Brandon Weeden is out, and Brian Hoyer is in. With the announcement this morning by head coach Rob Chudzinski, the Weeden era may be over in Cleveland.
With the start this Sunday in Minnesota, Hoyer becomes the 19th starting quarterback since the Cleveland Browns resumed play in 1999.
Replacing Weeden isn’t surprising. The surprising aspect is that Chud did it so soon. Simply put Weeden wasn’t getting the job done. Whether it is his inability to play in the NFL, or the Browns lack of talent, a change needed to be made. Weeden was slow in making field decisions, and slow at starting the play. That was evident by three delay of game penalties in Baltimore Sunday.
The severity of Weeden’s thumb injury isn’t known. He will visit a hand specialist on Thursday to assess the length of time missed. However this does give the Browns an opportunity to take a look at Hoyer, a favorite of GM Mike Lombardi for years.
It’s well know Weeden wasn’t the quarterback Chud, Lombardi and maybe even offensive coordinator Norv Turner wanted. Still, it became evident in pre season the 30 year old was the best the team had. That is until the last game when Hoyer threw for over 300 yards against mainly the second team of the Chicago Bears.
With that performance, a light went off above everyone’s head. Could Hoyer be the man? Could they have caught lightning in a bottle?
After all Warren Moon was an undrafted quarterback out of Washington who was forced to spend 5 years in the CFL before becoming a starter with the old Houston Oilers. Moon is now a Hall of Famer. Same with Johnny Unitas and Kurt Warner, that pair won Super Bowls.
Speculation began Monday when Chud wouldn’t say Jason Campbell would be the starter if Weeden couldn’t go. He would only say Campbell or Hoyer. Since that time the media has run rampant, trying to infer what the coach meant. Now we know.
It’s apparent the Browns don’t have a quarterback. Not one they can win with. With Weeden out, neither Hoyer or Campbell makes a difference.
However should the Browns beat Minnesota Sunday, and Hoyer plays well, Monday would be more interesting.
Dave Mitchell and Mark Donahue co-host the “Ohio Baseball Weekly” show every Monday night at 9pm. Dave also host’s the new show “Ultimate Sports Talk” every Thursday night at 7pm. You can send in your comments on the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds or anything else in sports to “dmitch@ultimatesportstalk.com” or follow Dave on Twitter @ohbbcohost.
