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October 19, 2014Because who wouldn’t pay $2,000 for a pair of LeBrons? While We’re Waiting…
October 20, 2014This is not one of those games that defines the ceiling of this Cleveland Browns team. It defines where they are in their development — and that’s not nearly as far developed as they want to be — but it doesn’t define their ceiling. This team can be a good one, but they’re not experienced enough that they can just roll over bad teams. They tried to roll over a bad team on Sunday in Jacksonville, and in a lot of ways they played well enough to win. The Browns might have even gotten away with it at home, but not on the road. The Browns learned an expensive lesson today in Jacksonville losing 24-6 to a really bad team that put up a turnover-heavy, bad effort as well. A Browns team with potential to be good played down to their competition, couldn’t flip the switch, and instead come home with a giant “L” hanging on their backs.
The Browns defense will look bad in the box score, but time and again they handed the offense chances. They forced interceptions from a young Blake Bortles. They got sacks on third downs. The defense forced eight punts during the time period when the game was still in question. When I sum up this game in my mind, I won’t think it’s on the defense.
Hoyer finished with a dismal 46.3 QB rating, completing only 16 of 41 passes while taking three sacks.
Of course, maybe Jacksonville deserves a little bit of credit too. We’ve said it all year that the Browns were a run-first team and Jacksonville’s defensive front absolutely handled the Browns’ running attack. Yes, the Browns missed Alex Mack, but that wasn’t it. The Jaguars were disciplined in the running lanes, were fast to the outside and also stuck to cutback lanes. Ben Tate, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West got basically nothing done. Combine that with Brian Hoyer not having one of his more accurate days even when play-action was open, plus getting a lot of balls batted down, and it spelled disaster.
Hoyer and the Browns, who have been so very productive scoring all year long, couldn’t muster more than field goals. And with each failed drive further emboldening the Jaguars defense, it was all but over. As the Browns started pressing, the mistakes compounded, from a muffed punt to a deflection interception that gift-wrapped the Jaguars touchdown that put them up 24-6.
Yuck.
The bottom line is this: The Cleveland Browns are better than this. I still think the Browns are better than the Jaguars, but they flat out stunk today. The Jaguars sensed an opportunity, the Browns obliged, and the Browns took the positive momentum of crushing the Steelers at home and squandered it to match the number of wins and losses in their record at three.
All week long, fans and commentators were trying to guard against this. It makes you wonder if there’s any such thing as a “trap game” in the NFL at all anymore. I mean, can it be a trap if everyone and their mother calls into sports talk radio and says, “You know, it might be a trap game” ad nauseum all week long?
This is still a team that can go on a run and be in playoff talk. The Browns have an easy schedule and play three of their next four games at home. They also will presumably get Josh Gordon back before the end of the year. All isn’t lost because they wet the bed on the road this weekend. But one thing’s for sure. The Browns still have potential to be good, but they’re not a good team yet. Not by a long shot. A good team wouldn’t have lost this winnable game today.
77 Comments
You can’t call for Hoyer’s head after this one, but you can’t give him a pass either. It has been (IMO) very clear all season that Hoyer is not a “playmaker”. The guy is the definition of game manager, and I am okay with that for now. The Manziel conversation will happen soon though, and its not because of a knee-jerk reaction to a loss, but because of sheer talent.
All this game highlighted was that there seems to a rather simple, effective way to shut down our offense and that is what scares the hell out of me because I think every other team will pick up on what Jacksonville did to us. Any team that can crowd the box but not blitz everyone, will hold us in check. Our short passes will be relatively ineffective, the run game will be short gains at best, and perhaps most devastating, the play action will not work. In place of pressure, Jacksonville basically sat back, covered the short routes and dared Hoyer and our receivers to beat them deep. Without Gordon, nobody on this team is beating anyone over the top, and even then its extremely doubtful Hoyer could deliver the ball accurately that far down field.
Jax has the number-12 run defense when you consider ypc. They are about number-30 in pass defense in ypa. That’s why they passed 40+.
In my opinion they should have completely abandoned the run. Jax was chasing the run every time, so much so that play-action STILL would have worked against their aggressive over-pursuit.
I know you’re just trying to be sassy, but I don’t understand the relevance of that comment. The answer to your question is, “no.”
I wrote something abou Terrance West being Patrick Swayze because he dances so much. But then I decided he isn’t even Swayze because at least PS kicked some ass in Roadhouse. West doesn’t know anything about that kind of “bouncing.”
The sky-is-falling reaction to the loss and the sudden vitriol toward Hoyer is short-sighted. If this team is 6-3 after the Cincinnati game, everyone will talk playoffs and call Hoyer the savior again. It’s not time for grand pronouncements, any more than it was at halftime of the game in Pittsburgh.
Can someone tell me why they didnt take Sammy Watkins when they had the chance to do so?
Then what is the point of bringing up Watkins? Watkins also had horrible days when the browns were winning and has even been a nonfactor in some games. The notion that if we had Watkins on this team that they would’ve miraculously been winners today is silly at best, just like me pointing out McCoy.
They beat Minnesota and Buffalo last year. Hoyer is 6-3 as a starter and still has this team over 500 at this moment.
Because we don’t need him.
I would say rather that when the run game is working, Hoyer plays well. Jacksonville deserves some credit for absolutely nullifying our run game. We all know from last year (and year’s before), when you can’t run the ball, you can’t pass the ball.
Don’t get me wrong, even when passing opportunities were there, the offense and Hoyer ran with their pants around their ankles.
The “deep ball” play you’re talking about had Hoyer scrambling out of the pocket after it collapsed running away from pressure trying to throw the ball 50 yards down field while not having his feet set. For kicks and giggles, just run and throw a football and see how far it gets, because everyone will throw the ball further with their base set than on the run.
This team under Hoyer had scored over 21 points a game until.yesterday. I think they were one of three NFL teams to accomplish that.
Say what you want, but I have a harder time believing that putting Manziel under center improves this teams performance at all right now. People have brought up Kaepernick and Wilson as examples, but the niners were one of the most efficient offensive teams in football WITH Alex smith under the helm, who was playing very good football. This also doesn’t take into account that Kaepernick had been in the league for some time by the time he was given the chance to take over. Manziel has been in the league for 7 games. Also, much like Hoyer and the browns, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks entire offense is founded on a solid running game first and when they get away from that they have similar struggles, see the loss vs Dallas. Also of note in these comparisons is that both of those teams lost yesterday.
The list of QBs who can take the game over and single handedly win you a game is very small. I’d argue there’s maybe five in the league. To insinuate because Hoyer is not one of them that he should be replaced is absurd, especially considering the level of play we’ve had coming into the game with the offense (which most thought would be awful coming into the season) and the fact that this team was three or four plays away from being undefeated coming into this week.
As I said before, the inevitable “blow everything up” knee jerk reaction has honestly cost this team more than enough. Look at coverage of Tom Brady three weeks ago compared to coverage of him today. Coverage of Aaron Rodgers at the beginning of the year compared to coverage of him today. Things are up and down in the NFL and even the worst team is filled with legitimate NFL playmakers, we’ve seen our share of some bad browns teams play spoilers to top teams.
He put the burden on the offense to score points. Go forth, make plays. It didn’t work – but I enjoy being aggressive as well.
He will be a top receiver for years to come and is head and shoulders better than any the browns have. Taking a CB instead of Watkins was a big mistake. Buffalo happy for the trade.
Because they have Gordon already, who is and will be better than Watkins for some time (dismissing, of course, the off-the-field stuff). They got Buffalo to pay pretty decently for the priviledge to draft Watkins, so they pulled the trigger.
agree with all. Not only was Hoyer running away from pressure, he was running left to throw right handed, and he had no time to balance and then plant before heaving. There’s just a handful of QBs that could both have spotted the receiver and had the arm strength to lead him, and Hoyen ain’t one of them. When he’s on what can do is spot the deep receiver and release it quickly enough to just get it there, much like the long pass last week that Jordon Cameron had to stand and wait for.
the NFL stat says he’s 6-3, but we all know he’s 5-3. Heck, I’ll bet Brian Hoyer only counts 5 wins.
funny fact: Kirk Cousins gets the win yesterday for DC even though he was benched for stinking up the joint.
I’ve never said anything about a knee-jerk reaction. In fact, i made the point that I think Hoyer is merely competent at QB, nothing more, nothing less. And the game against Jax proves the point.
That being said, there are an abundance of QB’s who have come and gone with better arms than Hoyer – and many of them were not as good. But for every few Jeff Georges there is a Brett Favre. The Favres of the world win titles. You can’t have a molasses-armed QB and win in this league.
To your point: “The list of QBs who can take the game over and single handedly win you a game is very small. I’d argue there’s maybe five in the league. To insinuate because Hoyer is not one of them that he should be replaced is absurd.”
—why is that absurd? If you don’t have the guy, you need to find the guy.
And maybe Hoyer was scrambling while throwing that “deep ball,” but your comment makes it seem like a one-time thing. It’s not. He has underthrown receivers in every game this year, sometimes multiple times per game.
As i have said many times before: I believe in Hoyer. I want him to have a long leash. I actually think he should play out the year, unless there is something egregiously poor going on. But are you telling me that his lack of arm strength, and his current lack of accuracy, aren’t alarming you?
i was only bringing up Watkins as an aside. Just keeping tabs on the man who so many on this forum wanted to draft. Nothing more.
Minnesota and Buffalo may as well have been Rutgers and Kent State.
they got a good deal for their pick. It made sense.
Can you imagine a Watkins Gordon tandem? Johnny the football could light it up with those two. Watkins had 9 catches for 118 this week. He is soon to be the best receiver in the NFL after Calvin Johnson.
should have drafted sammy watkins.
Yeah, brave is definitely not the word my wife uses.
You’re saying this as if Cleveland is Ohio state, when they’re probably closer to Ohio University. Beating an NFL team is a feat in itself. Beating teams like Minnesota and buffalo is what the browns need to continue to do, because honestly they have about the same ammount of talent.
Nope.
look at his numbers yesterday. he will be nfl best receiver after calvin johnson.
He’s a bust. One good game this year.