I usually try and wait a little while before I write these after the games. Not today. I want to type with my fists today. What a sad, disappointing, embarrassing performance by the Cleveland Browns. With their season on the line, at home, they vomited away a chance to stay in the hunt. Their garbage quarterback, backed by a rookie head coach who made multiple poor decisions, beginning on Wednesday when he announced he was starting Hoyer, gave the Colts the game. They lost 25-24, at home, in a must win game. THE DEFENSE SCORED TWO TOUCHDOWNS, and forced two additional turnovers. The "quarterback who gave them the best chance to win", the same one who has played like absolute dog crap for the past 6 weeks, WAS AWFUL. What a joke. If Brian Hoyer was from Cincinnati or Pittsburgh or ANYWHERE but here no one would defend him. No one. He's been consistently terrible for at least the past 4 games, he's inaccurate, he looks scared in the pocket, and he can't complete a deep ball to a wide receiver to save his life. Defenses have had him figured out since Jacksonville, and he's done nothing to adapt. His coach, Mike Pettine, said that he gives the Browns the best chance to win. If that's true we're screwed, and we better draft a quarterback in the first round again. Because if Johnny Manziel can't do better than 14-31, with 140 yards, 0 touchdowns and two interceptions, then we are in terrible shape. And I refuse to believe that's the case. Mike Pettine also said that we don't run a "QB-centric Offense" which is literally the stupidest thing I think I've ever heard a head football coach say. If he thinks that's possible in the NFL today than he is the dumbest head coach in the league. They've won in spite of their quarterback a few times this season. It's happened. They've played a last place schedule and have games with the worst division possibly in NFL history in the NFC South. They've been fortunate. But it's not happening any more. This was an unmitigated disaster.
Mike Pettine made a cowardly decision to start Brian Hoyer this week. Save me the "he could have lost the locker room" and the "Hoyer got them here" and "Joe Thomas thinks that if you put in Manziel you look like you're playing for next season". I don't want to hear it. It was cowardly. It is clear that Brian Hoyer is either in a tremendous funk or just is who he is, but he's been garbage for a month. Manziel came in after Hoyer puked all over himself against Buffalo, and injected life into the offense. If nothing else he would have given the offense a different element. Maybe the results would have been the same, but you won't convince me of that. But coaches have to make tough decisions in the NFL. They are leaders of a group of men. Joe Thomas might think Brian Hoyer should start, but Joe Thomas isn't the coach. Mike Pettine is. And he took the easy way out, and he lost because of it. And the Browns are probably out of the playoff hunt now. And now, Joe, next year is just about upon you.
Hoyer should have a hard time looking the defensive players on this team in the eyes. They did all they could against the number one offense in the league, including scoring two touchdowns themselves. And the Browns lost. It is almost mind boggling. I don't even know what else to say about it. Once again Brian Hoyer failed to capitalize on tremendous field position and turnovers by the defense. It's a broken record. Poor Joe Haden. Poor Paul Kruger. Poor Des Bryant and Craig Robertson and Jim Leonhard. They deserved better.
The sad numbers are really sad.
3 second half first downs. That's it. The Browns defense was on the field for 48 plays in the second half. That's insane. Hoyer was 3-14 passing on third down for 49 yards. In the past 9 trips to the red zone, Hoyer has zero touchdowns and two interceptions. The Browns have 21 turnovers forced in the past 8 games and only scored 3 touchdowns off those. Best chance to win with Hoyer, says Mike Pettine. AWFUL.
And good old Billy Cundiff has now missed a field goal in 5 straight. And Chris Tabor is still employed. And special teams have had a huge role in every loss this season. I don't even know how many times I can say it. Those two should be on the first bus out of town. Cundiff is terrible. Benjamin is terrible. The entire special teams unit needs overhauled, starting at the top.
I could have written this entry on Wednesday, it would have read the same, except the defense played much better than I anticipated. Scores and stats would have changed. But the second that Mike Pettine said that Brian Hoyer was going to start again, I knew this garbage was coming. Zebras are zebras. Tigers are tigers. Average quarterbacks are average quarterbacks. We are what we are. Mike Pettine was content to be maybe mediocre, rather than take a chance on being great. And they lost because of it.
Random Vines. All Vines this week.
Manziel didn't think too much of this Hoyer pass
Dude. Gross.
Not. A. Penalty.
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