Week 4: The Phish move to 4-0
The only undefeated team in the CFL won it's 4th game of the season by defeating the hapless Browns. Coach Bill Keller has had a tough crew to work with all season. On paper Cleveland looked to be decent, but the team is playing well and has been consistantly unlucky. Time and time again Keller gave them a great game plan, but they were unable to follow. Part of that could be they were playing the '73 Dolphins, a team believed to be even stronger than their undefeated counterparts of the previous year.
The game opened up with Cleveland going 3 and out and Miami getting the ball back deep in their own territory. Instead of relying on their top notch ground game Miami got cute and Mike Howell intercepted a medium pass intended for Marlin Briscoe. Bob Griese made a big mistake throwing it and should have eaten the ball. Cleveland took over with excellent field position on Miami's 39. The Browns drive stalled even before it began and it ended with a missed FG by Don Cockroft.
The Dolphins got the ball back on their 20 and immediately went to work
on the ground. A little doseage of Csonka and Morris can cure any team's shaky passing game. The the big play occurred when Jim Kiick rambled 36 yards off tackle for the first score of the afternoon. Miami's rushing attack features 3 backs all with their own unique strengths, which are hard to defend.
On their next possession the Browns took another 3 and out and 3 minutes later the Dolphins were up 14-0 as Griese hit Marlin Briscoe on a 14 yard out pass in the end zone. Cleveland was keying the run, which made total sense, and Miami caught the Brown secondary napping.
Cleveland got it's next bad break in early on in the second quarter when QB Mike Phipps threw a pick to Mike Kolen on his own 29 yard line. Kolen rambled 22 yards to the Brown 7. Giving the Dolphins good field position is putting the fox in charge of the hen house...it just shouldn't be done. The following play Mercury Morris went around end for 7 yards and just like that Miami was up 21-0.
The Browns might have been down, but in their minds they were not out. A
good diet of Bo Scott and Leroy Kelly on the ground helped them move the ball and more importantly keep it out of Miami's hands. The drive finally stalled on the Miami 44, and Don Cockroft came on to miss his 3rd FG attempt of the game. Cleveland needed those points to gain some momentum back and let Miami know the game was on. Cockroft, who has been haunting Keller for two years now let his teammates down once again.
Miami started on their own 20 and after two incomplete passes looked to be punting. On third and 10 Morris took a hand off on a draw play and broke through the Brown defense and didn't stop running until he was 80 yards downfield for another Dolphin score. With the score 28-0 and the game still in the 1st half the Browns looked beat.
Looks can be deceiving. Coach Keller doesn't quit. Starting on their own 20 the Browns put together a text book 12 play drive that brought them to the Dolphin 11 yard line. Wide Out Frank Pitts caught 3 balls and Leroy Kelly turned back the clock to the late 60's when he was a HOF calliber tail back. With 15 seconds left to go in the half Cleveland had no choice but to go for the end zone. Phipps audibled and decided to throw a ball in the flat to Kelly who is not known for his pass receiving. All-Pro saftety Jake Scott stepped in front of Phipps fluttering folly and picked the ball off on his own 5 yard line to prevent the score and more importantly end the half.
The second half featured a lot of running...running out the clock that is. Both teams were content
with the status quo and added respective field goals. Miami's was not needed. Cleveland's was out of necessity. The necessity to break the shutout, but more so to send a message to Cockroft that he is needed to support his offense.
Mercury Morris was the star of the game. Although he only carried the ball 7 times, he did have 126 yards and 2 TD's. Safeties Dick Anderson and Jake Scott had 11 and 12 tackles, respectively and an INT. Leroy Kelly and Bo Scott both rushed for identical 88 yard tallies.
The game opened up with Cleveland going 3 and out and Miami getting the ball back deep in their own territory. Instead of relying on their top notch ground game Miami got cute and Mike Howell intercepted a medium pass intended for Marlin Briscoe. Bob Griese made a big mistake throwing it and should have eaten the ball. Cleveland took over with excellent field position on Miami's 39. The Browns drive stalled even before it began and it ended with a missed FG by Don Cockroft.The Dolphins got the ball back on their 20 and immediately went to work
on the ground. A little doseage of Csonka and Morris can cure any team's shaky passing game. The the big play occurred when Jim Kiick rambled 36 yards off tackle for the first score of the afternoon. Miami's rushing attack features 3 backs all with their own unique strengths, which are hard to defend.On their next possession the Browns took another 3 and out and 3 minutes later the Dolphins were up 14-0 as Griese hit Marlin Briscoe on a 14 yard out pass in the end zone. Cleveland was keying the run, which made total sense, and Miami caught the Brown secondary napping.
Cleveland got it's next bad break in early on in the second quarter when QB Mike Phipps threw a pick to Mike Kolen on his own 29 yard line. Kolen rambled 22 yards to the Brown 7. Giving the Dolphins good field position is putting the fox in charge of the hen house...it just shouldn't be done. The following play Mercury Morris went around end for 7 yards and just like that Miami was up 21-0.The Browns might have been down, but in their minds they were not out. A
good diet of Bo Scott and Leroy Kelly on the ground helped them move the ball and more importantly keep it out of Miami's hands. The drive finally stalled on the Miami 44, and Don Cockroft came on to miss his 3rd FG attempt of the game. Cleveland needed those points to gain some momentum back and let Miami know the game was on. Cockroft, who has been haunting Keller for two years now let his teammates down once again.Miami started on their own 20 and after two incomplete passes looked to be punting. On third and 10 Morris took a hand off on a draw play and broke through the Brown defense and didn't stop running until he was 80 yards downfield for another Dolphin score. With the score 28-0 and the game still in the 1st half the Browns looked beat.
Looks can be deceiving. Coach Keller doesn't quit. Starting on their own 20 the Browns put together a text book 12 play drive that brought them to the Dolphin 11 yard line. Wide Out Frank Pitts caught 3 balls and Leroy Kelly turned back the clock to the late 60's when he was a HOF calliber tail back. With 15 seconds left to go in the half Cleveland had no choice but to go for the end zone. Phipps audibled and decided to throw a ball in the flat to Kelly who is not known for his pass receiving. All-Pro saftety Jake Scott stepped in front of Phipps fluttering folly and picked the ball off on his own 5 yard line to prevent the score and more importantly end the half.The second half featured a lot of running...running out the clock that is. Both teams were content
with the status quo and added respective field goals. Miami's was not needed. Cleveland's was out of necessity. The necessity to break the shutout, but more so to send a message to Cockroft that he is needed to support his offense.Mercury Morris was the star of the game. Although he only carried the ball 7 times, he did have 126 yards and 2 TD's. Safeties Dick Anderson and Jake Scott had 11 and 12 tackles, respectively and an INT. Leroy Kelly and Bo Scott both rushed for identical 88 yard tallies.
posted by distantreplay.org @ 6:17 PM
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