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Royal Achieved:

Team Performance 84
Franchise Value 100
Profit/Loss 56
Difficulty 73
Year-End Score 80

in addition to his super draft.

WR Percy Colleran retired. Colleran played 11 years (only one for Cleveland) and caught 583 balls; last year he caught 30 for 1 TD, strictly as a backup.

Joe Marais, Lincoln Wright, Juan Simmons, and Keith Young make the HOF.

We have 36 players signed, and need to use the franchise tag on Keeper Rico Rodriguez.

I would like to sign at least one of the UFA LBs (Kobeski, Martin, Porter) and CBs (Burroughs, Peters, Gordon). My top priority, though, is UFA OT Fleming, since OT Hamilton is aging.

Our stadium renovations are complete, giving us 99,900 seats and 159 luxury boxes. Despite full attendance last year, I leave the ticket prices unchanged. Our fans deserve a break.

We're the top-valued franchise, at $1.865 billion, with:

Stadium 82
Roster 100
Support 99
Economy 56

Unbelievably, the hated New Englanders have a roster strength of 21, yes, twenty-one, despite going 16-0 and 11-5 the past two seasons. And, of course, winning the FOF Bowl both years...

Johann and Paniagua stay, although we talk seriously to the latter about the need to set a higher goal for team, i.e. the goddamn FOF Bowl. With GMs like Butler and Donahoe out there...

We reject offers for Coleman, Beyer, Foster, and Wiese. I was tempted to take the #13 overall for Foster, but decided to hold off for the moment.

For the first time I can remember we have all our own picks and nothing else in the draft (33rd slot). We have $23.8 MM under the cap to work with, $27.9 after FA starts, and #34.4 afeter a few renegotiations. Our draft picks will require less than $10MM.

Well, let's step back a little bit.

Our D, stalwart though it may be, allowed 308, 286, 253 points over the last three years - weaker each year.
It's also aging, with the starters' experience at:

DE 11, 9
DT 7, 3
LB 11, 5, 3
CB 10, 7
S 11, 10

However, there's still a ton of talent in the five older starters, so it clearly isn't slash-and-burn time; more like reload. LB needs some talent, and a young stud cover CB would be nice too. This works out well, since Johann's weakness is DL.

On the other side of the ball, Royal's B-Boys are a welcome addition, we still have the three awesome wideouts, and the line, especially G, will be fine, assuming we sign OT Fleming. A dominating C would be nice, but somewhat of a luxury item. These boys scored 515 last year, 101 more than any other team. I do want to start phasing in Beyer, and to see if Lee can string together another All-Pro (he wuz robbed) season.

I consider myself a much better drafter than an FA-signer, but this year I start out bidding on a C, two LBs (not ours), a top CB (again, not ours), and two OTs.

Immediately all my bids are topped. I screw up my courage and go back in for Fleming, and another, weaker LB...eventually, after a lot of agonizing and toing-and-froing, we land Fleming, our must-sign, at $55MM for four years. Ouch.

We resign everyone who's up this year, except for a few scrubs, and our good young S Storey, who's pissed. We'll sign him later in the year. Now we are up to $40MM in cap room.

Refuse offers for Wiese and Hamilton.

Even before inspecting the draft board, we trade C Hankton, this year's #2 and next year's #3, for another of this years #1 (10 overall).

We offer up Fiala, our excellent backup QB, but the offers aren't rich enough. I think he may go in a player-for-player swap after the draft, if we don't fill our needs. He is cheap and good, but a luxury at this time, and we need to get Roger some snaps.

Contemplate some more backups-for-picks moves, but decide to wait and see how rich the draft is.

Well, it's one of the best I have ever seen, with an 8.0 C, a RB who is significantly stronger than Beyer, and a plethora of other talented young dudes at DE, WR, T, G. Hmmm.

There are a lot of decent QBs available in the scrap heap, so we re-shop Fiala, and get this year's #8 overall, as well as a #1 in 2024, for Fiala and this year's #3, #4, and #5 and next year's #2.

Then we trade our #3 RB Parten, this year's #6 and #7, as well as 2024's #2 and #4, for the #4 pick overall and a #1 pick in 2023.

This gives us the 4th, 8th, 10th, and 33rd pick in the first round.

We trade the 33rd pick, and out own first-rounder in 2023 to C'ville for Gary Sapp, a mega-impact LB. Gary is 6-2, 242, out of Arkansas State, with 118 stops and 4.5 sacks in his two years. He rates out at 61/100, 59/100, 53/93, and 96. This reminds me of the Rufus Duke deal. Deja vu all over again. He combines with 18-Wheeler and Gordon to make a formidable set of backers, as well as injecting some youth and value (he's signed through 2025) into our D. Plus, anyone named Sapp has to be a force - no pun intended.

Damn, our RB gets taken 3rd, one pick ahead of us. Now we have 3 of the next 7 picks. We wind up with:

#4 Brendan Swift, DT, 6-7, 289, Georgia
#8 Leo Sheldon, C, 6-5, 299, San Jose State
#10 Lamar Tubbs, LB, 6-3, 265, Boston College

Tubbs, with 3rd year man Dillon, gives up great LB depth, and perhaps Wheeler's understudy.
Sheldon was the guy I wanted all along.
Swift was just too good to pass on, and, with 2nd year man Tubbs, gives us youth behind Kirk and Hamiliton. Hopefully Johann was right about him.

In any case, three very large people...

We have $34 MM left for post-camp FA, and add Jumbo Bell, the young CB we needed, and fill out the rest of the roster from the scrap heap.

We reserve our young stars and proceed.

We go 2-2 in the exhibition season. DE Copeland is out for 2-3 months, CB Bell and DE Hamilton slightly dinged.

WEEK 1 Cleveland 0-0 @Chicago 0-0 Fav 3
We jump out 28-0, but they come back in Q3 with an INT return, a KO return, and a long drive.
Clark 19/25/319/2/2
Beyer 36/132/2
Rico 6/45
Porter 6/124/2
Gordon 7 stops
Wiese 2 sacks, Duncan 1, Foster an INT
Cleveland 38 Chicago 21
They got 10 first downs in all, and Beyer is starting.

WEEK 2 Cleveland 1-0 @Minnesota 1-0 Fav 4
Clark 4/10/60/0/1
Savoie 12/21/180/0/1 (need to get Roger in the two hole here !)
Beyer 24/159/3
Rico 1/-7
Foster, Gordon, Whiting 7 tackles each
Mathews 2 picks
Sacks: Duncan 1.5, Hamilton, 1.0, Kirk 0.5
Clark knee ligament out 3-5 weeks
Cleveland 27 Minn 24
OT Hamilton is probable, and we'll need him as Fleming (the $55MM man) is out 3-5 weeks.

WEEK 3 Tenn 0-2 @Cleveland 2-0 Fav 8
We start Roger, and Storey, who needs the snaps to re-sign.
Savoie 17/25/200/1/0 (see below)
Roger 1/1/17
Rico 17/33
Beyer 9/20/1
Jeffries 6/98
Butkus a PR for a TD
Gordon 7 stops
Gordon, Matthews, Derby a pick each - Matthews scores, his 6th carreer TD
Duncan 1.5, Hamilton 1, Kirk 0.5 sacks
Roger and Gordon are questionable with knee problems...gulp.
Cleveland 34 Tenn 7

WEEK 4 - Cleveland 3-0 @Baltimore 2-1 Fav 4
Since Savoie is playing well, we give him the start. The man has a 84.9 career QB rating, and 239 career TDs passing. Not exactly chopped liver.
Savoie 12/23/176/2/0 - not an artistic success, but hey, we crushed them
Beyer 19/73/1
Porter 2/24/2 talk about making them count
Wheeler 7 tackles
Foster, Derby, Peters picks
Sacks: Duncan 2, Wiese 1, Kirk 1
Cleveland 34 Baltimore 3

WEEK 5 - Pittsburgh 1-3 @Cleveland 4-0 Fav 9
Lee is back.
Clark 15/22/284/4/0 and I mean back
Beyer 22/91/1
Rico 1/24
Cole 5/116/3
Jeffries 5/100/1
Wheeler 10 stops
Hamilton, Duncan a sack each
Foster, Derby a pick each
Cleveland 38 Pittsburgh 20

WEEK 6 - Jacksonville 3-2 @Cleveland 5-0 Fav 10
Clark 18/33/293/0/3 and that was the game right there
Beyer 14/71
Cole 5/89
Jeffries 5/85
Dunk, Gordon, Foster 6 stops each
Sacks: Hamilton 2, Kirk 1
Dunk 1 INT
Jax 34 Cleveland 12

WEEK 7 - BYE

WEEK 8 - Baltimore 2-4 @Cleveland 5-1 Fav 8
Cleveland 17 Baltimore 13
Clark 10/21/177/2/1
Beyer 29/75
Gordon 13 tackles
A tight game, no turnovers, we won.

WEEK 9 - Cleveland 6-1 @ Pittsburgh 2-5 Dog 2 (Does Vegas know something we don't ?)
Clark 15/35/247/3/2
Beyer 17/41
Jeffries 8/135/3 wow
Gordon 9 stops
Kirk a sack
We were flat.
Pitt 34 Cleveland 24 the bookies were right

At the halfway mark:
Cleveland 6-2
Jax 6-2
Cinn 5-3
Balt 3-5
Pitt 3-5
Tenn 1-8

Lee has an 87.1 rating, 11/9 TD/INT
Beyer 670, 3.9, 8 TDS
Jeffries 38/590/5
Gordon 49 stops, Wheeler 42
Sacks: Duncan 7, Hamilton 5, Kirk 4, Wiese 3
Foster, Matthews, Derby 3 picks each
Cohesion is 82/100/92/97

WEEK 10 Denver 3-5 @Cleveland 6-2 Fav 1 (again a strange line...)
Clark 16/25/246/3/0
Beyer 23/103/1
Jeffries 7/110/1
Sapp 9 stops
Sacks: Kirk 2, Wiese 1.5, Duncan 0.5
Picks: Wheeler 1 (only the fourth of his career)
Cleveland 31 Denver 19
Duncan and Riley are dinged and we sit them both, signing an FA kicker
This game our big players made big plays.

WEEK 11 - Cleveland 7-2 @ Jacksonville 6-3 Dog 3
For the division lead.
We lead 17-0 at the half.
As Q4 starts, it's 17-14.
Then Clark is sacked and fumbles: Jax ball at our 28.
We hold and it's 17-17.
38-yard KR, pass misses, Beyer for 14, pass misses, Clark to Cole for 9, Beyer for 2.
Clark for 5, Beyer 4, then Beyer funmbles, and Butkus, our FA KR and 4th wideout, grabs it and runbles 19 for the score.
We hold, then Lee throws a bad ball - picked off. 24-17 with 4:57 left.
24-24. Easily.
Rico for 19. Yes, Rico. Penalty on Jax, pass to Beyer, Beyer run for 14. 1st and 10 at the 28.
A penalty pushes us back and Sweeney, our new K, misses a crucial 47-yarder. OT.
We hold, then Sweeney misses a 57-yarder.
They roll, and we lose.
Jax 30 Cleveland 24
Clark 19/37/232/0/2
Beyer 25/81/2
Dunk 11 stops
Hamilton, Copeland sacks
Whiting a pick
In two games Lee has 0 TDs and 5 INTs versus Jax.

WEEK 12 Cleveland 7-3 @Tenn 2-8 Fav 5
Clark 20/38/276/0/0
Beyer 13/62/1
Gordon and Dunk 6 stops each
Copeland 2 sacks
Cleveland 17 Tenn 6
and Jax loses

WEEK 13 Tampa Bay 9-2 @Cleveland 8-3 Fav2
Tampa coming off a 41-18 demolishing of Jax.
Clark 14/27/198/3 more like it
Beyer 16/71/1
Rico 2/17
Porter 8/122/2
Gordon 8 stops
Kirk a sack
Cleveland 34 Tampa Bay 17
Probably our best game to date, and Jax loses again.
Wierdly, we lose Sweeney, our second K, but Riley can go...
Cleveland 9-3
Jax 7-5
Cinn 7-5

WEEK 14 - Cleveland 9-3 @ Cinn 7-5 Fav 3
Another big division matchup.
Clark 16/28/218/1/1
Beyer 22/9
Gordon 16 stops
Kirk, Duncan a sack each
The game went to OT, and we lost. That's that.
Cinn 23 Cleveland 17

Cleveland 9-4
Cinn 8-5
Jax 7-6
Pitt 7-6

WEEK 15 - Cleveland 9-4 @Oakland 11-2 Dog 5
Savoie 10/18/169/0/0
Clark 10/16/125/1/0
Beyer 23/22/1 two stinkers in a row
Jeffries 8/107/1
Gordon, Whiting, Foster 5 stops each
Hamilton a sack, Dunk a pick
Cleveland 20 Oakland 10

WEEK 16 - New England 7-7 @Cleveland 10-4 Fav 11 (obviously they agree with Henry Ford)
Clark 13/30/150/0/2
Beyer 9/5 oh my
Wheeler 9 stops
Dunk a pick
New England 34 Cleveland 3
Ford said, "History is bunk." I guess now we know.
I had intended to get Roger a start, but when I saw the opponent I chose not to. Good thing - he might have joined the Trappists...

WEEK 17 - Cinn 9-6 @Cleveland 10-5 Fav 6
They beat us in a close one, so if they win here they cop the division.
Clark 12/22/200/1/1
Beyer 24/75
Foster 6 stops
Wiese a sack
Foster, Matthews a pick each
Cleveland 27 Cinn 12

Playoffs 2022
Wildcard Round

Chicago 10-6
Dallas 11-5 Fav 5
Dallas 27-11

Green Bay 9-7 Fav 3
St.Louis 11-5
St. Louis 45-15

Seattle 10-6 Fav 2
New England 9-7
New England 9-7 (not a typo)

San Diego 11-5
Oakland 12-4 -3
Oakland 43-17

Quarterfinal Round

Dallas 12-5
Tampa Bay 13-3 Fav4
Tampa Bay 15-10

New England 10-7
Cleveland 11-5 Fav 6
(see below)

Oakland 13-4
Char'ville 12-4 Fav 2
Char'ville 38-9

St.Louis 12-5
Philly 11-5 Fav 5
Philly 13-10

Our nemesis won their division (9-7) despite a negative point differential of 295-308.
Their QB was 10/10 TD/Int, their tailback scored only 7 times. Two veteran backers made 228 tackles between them, and they have a 15.5 sacker.

We have no important injuries.

Punt, punt, punt, punt.
Punt, punt. And still 5:34 left in Q1. Punt.
Then NE scores on a short pass. 0-7.
Punt, punt, punt. Pick by the Dunker at his own 18. Tackled immediately. Punt, punt. 0-7 at the half.

NE receives and...punts. Then Clark throws to NE and they run it in. 0-14.

Clark to Cole for 47. Again for 10. Beyer for 4 on the ground. Then Clark 14 to Cole for the score. 7-14.

We hold them. They hold us. NE FG. 7-17. We storm up the field and Beyer runs over from the 6. 14-17. Could this be our chance ?

They come right back 14-24. Clark intercepted in the end zone. They drive and FG - 14-27. We FG too. 17-27, and it ends.

NE 27 Cleveland 17

When will it end ?
When will it ever end ?

League Finals

New England (11-7)
Char'ville (13-4) Fav -5
Char'ville 31-24

Philly (12-6)
Tampa Bay (14-3) -6
Tampa Bay 40-10

Char'ville (14-4)
Tampa Bay (15-3) Fav 4
Tampa Bay 31-14

2022 Summary

We ended up scoring 397 (4th), allowing 307 (17th), opposed to the previous year's 515/308.

We were +4 in turnovers, in the middle of the league.

We gained 112.3 yards per game on the ground (22nd), and 236.3 in the air (5th).

We gave up 114.5 (21st) on the ground, and 208.5 (16th) in the air.

Our Power Rating was 79, third in the AFC, tied for fifth in the league.

Lee Clark had 14 starts, went 201/369/3022(16th) 20(7th)/15 for an 82.7 rating - a big step back from last year.
Roger completed the one pass he threw, for a 118.7 rating. Savoie, in one start and several good relief appearances, had 3 scores and 1 INT, and an 88.1 rating.

Casey Beyer got 1098 yards on the ground (21st) with 14 TDs (3rd) and a modest 3.3 average.
Rico was 50/178/0.
Note that Parten, who we traded, had 1134 yards and 10 TDs.

Jeffries 74/1135/7
Porter 54/928/8
Cole 47/854/4
all had good years.

Riley made 20/25 FGs, and Norris averaged 43.8 per punt.

Tackles
Gordon 108 (in 14 games)
Wheeler 80
Foster 73
Sapp 67
Dunkelberger 64

Sacks
Duncan 8.5
Kirk 8
Hamilton 8
Wiese 5.5

Picks
Matthews 5
Foster 4
Dunk, Whiting, Derby 3 each

Jeffries made 1st team All-League. Period.

Remember the rookie RB who had Olympian numbers ?
He was picked #3, and we had choice #4.
His name was Nate Borders, and he ran for 2022 yards, a league record.
It was that kind of year.