2001 Cleveland Browns season

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2001 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach Butch Davis
General manager Dwight Clark
Home field Cleveland Browns Stadium
Results
Record 7–9
Division place T-3rd AFC Central
Playoff finish Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers LB Jamir Miller

The 2001 season was the Cleveland Browns' 53rd as a professional sports franchise, their 49th as a member of the National Football League, and the first season under head coach Butch Davis.

Offseason

2001 NFL Draft

2001 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 3 Gerard Warren Defensive tackle Florida
2 33 Quincy Morgan Wide Receiver Kansas State
3 65 James Jackson Running back Miami
4 97 Anthony Henry Defensive back South Florida
5 134 Jeremiah Pharms Linebacker Washington
6 165 Michael Jameson Defensive back Texas A&M
7 203 Paul Zukauskas Offensive Lineman Boston College
7 245 Andre King Wide Receiver Miami

Personnel

2001 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office
  • Owner and Chairman – Alfred Lerner
  • President and Chief Executive Officer – Carmen Policy
  • Executive Vice President/Director of Football Operations – Dwight Clark
  • Executive Director of Player Personnel – Joe Collins
  • Director of College Personnel – Phil Neri
  • Director of Pro Personnel – Keith Kidd

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Head Strength and Conditioning – Tim Jorgensen
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Rob Phillips

[1]

Roster

2001 Cleveland Browns final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Bottlegate incident

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The most notable game from the 2001 Cleveland Browns season came on a December 16 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in what became known as "Bottlegate". The Browns were driving toward the east end zone for what would have been the winning score. A controversial call on fourth down gave the Jaguars the ball. Browns' receiver Quincy Morgan had caught a pass for a first down on 4th and 1. After Tim Couch spiked the ball on the next play, referee Terry McAulay reviewed Morgan's catch, claiming that the replay officials had buzzed him before Couch spiked the ball. (NFL Rules state that once the next play is started, the officials cannot under any circumstances review any previous plays.) Upon reviewing the play, McAulay determined that Morgan never had control of the ball, thus the pass was incomplete, and the Jaguars were awarded the ball. Fans in the Dawg Pound began throwing plastic beer bottles and other objects on the field.[2] McAulay declared the game over and sent the teams to the locker rooms. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue then called to override the referee's decision, sending the players back onto the field, where the Jaguars ran out the last seconds under a hail of debris.[3]

After the game, McAulay clarified that they first reviewed whether or not the electronic pager had buzzed before Couch had spiked the ball. In a discussion with the Replay Official, Bill Reynolds, it was determined that Reynolds buzzed down before the spike. After the game was called, Tagliabue called NFL Supervisor Dick McKenzie and informed him that the game had to be finished to completion. Neither McAulay nor Reynolds suggested to Tagliabue that the game should be called, which was within the power of the Commissioner's Office. Davis would later comment that he was told that the buzzer went off at the same time as the snap. Couch had initially believed that the officials were going to penalize the Browns for intentional grounding for Couch faking a spike before spiking it, but was then told that the spike was legal. The referees then began discussing the play prior to the spike. President and Chief Executive Officer Carmen Policy refused to criticize the actions of the fans and the decisions of the officiating crew.[4]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result TV Time (ET) Attendance
1 September 9 Seattle Seahawks L 9–6 CBS 1:00pm
72,318
2 September 23 Detroit Lions W 24–14 FOX 1:00pm
73,168
3 September 30 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 23–14 CBS 4:15pm
57,875
4 October 7 San Diego Chargers W 20–16 CBS 1:00pm
73,018
5 October 14 at Cincinnati Bengals L 24–14 CBS 1:00pm
64,217
6 October 21 Baltimore Ravens W 24–14 CBS 1:00pm
72,818
7 Bye
8 November 4 at Chicago Bears L 27–21 (OT) CBS 4:15pm
66,944
9 November 11 Pittsburgh Steelers L 15–12 (OT) CBS 1:00pm
73,218
10 November 18 at Baltimore Ravens W 27–17 CBS 1:00pm
69,353
11 November 25 Cincinnati Bengals W 18–0 CBS 1:00pm
72,918
12 December 2 Tennessee Titans L 31–15 CBS 1:00pm
72,818
13 December 9 at New England Patriots L 27–16 CBS 1:00pm
60,292
14 December 16 Jacksonville Jaguars L 15–10 CBS 1:00pm
72,818
15 December 23 at Green Bay Packers L 30–7 CBS 4:15pm
59,824
16 December 30 at Tennessee Titans W 41–38 CBS 1:00pm
68,798
17 January 6 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 28–7 CBS 1:00pm
59,189

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Pittsburgh Steelers 13 3 0 .813 352 212 W1
(5) Baltimore Ravens 10 6 0 .625 303 265 W1
Cleveland Browns 7 9 0 .438 285 319 L1
Tennessee Titans 7 9 0 .438 336 388 L2
Jacksonville Jaguars 6 10 0 .375 294 286 L2
Cincinnati Bengals 6 10 0 .375 226 309 W2

Postseason

The Browns did not qualify for the postseason.

Awards and records

Milestones

2001 was the first of two seasons since the Browns were reactivated in 1999 in which the same quarterback (Tim Couch) started all 16 games. The second was (Baker Mayfield) in 2019.

Rookie Cornerback Anthony Henry had 10 interceptions including one ran back 97 yards for a touchdown.

References

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  4. Pool Report - Cleveland Browns vs. Jacksonville Jaguars - December 16, 2001