Only in Cleveland could a third string quarterback come to the rescue, win football games, carry the hope of a city in his back, then suffer a season ending torn ACL injury. While Cleveland Browns quarterback, Brandon Weeden did get the win against the Buffalo Bills last Thursday to improve the Browns record to 3-2, there are three alarming things about his latest play. Is Weeden the answer for these last eleven games of the regular season?
First, Weeden’s pass completion percentage is ranked 42nd in the NFL (through 10/5) with a 54.5% ratio. He is better than just six other quarterbacks in that category, including Curtis Painter, Blaine Gabbert, Josh Freeman, Jeff Tuel, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Jason Campbell. Four of those players have little playing time and have only 36 pass attempts combined. The hot topic Freeman has completed 45.7% of his passes. In three games, Weeden has been sacked 16 times, good for second place in that category in the league. Finally, the soon-to-be 30-year-old is ranked 38th in the NFL with a passer rating of 69.2. So what does this all mean?
If the Browns are going to be competitive on offense the rest of the way, Weeden needs to take a good look in the mirror, shake off the jitters, and just play football. Three things are obvious though – Weeden must get rid of the ball quicker, not get sacked five or more times a game, and hit his receivers in stride. When Weeden takes one of these 10 or 11 yard sacks on first or second down, these are drive killers and are unacceptable. It’s hard enough to pick up ten yards. Instead of it being 2nd & 10 or 3rd & 10, its 2nd & 21 or 3rd & 21. This is the difference between elite teams and below average teams in the NFL.
For now, its Weeden at the helm and the Browns faithful must accept it. With the defense playing as well as they are, Weeden doesn’t have to be great, he just has to be mediocre. If Weeden can gain some confidence and build off of last week’s sub-par performance, the Browns can still make a push in 2013. How far of push though, remains to be seen.
The next four games before the bye week are going to be very telling for the rest of the season for Cleveland. Weeden will face a tough Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers defense in the next two games alone. It won’t get any easier as he will face the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens thereafter.
Ryan Ruiz is the Cleveland Browns Beat Writer for The Inscriber: Digital Magazine. You can follow him on Facebook: Ryan (BrownsWriter) Ruiz and Twitter @ryanpruiz24. Ryan is also a Browns correspondent for The Sportsfix. Tune in every Friday at noon on www.thesportsfix.net.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
