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Hoping Kizer is finally "The One!"

I hope Kizer lights it up this saturday!

I'd like to see him sustain a few drives. Convert 3rd downs. Make smart decisions. Etc.

DeShone Kizer wins Browns starting quarterback job


By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com

TAMPA -- DeShone Kizer clinched the Browns starting quarterback job Saturday night by passing his last big test in the dress rehearsal game here against the Bucs, sources told cleveland.com.

Kizer's number weren't great in the 13-9 victory, including a 28.2 rating, but he showed Jackson enough to beat out Brock Osweiler and Cody Kessler for the job and earn the opening day start against Pittsburgh Sept. 10 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

"I feel comfortable with him,'' Jackson said after the third preseason game here. "He has the right feel for me and for what I'm looking for.''

Jackson will make the announcement today, after he sits down with the quarterbacks and explains his decision. He might even shake up the room a bit and promote Kevin Hogan ahead of Kessler after Hogan, who earned a 98.9 rating, engineered the fourth-quarter comeback in the pouring rain.

"I need to talk to all of our guys and be very forthcoming and upfront with the guys about where we are,'' he said.

But the starting quarterback is not in question. That's a done deal based on everything Jackson has seen in his rookie this preseason.

"He handled things really well,'' Jackson said. "His eyes were good, the conversations we had was what you want with your quarterback. he managed the team well. He did some really good things and we'll keep coaching him up."
Hue Jackson names Kizer starting QB

Kizer will become the 27th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999 and the second rookie quarterback to start the opener behind Brandon Weeden, who lost 17-16 to the Eagles in 2012.

Kizer completed only 6-of-18 attempts for 93 yards, with no TDs and one interception on a deflected pass over the middle, but he didn't get much help from his supporting cast. Kenny Britt dropped a pass at the Bucs' 5 and Duke Johnson fumbled the ball away at the Bucs' 10.

"No doubt. It would be a whole different game for him,'' said Jackson. "That's why I feel good about the things that he accomplished tonight. I thought he came well prepared to play. Again, that was his first opportunity out there with those guys truly from start until we said, 'ok enough with the ones and I thought he showed well.' I thought he did some good things and we can build on some things as we move forward."

Kizer also had to handle the adversity of being pinned inside his 10 on three of his five first-half drives. The first two ended in turnovers, including Kizer's late throw over the middle that was picked off, and third was a three-and-out. But the No. 52 overall pick out of Notre Dame impressed Jackson with his poise and decision-making on some of those challenging drives.
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"It's great,'' said Jackson. "I like to see him when he's in those tough situations. He did something that I was very proud of. He's backed up back there and I call a pass play because I need to know if he'll be very team-protecting and he did; he rolled and threw the ball out of bounds. Awesome. Those are the things that I have to find out about him. If a guy will do that and protect our team, we'll have a chance to win games with him.''

Jackson said heading into the game that Kizer would be named the starter as long as he didn't tank against the Bucs in the third preseason game.

"He did not fall flat on his face,'' said Jackson. "He didn't. Matter of fact, he did some things better than I thought he would, to be honest with you.''

Kizer connected three times with Corey Coleman, including once for a 32-yard sideline route on which he rolled to his left and put it where only the single-covered Coleman could get it. The receiver, who finished with four catches on the night for 66 yards, laid out for the ball and made a great catch -- the kind the Browns are going to need to see more of if Kizer is to be successful.

Coleman made two more acrobatic third-down receptions from Kizer, who went 5-of-9 for 56% on the money down in his one half of work.

"He's doing everything I'm asking him to do,'' said Jackson. "He's doing everything he needs to do to prepare himself for this opportunity. He made a jump.''

Jackson must still decide if Kizer will play in the preseason finale Thursday night in Chicago, or preserve his body for the big day against Pittsburgh.

"There's some other things we need to do and see,'' said Jackson. "We'll cross that bridge as we go."

For his part, Kizer would love to play in Chicago, where he'd be on the same field as Trubisky, whom the Browns passed on at No. 1 overall.

"Every rep is valuable at this point,'' said Kizer. "Coach Jackson will obviously make the call on that, but it's an opportunity for me to learn and get better.''

Kizer even embraced the chance to be backed up to his own end zone on three of his five drives, at the 1, 3 and 9.

"All these games, you're just looking for different experiences, especially as a rookie out there in my first start, I want to feel everything,'' he said. "To be backed up and have some fans yelling behind you and have to adjust your cadence -- to have some situations in which we go out there and we don't have the success that we want. ...all these different situations are going to be for me to pull from throughout this year and hopefully have some success and learn from."

Kizer, who faced a Bucs team that rested five defensive starters, lamented the fact that he went 0-for-2 in red zone TDs.

"A field goal in one and a fumble in another is unacceptable,'' he said. "Those need to be touchdowns in order for us to continue the success we have been having. But overall, it was an awesome opportunity to go out and compete against some ones with the ones and take the things that we have been doing in practice and apply them to a game situation."

But he's shown Jackson the qualities and dynamic skillset he wants to see in his starting QB: the big arm, the mobility, the processing speed and the leadership ability.

"I was able to go out there and feel comfortable right away,'' said Kizer. "Obviously a big third-down conversion in that first drive, I was able to get some of those early game jitters out of the way and Corey [Coleman] made some big plays and we started building off of each other and creating some momentum."

The Browns will have their inevitable growing pains with Kizer, but Jackson is will to live with them for the big-play ability he brings. Cleveland.com

The fact Hue actually named Kizer the starting Qb tells me he doesn't have a clue...just like he said RG3 made the ground under his feet move...how did that work out for him?

QB Whisperer...please....more lie QB Destroyer....Kizer will probably be out of the NFL in two years simply because he was never given the chance to succeed. Instead he was just thrusted out there, he is far too raw and really should have stayed another year at ND.

Lets look at this though:

Brock Osweiler threw exactly 22 passes the entire preseason

Deshone Kizer has thrown exactly 49 passes the entire preseason.

What do you expect? Kizer has thrown twice as many apsses as Osweiler PLUS Kizer threw he majority of his passes against guys who won't even make an NFL roster...Kizer posted a 28 QB rating against a Bucs Defense that was missing 5 Starters and is a middle of the pac defense.

The only way Kizer should have gotten the starting job was if he was head and shoulders better then Osweiler and he WAS NOT. Osweiler had 2 TD passes dropped that would have put his stats far better then Kizers...its Brock's fault our receivers can't catch a cold? I mean seriously.

Its clear to me that Osweiler was railroaded here, and he is classy enough to still say the right things and not toss the team under the bus...Osweiler had Thomas and other veterans support....if Kizer doesn't work out Hue will probably lose the lockeroom and you know what that means.

Simply put Osweiler is our best chance to winning games this year, however i really don't think winning games has been part of the Browns plan since Hue got here.

Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini won more games then this clown with less talent....

We handed the job to Kizer instead of making him earn it...he wa snot head and shoulders better then Brock, and until he proved that he was he shouldn't get the starting job.

Know why hue didn't play Brock? Put Brock out there against a bunch of guys that won't evne make an NFL roster(like we did Kizer) and Brock looks like the next coming of Manning lol.

the fact the Browns based most of their decision to start Kizer based on his play against a bunch of scrubs that won't even make an NLF roster is just more proof of how bad things have really gotten.

instead of being patient and bringing
Kizer along gradually(as any other NFL team with a clue would) We are just going to march him out there day one and ruin him...even Rothlisberger didn't get a chance to play till Maddox got hurt...even Ben would have had to "Earn" that spot...not in Cleveland though...always next man up, who cares about actually developing anyone...no wonder QB fail here far more then anywhere else in the league.

Man Kizer is not the answer this year, I was not impressed at all last night, i watched receivers and backs run free only to have kizer overthrow or make the wrong read. He had some bright spots, but given the amount of time he was given in the pocket, he should have torched at Defense missing 5 starters. I wanted kizer to be the guy, but I'd roll with Brock for the first month or so then evaluate kizer the second half. We're a 3-4 win team max either way, so i can see wanting to get kizer exposure, but I don't want him to get overwhelmed

Kizer's mechanics were clearly a problem when he was in college. Those mechanical flaws caused him to lose accuracy.

The coaching staff did a good job of improving his mechanics, but you could see them breaking down as the game progressed. He reverted back to some of the same bad habits which led to problems w/accuracy.

What's going to happen when he is facing NFL defenses that are not resting 5 starters, rushing him heavily, and disguising/changing their coverages?

yeah i even mentioned that at halftime in the game thread, you can visibly see Kizer getting more and more inaccurate as the game went on, I would not be surprised to see him throw 20+interceptions this year, damn near had 4 last night in one half

I can live with a bunch of interceptions, because I do see a ton of potential. What I can't live with is getting this kid hurt before he has a chance to learn.

What's the threshold on picks for a rookie that y'all will tolerate, though?

Cause I was looking through the list of guys who started as rookies for all or the majority of the season, and most of them are in the mid to high teens for the season.

Hell, manning had 28.

The only way Kizer is gonna get better is by playing. He's obviously the best qb on the roster. Hopefully hue let's this kid go out there and take the lumps like most of the elites have done. Brock is trash, Kessler is too scared to throw the rock.

For me, it's not really about number of INTs or TDs or stats for Kizer ... it's just how he looks. Like last night his numbers were terrible, but he looked like he belonged and had a grasp on things. I think he'll be okay for us honestly.

That's where I'm at.

As long as the game doesn't look to big for him, he'll be fine this year. If the poised he showed last night translates to the regular season, I'll be happy. Let this kid make his progress on the field. The best teacher is experience. He's just not gonna get it sitting on the bench, especially if a trash qb like Brock is playing over him.

Brock has the same problem with his mechanics. I have more faith in Kizer actually getting it to eventually stick.

We won't have an ideal situation regardless.

I'll trust that Hue has some idea what he's doing.

I wonder how much a wet ball may have factored in to the accuracy or lack there of.

We watched two different players then.

He didn't throw to someone that wasn't his first read once. Locking on to that first read is going to get him hurt. Someone in Pittsburgh has already pointed that out in their game planning and the plan will be to blitz on every play and double Coleman until he forces them to do something else or gets carted off the field. T.J. Watt is not going to give him hugs and kisses when he breaks the line of scrimmage.

Progressions are one of the toughest things for new QBs to master ... I have seen DK go through progressions a few different times. One thing that encouraged me: his pre-snap stuff. He changed protections, flipped a play or two, and was poised. That's a big hurdle.

I understand your concerns completely, but I'm in the camp that believes he'll gain more and better experience playing than watching. I also believe he's the best option at QB if you factor in both performance and potential. The factors in our favor this time is that, one, he has all the physical tools unlike almost all of our other former "starters" and draft picks, and two, he is not being thrown to the wolves with an inferior supporting cast. Granted there may be questions at receiver & TE, but he has a decent o-line, a good running game and (what appears to be) a solid, potentially dominating defense. With improvement in accuracy, support from the TEs & WRs, and comfort scanning the field, he can succeed. It won't happen right away, but he could develop quickly. That won't happen if he's holding a clipboard.

JMHO.

That won't happen if he is in the hospital either. You learn progressions on the practice field with the plays slowed down and immediate feedback from coaches. Once you can make the progressions, then you go out on the football field and learn to do it faster.

You don't learn how to do progressions by being hit hard by 300 lb guys over and over again. You learn bad habits that way. If you live that long.

I'm sure that's one of the main things he's being coached up on every day. I haven't seen him taking a lot of unnecessary hits due to lack of scanning the filed though. Have you?

You guys are gun shy from the past.

I want you to edumacate me on how exactly you can tell a QB is locked on to his 1st read. Or better yet let's call it what it really is. Primary Receiver.

I watch. I record. I play slow mo. If YOU can see a QBs EYES, tell me HOW you see that. You CAN'T. What you're looking at is his HEAD. You have no idea what he's looking at. This has always been my biggest peave with QB Gurus.

You don't see his head move and you ASSume he's locked on, yet it's impossible to see where ANY QB's eyes are.

You don't get 5 seconds to look 3 ways. ALL QB's lock on sometime. But don't do it all day. Peripheral vision is a wild thing.

Miami would be one option. I think the Jets might be another. Hackenburg apparently looked terrible, McCown looks rusty, and Petty got injured. If Petty's injury is bad (last I ready he couldn't put weight on it yesterday, no updates since), they're in dire need of someone. Maybe offer to pay half the salary and ask for a 3rd or 4th in return? If they're desperate, maybe they bite

The one rumor that I've heard is the Colts. Luck is going to be out for at least week one.

When he only throws it to his first read, it's pretty obvious.
Everyone sees that poise in the pocket and that arm and doesn't even try to look at the rest of his game.

the highlight video has been seen by pretty much all of us. most of us watched the game too.

the reason why people aren't bringing up the other parts of his game, isn't even close to being because we "didn't even try to look at the rest of his game".

the dude is a rookie. of course he's gonna have problem with staring down his receivers and going for the first read. of course some of the throws are gonna be off. every QB struggles with that their first year. it's his first time playing in a real game with the 1's. the offense needs time to gel.

you're basically arguing that people aren't actively acknowledge something that's completely obvious.

but a rookie having this kind of poise? come on, when is the last time we had a rookie who showed poise like this AND had an Arm?

the BEST i can come up with is MAYBE weeden? and that's a strong maybe.

the kid showed he wasn't gonna allow himself to get rattled. it's his first time playing in a real game with the 1's, and hell i'm surprised he didn't take off and run half the time. the guy stayed in there, showed good movement in the pocket, and made pretty good reads. he had 2-3 drops that were beautifully thrown balls, a couple of throws that sailed on him a bit, and one INT which can be see by everybody as inexperienced. the read was the correct one, he just stared his WR down, allowing the LB to gain ground and get a tip.

let's not forget that he was leading a potential scoring drive right before duke decided to fumble the ball.

I suppose I need to make this very clear.

I am not calling for Brock to be the starter. I think that we should trust Hue because a QB controversy is debilitating to a football team and a coach's tenure.

I was simply trying to talk football. I think this move is risky. I don't want to see him revert to poor mechanics. I don't want him to start questioning himself and lose confidence like Bortles did. I don't want him overwhelmed to the point of frustration.

I think he is very similar to Blake Bortles in many ways. Rushing him into the lineup really hurt that kid's career.

I promise that I am not going to be on here saying stupid stuff like "We gotta start Brock" every time Kizer struggles like others would have done for Kizer if Brock had been named the starter. Nope, I won't do that. I don't want a qb controversy.

However, I am going to be watching Kizer closely. Hopefully, things just click and he progresses nicely. We'll see.

I totally agree on his arm and his poise.

And when he plays a real defense and the entire defense knows where the ball is going, he's going to get hurt. When the number one read is covered and that is the only person he's going to throw the ball to, his options are to run or get pummeled.

I'd feel much better if he was a bit flustered in the pocket or needed more work on his pre-snap reads. Those are things that are okay to try and fix on the field.

I don't care if we are 0-16 or if the throws 30 interceptions this year as long as he shows improvement. I do care that he won't make it through week 4 healthy if he can't make read progressions.

He isn't a typical rookie QB that occasionally stares down his first read. He is a rookie QB that isn't even thinking about a read other than his first read. That is going to get him hurt.

i feel you and i'm worried with our history that he will be killed as well.

i just have to hope that the investment we made into our o line ends up being worth it. right now Kizer seems to have really good chemistry with Coleman, so hopefully our #15 pick does develop into the guy, but my biggest fear is that he doesn't have the safety net: a go to TE. i really felt that letting go of Barnidge was a horrible mistake by the FO.

i have faith in Crow, i think running the ball will obviously help. maybe Hue told Kizer not to take off and run last night? i dunno.

my biggest worry is what a lot of other people on the board is worried about: other than coleman, the group of TE/WR's we have is lackluster. Britt is only proving that we should've kept pryor instead. and the fear is that Kizer will get killed because he held the ball too long waiting for ANYBODY to get open.

Hadn't thought of that

I am tired of this complaint. They offered a contract to Pryor, he did not want long term. It was not a fault thing that he is not here. He chose to put his eggs in the show me contract basket. That's on him. That is not on the FO

that's fine but i wish we wouldve tagged him

I trust the opinions on this board - general speaking - more than I do the media's. I didn't see the game last night but it's encouraging that the game day thread and others, have been positive about his performance, despite the stat line.

I also totally understand when posters are skeptical, and wary, of Kizer being named no. 1 at this stage. We've seen NFL rookie QBs ruined before. Fingers crossed,fellas.
Btw I am not sure it'd be wise right now to trade Brock unless we get bowled over by an offer. We might need him.

j/c

Re: "Ruining Kizer"

I fail to see this long list of QBs we've "ruined"

I see a lot of QBs that weren't very good in general, and were forced to start because we had no one else. And they wound up not being very good in general.

If Tim Couch had been drafted by Philly, coached by Andy Reid, and allowed to sit and learn. Maybe he becomes something. Beyond that. Eh. Bunch of garbage.

Also re: Trading Brock

If we were going to, I feel like we would've by now. I doubt anyone gives up any significant compensation for Brock. Let alone Brock that just spent an entire offseason learning someone else's playbook.

Overall.

There's potential. The run game needs to be there. And the D needs to progress. But there's something there. It's no longer the feeling of "well I hope this works" that it was before. He is (imo) a legit starting NFL QB "prospect". Maybe the first we've had since we returned...?

Part of me thinks it was going to Kizer hell or high water since the draft, it was a Hue pick all the way and he was going to go with his guy regardless of whether or not he should. I guess winning the job for the browns is scoring 3 points in a half against a defense with 5 starters out. Everyone wants so much for the qb situation to be resolved they are putting it all on kizer, which is why he shouldn't be the guy right now. A couple big throws and people get blinded to his horrible footwork and inability to read the defense. Thats not small in the scheme of trying to be a good NFL qb. Gun to head, I'd take JFF as a QB right now over kizer (purely as a QB, not even considering the personal issues, just off talent alone)

But I guess if we are going to finally solve the QB issue, sitting him for a year and passing on a franchise Qb next year over Potential not yet realized doesn't help us. I guess we just have to trust Hue(though I don't trust him at all when it comes to QB evaluation). Just pray Williams keeps the defense humming along and we can eek out some close low scoring wins by riding our running game and not make DK do too much. It is what it is now, Bring on the steelers and lets get this season going

I honestly was not impressed with any QB we have trotted out there this preseason including Kizer. Kizer has at least got a strong arm going for him though ...

28.2 rating....wow

j/c

Man, some of you are scarred from the past.


Here's how I think the situation played out and why it's ok:

- I do think Kizer was given the "fast track" and that theory is based off of the sheer number of reps he was given in the preseason.

- HOWEVER, the fast track came with certain milestones he had to pass in order to keep moving up. Or, if one of the veteran QB's truly stepped up and seized the job, this would be a non-issue. They didn't. The Browns had a dual track to follow. Let a vet step up, or if not, develop Kizer as much as possible and see if he can seize the job. He seized the job.

- Osweiler does not give the Browns the best chance to win. He can't connect on anything over 10 yards (exaggerating, but you get the point). I saw this when I went to training camp, and I saw it in preseason games.

- From an X's and O's standpoint, in theory, Kizer's ability to throw the intermediate and deep ball should open up the running game, and if the Browns can lean on the running game, it should lead to a bit of success.

- I don't think he's automatically going to be "ruined" by starting Week 1 or starting the season. Y'all have visions of Tim Couch dancing in your head. He's playing behind a solid OL and theoretically a good running game. He has to learn at some point. Why not start now? Derek Carr wasn't ruined and he was playing with a HORRIBLE Raiders team. Nor was Russell Wilson. Or Jameis or Mariota. And keep in mind, the Bucs and Titans were absolutely HORRIFIC when each of them started their careers.

- Furthermore, there is this so-called "amazing 2018 QB class" coming up. You have to know what you have in Kizer before going into 2018.

- There is never going to be a "perfect" situation for the Browns to put a QB into. Kizer is going to have to develop through experience. He's either gonna figure it out or he won't. We've seen QB's drafted into "perfect" situations fail, too.

Bottom line: Kizer has demonstrated the ability to digest NFL defenses (albeit in preseason form) and the ability to make plays. He did not look lost or shell shocked or scared. He puts in the work in order to learn and grow (unlike Johnny). He has demonstrated coachability and the ability to improve based on what Hue has said.

I'm cool rolling with him for the year. And I don't think it's going to be an epic disaster.

I'm okay with it , too. I am looking forward to seeing what he will do as a rookie. Like I said before, it's nice to have a young QB with a strong arm, intelligence, size and a hard-work mentality.

Play good D, run the ball well - those will be big helps.

Hue Jackson Names DeShone Kizer Browns Starter, Hopes He Will Be Able To ‘Solve Our QB Issue’

Author: Daryl Ruiter | 92.3 The Fan
August 27, 2017 3:45 PM

CLEVELAND (92.3 The Fan) – DeShone Kizer will be the Browns’ starting quarterback in 2017.

They hope he’ll keep the job for years to come.

The move to start the rookie from Notre Dame, which came as little surprise, was announced by head coach Hue Jackson on a conference call with reporters Sunday afternoon.

“DeShone is our starting quarterback,” Jackson said. “He’s earned the right to play through his preparation. He’s established a work ethic that I think has earned the respect of his teammates.”

In 14 offensive series over 3 preseason games Kizer accounted for 5 scoring drives – 3 touchdown and 2 field goal – and he’s completed 25 of 49 passes for 351 yards and a touchdown with an interception. He added 47 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown, on 8 carries and been sacked 5 times.

Kizer was selected in the second round – No. 52 overall – in April’s draft and he becomes just the second rookie to open the season as the Browns’ top QB, joining Brandon Weeden in 2012, since 1999.

Kizer will become the 27th quarterback to start a game for the Browns since 1999 and he’ll also be the 15th different opening day starter since then, a vicious cycle that Jackson and the Browns hope will now come to an end.


“When we drafted this young man, there was a purpose in drafting him. We thought that he had exactly what we were looking for,” Jackson said. “He has the talent, he has the makeup and he has the things we are looking for. Now, we just have to go get him and push him onto that next level.”

In Jackson’s first year in Cleveland that saw the Browns go 1-15, he started 3 quarterbacks and needed 6 players to get through the season because of injuries.

Jackson pledged that the team is fully behind Kizer and plans to see the growing pains that come with a rookie through.

“This is not just for the moment,” Jackson said. “We’re going to get with DeShone and ride him through it all. We’ll get through all this.

“We are not going to blink about it.”

Kizer began camp as the No. 3 quarterback behind Cody Kessler and Brock Osweiler but ascended up the depth chart thanks in part to the ineffectiveness of both during camp and the first 2 preseason games.

“It’s been good to watch his development throughout the offseason,” Jackson said. “Obviously, he’s a young quarterback, and he still has a lot to learn. He’s going to learn a lot and gain a lot of experience, and the only way you get that is by playing.”

http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/2017/08/27/hue-jackson-names-deshone-kizer-browns-starting-qb/amp/

Kizer is exciting to watch. Our WR/TE better show up though, or its going to get ugly fast. Because they will double team Coleman. Then what.

Osweiler not being able to throw the deep ball is a false narrative that a few posters started and nurtured on this board. I have provided videos that dramatically disprove this silly notion.

From everything I have seen with my own 2 eyes, he has consistently failed to connect. Nor has he been able to consistently demonstrate throughout camp consistency with his passes.

Also, that narrative is far beyond the board. I wouldn't call it false.

FWIW, even the most skeptical of media members are on the Kizer train. That makes me think might just be different this time.