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Pay Respect
The Hoyer era is over in Cleveland. This is a hometown kid who led this underachieving franchise to a 7-5 record this year, and has been instrumental in helping chance the tone of this franchise. Teams actually look at Cleveland as a respectable opponent in just a third of a season. That really says something, and Hoyer was key in that.
Whether you like him or not, you have to respect Brian Hoyer. He was the QB this franchise needed the most, after failure time and time again struck the QB position. He gave us a sense of stability and, dare I say, hope. I hope he finds another chance to start in the NFL with someone else after this season, while his physical tools aren't the most impressive, his intangibles are. Leading the Browns to wins over Cincy and Pittsburgh, comeback wins, never giving up, no quit, he's been a breath of fresh air.
I know he's struggled the last few games, and that's why his time is done here. There's a QB waiting in the wings that this organization drafted to eventually be the guy, and Hoyer had to fight as a guy that was carried over. But even then he played well enough early to earn the favor of the coaches.
Pay respects to the man that's the catalyst of the bridge from the horror years of the Browns, to the glory years. All the calls to replace him Day 1, all the unwarranted hate and passive-aggressive posts, the media pressure, Hoyer fought it off. I'm still amazed how some Browns fans flat out hate him, even though this is the best this team has looked since their return, and Hoyer is part of that.
I really feel like fans not happy with 7-5 just don't understand how bad this franchise has been, and are part of the new wave with Manziel. This was never the year to expect great things. Hell, most experts, no matter who was at QB, thought Cleveland was no better than 4-12. Well, they were proven wrong, and you can thank Hoyer for a lot of the success.
Thank you, Brian Hoyer. I'll always be a fan.
Now, all that said...
It's Time
The Manziel era has begun, and we need to let it roll. I've said all season, once Hoyer is replaced, that's it. You keep going with Manziel. I stand by that. It's time to find out just what he can do.
I am one of his detractors: I didn't like him in the draft, and I'll need a good amount of convincing on the field to believe he's the real deal. I don't like his size, his play style, and I don't like how he conducts himself off the field. But this isn't Michael Vick, this is a kid who still needs to grow up. I think he's a tool, but that doesn't mean I hate him and will refuse to support the Browns, just means I wouldn't look up to him as a role model. Nor would I want my (imaginary) kids or the youngin's in my vast family to.
Now the physical gifts are certainly there as far as arm strength and mobility, but he can't be a running/mobile QB. He needs to pick and choose his spots. If he molds himself to play the way guys like Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers and, to a lesser extent due to size, Ben Roethlisberger, then he'll do well. Scramble when it's your last resort. Use your legs behind the LOS and keep your eyes down field.
I really worry about how Shanny will use him. No QB should be left open to take shots. When Manziel scrambles he really needs to slide. Sure, there might be ONE play a game where taking a hit on the run is warranted, if it's the difference between a TD or first down late in the game, but that's it. Otherwise, Manziel needs to be protected. However, Shanny's going to use QB runs and read options. We've seen time and time again how awful those are for QB's in the NFL.
No designed runs for Manziel. Let him use his legs in combination with his arm. QB's are going to get hit often enough as it is. Shouldn't add to that hit total.
Also, you can't just throw the ball up in the NFL, like Manizel did with Evans in college. That would bail him out quite often, and we saw a glimpse of this when he threw to Gordon in the first drive. This goes back to reading a defense. Be smart. Just throwing the ball up results in L's.
As long as the kid wins, I'll be happy. At the end of the day, I'm a Browns fan. A guy I think is a tool playing QB isn't going to make me quit being a fan. By 2017, we'll know if this was just a flash-in-the-pan Tebow era, or a wild, crazy, yet successful Favre era. Those are the two QB's that keep coming up in my mind with Manziel. Is he going to be stubborn and refuse to adjust himself like Tebow, who couldn't understand the fundamentals and basics, which is where that comparison is valid, or will he be a real gunslinger like Favre, who drove fans and coaches absolutely insane, but did win a Super Bowl. He's already past the Atlanta phase Favre went through at least, but I see so many similarities in too many ways.
Regardless, as I said before, if he wins on the field, awesome. Go Browns. I just won't buy his jersey. Which I'm sure will keep him up at night.
Just pay respect to Hoyer for getting us here, and hope Manziel turns into the QB Manzealots think he is. Go Cleveland, Go Browns.
The Hoyer era is over in Cleveland. This is a hometown kid who led this underachieving franchise to a 7-5 record this year, and has been instrumental in helping chance the tone of this franchise. Teams actually look at Cleveland as a respectable opponent in just a third of a season. That really says something, and Hoyer was key in that.
Whether you like him or not, you have to respect Brian Hoyer. He was the QB this franchise needed the most, after failure time and time again struck the QB position. He gave us a sense of stability and, dare I say, hope. I hope he finds another chance to start in the NFL with someone else after this season, while his physical tools aren't the most impressive, his intangibles are. Leading the Browns to wins over Cincy and Pittsburgh, comeback wins, never giving up, no quit, he's been a breath of fresh air.
I know he's struggled the last few games, and that's why his time is done here. There's a QB waiting in the wings that this organization drafted to eventually be the guy, and Hoyer had to fight as a guy that was carried over. But even then he played well enough early to earn the favor of the coaches.
Pay respects to the man that's the catalyst of the bridge from the horror years of the Browns, to the glory years. All the calls to replace him Day 1, all the unwarranted hate and passive-aggressive posts, the media pressure, Hoyer fought it off. I'm still amazed how some Browns fans flat out hate him, even though this is the best this team has looked since their return, and Hoyer is part of that.
I really feel like fans not happy with 7-5 just don't understand how bad this franchise has been, and are part of the new wave with Manziel. This was never the year to expect great things. Hell, most experts, no matter who was at QB, thought Cleveland was no better than 4-12. Well, they were proven wrong, and you can thank Hoyer for a lot of the success.
Thank you, Brian Hoyer. I'll always be a fan.
Now, all that said...
It's Time
The Manziel era has begun, and we need to let it roll. I've said all season, once Hoyer is replaced, that's it. You keep going with Manziel. I stand by that. It's time to find out just what he can do.
I am one of his detractors: I didn't like him in the draft, and I'll need a good amount of convincing on the field to believe he's the real deal. I don't like his size, his play style, and I don't like how he conducts himself off the field. But this isn't Michael Vick, this is a kid who still needs to grow up. I think he's a tool, but that doesn't mean I hate him and will refuse to support the Browns, just means I wouldn't look up to him as a role model. Nor would I want my (imaginary) kids or the youngin's in my vast family to.
Now the physical gifts are certainly there as far as arm strength and mobility, but he can't be a running/mobile QB. He needs to pick and choose his spots. If he molds himself to play the way guys like Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers and, to a lesser extent due to size, Ben Roethlisberger, then he'll do well. Scramble when it's your last resort. Use your legs behind the LOS and keep your eyes down field.
I really worry about how Shanny will use him. No QB should be left open to take shots. When Manziel scrambles he really needs to slide. Sure, there might be ONE play a game where taking a hit on the run is warranted, if it's the difference between a TD or first down late in the game, but that's it. Otherwise, Manziel needs to be protected. However, Shanny's going to use QB runs and read options. We've seen time and time again how awful those are for QB's in the NFL.
No designed runs for Manziel. Let him use his legs in combination with his arm. QB's are going to get hit often enough as it is. Shouldn't add to that hit total.
Also, you can't just throw the ball up in the NFL, like Manizel did with Evans in college. That would bail him out quite often, and we saw a glimpse of this when he threw to Gordon in the first drive. This goes back to reading a defense. Be smart. Just throwing the ball up results in L's.
As long as the kid wins, I'll be happy. At the end of the day, I'm a Browns fan. A guy I think is a tool playing QB isn't going to make me quit being a fan. By 2017, we'll know if this was just a flash-in-the-pan Tebow era, or a wild, crazy, yet successful Favre era. Those are the two QB's that keep coming up in my mind with Manziel. Is he going to be stubborn and refuse to adjust himself like Tebow, who couldn't understand the fundamentals and basics, which is where that comparison is valid, or will he be a real gunslinger like Favre, who drove fans and coaches absolutely insane, but did win a Super Bowl. He's already past the Atlanta phase Favre went through at least, but I see so many similarities in too many ways.
Regardless, as I said before, if he wins on the field, awesome. Go Browns. I just won't buy his jersey. Which I'm sure will keep him up at night.
Just pay respect to Hoyer for getting us here, and hope Manziel turns into the QB Manzealots think he is. Go Cleveland, Go Browns.
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