1972 Cleveland Browns roster and stats

1972 Cleveland Browns: 10-4-0
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Home record: 4-3-0 (117 points scored, 114 allowed) Road record: 6-1-0 (151 points scored, 135 allowed) Head Coach: Nick Skorich

268 points scored (17th of 26 teams), 249 points allowed (10th) NFL Averages: 20.3 points/game (283.5 points/team)

Team stats and rankings:

           ---------------- PASSING ----------------    ----------- RUSHING ----------    --- TOTAL ---
           Cmp   Att   Yards  (Rank) Yd/Att  TD  Int    Att   Yards  (Rank) Yd/Att  TD    Yards   (Rank)  Turnovers
Offense:   158   337   1,916   (21)   5.26   13   19    453   1,793   (19)    4.0   13    3,709    (19)      28
Defense:   160   310   1,736   ( 3)   4.99   14   13    520   2,333   (24)    4.5   13    4,069    (16)      29

Team roster (starters in bold):

 #   Player              Pos   GP   Hgt   Wgt  Age  Exp   College
12  Don Cockroft         K     14   6'1   195   27    5   Adams State
15  Mike Phipps          QB    14   6'2   208   24    3   Purdue
16  Bill Nelsen          QB     4   6'0   195   31   10   Southern California
22  Clarence Scott       DB    14   6'0   180   23    2   Kansas State
23  Cliff Brooks         DB    14   6'1   190   23    R   Tennessee State
24  Bobby Majors         DB     9   6'1   193   23    R   Tennessee
25  Frank Pitts          WR    14   6'2   200   28    8   Southern
26  Billy Lefear         RB     9   5'11  197   22    R   Henderson State
26  Reece Morrison       RB     4   6'0   207   27    5   Southwest Texas State
27  Thom Darden          DB    14   6'2   195   22    R   Michigan
28  Ben Davis            DB    14   5'11  180   27    6   Defiance
29  Walt Sumner          DB    13   6'1   195   25    4   Florida State
30  Ken Brown            RB    14   5'10  203   26    3   None
33  Bo Cornell           RB    14   6'1   215   23    2   Washington
34  Mike Howell          DB     4   6'1   190   29    8   Grambling
35  Bo Scott             RB    12   6'3   215   29    3   Ohio State
42  Gloster Richardson   WR     7   6'0   200   30    6   Jackson State
43  Fair Hooker          WR    14   6'1   190   25    4   Arizona State
44  Leroy Kelly          RB    14   6'0   202   30    9   Morgan State
47  Charlie Brinkman     WR     1   6'2   208   23    1   Louisville
50  John Garlington      LB    14   6'1   218   26    5   Louisiana State
51  Dale Lindsey         LB    11   6'3   225   29    8   Western Kentucky
52  Billy Andrews        LB    14   6'0   220   27    6   Southeastern Louisiana
53  Mel Long             LB    14   6'0   228   25    R   Toledo
54  Fred Hoaglin         C     14   6'4   246   28    7   Pittsburgh
58  Rick Kingrea         LB     7   6'1   233   23    2   Tulane
59  Charlie Hall         LB    14   6'3   220   23    2   Houston
61  Bob DeMarco          C     12   6'3   248   34   12   Dayton
62  Chris Morris         OT    14   6'3   250   23    1   Indiana
63  Joe Carollo          OT     2   6'2   265   32   11   Notre Dame
64  Jim Copeland         OG     1   6'2   243   27    6   Virginia
65  John Demarie         OG    14   6'3   246   27    6   Louisiana State
66  Gene Hickerson       OG    14   6'3   252   37   14   Mississippi
67  Craig Wycinsky       OG     6   6'3   243   24    1   Michigan State
68  Bubba Pena           OG     7   6'2   250   23    1   Massachusetts
71  Walter Johnson       DT    14   6'3   263   29    8   Los Angeles State
72  Jerry Sherk          DT    14   6'4   258   24    3   Oklahoma State
73  Doug Dieken          OT    14   6'5   237   23    2   Illinois
75  Wes Grant            DE     3   6'3   245   26    2   UCLA
77  Fest Cotton          DT     3   6'2   255   23    R   Dayton
78  Bob McKay            OT    10   6'5   260   24    3   Texas
79  George Wright        DT     4   6'3   265   25    3   Sam Houston State
81  Nick Roman           DE    10   6'3   235   25    3   Ohio State
82  Jim Houston          LB    14   6'2   236   34   13   Ohio State
83  Chip Glass           TE    14   6'4   235   25    4   Florida State
84  Bob Briggs           DT    13   6'4   258   27    5   Heidelberg
85  Paul Staroba         WR     8   6'3   204   23    1   Michigan
87  Rich Jackson         DE    10   6'2   255   31    7   Southern
88  Ron Snidow           DE     3   6'4   247   30   10   Oregon
89  Milt Morin           TE    14   6'4   236   30    7   Massachusetts

                                               Per   Per
Passing              Att  Cmp    Pct  Yards    Att   Cmp  TD   TD%  Int  Int%  Sack  Loss  Rating
Mike Phipps          305  144   47.2  1,994   6.54  13.8  13   4.3   16   5.2    23   183    61.0
Bill Nelsen           31   14   45.2    141   4.55  10.1   0   0.0    3   9.7     3    29    19.1
Leroy Kelly            1    0    0.0      0   0.00   0.0   0   0.0    0   0.0     1     7    39.6
Receiving             Rec  Yards    Avg   TD
Frank Pitts            36    620   17.2    8
Fair Hooker            32    441   13.8    2
Milt Morin             30    540   18.0    1
Leroy Kelly            23    204    8.9    1
Bo Scott               23    172    7.5    0
Ken Brown               5     64   12.8    0
Chip Glass              5     61   12.2    0
Bo Cornell              2      7    3.5    0
Paul Staroba            1     19   19.0    1
Gloster Richardson      1      7    7.0    0
Rushing               Att  Yards    Avg   TD
Leroy Kelly           224    811    3.6    4
Bo Scott              123    571    4.6    2
Mike Phipps            60    256    4.3    5
Ken Brown              32    114    3.6    2
Frank Pitts             3     29    9.7    0
Bo Cornell              7      8    1.1    0
Billy Lefear            3      6    2.0    0
Bill Nelsen             1     -2   -2.0    0
Kickoff Returns       Att  Yards    Avg   TD
Ken Brown              20    473   23.6    0
Bobby Majors           10    222   22.2    0
Billy Lefear            6    138   23.0    0
Reece Morrison          3     67   22.3    0
Walter Johnson          2     33   16.5    0
Punt Returns          Att  Yards    Avg   FC   TD
Bobby Majors           16     96    6.0    6    0
Thom Darden            15     61    4.1    7    0
Leroy Kelly             5     40    8.0    3    0
Walt Sumner             1     14   14.0    2    0

Punting               Punts  Yards    Avg   TB  In20   Blk   Ret   Yards    Net
Don Cockroft            81   3,498   43.2    0    0     0      0      0    43.2

Kicking                0-19   20-29   30-39   40-49     50+    Total     PAT    Pts
Don Cockroft            5/5     7/8     7/8     3/5     1/1    22/27    28/29    94

Defense                Sacks    Ints    Yards     TD
Billy Andrews           1.0       1        4       0
Bob Briggs              5.5       1       16       0
Thom Darden                       3       64       0
Ben Davis                         3       10       0
John Garlington                   1       10       0
Wes Grant               1.0                         
Charlie Hall                      1       12       0
Jim Houston             1.5                         
Mike Howell             1.0       1        1       0
Rich Jackson            2.0                         
Walter Johnson          8.0       1        1       0
Nick Roman              3.5       1       36       1
Jerry Sherk            10.5                         
Ron Snidow              1.0

1972 Draft:

                                        NFL
Rnd  Ovr  Pos  Player                  Games   College
  1   18  DB   Thom Darden              128    Michigan                
  2   45  DB   Cliff Brooks              58    Tennessee State         
  2   51  DE   Lester Sims                     Alabama State             [pick acquired from MIA]
  5  122  K    George Hunt               28    Tennessee               
  5  128  RB   Greg Kucera                     Northern Colorado         [pick acquired from MIN via LA]
  6  149  OG   Leonard Forey                   Texas A&M               
  7  174  OT   Don Wesley                      Maryland-Eastern Shore  
  8  201  RB   Hugh McKinnis             52    Arizona State           
  9  226  OG   Larry McKee                     Arizona                 
  9  230  WR   Billy LeFear              43    Henderson State           [pick acquired from BAL]
 10  253  DT   Hershell Mosier                 N.W. Oklahoma           
 11  278  LB   Mel Long                  42    Toledo                  
 12  305  DB   Bernie Chapman                  Texas-El Paso           
 13  330  QB   Brian Sipe               125    San Diego State         
 14  357  OG   Ed Stewart                      East Central Oklahoma   
 15  382  LB   Jewel McCullar                  Cal State-Chico         
 16  409  WR   Dick Wakefield                  Ohio State              
 17  434  RB   Bill Portz                      Sterling (Kan.)

Traded draft picks: #3 to LA (Lawrence McCutcheon), #4 to KC (Andy Hamilton)

Transactions:

03-04-1972	traded Bill Yanchar to Lions for an undisclosed draft pick
06-15-1972	traded Jack Gregory and Freddie Summers to Giants for the Giants' #1 pick and New England's #2 pick in the 1973 draft
07-11-1972	Mitch Johnson retired
07-31-1972	traded Mitch Johnson and Cleveland's #8 pick in the 1974 draft to Redskins for New Orleans' #3 pick in the 1973 draft
07-31-1972	traded a #7 pick in the 1973 draft to Patriots for Clark Hoss
07-31-1972	traded Cleveland's #8 pick in the 1973 draft to Lions for Jerry Rush
08-31-1972	traded a #6 pick in the 1973 draft to Colts for Lynn Larson
09-05-1972	traded Cleveland's #5 pick in the 1973 draft to Chargers for George Wright
09-06-1972	placed Joe Jones on injured reserve
09-06-1972	placed Lester Sims on injured reserve
09-11-1972	traded Cleveland's #4 pick in the 1974 draft to Raiders for Gloster Richardson
09-26-1972	traded Cleveland's #7 pick in the 1973 draft to Dolphins for Bob DeMarco
10-11-1972	traded New Orleans' #3 pick in the 1973 draft to Broncos for Rich Jackson

Playoff Results:   Click on the date to view the game summary.

Date        Opponent                   Result
12/24/72    at Miami Dolphins          L 14-20

1972 Regular Season Game Log:
Click on the date to view the game summary.

Date        Opponent                   Result        Record
09/17/72    vs Green Bay Packers       L 10-26       0-1-0
09/24/72    at Philadelphia Eagles     W 27-17       1-1-0
10/01/72    vs Cincinnati Bengals      W 27-6        2-1-0
10/08/72    vs Kansas City Chiefs      L 7-31        2-2-0
10/15/72    vs Chicago Bears           L 0-17        2-3-0
10/22/72    at Houston Oilers          W 23-17       3-3-0
10/29/72    at Denver Broncos          W 27-20       4-3-0
11/05/72    vs Houston Oilers          W 20-0        5-3-0
11/13/72    at San Diego Chargers      W 21-17       6-3-0
11/19/72    vs Pittsburgh Steelers     W 26-24       7-3-0
11/26/72    vs Buffalo Bills           W 27-10       8-3-0
12/03/72    at Pittsburgh Steelers     L 0-30        8-4-0
12/09/72    at Cincinnati Bengals      W 27-24       9-4-0
12/17/72    at New York Jets           W 26-10       10-4-0

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