Brian Hoyer is MMQB’s Offensive Player of the Week; Browns Future
The Cleveland Browns had a huge comeback win this weekend, historic even. Brian Hoyer played an interesting game, one in which the win will overshadow some of his faults. Winning surely does cover a multitude of sins. Hoyer wasn’t bad by any means, the Buffalo Bills won but have to realize that they do not have a starting level QB on their roster.
I’ve seen enough of Brian Hoyer to know he deserves a legitimate chance to win the quarterback job into the future for Cleveland.
The Browns on the other hand may with Hoyer. He is a steady leader with a quick release that has kept his team in four straight games to start the season. They are two plays away from being the only undefeated team in the league and two plays away from being winless.
Yet this is no Tim Tebow, smoke and mirrors success that is bound to fail down the road. Kyle Shanahan has handed the reigns of a bona fide NFL offense to Hoyer and he is running it well. He misses some throws, not much different than some of the throws Tom Brady missed last night, but makes most of the throws he needs to. He is efficient and gets his team in position to compete.
All of that led him to be named MMQB’s Offensive Player of the Week, along with Peyton Manning:
"Brian Hoyer, quarterback, Cleveland. Competing with one of Peyton Manning’s greatest days is some feat, but Hoyer deserves it. Down 28-3 in Nashville with 31 minutes to play, Hoyer led the Browns on a 26-0 run to finish the game, with scoring drives of 90, 56, 67 and 42 yards (plus a safety). He threw touchdown passes of 17 yards and six yards to Travis Benjamin in the final seven minutes to win. For the day, Hoyer was 21 of 37 for 292 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception."
292 yards. 3 Touchdowns. 1 INT. Those are just not numbers we are used to seeing from a Browns QB. Peter King went on to say even more about Hoyer and what he thinks about Hoyer as the future of the Browns, something we touched on here recently as well (“Brian Hoyer is the Answer” New Window):
"I’ve seen enough of Brian Hoyer to know he deserves a legitimate chance to win the quarterback job into the future for Cleveland. He’s been unflappable. His teammates love him. I’m not saying he’ll be a great player. I’m saying he has a chance to be the answer to the question they’ve been asking in Cleveland since drafting Tim Couch in 1999"
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King touches on it perfectly. Hoyer may not be great, Manning like QB but he is a high quality player that the Browns can build their team around. Whether they decide to go in that direction while allowing Johnny Manziel to sit for a few years is another question. With every win, and competitive game, Hoyer’s price tag goes up. A team like the Bills, Jets or Texans could come calling with a decent sized contract at the end of the season, hoping Hoyer can answer their problems. No matter what the Browns plans are expect them to do whatever they can to get something out of Hoyer. If they can’t reach a contract extension putting a tag on him could make sense. That gives them leverage for a contract or to possibly trade him to a team with interest.
Hoyer has had his backers here in Ohio now it seems they are growing national as well. Winning solves a ton of problems. Had the Browns lost yesterday, even in a close game, likely today we are talking about whether it is time for Johnny Manziel. Instead we are talking about Hoyer as the future of the Browns. His play has warranted it but it is funny how one bounce of a ball, one blocked punt and one gunner running out of bounds can change the course of history.
What do you think of MMQB’s thoughts on Hoyer?