Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Zach Mettenberger not the answer at quarterback for the Browns

By Thomas Moore

facebooktwitterreddit

Nov 30, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger (7) throws in the pocket is hit by Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) in the third quarter at NRG Stadium. Mettenberger was injured on the play. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

We get it. The Cleveland Browns are the most incompetent franchise in all of sports, one that can’t find a quarterback, can’t win a football game and can barely remember how to correctly put on a helmet before taking the field.

Which is why they should make a move to pick up Tennessee Titan backup quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

Wait, what?

Somehow over the past 24 hours or so the idea that the Browns should trade for Mettenberger, who was selected by the Titans in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. We seem to have NFL Insider Louis Riddick to blame for the speculation:

It is an annual summer tradition in Cleveland, along with the Cleveland Indians falling out of contention just in time for the start of Browns’ training camp and local bars and restaurants tapping kegs of Great Lakes’ Christmas Ale for Christmas in July parties. Because the Browns are … unsettled … at the quarterback position, they are expected to be the dumping ground for every other team’s failed quarterbacks.

Mettenberger joins the likes of Matt Flynn, Ryan Mallett and Kevin Kolb as quarterbacks the Browns should “take a chance on” so that the team can “see if there is something there.”

Excuse us for a moment while we dunk our head into a bucket of Cleveland Whiskey. OK, we’re back.

The 6-foot-5, 224-pound Mettenberger certainly looks the part of an NFL quarterback, but in seven games last season with Tennessee (six as a starter), he completed 59.8 percent of his passes while throwing eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also went 0-6 as the Titans’ starting quarterback, struggling to unseat Jake Locker (who has since retired) and Charlie Whitehurst (who may as well be retired).

Even though it was a limited amount of playing time, Mettenberger clearly didn’t show enough to make Tennessee comfortable enough to turn the team over to him, forcing the Titans to draft Marcus Mariota in the first round of this year’s draft.

While Mariota may be the one and only, if you are a team that believes it is set at quarterback, do you really draft another one with a first-round pick? (The answer is no, in case you were wondering.)

Let’s take a step back for a moment and see what people were saying about Mettenberger coming out of LSU. From his draft profile at NFL.com, we find the following weaknesses:

"Heavy-footed with a long delivery, which translates to the pocket closing on him quickly when he moves and is forced off a spot. Takes unnecessary sacks and is rattled easily under duress. Really labors to hasten his release and get rid of the ball quickly when needed. Has tunnel vision and arms the ball too much. Tends to trigger late and frequently underthrows the deep ball. Does not throw receivers open and forces them to adjust."

Hmmm, that sounds very familiar. Here’s a snippet from another quarterback’s recent draft profile:

"Despite his baseball background, (he) is only an average athlete and is very limited when scrambling. He has a tough time getting outside the pocket, and his accuracy and touch decrease immensely when he scrambles."

Holy smokes! Mettenberger may be the second coming of Brandon Weeden!

Still interested in Mettenberger now, Browns fans?

Finally, there is the historical problem of Mettenberger having played his college football in the Southeastern Conference.

While there is little argument that the SEC is college football’s toughest conference, there is also the indisputable fact that the conference does not produce NFL starting quarterbacks. (Just like Urban Meyer and Ohio State, but that is a topic for another day.)

Over the past 17 seasons, the SEC has only produced five starting quarterbacks – Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford, Jay Cutler and Cam Newton. A great list for sure, but not exactly a ringing endorsement for “let’s draft a quarterback from the SEC.”

More from Dawg Pound Daily

Yes, we know that past performance does not indicate future success, but is anyone really willing to bet that Mettenberger can be quarterback No. 6 on that list? (The same argument can be made about Johnny Manziel, actually.)

Is the Browns’ current quarterback situation ideal? Of course not. But it may not be as bad as everyone is dreading.

“I’m pleased with Josh (McCown) right now,” offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said when asked about the quarterback situation today. “There’s never a thing as a flawless drive, but that drive against our defense in the scrimmage and that drive against Washington was as close to flawless as you can get, and I’m pleased with where Josh is right now and I’m really pleased with the role that Johnny’s in right now because he’s getting better every day. He’s really getting better every day.”

The Browns still have several questions surrounding the quarterback.

But Zach Mettenberger is not the answer to any of them.

Next: Poll: Who should start at QB for the Browns?

Home/Browns News