The time has come, and it is a must that the Cleveland Browns replace Brian Hoyer with Johnny Manziel. Hoyer has led the team to most victories that the team has had since 2007, but he has not been playing quality football as of late. The Browns record is above 500. due to its strong defense. Hoyer isn’t asked to do much, and in the past six games he has been a turnover machine. It’s easy to nit-pick with Hoyer now that the Browns have fallen down a bit, but looking at the eye test and the numbers change is needed soon. Hoyer has led one touchdown drive in the past twenty-nine drives, and he has also completed 44% of his passes to Josh Gordon since his return. It also doesn’t help that since week 6, Hoyer has thrown a measly 4 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
The Cleveland Browns defense can only bail out Hoyer for so long, and yesterday was the prime example why a change is needed at quarterback. In yesterday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, the offensive players had very poor body language (cough cough Josh Gordon), and the defensive side of the ball appeared to be frustrated as well as they gave the team the all of the chances in the world to capitalize on a victory as Andrew Luck received chance after chance to win the game all because of turnovers from Brian Hoyer. The Browns defense flustered Luck as he went 24-53 to go along with 2 interceptions. The defense scored 17 points out of 24, and one more touchdown from the offense could have sealed the victory for the Browns.
Week after week Hoyer’s turnovers have become the topic of conversation which has brought Manziel’s name to the forefront.The jury is out on Manziel as a NFL quarterback, but Cleveland needs some type of spark in these last three games. Manziel will face his issues, but we all know that he has the leadership, heart, and intangibles to go along with his skills on the field. To some, Manziel is a gimmick type of quarterback at this point of his career, but the Browns need better production at the quarterback position.
Quarterback is the most important position in the NFL, and without stability at the quarterback position the outlook isn’t so positive. Taking a risk with playing Manziel at this point of the season isn’t as risky as it would have been a few weeks ago. As the Browns sit at 7-6 they still have a glimmer of hope to make the playoffs, but in reality it will be easier said than done. Hoyer gave the Browns fans hope, but he has also dug a hole for them, as they should be sitting at 9-4 or 8-5 on the season. It’s up to Mike Petitine to make the call, and I believe he will give the keys to Manziel for the remainder of the season.
In the words of late great Ed McMahon– “Here’s Johnny”.
