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09-03-2013, 11:51 PM
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#57 |
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Rookie
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Re: The Cleveland Curse: A Cleveland Browns Ownership Saga (Madden 25)
Week 2 (Year 1)  News Prior to Games Chargers sign OL Joe Long .Chargers sign RT Ben Ijalana 49ers sign SS Kenny Phillips Lions release RG Dylan Gandy Lions sign FB Lawrence Vickers Cassel Takes pay cut, will play 3rd string-- After a report that Matt Cassel was released by the Vikings following his brutal performance in relief-duty against the Lions, we're told that Cassel actually took a pay cut to the tune of about 1.2 million in order to stay with the team. Bethel-Thompson does indeed hold the backup job now, so in essence, Cassel decided that a demotion was worth holding onto a paycheque even if it was for a lot less cash than hoped. Asked and Answered Henne released on request; Stanzi to back up  After Gus Bradley said that Chad Henne failed to command the huddle and lost the respect of his team mates in a 30-17 drubbing to the Chiefs, Chad Henne asked for his release from the team, which was swiftly granted. It's probably the best move for both sides after such difficult words, and part of us think that Henne is happy to be out of that mess. Whether he finds another job is the question. Ricky Stanzi will backup Blaine Gabbert this week against Oakland. Weak Work by Weeden Sinks Browns versus hobbling Ravens Browns downed 27-16  Michael Huff Terrell Suggs Torrey Smith Jacoby Jones Jameel McClain That was the list of Ravens starters inactive for their game against the Browns this Sunday, as Baltimore searched for its first win against the 1-0 Browns. I'm sure you'd agree that the above list might actually have put the Ravens into under-dog territory.. Even against the Browns. And it looked that way to start, with Cleveland ripping off a series of viscious runs on the legs of Trent Richardson, including a 23 yard jet to the right side. Richardson's 45 yards on 4 carries looked too tough for the Ravens' injured defense, and then, Weeden managed to exploit their box-play with a deft strike to Braylon Edwards on an uncovered out-route for six. Things looked great with the Browns up 7-0. A Few punts later and the Browns found themselves in a a tight one with the Ravens driving into the second quarter, and, as if to answer fellow free-agent signee Edwards' touchdown, Flacco hit Brandon Lloyd on a similar out-route that unfortunately phased and beat Joe Haden. With the score at 7-7, the Browns would drive into Baltimore Territory but the O-line crumbled allowing Richardson to get stuffed and pushed backwards on a 3rd and two, forcing Cleveland into a 49 yard field goal attempt which Cundiff banked through. The Ravens, in spite of each of their injuries, would not back down however, as a long Flacco lead drive put together by a well-called Ray Rice screen was punctuated by a 2 yard Vontae Leach plunge to give Baltimore a 14-10 lead 2 minutes to go in the half. Near the end of that half, Weeden scrambled to his right, set his feet and launched a missle to Kyle Williams, but Williams was pressed off the ball and it was picked in the Endzone by Michael Huff fill-in James Ihedigbo. That Interception shouldn't have been costly with 30 seconds left but it was. After a nice screen again to Rice, Flacco found Pitta in Browns territory and set up a 50 yard that went through on the leg of Tucker. At the start of the second half, the Browns seemed to lose their early lustre and Weeden continued to struggle with just 80 yards, a TD and a Pick through the air. His struggles continued, though he was lucky to find Edwards on 3rd down and produce a 44 yard cundiff kick to make the score 17-13. A few more Weeden struggles later and Coach Chudzinski could be seen frustrated, pacing the sidelines as his offense continued its 3 and outs and the Ravens marched on. Soon, the game seemed out of reach as Vontae Leach pounded home another 2 yard plunge after Brandon Lloyd burned the Browns on a 35 yarder. The score now was 24-13. Next, an errant throw by Weeden was picked by Webb, and the game was well and truly done. That is, until Flacco decided to throw instead of milking the clock as he was successfully doing, and the 2 yard chuck was picked by Browns saftey Gipson in Browns territory with 2:30 left. Why Flacco threw was beyond most Ravens fans, and the pick seemed boneheaded. In the end, it turned up a Cundiff 28 yarder to put Cleveland down by 8, but they conceded a 51 yarder late, and the game ended 27-16. A tough loss against a beleagured divisional foe. Can't sit well in Cleveland. Quick Hits:
AROUND THE LEAGUE:  "2-0? Wait What?" -- The Oakland Raiders have surged to a world-shocking 2-0 on the back of a very unique defensive style that pressures QBs. I'm told that the same system that held Andrew Luck to just 90 yards also confounded Blaine Gabbert to just 112 and 4 sacks against. The Raiders have not had good offensive play from QB Terrell Pryor and they will be without Mcfadden for 3 weeks but a buzzing defense has found them in exciting territory. Looks like Former defensive coordiantor Dennis Allen is coming into his own. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the Chiefs and Chargers are also 2-0. Yes, you read that right.  "Ponder efficient, Peterson dynamite in dysmantling of Bears" Don't look now, but after the dibacle of Cassel starting against the Lions last week the Vikings put together a masterful domination of the Chicago Bears this week. Ponder was a stellar 69% with a TD and no picks, and Peterson went..well...Petersonish, ripping off a buck 50 and 2 scores. Add to that a dominant sack-showing by the Vikings D and you can colour me impressed. The Bears on the other hand must be worried. Jay Cutler has seemingly had immense difficulty picking up Mark Trestman's offense and they are missing Forte Badly. Cutler's play ranks 2nd worst of any QB starter, behind only rookie-learner EJ Manuel. Is it possible that Cutler is just not the right fit? Jason Campbell is available but I can't see that working out any better.  "Some things never change"-- Sanchez came in for the Jets and went 0-for-2 with a pick 6 in a loss; the Bengals flounder at 0-2 despite all the hype, and Mike Vick exploded and threw 5 picks that were turned into 4 pick-sixes (Weddle had 3 INTs for 2 scores in a 42-25 Charging of the Eagles). Vick best be careful or Foles could be in the starter seat soon.  "Solder's Career in Question" in our last news item of the day, Patriots Left Tackle Nate Solder's career may be over after he suffered a torn Achilles. Right now, his injury is being ball-parked at about 32 weeks recovery time, but I'm told by those in the know that Solder could be done, done. No Mas. Tough news to hear. STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK FOR BROWNS AT VIKINGS which will feature the return of Josh Gordon from suspension and the beast that is sure to be AP coming off a 150 yard effort. Can the Browns stop the world's best back and rebound from a Ravens loss? Or will the colour purple give them 2 losses in succession?
megarover likes this.
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Cleveland Browns Fulham Kansas City Royals Houston Rockets Buffalo Sabres Army Commissioner of TBFL Madden on OS http://www.operationsports.com/forums/tbfl/ TBFL Colts Year 1: 9-7-0 (No playoffs) Last edited by Desalbert; 09-05-2013 at 03:57 AM. |
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09-04-2013, 07:22 AM
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#58 |
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YaBoyRobRoy
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Re: The Cleveland Curse: A Cleveland Browns Ownership Saga (Madden 25)
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09-04-2013, 09:02 AM
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#59 |
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MVP
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Re: The Cleveland Curse: A Cleveland Browns Ownership Saga (Madden 25)
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Ravens: In Ozzie We Trust Yankees: #AllRise |
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09-04-2013, 04:14 PM
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Re: The Cleveland Curse: A Cleveland Browns Ownership Saga (Madden 25)
__________________
Cleveland Browns Fulham Kansas City Royals Houston Rockets Buffalo Sabres Army Commissioner of TBFL Madden on OS http://www.operationsports.com/forums/tbfl/ TBFL Colts Year 1: 9-7-0 (No playoffs) |
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09-05-2013, 04:35 AM
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#61 |
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Rookie
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Re: The Cleveland Curse: A Cleveland Browns Ownership Saga (Madden 25)
__________________
Cleveland Browns Fulham Kansas City Royals Houston Rockets Buffalo Sabres Army Commissioner of TBFL Madden on OS http://www.operationsports.com/forums/tbfl/ TBFL Colts Year 1: 9-7-0 (No playoffs) Last edited by Desalbert; 09-05-2013 at 05:21 AM. |
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09-05-2013, 03:22 PM
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#62 |
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Rookie
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Re: The Cleveland Curse: A Cleveland Browns Ownership Saga (Madden 25)
Week 3(Year 1) News Prior to Games
Browns withstand Bonehead mistakes; rely on Richardson for 16-14 win over Vikings Richardson's 34 Total touches for 177 All-Purpose Yards; Ponder's Poor play top stories  Week 3 pits two of the best backs to a proverbial cage match in the Hubert H Humphrey Dome The Browns traveled to Minneapolis Minnesota today and found themselves in the face of a mid-September snow storm and -1 degree temperatures. That was just one of two storms on the day, and luckily, at least the Minnesota dome would shield them from the elements.  September Storm at the HHH The Other Storm in the forecast was a football game with a high chance of hand-offs. Two of the game's only true 3-down runningbacks met today in Trent Richardson and Adrian Peterson in a show-down that wasn't supposed to be about anything but them. As with the weather reports we'll often see, however, reliability is scarce, and while both backs made impacts-- they were not equal. Nor can the Quarterbacks be left out of the forecast all together. Let's cut to the chase this week: The Browns and Vikings do not have offenses predicated on picking up big chunks of yardage, and as a result, the teams battled to see who would punt the ball next for the better part of the 1st quarter. Towards the end of that quarter though, on the help of a 13 yard Richardson scamper, the Browns cashed in on the 1st points of the game, going up 3-0 on a 26 yarder by Billy Cundiff. Two sets of punts later and, and another one on the way from the Vikings, and things start to get messy, and Vikings Punter Locke booms one that bounces off the hands of Browns return man Travis Benjamin, he and his teammates fumble over eachother and allow a Vikings recovery. This boneheaded move in a 3-0 game close to the edge of half-time gave the Vikings a Red-Zone shot, and one that hurt even more for being unearned. After two attempts to stick it in with AP, resulting in 1st and goal at the 1, Ponder overcame his early misfires and found Jerome Simpson on a 1-yard dumper to take the lead. 7-3 Vikings. Before the end of the half, with neither Weeden nor Ponder looking solid, Weeden was finally able to find a rhythm and completed 4 quick strikes in a row to various wide-outs, and Richardson with Davone Bess making two first down grabs and showing a special focus. As well all Browns drives lately though, Cleveland had to settle for a 53 yard field-goal (which Cundiff nailed) after two overthrows by Weeden, making the game 7-6 at half, for the Vikings. At the start of the second half, Weeden found another spurt of talent in his arm, and managed to hit several Browns Wide-outs in quick succession, and after a dose of Richardson runs, a solid catch by Jordan Cameron over the middle (After the game, we learned he broke his toe on the route-cut, and will miss extended time) the Browns threatened. Finally, their offense came through, capitalizing on the great chemistry that has seemed to develop between Davone Bess and Weeden for a 15 yard TD. The Browns go up, 13-7. Next, after being continually reminded at how special WR Cordarelle Patterson could become for the Vikings due to the way he continually attacked and challenged inexperienced Cleveland corners, Patterson made his first huge play of the day, jetting right by Christopher Owens on a 55 yard slicer after a well-thrown Ponder ball (the latter in short supply today). That strike eventually lead to a 1 yard plunge by Adrian Peterson that the entire world's military forces arrayed on a goal-line probably couldn't hold off if they tried. At this point, the score was 14-13 Vikings, with Minnesota building that lead off of what was essentially just two plays; the Benjamin fumble and a Patterson strike. The things that happened in between those two events didn't favour one team over the other, and certainly didn't suggest a Vikings lead was deserved. Yet, here we were. From here, the Browns continued to feed Richardson, who amassed carry and catch after carry and catch. The team was forced to use Lewis as well, but it was evident that the offense struggled without Trent. The Browns would eventually press down field but stall-out again, requiring a 3rd Cundiff field-goal from 39 yards to grab a precarious 2-point lead. What came after this was a series of boneheaded gaffes almost too painful to write about. Let us run through these quickly: With the score 16-13 for the Browns, and the final 2 minutes in the 3rd quarter fading, Cleveland and Minnesota continued a display of decision making issues that was tough to watch. Richardson kept gaining yards, but Weeden would continually miss key throws to put pressure on the Vikings. Likewise, AP would grab a solid 8 yards, and then another 6, but Ponder routinely missed his wide-outs. Or, the wide-outs failed him. In fact, Patterson, despite all his speed and awe-inducing athleticism, had 3 drops in the second half alone, where Ponder missed several makeable throws, and also threw two right into the dirt, and one right into the hands of a Browns free-saftey that was dropped. On the other side, The Browns, still up 16-14 with the 4th quarter truly on, had several chances to turn the game on its head. Weeden took a shot to Richardson on a wheel route that was left uncovered but again missed on a lofting ball. However, thanks to Richardson's relentless attack, the Browns found themselves on the plus side of Vikings territory not once, but twice. That is until Weeden worked to make sure he looked as bad as Ponder in this one: First, on 2nd and 2 on Minnesota's 42 yard-line, Weeden was directed to give Richardson a breather and take to the air. All he had to do was sling a short pass to Gordon (who returned from suspension and looked to have difficulty getting release and crisp routes ) but instead, Weeden is flushed to his left, chased by Robison and Williams. Under such pressure, he looks to make the heady choice and toss the ball away, to live for a 3rd and two, but as he cocks his throwing arm, he stumbles and nearly trips 4 yards diagonally backwards, before being taken down. It ends up as a 9 yard loss and a sack, putting the thought of a field-goal to rest, and summoning the Browns punt team. Next, with just 3 minutes left in the game, the affair still hanging at an excruciating 16-14, Weeden finally finds his second rhythm of the day, and leads the Browns down the Viking 30. After two tough runs, the Browns face 3rd down and 7, and Weeden drops back, pumps, looks and fires an interception. Of all of the terrible throws we saw from Ponder today, and all of the boneheaded occurences, from fumbled punts, to drive ending sacks, balls in the dirt and key drops... Weeden's pick is the worst of them. It was a mental error that snatched the certainty of at least a 5 point lead from the Browns, and handed the Vikings the hope of winning by a field-goal on a silver platter. It was not to be however, as, after the Browns rebuilt defense held AP to just a 1 yard gain, Christian Ponder eschewed open short routes twice to take two shots down the field on 1-on-1 coverage. They were both batted down, and, with 2:40 left and all 3 timeouts, the Vikings punted. What followed was a master-class in closing a football game by Trent Richardson, who was already worked to the bone. Despite the workload, Richardson somehow found enough stamina to not only carry the Browns from their 40 to the Vikings 20, but also, carry a defender on his back, juke another, and stumble down to the Vikings 4 on an incredible run. Trent Richardson missed 2 series' being dinged up again, but if he can stay relatively healthy, he is special and the Browns will always have a puncher`s chance at a knock-out. In the end, this one was ugly. If not for Richardson`s 34 touches and 170 total yards, the Browns would have been crushed. If not for Patterson`s 3 drops, it is conceivable he alone would have ripped the Cleveland Squad for two scores and 150 plus yards. He`s that fast. The Browns are lucky to go 2-1, but they do, and will face the Bengals in a big divisional game. Meanwhile, The Vikings fall to 1-2 and will face the tough Steelers. Quick Hits:  Patterson looks like everything the Vikings hoped for...He just needs to work on that concentration
AROUND THE LEAGUE:  Andy has the Chiefs at 3-0 after a win in 'home-town' Philly "Missing Arian" -- The Texans went down hard to the Ravens this week, and 4 Flacco TD's including 9 grabs for 145 yards and a score by Brandon Lloyd is the top story. But Houston sits at 1-2, and haven't looked useful on the ground without Foster. They need him back ASAP but I'm told he's 2 weeks out at best. "Shut-out"- The Rams looked silly out there in week 3, getting dismantled by the 0-2 Cowboys, 31-0. "Welcome Home"-- Andy Reid travelled to Philly today as the Chiefs coach, his first return game since spending an entire career building the Eagles. His Chiefs would rise to that occasion squeaking by on a 24-23 win over the Eagles. The Chiefs are 3-0, and have beaten Dallas and Philly among those teams. They might be NFC, but Reid and Alex Smith look a perfect match, and fans are already loving it. The team has officially won more games than it did all of last year.  Fitzpatrick to start next game for Titans "Titanic Shift"-- After week 1, we reported that the Titans would be in a tight spot after beating the Steelers behind the arm of Fitzpatrick who filled in for a Locker flu-bug. In Week 2, the Titans were embarrased 41-7 by Houston under Locker's horrible play, which lit the fire further. In Week 3, the Titans barely lost, to the Chargers but Locker's play was again poor. What's worse, he had to miss a series with an injury. What happened? Fitzpatrick came in and threw a 74 yard bomb for a touchdown. No biggy. Then, this news, straight from Titans owner Bud Adams. "We're going to go with the guy that gets us points and helps us win. Give me the Harvard kid" Adams is reported as saying. Locker had 2 tds and 2 picks in the contest, but his overall 59.5 rating is less than half of what Fitzpatrick has posted in a game and a series of work. We suspect this could be a back and forth thing, but for now, believing they can compete, the Titans will go with Ryan Fitzpatrick.  What's wrong? Rodgers has the Pack at 0-3 "Need the Breather"-- Questions abound as Green Bay falls to a shocking 0-3 after a 21-13 loss to Cincinatti. Dalton has been one of the worst starting QBs this season, regressing terribly, and posting just 90 yards against the Packers. But they still won the game (just like they overcame his 4 interceptions to win), and this time it was on the strength of the dynamic duo of Green-Ellis and Gio Bernard who posted 95 yards and 92 yards on the ground respectively. Giovanni Bernard was far more explosive, going for 92 yards on 10 carries instead of Lawfirm's 29, and Bernard also had the two key touchdown runs to win the game, including a 58 yard touchdown. He may be a star in time. Regarding the Packers though-- I admit I'm shocked. 0-3 for a team that was supposed to challenge for the superbowl. Eddie Lacey is out, and the fact that DuJuan Harris was claimed on Waivers by Minnesota must sting, given that Franklin and Starks looked Pedestrian. But Rodgers must raise his play, as must the defense. A-Rod seems to be missing the steadiness of Greg Jennings at WR. He'll also miss Randall Cobb for 4 weeks after the top play maker went down with an injury. This seems like the perfect time for a bye week. Maybe Green Bay can get it together. "Domata Done?" -- Bengals DT Domata Peko suffered a horrendous and complete tear of his achielles versus the Packers this week and is done for the year. He's estimated to return in 40 weeks, but he may not return at all. "Carriker out 'till playoffs" -- Injury news continues to mount for the 1-2 Redskins as star DE Adam Carriker is out 15 weeks with a torn tricep. "Not Yet"-- The Jaguars got blown up again, and now, will be without 2nd overall pick Luke Joekel for 6 weeks, but they won't give Tebow the start just yet, despite 3 losses and 3 beatings behind an atrocious line that's now gotten worse. "Blaine deserves his chance" Bradley said "Tim is a tough kid and he'll have a roll and he may get his shot, but its funny because, Tim isn't ever gonna demand stuff like you guys (the media) do. What I like about him is that he waits his turn, he works hard quietly. And that's where it is right now". It doesn't figure to be long until Tebow cracks the starter spot, especially given his unique talents. But would he fare better behind such a shoddy O-line? At any rate, there's a Broncos versus Jaguars match-up three weeks away that you should have circled on your calendar. Could Tebow possibly be starting at QB for the Jags against the team that let him go after his story-book season? Could he face off against the man they let him go for in Peyton Manning? Oh what a story that would be, if so. Right now, it seems destined to happen eventually unless Gabbert can pull out a big win in the next week or two. "Crash back down"-- The Raiders fell from their lofty 2-0 perch today after being blasted by Peyton Manning and the Broncos. The Raiders couldn't move the ball without McFadden and Pryor was no help, throwing duck after wobbly duck. Manning however, shredded the Raiders for 3 scores and 330 yards, 190 and two touchdowns of which went to Demariyus Thomas. The Raiders now find themselves in last in the division at 2-1 (I know!) with the Chiefs and Chargers at 3-0 (in spite of Rivers' league-leading 7 INTs) and the Broncos also at 2-1.  Geno Smith struggles as Jets turn 0-3. Rex Ryan Gets nervous. Geno Show Tough Go -- The Geno Smith Experiment has not gotten off to a fast start for the Jets, with the team sitting at 0-3, including a loss today to the previously winless Bills, who are quarterbacked by that other rooke (EJ Manuel). Smith has not looked accurate through 3 games, and he has not shown the leadership skills the Jets must have hoped they'd find in him. Interestingly too, Sanchez has looked awful in relief, literally going 0-3 in combined work, including a pick 6. A 0.0 rating. It's that note that makes me think about the most interesting facet of the Geno Show: Rex Ryan. Here we have a coach that needs to win and needs to win now if he doesn't want to see the curb. By all accounts he should already be fired in fact. But the powerlessness of Rex Ryan is so fascinatingly apparent, that he can't make a quarterback switch to save himself. First of all, he's no longer the head-man of personelle as that title now belongs to John Idzik, who hand-picked Geno Smith as a 2nd round sneak-in based on potential talent. Next, Ryan can't turn back to the kid he once drafted (Sanchez) because he has a horrible history and looks just as bad this year in relief. Perhaps Matt Simms is an option, but my suspision is that it will take many more bad games for them to pull Geno for an equally inexperienced Simms. Some may like Simms' potential, but Geno has the advantage of a high draft status. At least for now. Which means that the show must go on, and we're likely to see Ryan's final bow after these credits roll, because this one doesn't look likely for a turn around. If Smith does bomb the season, it will be interesting to see what Idzik does at the position in the off-season... STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK FOR BROWNS AT BENGALS which will feature yet more underperfoming quarterbacks. Yay! Both teams are 2-1 and the stakes are high. Dynasty Note: I find my sliders to be very solidly challenging, given that I've barely won in any of my wins, and did so by sheer defense mostly. But I'd like the CPU to have a tiny bit more of a killer instinct and I'd like more plays in total. As a result, I've moved up to 11 minute quarters with 20 second run down, (up from 10 and 9 minute quarters). I've also lowered my Human tackling slider just 3 ticks from 55 to 52, and I've boosted the CPU passing slider 2 ticks. Just minor adjustments. I'm pretty pleased as it is.
__________________
Cleveland Browns Fulham Kansas City Royals Houston Rockets Buffalo Sabres Army Commissioner of TBFL Madden on OS http://www.operationsports.com/forums/tbfl/ TBFL Colts Year 1: 9-7-0 (No playoffs) Last edited by Desalbert; 09-06-2013 at 01:08 AM. |
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09-05-2013, 04:38 PM
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#63 |
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MVP
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Re: The Cleveland Curse: A Cleveland Browns Ownership Saga (Madden 25)
Desalbert likes this.
__________________
Ravens: In Ozzie We Trust Yankees: #AllRise |
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09-06-2013, 12:20 AM
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#64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rookie
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Re: The Cleveland Curse: A Cleveland Browns Ownership Saga (Madden 25)
Regarding the sliders, I am currently using an older version of charter04 that I am modding as I go. If you like I can happily post the full details here?
Gronk4M13 likes this.
__________________
Cleveland Browns Fulham Kansas City Royals Houston Rockets Buffalo Sabres Army Commissioner of TBFL Madden on OS http://www.operationsports.com/forums/tbfl/ TBFL Colts Year 1: 9-7-0 (No playoffs) |
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