Tag Archives: stats

Record picking

Amid this broken season, we can at least add one positive break. Brandon McDonald’s 122 yards on interception returns last night broke the franchise record of 115 set by Bernie Parrish back in 1960. I’m not exactly doing flips about it, but it’s something. And it breaks the longest TD drought in team history.

Another Monday Night delight

I won’t rehash. You saw it, didn’t you? Here are a few statistical reflections and such: No running back who gets the ball at least once a game has a higher rushing average than Jerome Harrison. He also ranks fourth among backs in receiving average (five catch minimum). When the Browns run the ball, it’s […]

Hello, yellow

Among their other dubious distinctions, the Browns are tied for the league lead in penalties. Last season they were third, behind only Arizona and Oakland. Let’s break this down a bit. Here’s the details on all 31 infractions, including those declined and offset: by number… 4 — Seth McKinney 3 — Braylon Edwards, Brandon McDonald, […]

Pointed points

What conclusions can be drawn about a football team, and its coach, by analyzing its scoring pattern? Quite a bit, if the team scores and allows points throughout the four quarters in an uneven distribution. Let’s start with the following assumptions: A high net point margin in the first quarter reflects especially well on the […]

Mind-numbing numbers

No team in the NFL has committed more penalties. Only one other team besides the Browns has yet to go for it on fourth down. (The league-wide success rate is 52%) The Browns are one of just five teams that have yet to recover an opponent’s fumble. The Browns are the only team who has […]

Many happy returns

Did I mention yet that Joshua Cribbs is my favorite Browns player? Do I even have to explain why? Well, if the excitement and charisma he brings to the game aren’t enough for you, here’s some strong statistical proof of JC’s value: considering punt and kickoff returns, he added 622 yards above the league average […]

The phantom ’40s

The official site’s Steve King, whose pieces on Browns history are generally pretty decent, strikes a Browns-versus-the-NFL note in reporting on the league’s rebuff of Senator Sherrod Brown’s request to have AAFC statistics recognized by the NFL. Funny, though, he never mentions the records kept by the team itself. Yes, it’s true. The Cleveland Browns […]

Cranking out rankings

Here’s a look at how the Browns ranked in various categories among the 32 teams during the just-completed regular season. Stats get tiresome after a while, so I’ve focused mostly on the key areas and those where the Browns were near the top or bottom of the league. Within each section, rankings are shown best […]

Flag football findings

Last Sunday’s Browns/Jets game was either the cleanest game all season or the one with the most laid-back officiating. In either case, it was encouraging that the Browns bucked recent trends and had their fewest penalties of the season, with just four flags for 29 yards against them. Still, it was the 12th of 13 […]

Some totals

Much has been made of the superlative stats many Browns skill players are putting up this year, and for good reason. But I haven’t seen these cited: This is the first season since 2004 in which two Browns running backs have rushed for at least 200 yards. It’s also now the first season with three […]