Throwback Thursday: Cleveland Browns quarterbacks with Super Bowl rings

Brian Hoyer, a.k.a “The Destroyer” has a 10-6 career record with the Cleveland Browns, but was supplanted by Johnny “Football” Manziel in one of the most pathetic of all Cleveland Browns narratives. How do you run off the only quarterback from the new Browns with a winning record?

Well, that happened at the height of Manziel fever, when ownership and the front office fell in love with Manziel despite his obvious chemical dependency issues and pressured the coaching staff to start Manziel.

That’s one rule that the Browns cannot afford to break again. The head coach determines who will start, not the general manager and not the owner. Hoyer was a valued addition to the Patriots not only as a player but as a de facto member of the coaching staff. Tom Brady valued him as a counsel and confidante.

Obviously, Hoyer rode the bench for the Super Bowl after the 2018 season, because the Patriots had some guy named Brady who they liked a little more. It was actually the Patriots defense that was the key to the game, however, as they shut down Los Angeles. The game was tied 3-3 in the fourth quarter.

Finally, Brady completed four straight passes, including two to Gronkowski covering 47 yards and landing New England on the 2-yard line. Sony Michel, the former teammate of Nick Chubb, ran off left tackle for six points, and New England had a 10-3 lead.

Kyle Thele of The Only Colors, a Michigan State Spartans community, credits Hoyer with making a key discovery about the Rams.

"“The knowledge of that language allowed Hoyer to play a crucial role in the preparation for the Patriots’ defense. Earlier in the season, the Patriots had practiced showed a blitz-package where all 11 players lined up within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Hoyer told the defense that the Rams only answer to a blitz from this formation was to rely on the quarterback to make a play. With 4:24 seconds left in the game, the Rams had the ball and trailed 10-3. They were on the move, nearing the red-zone, with the chance to tie the game. That’s when the Patriots called their blitz, bringing every defender within 10 yards of the ball. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore was the last line of defense on this play, and fortunately for the Patriots, he remembered Hoyer’s advice. Gilmore’s eyes never left quarterback Jared Goff.”"

The result was a Gilmore interception.  Then, against a tiring Ram defense, Brady took his team 72 yards in nine plays, resulting in a field goal that put the game out of reach.