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| 2026
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 PreSeason Just trying to get familiar with these Browns: We really have no weaknesses at this point. Choosing between QBs will be tough though, because while Benson looks better, Brentlinger rates better in the future. Again, though - it looks to me like Benson is the better potential. Johan rates VG at QB and YT, so I will take his word for it and start Brentlinger next year. Herb Score: 87 (100/100/65/74) Profitability killed us,although we WERE able to turn an 86 million dollar profit. Retirements: A moment of silence, please. Three greats have decided to call it quits. Trevor Foster, S (keeper): 14 years, 57 Ints, 5 tds, 2 time allpro, defensive roy (2012). Phillip Hamilton, DT: 14 years, first 12 as a starter. 468 tckls, 89 sacks. First pick in the 2012 draft. Norbert "Grandaddy" Page: 17 years, 34.2% career block %. Ticket Prices: We decide to leave them alone. They'll get jacked up in three years. Franchise Player Designation: We toy with franchising Scott Fleming, but with a good backup already their and an eye on the cap, we decide no. Coaching/Scouting: Yeah right. Free Agency: We receive trade offer for G Hansen, DT Swift and Keeper T Finch. No,no, and no. We arent really wanting for anything, but we keep an eye out for affordable backups along the lines, as well as a great Punter. We cant do anything, though, because our salary budget for draftees is too high (we have 9 picks in the upcoming draft). We trade our 2 3rds and our 4th for Oakland's 2nd (1). We continue to consolidate, trading two second round picks (31 and 36) to Philly for their 2nd (3). We then offer our 1st (18), 2nd (18), and 4th in 2027 to Milwaukee for their 1st (6). We now have the following picks: 1(6), 1(9), 1(13), 2(1), 2(3), 2(5). Cap room doesnt loosen too much, so we look trade a high-priced veteran. We take advantage of our depth at WR and trade former 1st rounder WR Cole and the 13th pick in the 1st round to Vegas for the 5th pick overall. The logjam at WR starts to clear. We sign 5th year backup G Brady Moore (48/65/58) and also sign 6th year backup T Edward Knight (72/60/69) to a 3 yr 9 mil contract. We clear some more room by trading our 3rd string TE Bell and 3rd string RB Rose KC for a 2nd round pick in 2028. They both give us experienced and inexpensive 4th string depth. Draft: Bad news. I have 6 great picks, but this
may be the worst draft I have ever seen. So I am going to try and parlay
my picks into more picks to use as trade bait. My objective? Get young
starters at the following positions: T, G, DT, S, WR. But I look again and we are so stacked I am not sure we CAN improve...so while I keep the radar up, I move to the draft. Amazingly, the starting S we liked, but didnt want to draft as high as 5 or 6, falls to 9th. We grab him. One down. 1. (9) Al Pettine, S, LSU (92, 97, 76, x,
x, 96). One of only two 8.0s on the board this year, he will be ready when
Arnold Storey starts to fade in a few years. He'll also give us a
formidable one-two punch with fellow Safety Graham "The Greek"
Theophilokas for money years to come - on par with the glory years of the
great Trevor Foster and Gerry Dunkleberger. Trade offers for DE Wiese, T Finch, and DT Swift are rejected. We do some housecleaning and trade former starting Punter Curtis Norris to the Las Vegas Hitmen for a 4th round pick in 2027. After Training Camp: Now for the QB Controversy. Our Scout now likes Benson better than Brentlinger over the long term. Clark has healed to the point where he is rated higher at the moment than the other two. Passing cohesion with Clark would be 92. With Benson it would be 75 and Brentlinger a 78. In the end we decide to go with Dwight Benson - its a move I may regret the next two years, but I think it will pay off in the long run...and Benson has a real chance to be great. We give Benson a 4-yr 16.8 million dollar deal and we immediately trade QB Roger Brentlinger to the Washington Redskins for 1st round picks in 2027, 2028, and 2029. We have 13 first round picks over the next three years at the moment. Coming off a Bowl win and the future looks bright. Exhibition Season: Cleveland @ Green Bay W 16-10 Ok, so we make it out of pre-season minus just two starters - and we will probably start Clark the first game and in any game where Benson is hurt. Let's hope Nate "The Bookstore" Borders can carry us through! Regular SeasonWeek 1 Cleveland (0-0) -8 @ Baltimore (0-0) Borders and Beyer do the Cleveland two-step all over Baltimore, and the Offense rolls up 429 yards total offense. Two tds by Baltimore in the final two minutes make it look closer than it was. Clark got knocked out halfway through and Benson came in, injured, and played great. Cleveland wins 36-28 Clark 8-16-106-0-1 Injuries: LB Gordon 2-3 months, WR Jeffries 3-5 weeks Week 2 San Francisco (1-0) @ CLeveland (1-0) -9 Our new defensive coach, hired in the off-season to light a fire under the vets, has installed an aggressive system designedto force mistakes. It worked this game as the defense forced 6 interceptions and 4 sacks, while allowing 227 total yards. The offense does its job and doesnt turn the ball over. Cleveland wins 44-7. Clark 14-27-171-3-0 Injuries: LB Gordon 2-3 months, S Dunkleberger 3-5 weeks, LB Sapp 3-5 weeks Week 3 Jacksonville (1-1) @ Cleveland (2-0) -7 Remember Rudy? He has a new name. Sammy McKnight. Down 20-17 late in the fourth quarter, both Clark and Benson out of the game, Sammy took his team to the promised land and hit Burt Porter on a 10 yard out with 2:51 left. Game. The defense continued its dominance, allowing 222 total yards, gaining 3 sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception. Cleveland wins 24-21. Clark 9-15-114-0-1 Injuries: LB Gordon 2-3 months, S Dunkleberger, T Finch, QB Benson: 3-5 weeks Week 4 St.Louis (2-1) @ Cleveland (3-0) -9 We storm out to a 37-13 lead, thanks to a kickoff and int return. St. Louis storms back with 25 unanswered points, and the game looks bleak. 5 seconds left, Browns have the ball at the 34. Moe Riley trots out onto the field and crushes a 51-yd fg for the win. Cleveland wins 40-38. Clark 14-27-266-1-2 Injuries: S Storey Out Long Term, LB Gordon 2-3 months, Dunkleberger, Finch 3-5 weeks. Week 5 Cleveland (4-0) -4 @ Cincinnati (1-3) Smashmouth returns. We hold them to 140 yds, gaining 4 sacks and 3 ints. We roll on the ground, gaining 239 yds rushing. Clark just gets out of the way... Cleveland wins 24-7. Clark 10-17-95-1-1 Injuries: S Storey Out Long Term, LB Gordon, Dunkleberger, Finch: 3-5 weeks. Week 6 Cleveland (5-0) -4 @ Pittsburgh (3-2) Big-time divisional tilt. Our defense steps up to the plate AGAIN and we continue Operation Smashmouth. We get 3 defensive tds on a Brenden Swift fumble return and TWO INT returns by LB Lamar "ReRun" Tubbs (Def POW honors). On a day when pur offense only gained 220 yards, we needed this effort. Cleveland wins 35-10. Clark 12-22-125-1-0 Injuries: The fragile Moe Riley: Out for the year, C Leo Sheldon 2-3 months, Finch, Weise, Gordon, and Hanson: 3-5 weeks. We look to rest our guys as we peruse FA. Luckily, we find a very good Kicker, Neil Drake, on waivers and snatch him up. Week 7 Cleveland (6-0) -2 @ Atlanta (4-2) Have a bad feeling about this one. We are banged up on the o-line and rely heavily on our running game. I was right. We go down 17-14 in the 4th quarter and it looks grim. Out of no where, Lee Clark hits Nate Borders on a screen and does his best Marshall Faulk, scampering for48 yds and the game winning score! Cleveland wins 21-17. Clark 17-31-259-2-1 Injuries: K Moe Riley 2027, C Leo Sheldon 2-3 months, Storey playoffs, Finch, Weise, Gordon, and Hanson: 3-5 weeks. Week 8 BYE WEEEK. Praise the Lord and pass the gauze. Halfway: 7-0, 2nd in scoring offense (224), 5th in scoring defense (128) Week 9 Cincinnati (2-5) @ Cleveland (7-0) -10 Weise is Questionable, so we let him sit this one out and move Capt Kirk outside. Youngster Riddick Tubbs (second cousin of Lamar "ReRun" Tubbs) gets his first start at DT. Clark keeps starting as long as we keep winning - although he is not playing real well. Nate Borders puts another claim on ownership of the team, as he puts everyone on his back and rumbles for over 200. Clark plays decently and we overcome a poor showing by our D. Cleveland wins 27-17. Clark 15-26-196-2-1 Injuries: K Moe Riley 2027, S Storey playoffs, C Leo Sheldon, LB Scarlett 3-5weeks. Week 9 Tennessee (4-4) @ Cleveland (8-0) -11 Operation Smashmouth continues as we rack up 276 yards rushing, 7 sacks, 1 int, 1 fumrec. Time of posession is in our favor for +9 minutes. The best of all is we have one of those rare days where two backs on the same team gain over a hundred yards! BUT. There is always a but. Nate Borders is carried off the field before the first half is over - done for the year. For the record he was leading the league in rushing (8 games, 206 att, 1065 yds, 5.1 avg, 8 tds). He was on pace for 2000. Some Injury rating on Courtney. Oh well - time for Clark and Beyer to step up. LB Seth Gordon re-injures himself in just his second game back and is gone now till at least the first round of the playoffs. Cleveland wins 34-20. Clark 13-19-178-0-1 Injuries: RB Borders, K Riley: done, S Storey, LB Gordon: playoffs, CB Peterman, LB Scarlett: 3-5 weeks. Week 10 Cleveland (9-0) -4 @ Charlottesville (5-4) We quickly re-up Beyer and Gordon, as it looks like we will need both of them thorughout their careers. Big let down for the team without Borders. We allow 24 unanswered points and the passing game goes even further in the shit can. Now that we have lost our first game, Clark sits the rest of the way, barring injury. Charlottesville wins 31-17. Clark 8-26-107-1-2 Injuries: RB Borders, K Riley: done, S Storey, LB Gordon: playoffs, CB Peterman, LB Scarlett, S Dunkleberger: 3-5 weeks. Week 11 Cleveland (9-1) -6 @ Tennessee (4-6) Benson's first start. Let's see if B&B Football Factory can pull one out on the road. We do. The Browns play mistake-fre football and acquit themselves nicely. Beyer chalks up his third straight 100-yd game. Cleveland wins 24-17. Benson 12-23-142-2-0 Injuries: RB Borders, K Riley: done, S Storey: playoffs, LB Gordon, LB Scarlett: 3-5 weeks. Week 12 Cleveland (10-1) -5 @ Baltimore (5-6) If we win here, on the road, we clinch homefield throughout the playoffs. Smashmouth continues as we run the ball 52 times for 3 tds and 4 fgs. We also benefit from 17 penalties by Baltimore. Beyer tops 100 yards for the 4th straight game. Cleveland wins 33-18. Homefield through the playoffs. Benson 6-17-101-0-1 Injuries: Done: RB Borders, K Riley Playoffs: S Storey 3-5 weeks: LB Gordon. Week 13 Cleveland (11-1) -6 at Jacksonville (6-6) B&B Football factory returns as Beyer scores two tds and Benson throws two. The defense shows up, holding the Jags under 300 yards of offense while adhering to the tenents of Al Davis style defense. That's right - the Jags QB went down. And he went down hard - getting knocked out of the game. The offensive line continues to plow through opponents like mack trucks over anorexic cheerleaders. Cleveland wins 30-16. Benson 15-29-188-2-1 Injuries: Done: RB Borders, K Riley 3-5 weeks: S Storey. Week 14 Cleveland (12-1) -5 @ Miami (4-9) Only a 5 pt favorite on the road against an inferior opponent...what do the handicappers know that we don't? In the second quarter Miami comes in on a corner blitz, blindsiding Benson - knocking him out of the game. He is listed as Doubtful for the last two games of the season. Enter veteran Lee Clark - perhaps the most enigmatic Brown in the storied history of the franchise. It is Clark's team again - and he must stow his baggage and lead this team to its destiny (enter NFL Films' The Power and the Glory, downloadable on your friendly neighborhood Napster). Anyway - Coach Joseph does not abandon his gameplan - Beyer Left, Beyer Right, Beyer Up the Gut. Before the crowd can blink, Beyer passes 1000 yards rushing for the season, the first time int his franchise's history two backs have topped 1000 yards in the same season. Lee Clark senses this is his last chance to garner a ring - and gets the look in his eye...the outcome but a formality. Cleveland wins 21-13. Clark 7-9-122-1-0 Injuries: Done: RB Borders, K Riley, LB JB Banks 3-5 weeks: S Storey, QB Benson. Week 15 Indianapolis (3-9-2) @ Cleveland (13-1) -10 The outcome was never in doubt as Operation Smashmouth rolls on. Our defense and running game dominate in EVERY sense of the word. The D holds them to 9 first downs, 137 total yards and 23 minutes of possesion time. They threw in 5 sacks and 2 interceptions. We knock out 2 Quarterbacks. Our rushing game took the ball 52 times for 231 yards, with the offense going over 300 yards for the 14th time this season. Cleveland wins 30-6. Clark 10-16-106-1-2 Injuries: Done: K Riley, LB JB Banks 3-5 weeks: RB Borders, S Storey, QB Benson. Week 16 Pittsburgh (8-7) @ Cleveland (14-1) -10 A meaningless game for us, but we would like to finish the season on a positive note. We rest anyone with even a hint of injury, plus anyone else we can fit on the Inactive list. We pull it out with a FG at the buzzer, using the same formula as always: Smashmouth. For the record, Beyer has gone over 100 in every single start this season (8). Amazingly, Beyer finishes FOURTH in the league in total rushing yards. Cleveland wins 20-17. Clark 14-25-159-2-2 On to the playoffs... Playoffs Wildcard Round Minnesota (9-7) 21 Oakland (9-7) 30 Seattle(8-8) 29 San Francisco (9-7) 7 Quarterfinal Round Minnesota (10-7) 0 Washington (12-5) 13 Oakland (10-7) 12 Seattle (9-8) Let's just fastforward to sudden death overtime. It's now 20-20. We each 2 punts a piece and Cleveland gets the ball on its own 23. Beyer goes off tackle for 31 yards, but we can't get in the red zone. K Drake trots out on the field. It will be a 54-yarder if he makes it. The snap is good, the kick is up...wide left. Seattle takesover on their 44. Several plays later they have 2nd and 8 on our 33 when Riddick Tubbs bull rushes the QB for a sack and loss of 7. Wiese hurries the QB on the next throw and Seattle's FG unit comes on the field. This would be a 57-yarder if they make it. The snap is good, the kick is up...just short of the crossbar - my heart was literally in my throat on that one. We gain possesion, but trade punt into the second OT. Our punt pins them on their 14, and they fail to advance the ball, giving us great field position (SEA 45) after the ensuing punt. 20 yards to Porter. Sanders up the middle for 18. Clark to Jeffries for 12 and the TOUCHDOWN!We gain a whopping 627 yds total offense. Cleveland wins (and avoids an epic upset) 26-20. Clark 24-37-351-2-0 (Clark steps up!) Injuries: We lose Capt Lou Kirk for the rest of the playoffs. Ouch. League Finals Dallas (13-4) 20 Denver (11-6) Again we take you to the end of regulation as Denver kicks a FIFTY-SEVEN YARD FG to tie the game and take it into OT. Denver wins the toss and elects to receive. They take thekick out to their 20. On the second play of the OT, the Denver runner is hit HARD by Copeland and coughs the ball up - and the ball is scooped up the Greek and advanced 7 yards. First and ten Cleveland on Denver's 18. Beyer up the middle for 8 ya...FUMBLE! Denver recovers and advances the ball 21 yards to the CLE 46. An absolutely huge play. 11 plays and 6 minutes later, Denver puts it in the end zone and our fairy tale season is over. This REALLY hurts. For the first time all year the defense let us down. Denver wins 40-34. Clark 22-31-337-2-0 Injuries: who cares... Super Bowl Denver (12-6) 13 Real quick - Lenny Spano - our LB for two years a while back - has had over 100 tackles for 6 straight years since leaving the team and just garnered his second league MVP award. Honor Roll FB Clarence Lee rushing: 16 GS 60-239-4
receiving: 20-266-3 blocking: 13-25 KRB, 52% 1st Team Fullbacl Key Starters K Neal Drake + Moe Riley kicking: 16 GS,
32-39 FG, 56 long, 52-52 XP Team Stats Offensive Scoring: 460 (1) Run Offense: 656att(1), 2,951 yds(1), 184.4 YPG(1), 4.4avg(5). Run Defense: 393att(1), 1,542yds(2), 96.3ypg(2), 3.9avg. Pass Offense: 203-379-2662-166.3(last)-7.0(15) Pass Defense: 493att(18), 231comp(1), 3241yds (10), 202.5ypg (10), 6.5avg (6) Turnovers: +18(1) 3rd down %: .372(10) opponents: .303(4) Analysis Not many complaints - will be interesting to see who retires and where we stand cohesion-wise after this year. We have legitimate starters for the next 5 years AT EVERY POSITION, except maybe G (Duane Hansen finishing year 13) and WR (Jeffries and Porter aging). Its all about cohesion and that will be my focus for next year. |
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