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From the Dawg Pound – 2024 Season Review
Give the Dawg a Bone 2024 Season Review If you’re looking for pretty and stylish football, then this is the wrong place to come. The 2024 Cleveland Browns were down and gritty competitors who toiled in the trenches and ground out uninspiring wins in uninspiring fashions. There was only once instance of class and flair for the season, with the rest of our outings being hard fought, close matches, or complete junk. With a team led by the young and raw Desmond Ridder this is no surprise, but at the end of the year we had scrapped our way to a 10-6 record, finished with a 4-2 divisional record (staining our legacy by losing both brother-bowl games), and ousting the much vaunted Ravens and Bengals from playoff spots to win the inaugural AFC North title. There were some actual positives from the season, such as finishing the season on a 7-game winning streak, scoring less than 10 points in only 2 games (damn you Ravens (twice!)), and posting the highest score in the league (61 points!). Games Overview: After going 3-1 in the preseason we had been given a spark of hope that there was some life in this Brown outfit, even with serious questions around who could give us some drive from the quarterback position. Our regular season kicked off against the eventual league runners-up in the , which went about as well as can be expected. The Cowboys hogged the ball (28 minutes top versus 15), but didn’t really spank us down, mainly due to some long runs by our two half backs. The Ridder era started off poorly with 3 interceptions to help the Cowboys over the line. Week 2 initiated our divisional competition against the and we notched our first GGL regular season win in a game that our defensive turnovers were the main factor. Following this we were handed our first embarrassment by the in brother-bowl #1, kept to a solitary field goal in a defensive arm-wrestle (146 total offensive yards to us, 173 for the Ravens). We bounced back in the following weeks with back-to-back wins against the and which saw us surprisingly take the lead in the AFC North and hold it for a couple of weeks before we were bitch-slapped down for 4 weeks in a row. Away loses to the and were compounded by home loses to the in brother-bowl #2, followed by our biggest points loss of the year to the (24-43). Our fortunes turned the corner in week 11, going on a tear to surprise the league and roar back into playoff contention after downing the , , , , , , and finally the consecutively. The week 16 game against the Bengals really drove the nail into the coffin of their 2024 season, solidifying our head-to-head results in our favour should we fall short at the line. We almost let the Steelers steal our title, letting them back into the game in the fourth quarter to squeak out a final 3-point win. The biggest surprise of the year came in week 14 when we headed down to Tennessee to face the . The game started at a crawl with neither team bothering the scorers for the first quarter and was setting the stage for another junk game. However, that wasn’t to be as we came out in the second firing, posting 20 points to get our juices flowing. The half time break did little to slow us down as we piled on 24 more points in the 3rd before digging the boots deep into the Titans gonads with a final 17-point quarter. No-one in their wildest dreams would have predicted these dirty Browns to score 61 points in a game (Note: the most points any of this GMs teams has ever scored in his GM history), let alone have highest score of any team in the league (52 is the next best, shared by the 49ers over the Patriots in week 5 and the Eagles beating the Cowboys in week 17). Whilst our glory was short lived after a 43-13 drubbing by the in the wild card game, for this outfit to out play some more vaunted offensive units and grind out a better record than 2 teams drafted way higher in the team draft is a major boon. Whilst there is still plenty we can improve on, a winning season was way more than initial expectations. Offensive Team Stats: 22.4 points per game (9th) 283.0 total offensive yards per game (21st) 178.3 passing yards per game (19th) 104.7 rushing yards per game (13th) 22:30 time of possession (24th), almost 2 minutes less than the best team 36 turnovers - 30 interceptions thrown and 6 fumbles lost (22nd) It comes as no surprise that we were rated in the bottom half of the league for most offensive numbers, even though I had more hope for Nick Chubb to get us some rushing production. With the lack of quality amongst out offensive linemen it was always going to be a struggle to keep the quarterback upright, keep tackler at bay and open holes for the running game. Desmond Ridder finished the year completing just shy of 50% of hiss passes for 2733 yards at 7.41 yards per attempt. He threw 20 touchdowns and 23 interceptions whilst being sacked 38 times. He did manage a 93-yard touchdown pass to TE David Njoku to get a positive top 5 league ranking in something. Speaking of Njoku he led the team in receiving yards (1198) and was equal second in the league for touchdowns with 12, along with the second best in the league for yards after completion (456). The wide receivers were lucky to have half his output and will need work to become better targets. Nick Chubb toiled with little fanfare in the running game, amassing 1381 yards at just over 4 yards per carry for 6 touchdowns. Knowing that our best blocker had only 58 pancakes he had to do a lot on his own. The same offensive line let through 28 sacks and god knows how many tackles behind the line, so will be a major focus for this offseason to improve. Defensive Team Stats: 21.4 points per game (22nd) 318.6 total yards allowed (29th) 214.9 pass yards allowed (30th) 103.6 rush yards allowed (20th) 39 Turnovers - 29 interceptions, 10 fumbles (5th) 51 sacks (Equal 12th) Best redzone defense percentage, allowing 47 visits for only 12 touchdowns and 23 field goals (a TD% of 25.53%) 2nd for defensive scoring with 6 touchdowns and 2 safeties There is a massive contrast here when we look at the yardage allowed, number of turnovers and redzone defense. Its obvious that we go beast mode in the redzone and the ball hawks come out to play to defend the end zone, but it would be much better to shut down those drives a lot earlier. Both our starting cornerbacks were in the numbers for picks, both collecting 7 a piece and taking 2 to the house as well. Denzel Ward had it better on overall defense, deflecting 33 passes whilst allowing only 26 catches, whereas Greg Newsome II was 23 deflections to 44 catches allowed. Our tackle leader was veteran middle linebacker Jordan Hicks with 105. Coupled with 22 tackles for loss (2nd in league) and 4 picks he was a solid leader for the year. The defensive line provided the bulk of our work behind the line, amassing 32 sacks (RE Okoronkwo-10, LE Garrett-9, DT Hall Jr-7, DT Hurst-4) along with 29 tackles for loss (LE Garrett-17 on his own). Garrett’s 60 tackles are an impressive feat coupled with his other antics and makes him a force all around the field, surpassing other linebackers and both safeties for production. The more diminutive returns from FS Thornhill, SS Delpit and LOLB Bush will need to be addressed this offseason to help carry the load before once of the other starters falls from over-exertion. Obviously, the aim is to have them spend less time on the field, so whether that is an improvement in offensive time with the ball or more timely turnovers it will top subject when it comes to trading, free agents, and the draft. Pro Bowl: TE David Njoku – he only ever lined up as our number 1 tight end yet was still the go to guy for Ridder, probably mostly as he dumped the ball off to avoid another sack. Even so the amount of yards after completion means he still worked it hard to get those needed yards and is the MVP for this team LG Joel Bitonio – the best of a bad bunch I suppose as our best offensive lineman with 58 pancakes and 5 sacks allowed. This could be an indication of a lack of skill overall across the league if he’s made the pro bowl CB Denzel Ward- his exceptional deflection to catches allowed ratio along with 7 picks (2 pick-6s) are just reward for this gritty player
Forum Discussion (by G_Pearce on 01/30/2025)	Replies - 0 :: Views - 8

From the Dawg Pound - Free Agency
Give the Dawg a Bone Free Agency Entering the 2024 season the Browns had a full cupboard, but recently hired GM Garth Pearce wasn’t happy with the overall landscape of the team and wanted to include some new additions to the roster. With slim pickings in free agency and no real stars being shopped in the trade market the mood wasn’t positive that change would help improve the odds of success. With that in mind there was a focus on the key area of quarterback and a few offers made at 2 other positions. Following the blind bidding, the following players will be suiting up in Cleveland: QB Desmon Ridder - our incumbent quarterbacks of Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston did not inspire confidence with their abilities to lead this team. Both are up there in age (Watson=29, Winston=30) and they also lack the game IQ to be effective in the passing game with little to no room to develop as a starting quality player. Ridder comes in at only 26 years of age and boasts similar attributes across the board as both our current quarterbacks, pipping them out on game smarts in the process. Due to his youth he is seen as a possible future for this franchise, addressing current concerns that the decision making behind center would kill any chance we had of being competitive this year. Ridder has been inked to a 3 year deal and whilst the offer was the best possible it still pales in comparison to the money Watson is scheduled to make. QB Matt Fromm - Fromm is another young talent who will give us depth at quarterback over the next couple of years. He doesn’t have the strongest arm (82) but he has proven to be more accurate than your average passer (89). This could prove a key difference if Ridder is injured and gives us options if needed. WR Miles Boykin - a 6’4” wide out is always an enticing player and is not something we currently have on our roster. With 90 speed, 88 agility, and 89 acceleration he won’t be generating a lot of yards after completion, but he’s well suited to a possession game, can carry the ball and is no slouch when it comes to blocking. WR Equanimeous St. Brown - what’s better than a 6’4” receiver? A 6’5” receiver! St. Brown is a few points dumber than Boykin, is 28 as well and has a slightly quicker first step, which gives us the potential for twin towers if the opposition defensive backs don’t match up well. Our final offer was made to DT Jowon Briggs, an athletically gifted rookie DT. This Cincinnati graduate had great upside for such a young age, and even though we have an overflowing house at DT, he would have been a welcome pairing with fellow youngster Michael Hall Jr. Unfortunately our offer (along with 6 other teams) was short of the best mark and he’ll plying his trade in Green bay for the foreseeable future instead. To make room for these new additions several players had to be cut. CB Kahlef Hailassie, DT Quinton Jefferson, C Nick Harris, WR Jamari Thrash, and QB Dorian Thompson all fell to the axe cheaply. ;">Trade Alert A deal has been struck with the Dallas Cowboys to bring in another unique talent in 6’4” cornerback Israel Mukuamu. There are only 4 cornerbacks in the league at this height so the ability to obtain one for a 4th round pick was an easy investment. At 25 years old he has room to improve his 72 awareness and progress from his 88 speed, but he has the potential to be a valuable defensive role player even if he does get moved to another position.
Forum Discussion (by G_Pearce on 10/06/2024)	Replies - 1 :: Views - 25

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