Thought they might go Johnny, but I think the Crowell fumble reinforced the idea that the only way to lose the game was turnovers, and well Hoyer just doesn't do that. Good call Pettine.
why put him in ? Hoyer protects the football . can we stop the Little Johnny talk now . unless its trade talk while he still has some value
I hope he's keeping his head in the game, cause Hoyer could go down, like any other QB, and Johnny will be needed badly to fill the gap, and maybe we find out we truly have 2 starter quality QBs. Now there's a luxury I could embrace. I'd like to see what Johnny has learned, but not at the expense of playing winning football.
I hope Hoyer doesent go down . hope he plays the whole season .gets his $$$$$ and stays home where he wants to be . he is from the area he gets it . If Manziel has to play and turns out okay yes that would be a nice problem to have . my problem is I cant stand the little SOB . didn't want him two years ago and I sure as hell don't want him now .
IMO; Up by 3 or 4 TD's with less than 8:00 to go in the game would have been a good time to put him in. I guarantee if Hoyer had gone down with some freak injury during garbage time, EVERYBODY would have asked why wasn't Manziel playing?
I agree with Lyman, simple stuff during a wooping of the Steelers would have given Johnny a site of the real world. *BRAVO*
Lym, not going to argue that point, You are correct 100%, yet I still back Pettine's move, as this was as important a game as this Browns team has played. A divisional game where we are already 0 and 2, against our biggest rival for years, against a QB who has "owned" us since he became a Steeler, and a game that should have and ultimately was put away early, but the Crowell fumble could have put them in business, and a turnover, giving Pitt a chance to build momentum, was the only path to defeat, so "win today and let tomorrow dawn on a victory". I too would be pissed if Hoyer had gotten hurt, but that could happen any time, and probably will. Not today though.
Congrats to the Brownies today, Well DONE guys. I always love a good Steeler beat down by ANYONE but it holds a special place in my heart to see Cleveland owning them as well. GL till our teams meet again. Shame Carolina couldn't put away those pesky Bengals today.
Given that same lead vs one of the next 3 opponents, go for it. Put Johnny in there. Let's see what he does "live". This one was just too important in too many ways to plug him in. On that note, the Browns scored 14 pts in 2:14 in the 2nd quarter, so the 21 point lead still felt vulnerable to a quick turnover following a Ptii score, and I would have been a lot more pissed at losing the game than even losing Hoyer. I have called for the "win now" mentality for years, and I think that's what I saw today. I liked it.
Before today, Browns center Alex Mack had never missed a snap. He?ll be missing plenty over the balance of the season. Coach Mike Pettine told reporters after Sunday?s rollicking win over the Steelers that the Browns believe Mack suffered a broken leg. If so, he could be done for the year. Mack?s contract pays him $18 million fully guaranteed through 2015. If Mack doesn?t void the deal after next season, it pays another $8 million guaranteed in 2016.
Mack will be sorely missed. Let's hope the Greco / McQuistan combo holds up over time like they did today. Any chance Mack comes back was Gordon becomes re-instated? That would make this December fun!
Browns? wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers are so rare, it?s easy to lose to perspective when one actually takes place. But the 31-10 beat-down inflicted on the Steelers on Sunday ? physically and psychologically ? unequivocally rates as the most convincing by a Browns team on their arch-rivals in the expansion era. The Steelers left Cleveland in last place in the AFC North with a 3-3 record. The Browns climbed to third at 3-2 ? well within striking distance of Cincinnati (3-1-1) and Baltimore (4-2). The first division win of the Mike Pettine era was tempered, though, by a severe injury to center Alex Mack, who may have suffered a broken leg and could be lost for the season. Defensive end Armonty Bryant also suffered a what is believed to be a major knee injury. Mathematically, the epic win ranked as the Browns? largest margin of victory over Pittsburgh since the 1999 rebirth. The only game close in 33 meetings was a 33-13 decision in 2003, a.k.a. Tim Couch?s last good game. This was only the sixth Browns? win against 27 losses to the Steelers ? but still. When was the last time a Cleveland quarterback complained of a win over Pittsburgh being ?a little boring? at the end? That?s what Brian Hoyer said after attempting only six passes following a 21-3 halftime lead. Going farther back, it was the Browns? biggest triumph over the Steelers since the 51-0 blowout in Pittsburgh in 1989. And it was the biggest victory over them at home since a 34-10 win in 1987. It was only the second time in 20 games the Browns defeated Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. So Hoyer joins Brady Quinn in that small fraternity of Cleveland quarterbacks to beat the franchise-nemesis. But Hoyer?s contribution went well beyond that of Quinn, who was on the field for a 13-6 win over Pittsburgh on a frigid night in 2012. Hoyer completed only 8 of 17 throws overall, but almost all of them went for big gains. He accumulated 217 yards in the air for an outrageous figure of 12.76 yards per attempt. Hoyer?s efficient day included a 51-yard touchdown to tight end Jordan Cameron (102 yards on three receptions), and completions of 31 yards to Travis Benjamin, 31 to tight end Jim Dray, 24 to Taylor Gabriel, and 17 to Miles Austin. ?That might be the fewest pass attempts I?ve had since high school,? Hoyer said. ?One of the best things about this offense is it gives us so many ways to hit a defense.? In notching his first career victory over Pittsburgh, Hoyer sucked in the Steelers? defense through the running of Ben Tate (25 carries for 78 yards, two touchdowns) and Isaiah Crowell (11 attempts, 77 yards, one TD). Crowell lost a fumble in the second half after a 10-yard run ? only the second turnover by the Browns in five games. Pettine made rookie back Terrance West a healthy scratch for the game. Pettine said afterwards that ?there wasn?t anything infraction-wise,? but West ?needs to get some things cleaned up? and didn?t have a good practice week. West wasn?t missed. ?You could tell they were trying to stop the run, especially in our no-huddle looks,? said Hoyer, whose record as a Browns starter and finisher rose to 5-2. ?The safeties were down and that?s where we got a lot of our big passing plays ? off play-action in the no-huddle.? And the Browns? defense ? beleaguered throughout the first month of the season, and shorthanded because of injuries ? stood tall. They were missing three key defensive linemen ? Phil Taylor, Ahtyba Rubin and Billy Winn ? and then lost Bryant in the second quarter with a knee injury. But after early success on the ground in the first quarter, the Steelers became ragged on offense. Roethlisberger was intercepted once by Buster Skrine and threw 42 times, completed 21, for 228 yards. The Steelers? only touchdown of the afternoon came with 2:36 to play on a Roethlisberger pass to Lance Moore. By design and necessity, the Browns flooded the field with defensive backs and never rushed more than four at Roethlisberger. Still, linebacker Karlos Dansby and end Desmond Bryant had sacks of Big Ben. ?That was the plan going in and it became more so as the game went on,? Pettine said. ?I joked with (defensive coordinator) Jim (O?Neil) that his call sheet could be on the back of a business card.? Mack was taken off the field on a cart with a possible broken left leg and straight to the X-ray room with 6:57 to go in the first half. He was in obvious pain and faintly acknowledged the cheering crowd as he left. John Greco moved seamlessly to center and Paul McQuistan came off the bench to replace Greco at right guard. Mack had entered the game never missing an offensive snap in 5,189 plays over his five-plus seasons with the Browns. ?It was pretty emotional ? for me especially,? said left tackle Joe Thomas, who said he had tears in his eyes after the injury. ?We have played every snap together for six years and you are finally getting the best of Pittsburgh. He deserved to be out there with us.? The Browns were ahead, 14-3, when Mack went down. They promptly extended that lead to 21-3, and the route was on. ?We felt we should just keep the foot on the pedal,? said cornerback Joe Haden. ?We finally played an entire game. It was a long time coming. For us to finally put a whole game together, it was great.? Thomas said, ?We had so many injuries across the board, it?s hard to believe we could beat a college team today. That guys that came in there and stepped up played like Pro Bowlers. Every single one of them.? Although Greco frequently takes reps at center at practice, he never played the position in a game. ?It was a good, old-fashioned AFC North game,? Greco said. One that Browns fans had not seen in a long, long time.
Kasich disrespects Browns fans - TWINSBURG, Ohio - And with his first choice (of words) for the 2011 NFL draft, Ohio Gov. John Kasich selected ... the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kasich, touring Cleveland Browns country yesterday - hours before the start of the draft - called himself a "Pittsburgh boy" during a speech in front of small-business leaders, elected officials and employees at a small business in Twinsburg. When Kasich, who was born in McKees Rocks, Pa., heard a few groans from the Cleveland crowd, Ohio's governor retorted: "Yeah, yeah, well, when you win a Super Bowl, let me know." The crowd of about 100 people mostly laughed at the governor's crack, which Kasich followed by saying, "But I love Cleveland." The Steelers, Cleveland's archrival, have won six Super Bowls and dominated the Browns since football returned to Cleveland in 1999. The Browns are still looking for their first Super Bowl. Kasich, who later stopped in Berea, where the Browns train, said he has visited northeastern Ohio 16 times since winning his seat in November. He also told the Twinsburg crowd that he roots for the Miami Heat to lose all of its games. Kasich knows that LeBron James is no laughing matter in Cleveland. one of many reasons I didn't vote for the union busting miserable SOB *KISSING*
