Displaced Cleveland Fan

Big game for the Cavaliers tonight. They beat the Phoenix Suns by 17 points and improved to 13-5 on the year. But more than the score and their record, this game was great for several reasons.

#1 - Zydrunas Ilgauskas broke the team record for number of games played at 724. I love Z. He is, hands down, my favorite Cavs player ever (yes, even more than LeBron James). He has played his entire career in a Cleveland uniform and battled through foot injuries to make it this far. This year he has had to move to the bench with the addition of Shaquille O’Neal and is adjusting to that in the best interest of the team.

Congrats, Z. Hope to see you help this team finally win a championship this year as well.
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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 12 game here.

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I typically post these recaps early Monday morning, even though there is still a game yet to be played on Monday night. But this week, I wanted to wait because of the game - New Orleans vs. New England. The Saints were trying to stay perfect against an always tough Patriots team.

What did we learn from last night’s game? The Saints are legit.

If there was ever any doubt, even after winning their first ten games, it was erased after their eleventh. The Saints piled up 480 yards of offense. Much of that came off the arm of Drew Brees who was 18 for 23 (78.3%) for 371 yards and 5 touchdowns.

When you have a team that plays this well against another one of the league’s top teams, especially this late in the year, you have to be thinking about their Super Bowl chances. If this team stays healthy, watch out. They’ve got to be the favorites right now.
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Another game. Another loss. This has gotten ridiculous.

The Browns lost again to fall to 1-10. The loss came against the Bengals who are now 8-3 and have a 2-game lead in the division.

Brady Quinn didn’t pass the ball exceptionally well - 15 for 34 (44%) for 100 yards. Then again, he didn’t really get a whole lot of time to throw the ball. Cincinnati’s defense was putting pressure on him at will, particularly from the right side of the line. Not many quarterbacks would put up good numbers under those conditions.

Cleveland’s one score came on a Brady Quinn 9-yard touchdown run. That drive included a trick play where Josh Cribbs took a direct snap, Quinn rolled out to the left, and Cribbs completed an 18-yard pass to the QB. I don’t know if that means they ought to run more trick plays with Quinn catching the ball, or if Cribbs should play more quarterback.
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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 11 game here.

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The old man’s still got it.

After deciding late in the off-season to return to football, Brett Favre joined the Vikings. No one knew if he could perform like he used to when he was with the Packers. The Vikings may have been a better team than the Jets. But Favre was also a year older. After ten games, we have seen what Favre can still do. The 40-year old quarterback has led his new team to a 9-1 record.

It’s not just the record. Favre is putting up MVP-type numbers. He came into this week averaging over 250 passing yards per game, a 68% completion rate, 17 touchdowns, and just 3 interceptions.

Yesterday against Seattle, he recorded the best completion percentage of his career - 88% on 22 for 25 passing. He threw for 213 yards and 4 touchdowns before being taken out of the game with a big lead. The Vikings beat the Seahawks 35-9.

The Vikings could have the division title wrapped up in a week or two. Then Favre will be in the playoffs trying to win another Super Bowl, this time with the Packers’ division rival.
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Arguably the two worst teams in the NFL faced off in Detroit. The Browns and Lions battled for the chance to pay a ridiculous sum of money to a #1 draft pick.

With the clock reading 0:00 at the end of the 4th quarter, the Browns were on top 37-31.

And yet the Browns still lost.

I guess losing week after week has been getting boring. This team has decided to be more creative in their futility.

So what happened?
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The Buckeyes rolled into Ann Arbor having already guaranteed their spot in the Rose Bowl after defeating Iowa last week. This one was just about beating Michigan for the sixth straight year.

On the other side of the rivalry, the Wolverines were looking to end their five game losing streak to the Buckeyes. At 5-6, they were needing a win to become bowl eligible. They were losers of six out of their last seven. Michigan needed to win this game.

Fortunately, the Buckeyes weren’t going to let them have it.
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Just when you thought this season couldn’t get any worse…

Down by 16 points on the final play of the game, the Browns’ lone playmaker, Josh Cribbs, goes down and has to be carted off the field and taken away in an ambulance. Obviously we all hope he will be ok. But really, why run a play like this and put the players at risk when a win is hopeless? It just doesn’t make any sense.

Aside from Cribbs’ injury, there were a couple big questions going into this game:
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