Cleveland Browns Weekly Game Release
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CLEVELAND BROWNS WEEKLY GAME RELEASE Cleveland Browns Communications | Zak Gilbert, [email protected], 440/891-5015 | Dan Murphy, [email protected], 440/824-3659 Rob McBurnett, [email protected], 440/824-6175 | D.J. Philippe, [email protected], 440/891-5135 Game 13 Cleveland Browns (4-8) at New England Patriots (9-3) DATE: Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013 SITE: Gillette Stadium KICKOFF: 1:02 p.m. CAPACITY: 68,756 SURFACE: FieldTurf NOTABLE STORYLINES SETTING THE STAGE • The Browns travel to New England to face the Patriots. The Television Browns own a 12-9 advantage in the regular-season series, in- CBS, Channel 19, Cleveland cluding a 34-14 victory on Nov. 7, 2010, the last time the teams Play-by-play: Bill Macatee squared off. Analyst: Steve Tasker • WR Josh Gordon broke his own Browns record with 261 re- DirecTV: Channel 708 ceiving yards on 10 receptions (26.1 avg.) with two touchdowns vs. Jacksonville. He set the previous record the week before after Radio totaling 237 yards vs. Pittsburgh. Gordon is the only player in NFL PNC Bank Cleveland Browns Radio Network history to top 200 receiving yards in back-to-back games. He has Flagship stations: 92.3 The Fan (WKRK-FM), ESPN 850 WKNR, totaled 498 receiving yards in the last two games and 623 in the WNCX (98.5 FM) last three. Both fi gures are NFL records, according to Elias Sports Play-by-play: Jim Donovan Bureau. Analyst: Doug Dieken Sideline reporter: Jamir Howerton • Gordon has a team-leading 1,249 receiving yards, the second- most by a Brown in a season, and needs 41 yards to pass WR SiriusXM: Channel 807 Braylon Edwards (1,289 in 2007) for the team record. Gordon is averaging 124.9 receiving yards per game, the most in the NFL. His 1,249 receiving yards are second in the league, despite playing 2013 SCHEDULE/RESULTS in just 10 games. Gordon’s average of 19.5 yards per catch this DATE OPPONENT TIME/RESULT NETWORK season leads the NFL, and his average of 18.0 per grab since his SUN., SEPT. 8 MIAMI DOLPHINS L, 10-23 (0-1) CBS Sun., Sept. 15 at Baltimore Ravens L, 6-14 (0-2) CBS rookie 2012 campaign is also fi rst. Sun., Sept. 22 at Minnesota Vikings W, 31-27 (1-2) CBS SUN., SEPT. 29 CINCINNATI BENGALS W, 17-6 (2-2) CBS THUR., OCT. 3 BUFFALO BILLS W, 37-24 (3-2) NFLN • According to STATS LLC, DBs Joe Haden and Buster Skrine SUN., OCT. 13 DETROIT LIONS L, 17-31 (3-3) FOX are tied for the league lead with 17 passed defensed (Browns fi lm Sun., Oct. 20 at Green Bay Packers L, 13-31 (3-4) CBS has credited Skrine with 22 and Haden with 18). Haden leads the Sun., Oct. 27 at Kansas City Chiefs L, 17-23 (3-5) CBS SUN., NOV. 3 BALTIMORE RAVENS W, 24-18 (4-5) CBS team with four interceptions, all of which have come in the past SUN., NOV. 10 BYE WEEK four games. Sun., Nov. 17 at Cincinnati Bengals L, 20-41 (4-6) CBS SUN., NOV. 24 PITTSBURGH STEELERS L, 11-27 (4-7) CBS SUN., DEC. 1 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS L, 28-32 (4-8) CBS • The Browns rank fourth in the league in total defense (306.8 Sun., Dec. 8 at New England Patriots #1 p.m. CBS SUN., DEC. 15 CHICAGO BEARS #1 P.M. FOX yards), after fi nishing 23rd last season. Cleveland is fi fth in the Sun., Dec. 22 at New York Jets #1 p.m. CBS league in passing defense (207.8 yards), after fi nishing 25th last Sun., Dec. 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers #1 p.m. CBS year. The Browns are fi fth in rush defense (98.9) this season after All times Eastern allowing 118.7 yards per game a year ago, fi nishing 19th in the #Due to NFL flexible scheduling, game times are subject to change NFL. The Browns are the only team in the league to rank in the top fi ve in rush defense, pass defense and total defense. The Browns are also the only team to have not allowed a 100-yard rusher or a 300-yard passer in a game this season. INSIDE THIS WEEK’S RELEASE How they compare ......................2 How the Browns were built ........22 Upcoming media schedule ..........2 Depth chart ..................................23 • Offensive linemen Joe Thomas (108), Alex Mack (76), Mitch- Series history ...............................3 Pronunciation guide ....................23 ell Schwartz (28) and John Greco (22) have started the past 22 Connections .................................3 Transactions ................................24-25 games together for the Browns. The four have not missed an of- Last time they played ..................4 Participation chart .......................26 Probable starters ..........................5-6 Record breakdown ......................27 fensive snap this season. Notes ...........................................7-15 The last time ................................28 Browns in the community ...........16 Game summaries .........................29-34 Rob Chudzinski bio.....................17 2013 stats ....................................35-36 Rosters.........................................18-21 Supplemental/game-by-game statistics and updated player bios are also available Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots Regular Season Week 14, Game 13 -1- A LOOK AT THIS WEEK’S GAME HOW THEY COMPARE THIS WEEK’S MEDIA SCHEDULE Cleveland Browns Tuesday, Dec. 3 Record: 4-8 No availability Statistical leaders: Wednesday, Dec. 4 Rushing: Willis McGahee (124-344, 2.8, 2 TD) 9:20 a.m.: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick available via conference call, media room Passing: Brandon Weeden (141-267, 1,731, 9 TD, 9 INT) 10:50 a.m.: Head Coach Rob Chudzinski available, media room Receiving: Josh Gordon (64-1,249, 19.5, 7 TD) 11 a.m.: Browns locker room open to media for 45 minutes 12:50 p.m.: Practice open to media/photography and videography al- lowed, for fi rst few periods New England Patriots 1:30 a.m.: New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski available via Record: 9-3 conference call, media room Statistical leaders: Thursday, Dec. 5 Rushing: Stevan Ridley (135-576, 4.3, 7 TD) 11 a.m.: Offensive coordinator Norv Turner available, on fi eld 11 a.m.: Browns locker room open Passing: Tom Brady (286-471, 3,267, 19 TD, 8 INT) 12 p.m.: Defensive coordinator Ray Horton available, media room Receiving: Julian Edelman (70-711, 10.2, 4 TD) 12:50 p.m.: Practice open to media/photography and videography al- lowed, for fi rst few periods Coaching capsules: Friday, Dec. 6 Cleveland -- Rob Chudzinski: 4-8, fi rst season as head coach. 11:10 a.m.: Practice open to media/photography and videography al- lowed, for fi rst few periods Chudzinski was named the 14th full-time head coach in Browns Post-practice: Head Coach Rob Chudzinski available, fi eld history on Jan. 10, 2013. He came to the team after spending the Post-practice: Browns locker room open to media past two seasons (2011-12) as the offensive coordinator for the Saturday, Dec. 7 Carolina Panthers. Overall, Chudzinski’s résumé includes 19 years No availability of experience, including nine seasons in the NFL. Chudzinski re- Sunday, Dec. 8 joined the Browns organization, where he spent the 2004 season Cleveland at New England, 1 p.m., CBS as tight ends coach and 2007-08 as offensive coordinator. In 2007, Monday, Dec. 9 Chudzinski guided Cleveland’s offense to 402 points and 5,621 Early afternoon, as early as 12:30: Browns locker room open to media yards, the highest totals for the team since the club returned in 1 p.m.: Head Coach Rob Chudzinski available, media room 1999, and third-best in franchise history. *All times and availability are Eastern, approximate and subject to change with little/no notice. Please feel free to confi rm times with the New England -- Bill Belichick: 214-112, 19th season as head Browns communications staff. coach (14th season with New England). **Please also note that these times and dates are for planning purposes Belichick, whose fi rst NFL head coaching job was with Cleveland only and not for broadcast, print or Internet. from 1991-95, owns 214 career wins, the fi fth-most in NFL his- ***Assistant coaches are available Wednesday and Thursday by re- tory, and is the only head coach to win three Super Bowl cham- quest, provided request made 24 hours in advance to Dan Murphy pionships in a four-year span. Belichick, the eighth full-time head ([email protected]) coach in Browns history, posted a 36-44 (.450) record in Cleveland ****All credential requests need to be submitted to Rob McBurnett and led the team to an 11-5 mark in 1994, reaching the AFC Di- ([email protected]) by noon six days before each visional playoffs. From 2003-12, he guided the Patriots to more game. wins (126) over a 10-year span than any other head coach in league annals. The three-time Associated Press Coach of the Year (2003, 2007 and 2010) is the longest-tenured coach among active NFL 2013 AFC NORTH STANDINGS head coaches and is the only head coach in NFL history to win at Team W L T Pct. PF PA least 13 regular-season games in fi ve seasons. Cincinnati 8 4 0 .667 292 216 Baltimore 6 6 0 .500 249 235 2013 R EGULAR -S EASON R ANKINGS Pittsburgh 5 7 0 .417 263 278 Cleveland 4 8 0 .333 231 297 CLE (NFL rank) NE (NFL rank) POINTS S CORED P ER G AME 19.3 (28) 26.8 (6) TOTAL Y ARDS P ER G AME 332.3 (21) 377.8 (9) Last week’s games: RUSHING Y ARDS P ER G AME 82.3 (28) 122.8 (12) Thursday: Pittsburgh 20 at Baltimore 22.