Cleveland Browns 7-9
Welcome to AFC North Week and the Cleveland Browns 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team.
This year was a roller coaster of emotions. The Cleveland Browns offered an exorbitant amount of drama and yet a modest amount of fantasy points. Hopefully next year we will say the opposite.
Highs:
Head Coach – Mike Pettine
This guy doesn’t even have a remote chance of winning NFL Coach of the Year, but I wanted to give him some serious respect. This guy came to an organization that just fired a coach after only one year with the team. Management decides to draft the most controversial Quarterback in the draft, Johnny Manziel. At the beginning of training camp it is clear to Pettine that Manziel is not ready to play, and even though the media and surely the management wanted otherwise, Pettine announced that Brian Hoyer was his man and he stuck with him until they were out of playoff contention. Their top producing offensive weapon, Josh Gordon, gets suspended for the whole season, which later gets reduced to 10 games. Their second best weapon, Jordan Cameron, struggled with concussions again all season long, along with a nagging shoulder injury. He technically played in 10 games, but Cameron was limited in a majority of his showings. Not to mention the biggest blow to his season long plans, the loss of Pro Bowl Center, Alex Mack. All in all, the Browns were not good, but they were not terrible. They play in a tough division (literally, everyone else in the division made the playoffs) and they made the best with what they were dealt. As far as fantasy is concerned, we need to wait and see. It’s hard to know what a typical game plan would look like under Coach Pettine until he has all of his weapons at least 50% of the time. For now, he’s not a coach to avoid – and that’s a good thing.
The Cincinnati Beat Down in Week 10
Pro Bowl Center, Alex Mack, went out for the season with a broken fibula in Week 6 against the Steelers. It looked like no one could run behind that line anymore. But then, Andy Dalton and the Bengals in Prime Time made all of that go away. In Week 10 all three of the then Cleveland Browns Running Backs scored a touchdown. Terrance West had the most yards (94), and later in the season Ben Tate would get cut, but both West and Tate joined Isaiah Crowell in the end zone. It’s still a bit of a mystery as to who the guy will be moving forward or if Crowell and West will be a committee in 2015, but there was one great night for all. Fun Fact: All three of us at Her Fantasy Football were together and watched the game at the Greenwich Street Tavern in New York City. Thanks again, Chris Voccaro.
Lows:
Johnny Manziel’s Premiere
It was a high for Her Fantasy Football as far as analysis was concerned. Shockingly, we were one of the very, very few fantasy football shows that told you NOT to start him. But even we didn’t think he would be QUITE as bad as he was. In Manziel’s Week 15 premiere at home against Cincinnati he completed 10 of his 18 passing attempts for 80 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. But he’s a rushing Quarterback, right? Well, he ran it five times for 13 yards and ended the game with .5 fantasy points. Ouch. Of course, there is a variety of off field issues, but frankly his on-field play is enough to cause anxiety.
Josh Gordon… WHY?!?!
Reports from almost every source indicates that Josh Gordon will not be with the Browns in 2015. Gordon’s career seems to be a series of fits and starts due to his struggle to remain in good standing in regards to the substance abuse policies of the NFL. This year the team suspended Gordon for the season finale when he missed a Saturday walkthrough. Rumors swirled, blaming his absence on a Johnny Manziel party. At the end of the day, the Browns need to decide if Gordon is worth the trouble, and if not, then they need to determine what they want in a trade. Gordon’s physical talent is off the charts and if he can land in a strict program and buy in (we’re looking at you, Patriots) then he will be a lot closer to the fantasy football gold that he proved to be in the 2013 season.