It's Time to Buy into Brandon Weeden After Another Dominant Preseason Showing By
Andrea Hangst , AFC North Lead Writer Aug 16, 2013Though
the numerous injuries—to running back Dion Lewis, tight end Gary Barnidge and offensive lineman Jason Pinkston—might overshadow the day, the biggest story out of the
Cleveland Browns' 24-6 Week 2 preseason defeat of the
Detroit Lions is how well quarterback
Brandon Weeden played.
In fact, there may be no better player in the
NFL during these tune-up contests that precede the regular season.
In Thursday's win, Weeden completed eight of his 12 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating was
a nearly perfect 137.8, up from a not-at-all-bad 127.7 in Week 1's defeat of the
St. Louis Rams.
Mary Kay Cabot @MaryKayCabot Follow
How do you follow a 127.7 rating? With a 137.8 rating. That's
#Browns Weeden tonight: 8/12, 117 yards, 2 TDs.
6:34 PM - 15 Aug 2013
In two games and six series, Weeden has completed 18 of his 25 pass attempts for 229 yards and three touchdowns,
as ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi points out. Further, he's thrown zero interceptions and is reacting to pressure better than before, making accurate throws before being hit or smartly tossing the ball away instead of forcing bad passes as he did last year.
Tony Grossi @TonyGrossi Follow#Browns Weeden thru 2 g/6 series: 18 of 25, 229 y, 3 TD.
6:47 PM - 15 Aug 2013
As further icing on this sweet preseason cake, the Browns' first team has put up
27 points to just three for the opposition, signaling both the offense and defense seem to be performing at a higher level than a mere year ago.
Daryl Ruiter @RuiterWrongFAN Follow
#Browns 1st team's thus far in preseason lead opposition 27-3
6:44 PM - 15 Aug 2013
Though it's just preseason—and thus, the easiest level of competition the Browns will see this year, regardless of opponent—it's hard to not get excited. This is the best the Browns have looked with Weeden under center.
Forget
the so-called battle that we're supposed to believe is still playing out between Weeden and Jason Campbell—this is Weeden's job, and he's earned it in these past two games.
Prior to this summer, Weeden's critics didn't have to look far to bemoan another year of him as Cleveland's starter. It wasn't just the Browns' 5-11 2012 record, Weeden's 57.4 completion percentage or that he threw just 14 touchdowns to 17 interceptions—it was Weeden's passes being batted; it was his tendency to stare down his receivers and pat the ball before throws that also drew ire and stoked the belief that the soon-to-be 30-year-old passer wasn't the long-term solution at the position.
But, so far this preseason, Weeden has proved that appearances can be deceiving, especially when talking about a quarterback's very first season in the NFL.
Hoyer was not playing better last year in training camp and preseason when the desision on who the starter was going to be was made. Heck even Jason Cambell was playing better than Hoyer in the preseason. Hoyer was not seen as a starting caliber QB by anyone other than Mike Lombardi who said that when he signed him. Lombardi was the only one on the team who was on-record as saying the pick of Brandon Weeden was a desperate move and he never really backed him.
