Armchair Owner: Return To Relevance!

So since we last left my Cleveland team in MFN, we were miring down in a 1-3 record, dead last in the AC South.

I don't know if it's something about not posting about it or what, but things have definitely taken a turn for the better.

The Cleveland team has gone 3-1 in the stretch of 4 games that have been played, the only loss coming by 4 to a (now) 4-4 Green Bay team.

Here are the replays, with no scores so as not to totally spoil things:

vs. Detroit: http://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/1134
at Green Bay: http://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/1155
at New England: http://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/1173
vs. Jacksonville: http://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/1190

The Cleveland defense has been very solid, but still not getting huge push at the line. QB Lyons has continued to underwhelm compared to last season, but is playing well enough to get Ws. He's also managed to be one of the team's better rushers, with Williams performing poorly with the occasional flash. Ranieri has been a solid receiver and an absolute BEAST on special teams, with 4 punts returned for TDs on the season.

As things stand now, Cleveland is only a game back of a 1st place tie in the division, with 8 games to go. No one's running away with things, so there's actually a boxer's chance to get into the Playoffs this year.

Stay tuned as we take this season to the second half, and see where things go from there!

Some Combine Chatter

So my most recent MTAF:C article was some findings at the NFL Combine that wrapped up early this week (but after the article was posted). Saw some interesting things, and posted about those here.

Also, I'm looking for some ideas for this Monday's article. Already had a Twitter suggestion, and found some in doing a little research myself... But could always use some other thoughts. Drop me a lone or a comment!

Just a reminder...

Apologies for a lack of updates... The last week plus has been a bit of a crazy time with new daycare and Spring Break rapidly approaching.

MTAF:C publishing is still going strong, and I will be posting about my most recent articles in a moment.

MFN is also proceeding well. Some surprising results lately, so I'll be getting to those soon as well.

Promise to have a little more consistency! :)

Armchair Owner: A Calamity In Brown And Orange

So, I finally got my first win of the 2016 season in MyFootballNow League 1.

It was against the hated Baltimore team. Yes, even in fake ownership, I keep the rivalries.

Here's the replay from the game. Lyons got picked twice, but also threw 2 touchdowns, and Aaron Williams had a nice rushing day with 117 yards and 2 scores. And unlike the first two games, it was my offense that exploded over several drives in a row.

Too bad the momentum couldn't hold.

Watch as my Cleveland team drops the game the next week to Cincinnati. Cincy put up 24 points in 4 drives in the second half, Aaron Williams laid an egg with 4 fumbles... The only bright spots were the resurgence of John Lyons (26/42 for 375, 2TDs/0INTs) and Albert Ranieri's 86-yard first quarter punt return to the house.

Here's the current standings for our league... As you can see, Cleveland is floundering at 1-3, dead last in the AC North. Next game is simming on the 19th, so maybe we'll bounce back.

Or maybe not.

Stay tuned, viewers!

Not Much On The Browns Front, So...

Folks will recognize the body of the text I used for this week's article for MTAF:C. Was a slow week after the madness Tuesday, and with feeling a bit under the weather after Sunday's Blue Streaks game, it was a day to take a punt.

So here we are, this week's story. Enjoy!

Armchair Adventures: The Ongoing Saga

So, as promised, I'm going to do a post on my MyFootballNow Cleveland team.

This 2016 season thusfar has been a bit of a cluster.

Talk about art imitating life.

So here's my first game of the season... A home game versus Pittsburgh. This link will actually go to a replay play-by-play of the whole game. It's pretty cool.

Anyway... Yeah, as you can see, my offense is... Offensive. The starting QB on my staff, John Lyons, is a virtual stud (current rating of 90 out of a possible 100). He is a dual-threat player with a normally good scrambling ability. When I came in on the team last year, he wound up being a potent QB for a 6-10 team.

This year, he's playing with a hurt knee, and is largely ineffective.

Due to Lyons' knee issues, the ground game is largely docile. Aaron Williams and David Hoard (both 61 rating) both have sparks of decency, but Lyons is the main rushing threat. Running backs seem to be at a premium in the league, so there's no real improvement opportunities yet.

My WR corps are above average, with the star being Albert Ranieri (96 rating). However, he's not the star right now, which is a little odd. Can't tell if the league's catching up to him, if I'm playing teams with a lockdown secondary, or Lyons' ineffectiveness is just making Ranieri a non-factor.

My O-Line is particularly susceptible on the left side it seems, allowing several sacks over there. I'm sure there's a mix of straight and coverage sacks due to Lyons' 'mobility', but it's a bit disconcerting.

My defense has moments of struggle, but is overall okay. The D-Line doesn't seem to get a ton of pressure on the QB, and the secondary doesn't get burned often. However, there's just times where it seems like the secondary is just... Not quite right where they need to be. Not sure if they're just getting gassed early; if that's the case, that's a bad bad thing.

A continuing example would be the next game at home versus Denver.

*sigh* So 0-2 to start the season, with a big game at Baltimore coming up. I've made some tweaks to general gameplanning, so we'll see what happens.

More to come.

Breaking Browns Article!

Now that it's published... Here is the link!

An enjoyable romp through the interesting news day out of Berea!

Give More Than A Fan: Cleveland, More Than A Fan, and all our sister sites some love after you read that!