Brian Hoyer: Don't Go Nowhere!

Brian Hoyer is from the Belichick school of PR, so he won't say some things that he'd like to.

I now believe that part of his problem later last season (I mean aside from the loss of Alex Mack and the shocking decline of the running game) was Kyle Shanahan.

Admittedly, Kyle is highly respected as an offensive coordinator, and has a pretty good track record.  This is by no means a Kyle-bashing session.

But it safe for me to say that Kyle is also regarded as pretty rigid.  He has done great at adapting offenses to different types of quarterback, but once the system is set and the game plan goes in, that's it.

When the running game took a nose-dive, so did Brian Hoyer.  Kyle tried to stick with the run, but when the defense also caved in and gave up a point deficit, he had to start passing.  I think it's pretty dumb to pick on Shanahan for "abandoning the run", and that isn't what I'm saying.

But where was the hurry-up?  Hoyer did quite well in it.  In general, a stalled running game also gets unstalled in a hurry-up, as the defenders get heavy legs and need air.

Defenses can't plot or scheme much, either--aside from some blitzes, they have to play fairly vanilla.  Hoyer exploited that mercilessly.

I get the theory that a hurry-up stresses your own defense by depriving them of time to recover, but the bottom line is that you need to score more points than the other team, isn't it?

As suggested in my earlier blog, I've heard from credible sources that Kyle gets miffed when a quarterback changes plays, and that Hoyer changed a lot of plays when he ran the hurry-up.

Is it possible that a guy as smart as Kyle scrapped the hurry-up (except when he had no other choice) because Hoyer didn't run the plays as scripted?

I would doubt that.  We're getting into the LaCanfora zone here.  BUT according to some of the Redskins players, he's that kind of guy!

Regardless, I'm pretty sure this is what the two front office employees, along with the rest of us, were texting eachother about during games.

Here are reasons why you should have Linta be Browns-freindly, Brian:

1: The new offensive coordinator is young and open-minded, and will listen to you.  He'll preserve a lot of the offensse with which you're familiar, and I'll bet mix in some hurry-up when not absolutely neccessary.

2: The zone-blocking scheme will be preserved, with some gap-blocking added.  (Not sure what that is--traps?  Need more research).  But anyway, Alex Mack will be back, the draft is full of offensive linemen and a further upgrade is almost certain.
You will have a strong running game.  You won't need to carry the team on your shoulders, and when you do you can hurry up (I assume).  You know you can do that, right?

3: You might like Johnny personally, but you know better than me--you will probably beat him out again.  He loves sandlot football, and it will be very hard for him to grind it out in the NFL now.  He just might not be wired that way.

4: ANY quarterback Ray drafts should also need time to develop.  Pettine needs to win NOW, and that is you.

5: After your nose-dive last season, it's doubtful that any team would sign you for starting money, and for sure none would guarantee you that role.
Without that guarantee, you might start the season on the bench even if you DO win the competition.  Behind the draft pick with the "potential", or simply because it was close and you lose out based on experience and/or age.
Here, you know that the Head Coach will make sure you get your fair shot.  Pettine enters his SECOND season, and he really needs to win now to save his job.

I've been extolling the virtues of a new and improved Marc Sanchez, but I'd still prefer the home boy.

The two are similar.  Both can win with strong running games and a little help from good defense.  

But Sanchez started out something like Johnny, and didn't put the work in.  Brian is a grinder and a true professional.  Always has been.  He didn't have to learn it, and it's second nature to him.

Plus he's from here.  He wants to be OUR hero.

My guess is that Linta and the Browns can hammer something out.  It will have to be more than backup money, though.  I'll bet Hoyer is willing to accept lots of incentives, because he believes in himself.

Maybe 5.5 million (guaranteed), with incentives based on starts and rankings which could put him over 11 mil.  I doubt that any other team would match that.

Such a contract, if the guarantees are front-loaded, would allow him to sign on for a longer hitch.  It's trade-freindly, and if he performs as well as he expects to perform, he'll remain a starter and make good money.

Tony Grossi and his interrogators talk about the acl injury and how this might have affected him.  I doubt that.  He's a quarterback, not a wide reciever.

But I suppose that might have been a slight factor for him, since that injury might only be fully healed right about now, and he might have been a little paranoid.

At any rate, if he has the help we know he'll get this coming season, the 2015 Browns with Hoyer can be the Browns we saw when Alex Mack was in front of him.  Let's get this guy back.