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PART VI : CLEVELAND |
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Sunday We were in Cleveland for the Battle of Ohio - Browns vs. Bengals. As much as we love those Bungles, we had to throw our support behind the Browns! |
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Who let the dawgs out? |
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The poor Browns fans were still in shock over their stunning loss last week when Dwayne Rudd (#57) removed his helmet and cost them the game. Here an official keeps an eye on Rudd early on as the Browns start on D. They needn't have worried though - they were playing the Bungles led by Gus Frerotte! The Browns corralled Gus on their first drive and they were forced to punt. |
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That brought a couple of familiar faces onto the field. Quincy Morgan (left) snagged a 31 yard pass on the Browns 1st play to get things going. We saw Morgan catch a TD in 2000 while playing for Kansas St. Also on the O was ex Claymore OT Barry Stokes (#79) now playing LG for the Browns. Barry was a major free agent signing after riding the bench with the Packers last year - when we saw him in Nashville. |
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The Browns were being led by ex Dragon QB Kelly Holcomb (#10) - who was making his 2nd straight start in place of injured Tim Couch. Holcomb had bounced about since his NFLE stint in 1996 - but had a super debut in Week 1 and won the fans over, and would have won but for Dwayne Rudd. His first drive led to a 52 yard FG from Phil Dawson. BROWNS 3 BUNGLES 0 |
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With the skies about to open it was time to eat those nachos before it got wet! Being Cleveland, the nachos are served in a convenient Dawg Bowl! |
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Those lovable Bengals provided much comedy all day. On their next drive they decided to fake a field goal and try for a surprise punt instead! (The prospect of scoring points was just too much for them). Of course they screwed this up! The ball rolled under K Neil Rackers legs and he scrambled to pick it up. He managed to get the punt off though - for a total of MINUS TWO yards! |
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For a brief moment in the 2nd Q we thought we were going to get Battle of the Dragons. Browns DE Kenard Lang clobbered Frerotte and on came QB Jon Kitna (Dragons 97). We last saw Jon in 1997 when he made his 1st NFL start and led the Seahawks to a win in Oakland. However our sighting was brief - Kitna handed the ball off to Corey Dillon and Gus came back in! |
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And the Bengals had to punt of course. This time it went forward though. Holcomb then led his best drive of the day, ending it with a 15 yard TD toss to rookie WR Andre Davis. BROWNS 10 BUNGLES 0 |
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And then the comedy continued! With the Bengals deep in Browns territory with 45 seconds left in the half, Frerotte who is right handed, decided that wasn't good enough - and instead of taking a sack, performed a feeble left handed shot putt that fluttered into the arms of Browns DE Kenard Lang. 71 yards later the big DE was brought down by Gus himself! |
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And Holcomb immediately cashed in on Gus's gaff, by hitting WR Kevin Johnson on an 8 yard TD pass. BROWNS 17 BUNGLES 0 (HT)
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We were sad that we hadn't made it to the Ohio State game the day before - instead opting for Akron. But we got to see the Buckeye Marching Band all the same as they performed at half time! Bizarrely this is a small gig to these guys, as Ohio State play in a stadium that holds more than 100,000! |
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Third quarter and Gus is still unable to find his open WR's. Look behind the zebra Gus! |
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And then bizarre things started to happen! The Bengals thought they had completed a 12 yard pass on 4th and 7 but the Browns challenged the play. With replay not exactly popular in these parts (re: bottle throwing episode last season), the fans let the officials hear what they thought of the system. But incredibly they over turned the play ruling the Bungle pass incomplete, and giving the Browns the ball back! The stadium gasped in amazement! |
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Then it really did gte bizarre. After the Browns kicked another FG (after Gus's 2nd INT), the Bungles marched the ball downfield. And then Gus threw the ball in the end zone where WR Chad Johnson caught it for a 22 yard TD pass. You read the last bit correct. A touchdown for the Bungles! BROWNS 20 BUNGLES 7 |
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But the Bungles and their brand of football comedy weren't done. On their next drive WR TJ Houshmandzadeh (couldn't he shorten it to 'Hooker'?) was called for a 15 yard penalty for "doing a Rudd" and removing his helmet on the field of play. The crowd erupted! And then after back to back sacks, Gus was faced with a 4th and 45! Naturally he threw an interception - this time to Cheddar Hall of Famer Robert Griffith! |
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FINAL BROWNS 20 BENGALS 7 Game MVP: Let's give to ex Rhein Fire and Browns DE Mark Word who chipped in with 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles of Frerotte. Word got himself on Sportscenter later, when he removed his helmet coming to the sideline and Browns coach Butch Davis went ballistic at him! |
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With the game finishing just after 4pm - we had just over 4 hours to the next kickoff! That's right - we were planning to make the 130 mile drive south to Pittsburgh to take in the Sunday night game! First though we had to beat the stadium traffic x2, as the Indians baseball game finished at the same time. And there was the monsoon like conditions that hung over Ohio ... |
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