Video: Angry Browns Fan goes all in on Davone Bess
October 28, 2013NFL News: Browns WR/PR Travis Benjamin out for the season
October 28, 2013Three straight three and outs.
The Kansas City Chiefs marching up and down the field, seemingly 14 plays at a pop to score points.
An offense that looked like they wouldn’t cross midfield let alone score.
Why do we waste our time with this?
Because we love the Browns and that is what we do here.
In the midst of what was looking like a 40-0 blowout, something just clicked. Two plays changed everything – The first, first down of the game on a pass to Jordan Cameron for 19 yards, which was followed by the flea flicker 39 yard TD pass from Jason Campbell to Josh Gordon. From that point on, the Browns played like a completely different team. There is still little to no running game, but there was one noticeable difference after those first three series that produced a triple of three and outs; Quarterback play.
Nobody will admit to being a Brandon Weeden backer anymore. I’ll say it. While I never thought he was going to be a star, I thought maybe, just maybe, he would flourish in the Norv Turner offense. You know, the one that was supposedly perfectly suited for his particular skill set?
It was one thing for me to see Brian Hoyer come in and provide a spark to the offense with his mobility, quick release, and command of the offense. It was quite another to see Campbell, a guy who the organization clearly did not want to go to unless an extreme circumstance occurred, move the team the way he did in yesterday’s six-point loss in KC. If not for a couple of Devone Bess mistakes, we could be talking about Campbell knocking off the last of the NFL unbeatens in their home stadium.
The rest of the skill position players really have not changed other than the rotation of average RBs (yes, this includes you, Trent Richardson). Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron are the same big targets that thrived with Hoyer at the helm and didn’t have near the success when Weeden had the keys to the car. Campbell faced the #1 ranked defense in the NFL and once he got settled, moved the team with little help from his running game.
It was completely obvious from watching Campbell play yesterday that no matter what kind of physical specimen Weeden may be, he just will never succeed as a successful NFL QB. Campbell (22-36, 293 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT) did things that Weeden just never did, namely knowing how to avoid a rush and get rid of the ball. Hoyer did it. Campbell did it. Weeden never could figure it out.
I watched with amazement at how easy the veteran Campbell would see the edge rushers coming, slide his feet forward, step up in the pocket, and throw. This is QB 101. Why is it that Weeden was never able to grasp such an easy concept? In addition, Jason is mobile. He is not Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson, but he uses his escapability to allude the rush and avoid sacks. The Chiefs came into Sunday leading the NFL in sacks and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that they got their first and only one. Had Weeden been back there, I assure you that wouldn’t have been the case. In today’s NFL, unless you are Peyton Manning, a master of getting the ball out quickly, you have to be able to move at least a little. Again, another strike against Weeden.
Even with Norv’s offense giving Weeden an increased number of snaps in the shotgun, nothing seemed to help his “stare at one receiver….hold….hold…hold…..hold…sack” routine.
While I am not here to tell you Jason Campbell is the second coming or even the answer, it was easy to see that he at last is a capable backup QB in a pinch. More importantly, his play and the two plus games we saw from Hoyer were the biggest indictment of Weeden’s skills.
The more you saw Hoyer and Campbell play, the more you realized just how bad Weeden was.
By all accounts, Brandon is a good guy. I actually feel sorry for him. But he is not just a starting NFL QB and may not even be backup worthy. Regardless, we all know what he can and cannot do and don’t want to see it again. He will be playing (well, not playing) somewhere else in 2014 and the Browns will be once again looking for a franchise savior QB in the draft.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
It just needs to be stated once more: Mike Holmgren hired Pat Shumur as his head coach and drafted Brandon Weeden as his QB of the future. Amazing what $40 million can buy you these days….
 (Joshua Gunter/ The Plain Dealer)
67 Comments
The only scheme that is suited to Weeden’s skillset is Big 12 defense.
I couldn’t agree more with the headline!
But what’s with the TD Dery?
Hopefully Campbell’s competence should also put to rest any thought that Hoyer can be a starting QB. Going through another offseason where we have to “wait and see” because a guy looked decent and then got injured before teams could study tape and game plan to expose his weaknesses might cause irreparable damage to my liver.
Honestly it’s more of an indictment of Holmgren, as you allude to at the end. I really, really want to know what really happened in those draft rooms. If it’s true that Holmgren pushed for Trent (including the trading away picks), Weeden, Colt, and the pickup of Wallace and some other moves, that would be incredible.
Firstly that would make me feel horrible for Tom Heckert, who otherwise picked relatively well. Second, it would show just how absurdly bad Holmgren was – literally throwing away a team for nothing. NOTHING. UGH.
I hate the line “he’s a good guy” when talking negatively about an athlete. This isn’t a shot at TD, it’s just the second time I have heard it today – heard it on the radio this morning about Bess. Don’t get me wrong, I much prefer my athletes (read: role models…sorry Barkley) to be good people. But I’m a good person (usually) who, even if/when I do my job well, isn’t getting paid millions, and my job isn’t a sport/game.
…aahhh Monday…
Lets not also use this as a death knell for Hoyer. Hoyer and Campbell both showed that this offensive unit doesn’t need the elite QB player everyone tried to say it would, because quick decision making and efficiency wins out every time.
I can’t be the only one who saw the article about Arizona opening trade talks for Larry Fitzgerald after the year. If the browns were smart, one of those first round picks, maybe even both, are headed to Arizona for that receiver in a package, and watch Fitz and Gordon tear up the AFC north.
I just wet myself thinking about it.
Makes absolutely no difference to me whether the player is good or bad at this point. It’s about talent and on the field production period.
I’d be shocked downright stunned if anything remotely like this happened. I personally think they are accumulating picks to move for a QB but then again so does just about everyone else. In a perfect world Hoyer would have remained healthy and done enough to justify starting next year meaning those two first round picks could be used elsewhere but this is Cleveland and that was a fairy tale.
I’ll disagree, to an extent. I think it’s not a bad thing to mention, considering some of the vitriol athletes receive in today’s media/social media landscape. TD obviously wasn’t doing this, but when guys are told to just kill themselves and spare everyone else the misery on Twitter because they have a bad game, it’s good to remember that they’re human beings, most of whom have families and, when not on a football field, are people just like everyone else.
So, I have no problem with a writer pointing out toward the end of a piece that largely centers on saying how bad someone is at their job that, hey, that doesn’t mean he’s not a decent human being for the 6 days and 21 hours he’s not playing football on TV.
I understand your point, and admit ahead of time that my response may sound somewhat contradictory…
As you said, TD wasn’t spewing the vitriol that is the reason I don’t subscribe to social media sites like Twitter. I come to sites like WFNY for educated, worthwhile analyses that, in my opinion, don’t require disclaimers like that. You guys are just doing your job, and I realize the accessibility of blogs makes that a gray area, but I just didn’t think it was necessary in this context.
Again, not disagreeing with your overall point, just as it relates to this particular instance.
agree about this exposing Weeden once and for all, TD, and I’ve written as much here the last day. Just would add one caution: Holms is not the only exec capable of being dead wrong evaluating college QBs. They can bundle 5 current and future picks at the expense of other needs and still end up with another dud, or a just ok guy who’s outplayed by someone else’s second rounder.
Maybe the safest thing would be to use both first rounders, or a first and second, on QBs this draft and let the NFL’s Darwinism work its brutal magic.
I’m surprised how kind people are being towards Campbell. He looked okay. His line would be amazing if this were 1983. We still only scored 17 points and that just doesn’t get it done in this era.
Campbell is getting the same love that Hoyer did because he also got to replace what we were seeing from Weeden. Crazy how big the jump seems to be from horrific to below average. But, while our offense struggled, it did look like they were playing football (on passing downs at least).
Makes me think about the article last week (on Grantland?) about AJ McCarron and how he’s a brilliant game manager, quick decision maker and compares favorably to the kind of player Tom Brady was coming out of Michigan. Right now, McCarron projects into the 3rd round. If it stays that way, might be an interesting 2nd QB pick-up if we can afford the pick.
Campbell just decreased Weeden’s trade value from a 7th rounder to a box of rubber dog poo.
Remember this was against the #1 defense.
Campbell is not the long term solution, but he did provide entertainment (not Weeden’s strong suit), had me believing we could win, and gave me renewed faith that we are a good team in need of a good (not even necessarily, great) QB.
Coming into the game the Browns were averaging 314 yards of offense and 16.9 points per game from the offense.
Against the Chiefs, Campbell led the offense to 340 yards and 17 points.
That’s pretty much what the team has been getting all year.
I long for the day when we can honestly evaluate a quarterback’s performance based on their actual production, rather than creating a narrative about how much better they are than the latest quarterback tossed on the Browns scrap heap of failed signal callers.
Perhaps, someday, if we all live long enough.
Delhomme. D’oh!
I hear ya, man. I don’t know that there’s a right or wrong answer, because I think sometimes that stuff clouds judgement on players. I.E., once the kickoff rules changed, Cribbs was marginalized as a player. But we all liked him as a person (at least, I think) and that tended to muddy the waters a bit.
Fair enough. Guess I’m just tired of getting really excited over what’s really average-at-best QB play.
no way would I trade 2 first rounders for Fitz. He is gonna cost a lot of money too.
We do have Pitts pick in the 3rd rd.
Sold sold sold, quick sign the papers
Aaron Hernandez?
Your an extremist eh?
Don’t we have like $30 million in cap space?
I never liked the way Cribbs played the fan card when he was seeking a new deal. Ironically he was never the same after that contract.
I’ve heard McCarron’s name from time to time the problem for me is how much is him and how much is he a byproduct of the Crimson Tide machine? This organization failed miserably with Richardson not sure the latest regime can risk even more at the coveted QB position. But the QB spot will be a problem all unto it’s own. Not one college QB has really distinguished himself. Maybe Mariotta but that’s about it. Problem there is unless this team picks #1 they have to choose from the rest. We’ve seen how well that’s worked in the past.
I agree with your principle (sort of like the “no moral victories” argument), for sure. That said, I think some context applies.
1. Kansas City was averaging five sacks a game coming in. They got one on him, and it didn’t come until the fourth quarter.
2. As part of #1, there was NO running came to keep the defense honest. They were able to pin their ears back and rush the passer.
3. 300 yards and no turnovers is a good line. Including that game, Kansas City is allowing only 206 yards per game through the air in eight games.
4. Campbell hasn’t played since week 2, and in that game he played one series. To say he was probably rusty (evidenced by the slow start) is an understatement.
None of this changes the bottom line, which is that all we know about the position long-term is that it ain’t Weeden. But, I think Campbell gets a fair amount of credit for the way he played yesterday.
Most people would consider “average” a victory in Cleveland that’s how bad it’s been.
won’t matter, he is 30, which means too old for this regime
True. Is that all we need though? We do have a nice young base, and that would give us instant WR bliss, but it would be at about 13-14 M a year and he is will be 31 before start of next season. How much will Tate cost.
Context, though.
With Weeden as the starter, those averages look like this over those four games:
290.3 yards of offense, 11.5 points per game.
Against the best defense in the league, on the road, Campbell statistically was an improvement.
And, sometimes, your eyes can tell you more about something than numbers can. If you can look at the Detroit game (Weeden’s best start, statistically) and say “Well, the offense had 395 yards and 17 points” and say it was the same as Campbell’s performance (it wasn’t simply because Campbell didn’t throw two picks, one of them underhanded), then I’m content to leave it there.
I do expect us to make a bigger splash in free agency this year
That’s a valid concern and perhaps completely accurate. I haven’t personally watched him play extensively, nor watched him with an analytical eye when I have. But, if what this author wrote was true, he certainly seems like an acceptable risk in the 3rd round this early in the season. If nothing else, the kind of QB he wrote about seems like he would do well with this offense and scheme.
I honestly have no idea even after watching him play. I just have a hard time envisioning this organization taking a chance and waiting until the third round even if somehow he were available. Like I said it’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.
I think the rubber variety is a bit steep of a price. I think the real kind, perhaps partially stepped in or run over by the lawnmower wheel, is a more realistic expectation. It won’t even dent the cap, and once we’ve signed it, we can use it on special teams to defend opposing field goal attempts.
If Tate is cheap possibly otherwise pass.
Tate will get money, prob 8 M 4 -5 yr deal
Weeden fails the eye test in every way which just makes his selection all that more puzzling. At least I feel better about my draft night rants lol.
Okay I pass.
it’s almost Halloween, so I think it would be fitting to get it in a paper bag that they set on fire and leave on our doorstep. Dang kids!!!
Note, though, that Toddyus initially said McCarron would be a “2nd QB pickup” as in we use our first round, and our third round to pick two different QBs. I definitely would be pretty happy if we picked a QB high and took another one in a later round.
Only thing worse then having to draft one QB is to draft two. I’ll pass.
I think we’ve seen that The Browns have a VERY good offense. Almost any QB can succeed here.
“If not for a couple of Devone Bess [and Joe Thomas] mistakes, we could be talking about Campbell knocking off the last of the NFL unbeatens in their home stadium.”
Competence should be expected.
I thought for sure you were going to turn “eye test” into a joke about how long he stares down receivers. I expected you to bring the yucks and you failed me.
Yep. 🙂
In all seriousness, though, where is the line? If Josh Gordon was a wife-beater instead of drugs, would you still be OK with him on your roster? I don’t know that I would, honestly.