Pettine’s Loyalty Bites Him Today

Normally, when a defense forces four turnovers and scores two touchdowns at home, you can expect a victory.

The Cleveland Browns did just that today, yet still lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 25-24 at First Energy Stadium to drop their record to 7-6, and the light showing the brown and orange’s playoff hopes in flickering at best.

Early in the week, coach Mike Pettine showed his faith in Brian Hoyer by having his remain as the starting quarterback, but once the game begin and Hoyer turned it over in the red zone after a four play drive in which the Browns had excellent field position (they took over at the Indy 46), Pettine backtracked.

The play calling was such that the coaching staff was trying to protect Hoyer from committing more errors.

If you are going to do that, then he should have just played Johnny Manziel.

Cleveland left points on the board all day long. In the first half, they started drives on their own 45, the Colts’ 46, and their own 35 yard lines, and scored no points.

The had just one scoring drive all day long, that late in the second quarter when the key play was a 27 yard toss to Travis Benjamin. That may sound good, but on the previous play, Hoyer missed a wide open Taylor Gabriel overthrowing him by 1on yards. An accurate throw there results in a touchdown.

That gives the Browns a 14-7 lead at halftime, the other score coming when Andrew Luck was sacked and fumbled, which was recovered in the end zone by Craig Robertson, who was all over the field today, for six points.

For the second straight week, the defense forced a turnover on the first drive of the second half, when Joe Haden forced a fumble which Paul Kruger recovered at the Indianapolis 38 yard line.

No points resulted, as the Colts forced a punt.

The defense, magnificent all day, took matters into their own hands again when rookie CB Justin Gilbert picked off Luck and raced 23 yards for a touchdown. That was as good as it got, a 21-7 Cleveland advantage.

Another interception early in the fourth quarter, this one by Jim Leonhard, who had a sack as well, give the Browns the ball on the Colts’ 23 yard line. A touchdown would have given the Browns a 28-19 lead with 12 minutes left.

The offense couldn’t move it again and Cleveland settled for a Billy Cundiff field goal keeping it a one possession game at 24-19.

Hoyer completed just 14 of 31 throws for 140 yards and two interceptions, the last on the penultimate play of the game, extinguishing any chance of the comeback win.

The defense gave Pettine every chance to win the game, the offense simply didn’t take advantage. Hoyer was struggling so much that it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Manziel would’ve started the second half, but the coach stuck to his guns.

However, he shot himself in the foot.

More on the defense, which seemed to be on the field the entire second half. Robertson and Leonhard were already mentioned, but Joe Haden and Buster Skrine were great today, and Barkevious Mingo deflected a pass and had a sack.

The way the entire unit played, they deserved to come away with the win.

The offense was simply not up to par with their teammates on the other side of the ball, nor was Cundiff, who missed another mid-range kick, this one from 40 yards.

The guess here is the Browns will have a new field goal kicker next week against the Bengals.

That will go along with their new quarterback, because if Pettine thinks about what’s best for his football team, he will give the nod to Manziel in the last home game.

Yes, the Browns are still in a race for the post-season, but they now need to win every game remaining on the schedule. They showed today they are capable of that, but they need the offense to help.

Hoyer played the first 11 games because he gave the Browns the best chance for success. We don’t think you can say that any more.

A Plan to Rest LeBron

During the Cleveland Cavaliers’ slow start, David Blatt received a lot of criticism from people who expected the wine and gold to be 82-0 for the regular season. After all, they added the best player on the planet, LeBron James and another all-star in Kevin Love to Kyrie Irving.

Now that the Cavs have won four in a row, some of that criticism has subsided, but there is one area that the new to the NBA coach needs to make an adjustment. That would be controlling the minutes of James, who will turn 30 years old at the end of the month, and has a lot of miles on his legs, having spent 10 full seasons in the league, plus playoffs, and his stints with USA Basketball.

James is currently averaging 37.7 minutes per night, which is right in line with the last three years he spent in Miami. However, he has accumulated more than 40 minutes in a game seven times in the season’s first 16 games.

That’s not going to help him or the Cavs if they do indeed make a deep run in the NBA playoffs.

So, Blatt has to make a conscious effort to limit James’ minutes, especially during this time of the regular season, when, let’s face it, the games don’t have a heck of a lot of meeting.

We are sure Blatt intends to give James around 35 minutes per night going into each game, but our guess is his competitive nature gets in the game, and as the contest goes on he wants LeBron on the floor so the Cavs have a better chance for victory.

Part of it could also be adapting to a 48 minute game too. In a shorter contest, resting a player five minutes gets them to 35 minutes on the floor, in the NBA, a player has to sit out for 13 minutes to be at that kind of playing time.

As a compromise, we would suggest James sitting out the last three minutes of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second quarter. Currently, he is playing the entire first stanza. This would give him seven minutes off in the first half, and if Love and Irving are on the floor at that point, the Cavs shouldn’t be in any danger of getting blown out.

In the second half, the coach can keep James off the floor the last two minutes of the third quarter and first two minutes of the fourth quarter. That get James to 37 minutes per night. And when the Cavaliers get a blow out win, he will get even more time off.

We also think having LBJ on the floor as much as he is provides a crutch to the players coming off the bench, meaning they think James will handle things, and they are reluctant to step up.

While James is resting, why can’t Dion Waiters pick up the scoring slack? We know Waiters can put the ball in the basket, and if he can produce when he’s in there, it means LeBron can watch from the sidelines.

And that will also make the Cavs a stronger team.

If you spend as much time in the Association as James, it takes its toll. That isn’t to say LBJ is no longer a dominant player, but he does need to start cutting back on his minutes if he is to be at top form when the playoffs start. David Blatt knows this, he just needs to stick to the plan.

Hoyer’s Lack Of Production Means It’s Time for Manziel

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that one of our central theories in evaluating players is the “can’t do any worse” theory.

Simply put, when looking at a veteran player’s performance, you have to determine whether a young player could do any worse than the incumbent, because it isn’t a stretch to believe the young player will get better with age and experience.

That’s where we are with the Cleveland Browns and their quarterback situation.

In the first nine games this season, Brian Hoyer provided stability at the position. No, he wasnt’ Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Aaron Rodgers, but he moved the team and protected the football, leading the Browns to a 6-3 record, one far better than most figured at the beginning of the season.

He threw 10 touchdown passes and just four interceptions in those nine contests.

In the last four games, something has changed. Hoyer has become turnover prone and his inaccuracy has become a huge problem. He’s thrown just one TD pass and six interceptions in those three games. His completion percentage, never high even when he wasn’t turning the ball over, is a paltry 50.8% over that span, which has resulted in two losses.

We understand that players have bad games, but the good ones rebound with a solid game the following week. When a player like Hoyer, who really doesn’t have a proven track record in the NFL has three straight mediocre games, you have to question whether or not he is the guy to lead the team going forward.

And it’s not only protecting the ball either. Hoyer isn’t taking advantage of the turnovers his defense is creating for him.

Against Atlanta, the Browns’ defense handed him the ball twice in Falcon territory and in both cases, Cleveland could only muster a field goal.

And Sunday versus the Bills, Joe Haden picked off Kyle Orton on the second play of the second half, giving the Browns the ball on the Buffalo 30-yard line. This time, the offense was forced to punt the ball away when Hoyer took a critical sack.

That’s the kind of performance you would expect from an average or below average player at the position. And because of that, the Browns need to find out if Johnny Manziel can be a difference maker.

We have said all along that the quarterback who gives the Browns the best chance to win should be the guy who plays, which is what Mike Pettine has always said. Right now, do you really think Manziel gives Cleveland less of a chance of winning?

With all things being equal, why not play the younger, more athletic player? Manziel has more upside and quite frankly, why not see what you have in a first round draft pick.

Had Hoyer been playing at the same level he was during the first half of the season, it would be ridiculous to make such a change in the middle of a post-season race, and make no mistake, despite not having the advantage in the tie breaking scenarios, the brown and orange are right in the thick of the playoff chase.

However, the offense has bogged down and the Browns need to score points to win.

Still, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and Pettine need to tell Manziel that possession of the football is a precious thing, and stress to him that the Cleveland formula for winning is the way they played during the first eight games, and that is mistake free/turnover free football.

If you can get the best of what Hoyer did in the first half of the season with Manziel’s arm and mobility, it may be just what the doctor ordered for the Browns.

The time is here. Manziel should get the start against Indianapolis at home this Sunday.