Browns expected to be without starting center, defensive lineman for the remainder of the 2014 season. BEREA, Ohio?The Browns win over the Steelers came at a steep price. The Browns lost Pro Bowl center Alex Mack for likely the remainder of the season and up-and-coming defensive lineman Armonty Bryant for the year. Mike Pettine said it?s next man up for the Browns. Likely, John Greco will play center this week and possibly beyond ?I thought John Greco did an outstanding job of stepping up and playing center, then Paul McQuistan coming in and being able to finish the game out for us at guard,? Pettine said. ?I thought that was critical to our success. The Browns have to make some decisions on the defensive line as they entered the game missing three players on the defensive line with injuries in Phil Taylor (knee surgery), Billy Winn (quad) and Ahtyba Rubin (ankle). They finished the Steelers game with just three defensive linemen. ?We were already short-handed for the defensive line with Phil being out, Billy being out, Rubin being out, and then losing Armonty on the sixth or seventh play,? Pettine said. ?To have guys like?Kitch? (Ishmaa?ily Kitchen) and John Hughes, who were inactive last week, to go from that to playing the number of snaps that they did at a high level and to produce the way they did, that just speaks to their character and mental toughness. ?I think it?s a shout out to the guys coaching them, as well. I thought we played our best game together, just meaning from a complete game.? Pettine said it is impossible to replace a player like Mack. ?It is,? Pettine said. ?It?s tough. It?s not just losing his play, but it?s also an emotional letdown, as well, to have a guy that just exemplified everything you?re trying to get done. To lose him and potentially, we still don?t know, but it?s looking like it will be?We?ll probably know later in the week if it is for the year. ?It?s big, but at the same time I told the team in the meeting (Mnday),? he said. ?We lost two warriors in him and Armonty, but when we check the mail. There?s not going to be any sympathy cards from around the league. It?s the clich?, but it is truly next man up. We can?t feel sorry for ourselves, and I?m confident in the guys that we?ll end up either promoting or bringing somebody in. I?m confident that we?ll put a functional group out there.? Pettine didn?t rule out Mack for the season, but did say the minimum he would be out is eight games that would put him well into December. Pettine said Greco might eventually move back to right guard as Nick McDonald is eligible to come off of the reserve/non-football injury list with a wrist injury. ?That we don?t know because in Nick McDonald we have a guy that?s played some quality snaps at center before in the league,? he said. ?He?s just coming off NFI (non-football injury list). The plan right now is to practice him this week, but I don?t foresee him playing this week. I could see in the short term that is going to be John, but we still haven?t?We?re a mile away from making that decision. ?We have some options whether we keep Paul at guard, whether we let Paul continue to be the swing and have (Vinston) Painter play guard. We have a couple linemen on the practice squad we?re going to take a look at potentially promoting. There are options. That?s stuff that I?m going to get with the offensive guys tonight we?ll start to work out.? It likely will come down to playing McDonald, McQuistan or Painter, whoever the coaching staff gives the Browns the best unit. ?You just don?t want to have to move multiple guys,? Pettine said. ?That?s what we had to do in the game because that was our next best option. You?d like to have a straight?Your ideal world ? if you?re only going to have seven linemen up is to have a tackle that can come in and play both, a swing tackle and then have a swing guy inside that can play center. ?That way if you get any issue that it?s a one-for-one swap,? he said. ?We weren?t able to do that, and that?s why John had to go in. It was a two position move. You?d prefer to avoid that. The circumstances didn?t allow us to. We just felt Paul ? given his veteran experience ? we knew that he was going to be the first guy in.? On the defensive side, Pettine is hopeful that either Rubin or Winn will be back this week. ?We?re hopeful to get ?Rube? (Rubin), but that?s still wait and see to see how he responds early in the week,? Pettine said. ?I do think that we?ll need to make a move to replace Armonty, just from a numbers standpoint. ?I know Ray (Farmer) and his crew are working on that,? he said. ?We do have some options there, as well. He?ll be difficult to replace, was one of our most productive pass-rushers. The short amount of time he was in there yesterday, [he] was playing well, but was pleased to see those guys step up. Des (Bryant), in particular, I thought played his best game to date when it was needed.? Notebook No Contract Talks: QB Brian Hoyer celebrated his 29th birthday on Monday but he spent time answering questions about his contract after a report from Bleacher Report came out that said he didn?t want to stay with the Browns long-term if QB Johnny Manziel was still on the roster. ?I don?t know who got that report,? Hoyer said. That?s something I have an agent to handle. Right now, I?m focusing on Jacksonville.? Hoyer also added. ?I don?t think I need to say more than I?m from Cleveland and this is where I want to be,? he said. ?But I?m a competitor. I want to be somewhere where I?m playing.? Injury Update: Other than the surgeries to C Alex Mack and DL Armonty Bryant, Pettine didn?t have more information on DL Ahtyba Rubin (ankle), DL Billy Winn (quad) and DB K?Waun Williams (concussion). Williams is in the NFL protocol and is being evaluated. ?We?ll see (where he?s at),? Pettine said. ?He?ll be evaluated every day. He hasn?t been ruled out
Tim, Im not sure what u want...Cameron wasnt voted a Pro Bowl player....he made the team cause he was an injury replacement, Weeden was his QB for much of the season, TD said Weeden wuld have thrown the ball 5 yds over his head and I made a comment Weeden completed enough passes 2 him 2 get him in the Pro Bowl by default...its not hard 2 figure out
Break out the Nitro pills . . . I agree 110% with Sammy on this part of his response. At this moment in time, the Browns are in a somewhat favorable position due to the perceived "quality" of their next three opponents. This three game stretch may give them a chance to; o Evaluate and work with the "next men up" on both sides of the trench. o Perhaps tweak both their offensive and defensive schemes a bit to accommodate the talent levels of the new starters. o Monitor and deal with the player's mental approach. Remind them that press clippings are just that. What they accomplished yesterday has little to no bearing on what they do tomorrow. (read: Terrance West) The old clich? "One Game at a Time" has never been more true.
stopper, You made the statement that Weeden put Cameron in the Pro Bowl <------- This is bullshit I called you on it. Then you went on to say "well he wouldn't of been there if not for the injuries, he wasn't even voted in, Weeds completed enough passes to him to get him in by default". You posted enough to call BS on your own statement, if you are too bullheaded to admit it that's on you. Brandon Weedon did not put Jordan Cameron in the Pro Bowl. Now you tell me what's so damn hard to understand about that?
Yeah, I get a chuckle out of that too. You know what else is funny? Watching you try to change it to something else at every turn.
I agree 100% Rome wasn't built in a day..Never said it was or even that I expected it to be. I am/have been over joyed with the fact the Browns are above .500 after 6 weeks of the season. I am even more excited about the upcoming prospects of being WELL above .500 with the next 3 opponents. The painted picture is seen with as many different points of view as you have viewers. It doesn't make my point of view any more or less right/wrong than yours. I am not a villain simply because I see Hoyer's flaws and I resent being painted as one. Hell, I have toned down my normal use of penmanship for the sake of keeping the peace around here. I have a strong opinion, that has NEVER been questioned around these boards. But since the Browns are winning, I have really been quite tame in expressing them. Edit: removed paragraph responding to the proper English point...
Don't think the "proper English" comment was directed at you Irish. Pretty sure it was directed at our board's bane who likes using his texting shorthand in his inane posts.
I don't believe anyone, including stopper (whom I am at odds with more than anyone else on these boards) has said Hoyer has been a detriment to this team over the past 5 games. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with not liking Hoyer. I think I have given my opinion about that repeatedly. I love the fact he has gotten this team to 3-2 and that he is a local guy. The simple thing that I SEE AND NO ONE WANTS ME TO EXPRESS, is that this team is on the upswing and imho, it will be an even bigger and better swing when the QB position takes it to another level. How am I such a bad guy simply believing that the position can be upgraded? AGAIN, love Hoyer and the fact that when he is in there, we will have a chacne to beat any team that the schedule throws at us. In the future, I believe that instead of simply being able to beat anyone put in front of us, we will in fact be the team that is expected to win every game. Obviously we won't win every game, but we can get to the point where it is expected. Now, if we were 5-0 (which has been my point) I would have ZERO reason to doubt anything this team is doing. That isn't the case, we are only a game above average against a fairly weak schedule thus far. I think I have every right to believe we can be even better in the future with upgrades at certain positions. The fact is, we don't have upgrades sitting on the bench at any position except arguably one. That also doesn't mean I am even in favor of Manziel starting simply because we have lost 2 out of 5 games. It is a VERY REAL situation that Manziel is a rookie and it takes time to adapt to the pro game. I have no doubt Hoyer was better prepared to start week one and really don't doubt the coaches that he is still better prepared to lead this team in week 6. That has NOTHING to do with my personal belief that some day soon Manziel will in fact reach the level of a NFL QB and at that point catch and eventually pass Hoyer's ability to help this team win games. It is my opinion and I really don't understand why I get jumped on every time a piece of that opinion sneaks into one of my posts. The real situation here is that Hoyer is in the last year of his contract. If he feels the need to go to another team because he has a better chance to start, he will leave..again, not my issue, but it is an issue this team is facing and I think about. Many of you have expressed a contract that pays him $15M per year is too much...WHY? Either you feel he can take this team to the Super Bowl and win it or you don't. If you feel he can, then $15M per year isn't enough...
By all means, call "BS" like you normally do. It just means that, again - like normal, you are wrong. Hoyer is 25th in the NFL in pass attempts. Not first. Not tenth. 25th. When you take out the quarterbacks below him -- none of whom have started five games like Hoyer has -- then he becomes dead last. So yeah, I'd say that's limiting his pass attempts. The Browns are 31st in the NFL in pass attempts. So once again...
This is literally all I'm saying. I just want to see how the Browns carry themselves over the next several weeks.
Before you go breaking your arm by patting yourself on the back for a job you think is so well done in "proving me wrong" .... do you think that maybe Hoyer has less pass attempts then many other QB's in the league because he LEADS THE LEAGUE in yards gained per completion! Let go ahead and look at another QB below Hoyer in pass attempts, Super Bowl Winning Russell Wilson, Who, has also started five games, with only one more TD, but also one more INT, not to mention 10.6 YPC compared to Hoyer's 13.6! EDIT: Are you trying to say that Pete Carroll and the Seahawks don't trust Wilson and limit his attempts? PUH-LEASE!
Looking at just pass attempts is in itself misleading. Failure to mention the Browns' 3rd ranked rushing game has quite a bit to do with the amount/percentage of pass attempt. As does game situation AKA the lead the Browns held in the Steelers game, for one example. I'm sure you can find more stats to disprove this and we could all just go round and round all over again. I think we're seeing some hand-picked stats to fudge-factor your results. Stats, as useful as they are, don't tell the whole tale. Edit: Just looked it up and the Browns have the 2nd most rush attempts per game at 32.8. We're a close 2nd to Dallas who is at 33.3.
10.7: Average depth of Bryan Hoyer?s targets Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer?s passes have traveled an average of 10.7 yards past the line-of-scrimmage, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranks him fourth in the NFL. When a quarterback generally attempts deeper passes, we?d naturally expect them to have a lower completion rate. In Week 6 against the Steelers, Hoyer completed fewer than half of his passes. That?s not a good thing in a vacuum, but Cleveland can live with it since the quarterback still managed to throw for 217 yards despite connecting on just eight throws?27.1 yards per completion! Hoyer?s 60.4 completion rate on the season isn?t bad, but it?s his 8.22 yards per attempt that really counts?a number that ranks him fourth in the NFL, ahead of Peyton Manning. 2: Number of quarterbacks with a better touchdown-to-interception ratio than Hoyer Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another episode of the Brian Hoyer show here on RotoWorld! Today, let?s take a deeper look at a quarterback who has thrown seven touchdowns to only one pick in 2014, aiding him in compiling a passer rating of 99.5! Only Philip Rivers (15 touchdowns, two interceptions) and Aaron Rodgers (15 touchdowns, one interception) have been better. Hoyer?s passer rating isn?t even representative of how well he?s played, either. Since passer rating is skewed heavily toward quarterbacks who 1) complete a lot of passes and 2) throw a lot of touchdowns, Hoyer doesn?t stack up quite as high as he (arguably) should. What matters is that he?s moving the Browns? offense in an efficient manner, and if that continues to happen, more touchdowns will follow.
I agree 100% Duff, stats are never going to give you the whole tale.. Watching the games should though. It isn't the fact that Hoyer has thrown less passes than others, or that it eludes to the coaching staff not trusting Hoyer. That is simply a stat... The things that bother me personally is that of the 8 passes out of 17 that WERE CAUGHT, only 3 were on target. The other 5 catches were adjustments because the pass wasn't where a top 5 QB would have put it for an easy catch and run for the receiver. Here is something to think about... IF Hoyer would have sent a good pass to Cameron, it would have added another 47 yard TD to his stat line. The pass was SO under thrown, it allowed the defense to catch Cameron on a play where there wasn't a defensive player within 25 yards of him when the ball was thrown. On another play, same game, Hoyer could have added another 74 yard TD (to Gabriel) to his resum? if it was on the mark. Instead Gabriel had to make such an adjustment that he actually fell to the ground and was so wide open he had enough time to get up and run to the 50 yard line. He gets hit in stride, which is expected of top tier QBs, and no defensive player has a chance to catch Gabriel. These are examples of completed passes that could have easily been scores...Many of the other 9 balls that weren't caught were just plain terrible passes. Accuracy is an issue with Brian...He has the ability to forget a bad pass and complete one on with the next ball which is an invaluable asset in his favor. He definitely understands the offense and is running it to the best of his ability. That is what makes him the best available to run it at this time.
