcia 6/101
Monroe 12 stops and a sack
Matthews a pick

Week 8 - the bye

Week 9 - @New Orleans 31 Cleveland 14
Fell behind 17-0 and couldn't close the gap.
Davies 6/21/95 1 INT
Miller 7/14/108 2 TDs
Rico 9/46
Bushon 4/84
Kobeski 10 tackles
Hamilton 2, Ferderer and Eddings 1 sack

Back to normal...

Week 10 - Cleveland 4-4 -2 @Jets 5-4
26-8 in first downs.
Davies 18/22/297 2 TDs
Rico 17/130 3 TDs
Dougherty 6/128 1 TD
Clinton, Champion and Hamilton a sack each
Clinton holds his starting spot even though Burnim is activated
Cleveland 38 Jets 10

Week 11 - Indy 4-5 @ Cleveland 5-4 -8
This has been a strange streaky season.
Indy 20 Cleveland 17
Turnovers killed us.
Davies 17/32 230 1 TD 3 INTs
Monroe 10 tackles
Sacks: Stewart 2, Hamilton 1.5, Burnim 1, Eddings .5
Ints: Foster 1
Rico 1 TD
Clinton, with broken jaw, out til playoffs

Still, there are four teams ahead of us in the division, but every one is only 6-4. We're alive.

Week 12 - Cleveland 5-5 @Tenn 6-4 -6
Cleveland 22 Tenn 10
A good defensive effort - Tenn gets only 11 first downs. Total yards 571-235.
Davies 25/36 414 1 TD 2 INTs the old horse has a few good kicks left
Rico 22/118 steady
Garcia 10/177 and moving into the elite class
Monroe 7 stops a very consistent year so far
Champion and Burnim a sack each

Week 13 Baltimore 7-4 @Cleveland 6-5 -2
Super key game. For once we were able to come back from trailing (twice).
Davies16/31/270 2 TDs 1 INT
Rico 14/72
Casey 3/22 and a super-clutch TD
Bushon 8/107 1 TD
Garcia 4/115 1 TD
Monroe and Wheeler 7 stops
Champion 1.5, Stewart, O'Donnell .5 sacks
Swift and Ferderer a pick each, Ferderer's run back for a TD
Cleveland 31 Baltimore 22

Four teams, including us, are tied at 7-5 for the division. Cinn and Tenn are 6-6.

Week 14 @San Diego 6-6 Cleveland 7-5 EVEN
A nail-biter. Game ball to backup HB Casey, for sure.
Davies 21/33/262 2 TD 1 INT
Casey 18/68 1 TD
Rico 1/25
Garcia 8/95 1 TD
Monroe, Foster 7 tackles
Burnim 3.5 sacks, Hamilton 1, Champion .5
Cleveland 30 SD 27

Week 15 @Cinn 7-6 -2 Cleveland 8-5
Another divisional slugfest. Tied until a late 44-yard TD pass from Druckenmiller.
Davies 13/26/128 1 TD 1 INT
Rico 25/220 2 TDs making a play for OROY
Monroe 10 tackles
Champion, Eddings, Burnim a sack each
Swift a pick
Cinn 34 Cleveland 27

It's tight:
Pitt 9-5
Balt 8-6
Cinn 8-6
Cleve 8-6
Jax 7-7
Tenn 6-8

Week 16 @Jax 7-7 Cleveland 8-6 EVEN
This game we roar back with the final 13 points to win.
Davies 16/30/207 1 TD 2 INTs and 5/20 1 TD on the ground
Rico 27/97 1 TD
Bushon 7/110
McElroy 6 stops
Champion and Burnim a sack each
Cleveland 34 Jax 28

Pitt 9-6
Balt 9-6
Cleve 9-6
Cinn 8-7
Jax 7-8
Tenn 7-8

Week 17 Atlanta 7-8 @Cleveland 9-6 -6
Davies 14/22/235 1 TD
Casey 16/137 2 TD
Rico 16/52 2 TD
Bushon 5/94 1 TD
Wheeler 7 stops
Swift a pick
Cleveland 44 Atlanta 13

Rodriguez is questionable with a broken finger, but I decide to bring to the playoffs anyway. I was conservative with Davies last year, and Batch imploded. We will start Casey in the first game, though. Carr and Foster, also questionable, suit up as well. Clinton is out until next year.

Final Standings:

Cleve 10-6 and the division
Pitt 10-6
Balt 9-7
Cinn 9-7
Jax 7-9
Tenn 7-9

Incredibly, we have a bye for the first round.

Wild Card Round

24 San Francisco 10-6 -4
25 Arizona 10-6

20 Houston 9-7
31 New Orleans 11-5 -8

12 Jets 9-7
18 Pitt 10-6 -7

10 San Diego 9-7 -3
14 Charlottesville 9-7

QuarterFinal Round

Arizona 11-6
Tampa Bay 14-2 -10

New Orleans 12-5 -1
Dallas 11-5 -4

Char. 10-7
Miami 9-7 -5

Pitt 11-6 @ Cleveland 10-6 -5
We beat Pitt, by 20 and by 22, early in the season.
Our PF/PA was 450-334, Pitt's was 377-299.
At the last minute, I decide to start Rodriguez over Casey. My thinking is that Casey has been so good at #2 that we could weaken both slots by starting him.
Pitt scores on the first possession: 0-7. Easily.
After two first downs and a short punt, they do it again: 0-14. Still Q1.
Milne shanks a FG Try.
So does Pitt, on the snowy field. We need a defensive stop here.
We get one, but can't capitalize.
Damn - a 77-yard TD and we trail 0-21.
And it ends ingloriously 3-28.

Rest of the Playoffs

27 Dallas 14-5
21 Tampa Bay 15-3

3 Pitt 12-7
34 Miami 11-8

Bowl
9 Miami 11-8
17 Dallas 14-5

SUMMARY

Awards
Stanley Hamilton made 1st team OT
Burt Milne made 2nd team K

Leaders

Blaine was 260/461 56.3 % 3899 yards 21-16 TD-INTs
He was 74/373 on the ground, for a 5.0 average and 2 TDs

Rico finished 301/1447 4.8 average and 15 TDs, a likely runner up for OROY
Casey was 73/441 6 TDs and a gaudy 6.0 average - he played above his ratings, as he's done every year

Garcia 75/1207/4
Bushon 59/940/6
Ellis 36/614/3
Dougherty 22/424/2
Lofton 27/342/4

Our punt returners were awful again, averaging 4.7 and 3.2; kickoffs were better, and Federer scored a TD here.

Milne was 35/44 on FGs and hit all 47 EPs.
Kindred averaged 42.7.

Tackles:
Monroe 107
Swift 78
Foster 69
Kobeski 63

Sacks:
Clinton 9.5
Champion 9
Hamilton 9
Burnim 7.5
Eddings 5.5

INTs:
Swift 4
Foster 2
Matthews 2

Stanley Hamilton, our only first-team All-Pro, had a BPct of 46.8. Right now he rates out at 85/100/100.

We ended up with all cohesion ratings in the Exc zone: 90/82/85/83.

Our C, P, DE, and DT starters are rated best in the league.

Summary

The high point of my two years was drafting Lee Clark and Rico Rodriguez; they could be our iron going forward, although they have a lot of development ahead of them. Adding Stanley Hamilton was also a step in the right direction.

Lee Clark will be my Keeper.

I hope my successor does better than I did with this talented crew. I fear I may be the Bobby Beathard (or even the Dick Steinberg) of our VC...