Brian Hoyer to start

Maybe there is yet hope for the 2013 season in Cleveland.  Chud announced today that Brian Hoyer will start game 3 in Minnesota.

There are two things we have seen thus far this season:

1.  The game still has not slowed down for Brandon Weeden.  To quote ex Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano, "Weeden still seems to see the defense like it's Times Square on New Years eve."  I have watched both Browns games several times and the theme that continues to emerge is that Weeden almost always waits until a receiver comes wide open before he's willing to pull the trigger.   This is why Weeden's passing metrics in the red zone were horrible last season and it's why neither Norv Turner's vertical passing game nor the shotgun formation will magically transform Weeden into a star.

2.  Our defense is legit.   If you don't give up points you can't lose.  Of course, the Browns D has given up a few points this year and the team has lost.   But a closer look shows that the Browns D has gotten weaker in the second half as Weeden led "drives" stall out over and over again and our D is on the field far more than opponents.

The bottom line:  If Cleveland simply had a mediocre QB instead of a below average QB, with our outstanding defense, this team could rack up a decent run of winning.

Brian Hoyer looked very good against the Bears in the preseason.   Of course it's true that the Bears were playing second team players and vanilla defensive formations however my evaluation of Hoyer against Chicago is strictly on his soft skills.

Hoyer played with an intensity required of an NFL QB, he showed non stop leadership which was in stark contrast to the "deer in the headlights" look that Weeden often has.   Football is an emotional game and a QB that understands how to tap into those emotional levers can drive performance of his team.   Finally it's true that Hoyer has nothing near to Weeden's arm however, Hoyer was able to throw the ball accurately to players in traffic, something Weeden either cannot do or is not willing to do.

Look for the Browns to give Minnesota all they can handle this Sunday and barring injury to Hoyer, look for Weeden to have taken his last snap as a Cleveland Brown.