DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Hoyer, Manziel Hurt. Browns could start Shaw.

Who cares? This team packed it in after INDY anyways...start the punter for all I care.

The thing about it is that with Shaw, you should be able to keep the same playbook that you have for Manziel. You don't have to worry about getting rid of Manziel if you don't want to. You let him compete with Shaw and another rookie, for the job.

I wouldn't bring in any veterans at all. That's part of the problem. You really can't teach an old dawg any new tricks, but you can teach these young ones all sorts of new tricks and you can judge which one grasps it the most readily. Whoever does that earns the job. It is that simple - then draft the players you need to complement the style of play you intend to use.

I don't think it matters if the Ravens 'must win'. They fell to Houston and as far as they knew, it was also a 'must win' game.

I will still contend that Shaw could probably be the best option for the Browns to win even if Hoyer and Manziel were healthy. I do believe that he's the best QB on the roster. It's obvious that Hoyer & Manziel are thought of more highly than Shaw by those making the decisions, so what do I know.

Well, we are about to see bro.

Right now Connor shaw is going to make his first start in a similar situation Manziel was in.

Against a team trying to make the playoffs.

Two things are different: we are out of playoff contention, BUT, he will be on the road.

If he performs way better than Manziel.... I dunno man. I would think he should have a viable shot to start next year.

I have a feeling people who watch practice everyday realize that a) Hoyer is an over-achiever without a lot of talent, b) Manziel came in thinking he knew everything and can't be fixed until the off-season and c) Connor Shaw (a coach's son who threw 28 TDs and 1 pick as a senior) is an athlete who has been paying attention and working hard all along.
He may be the best QB on the team right now. I want to see..

We'll see this weekend, Swish.

Don't forget about this either. Before the season even got underway, Connor Shaw was the fan favorite to start because of mediocre or less-than from both Hoyer & Manziel during the preseason.

I can't disagree with a single word of this post.

I am actually excited to see Shaw play if he starts. While he wasn't as electrifying as JM in college, Shaw is much smarter than JM. If Shaw does well or at least outplays JM against a divisional opponent in his first start; then we should head into next season with Shaw and Hoyer. Forget about JM as a QB and shift him to WR or trade him off.

Before you all go attacking me, you know I want nothing to do with Manziel as our QB.

I don't know about "conspiracy theories" but, I've watched most of Pettine's press conferences and with exception to an obviously bad injury this is the earliest I have heard him rule a player out. Especially considering Manziel returned to the sideline.

My feeling is they know what they have in Hoyer, they have a very good idea how much work Manziel still needs. Now, lets see what we have with Shaw. What do we have to lose? Shut Johnny down for the season and have a "sore" Hoyer for insurance as #2 in game 16.

At this point I really hope to end with a win, go .500 and play spoiler to Baltimore's playoff hopes.

Shut John down for the season? He never got going.

I can see Shaw coming in and playing a respectable game ...... and fans making him this year's Brian Hoyer ........

As someone else said though, how much worse could Shaw be when compared to what we have seen over the course of the past 5 or 6 weeks?

Easy there. How much worse can it get?

I quit asking myself that after the water damage we had, then the dead battery, then the fence blowing down, then siding blowing off the house, then the freezer going out, then the flat tire on my work vehicle.

Each time I thought "How much worse can it get?" Each time I found out.

well, it worked for the Buckeyes vs the Badgers ...

Think the rest of the team will play?? No one showed up last year, last game of the season. No pride whatsoever.

Let's see what happens this year.

Well, a few of 'us' still saw troubling signs (end of Baltimore game, embarrassing, bad loss to an 0 - 6 team, etc.) and knew the season could still go sour.

However, definitely with you on Shaw. Again, there's no way to know how a draft pick / FA will perform until you actually put him into live action. We'll see about Shaw. But after the horrid final game last year, when not a single Browns player 'showed up' to really play, I have no assurance that the team will not also roll over and play dead last game this year, too. Hope I'm wrong, and hope Shaw leads us to a 48 - 0 win with a 125 rating.

"All" of us aren't mocking it. It is a bit disturbing that four years running we've started a third-string QB because the season has again ended badly win-loss wise.

But more than a few of us would not mind if we find a Tom Brady-like overlooked draft pick who ends up a Hall of Famer.

It's just not likely, and another 3rd-string-as-starter does show the franchise is still spinning its wheels, despite a slightly better win-loss record.

If this kid ends up our starter for 20 years and multiple Super Bowl rings, fine.

I'm not sure how much you follow, but they've been burning the midnight oil as well.

Looks like it could be Thigpen for the backup this week.

Ugh. Oddly enough signing Thigpen worries me more than starting Shaw.


Cleveland Browns reach out to QB Rex Grossman, but it's doubtul he'll sign; Tyler Thigpen could be next on list | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/12/cleveland_browns_reach_out_to.html#incart_2box

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns reached out to 11-year veteran quarterback Rex Grossman on Monday, but it's doubtful Grossman will sign with them for Sunday's season finale in Baltimore, a league source told cleveland.com.

If Grossman, who spent a couple of weeks with the Browns in training camp, can't be lured back to the field for the $53,529 he'll make for the week, the Browns could reach out to Tyler Thigpen, another quarterback who spent time with them over the summer.

Johnny Manziel has been ruled out for the game with a "significant'' hamstring injury, and Brian Hoyer's right throwing shoulder is "very sore'' after 315-pound Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short planted it into the turf on a sack and then landed on it.

Coach Mike Pettine said he'll have to see how Hoyer progresses through the week, and that rookie Connor Shaw, who's on the practice squad, is poised to start the game if necessary.

But if Hoyer isn't ready to start -- or even serve as a backup -- the Browns will have to bring in a veteran, likely to back up Shaw.

ESPN's Adam Schefter said on the Monday Night Football halftime show that Hoyer is probable for the game, but Pettine stressed on a conference call Monday that he won't know Hoyer's status for a few days, after the shoulder settles down.

Thigpen, 30, signed with the Browns as a free agent in the offseason and saw action in the preseason opener in Detroit before being cut in favor of Grossman, a Kyle Shanahan favorite.

Grossman, a former first-round pick of the Bears in 2003, played for the Browns offensive coordinator in Houston and Washington, where he started 13 games in 2011. Grossman was signed by the Browns on Aug. 12 and cut Aug. 31.

Thigpen completed 3-of-12 attempts for 38 yards and one interception in Detroit before the Browns cut him.

If Hoyer is deemed healthy, the Browns might not have to bring in another quarterback. In that case, they'd probably activate Shaw and have him start or back up Hoyer.

The only reason there is ever a controversy is because the media can't shut the hell up.

You tell Hoyer HE'S THE MAN IN 2015 WITHOUT QUESTION. Bring in a veteran FA to back him up and HELP TEACH Manziel and Shaw. One of those two guys is your 3rd QB, the other heads to the practice squad. You tell Manziel to STFU, get to work and thank his lucky stars he's still getting paid by the Cleveland Browns.

No draft picks wasted on QBs in 2015. You need a quality backup center, OL and DL depth, somebody to rush the passer and at least one WR with size and speed.

That's it. That's the plan. Stick with it for 2015. Stick with Pettine and Farmer for 2-3 more years. Let's see what happens. Constant change only provides one thing: More losing.

Rex Grossman rebuffs Browns to kitesurf with family over Christmas

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdo...-010333684.html

Neither Hoyer nor Manziel are worthy of being starting QB's. Period. Hoyer did well for awhile, but that has obviously fallen apart.

Yeah, I'm not looking to clean house again, but if the current group's plan is to stick with what was proven to be a recipe for disaster, I would have some serious doubts.

IDK...Mack going down obviously killed our running game as well as our ability to make changes on the LOS. Additionally, our young RBs pretty much hit the wall.

Give him another year in this offense with this line and these weapons. Let's see what happens. Manziel, and possibly Shaw, are projects. Bring in someone to help. And maybe bring in a QB coach who knows what the hell is going on. I guess we'll both see.

funny as heck rex said no....i was laughing at work today about that with other browns fans.

jeff george maybe?

and just seen on drennan live that our qb coach is logans....his resume has....vince young, locker, manzel...

J/C

unbelievable...only in Clleveland

Shift Manziel to WR or trade him .... I am trying to determine which of those two is the less plausible. I cannot see him playing WR as he seems neither quick or capable of taking a hit. I also cannot see him having any trade value whatsoever, with the footwork, pocket awareness and the inability to see anything develop until it is 4 seconds too late. Not to mention the apparent lack of effort to prepare for the NFL game.

And that is after the Snickers bar.

Who's going to teach them, Dowell Loggains? He's done such a wonderful job with our other qb's. This guy needs to go. His resume is qb coach and OC of an underperforming Titans team that cost Mike Munchak his job. He hasn't coached a single qb to success in this league, and you have to put some of the blame for our qb fiasco on him.

Same here. If he has a decent game, everybody will be claiming him to be the savior and want a huge contract given to him before next season starts. AGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think you are right. Shaw has earned a chance by default and injury and stinko play by the one and two to show us what he has and what he hasn't. Who is the emergency backup? I remain Shaw ready. I hope to be surprised.

The law of averages is bound to catch up with us at some point and we'll hit on someone who can actually, competently, play the position.

One can only hope, sir.

I think some teams take average players and make them better. We seem to do the opposite of that. Especially at the QB position.

I, for one, am looking forward to seeing him play. He's the only QB on this team that looked like he knew what he was doing during the preseason. I know he was playing against and with 3rd stringers, but he above the other two actually looked the part.

IT's not a big deal really. Rex is at the end of his career otherwise, someone would have picked him up. I bet that had they called him 5 or 6 weeks ago, he'd be here already. But with one game left and him being already financially set, he probably figured, no, I'll stay home with the kids.

j/c:

I think people are overreacting and coming to finite conclusions well before they should.

Manziel could turn it around. They guy hasn't even played two full games.

Hoyer has looked competent--and even better than competent--at times this year. This team had a lot of injuries and it went into it's yearly late-season swoon again.

Heck, the Bengals physically dominated us on both sides of the ball. We have a lot of other high-round picks not performing. It's not ALL about the QBs.

He's seen our line block and he saw Hoyer get splattered. I wouldn't come here either if I was him.

They're staying up nights just to get this thing right.

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas.

Bottom line, we're sitting here at the end of the season with no real idea who our starting quarterback will be in 2015. The entire QB situation is a massive train wreck.

This team is fraught with questions like: Will they resign Hoyer? What happens if Hoyer moves on in free agency? If they are able resign him, can he turn his poor performances around? Or has he hit the ceiling of his abilities and have defenses figured him out to the point where he can no longer be effective? Is Manziel really an NFL caliber QB? If they do stick with Manziel, when do they begin the grooming process and put him in at starter for good? If they do that, how long until he gets hurt again? If he stays healthy but his skill set doesn't translate to the NFL, how long until they pull the plug? Will Farmer draft a QB as insurance? Do we bring in a free agent QB as insurance, even though they all suck? If so, who do you go with? Vick? Sanchez? Locker? Ponder? Gabbert? Mallet?

The QB situation is Cleveland is nothing short of abysmal. If we learned anything from the Manziel experience so far it's that he certainly isn't going to "wreck the league" any time soon. Right now, he looks like a frail, undersized, unprepared, weak-armed, ill-equipped failure with poor mechanics, terrible instincts and the inability to read the field and recognize defenses. Right now it appears that Merrill Hoge was spot on and Manziel is nothing but a "sixth round talent with first round hype" and it's going to be a "quick exit" for Johnny Football.

But hey, maybe Manziel can turn it around and maybe Hoyer will improve.

Cleveland Browns sign quarterback Tyler Thigpen with Johnny Manziel out and Brian Hoyer hurt

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns have signed quarterback Tyler Thigpen, a source told cleveland.com Tuesday.

They had reached out to 11-year Rex Grossman, but he opted not to re-sign with the Browns.

Johnny Manziel has been ruled out of the game and Brian Hoyer is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

Practice squad rookie Connor Shaw might get the start Sunday in Baltimore.

Thigpen, 30, signed with the Browns as a free agent in the offseason and saw action in the preseason opener in Detroit before being cut in favor of Grossman, a Kyle Shanahan favorite.

Thigpen completed 3-of-12 attempts for 38 yards and one interception in Detroit before the Browns cut him.

He's originally a seventh-round pick out of Coastal Carolina

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/12/cleveland_browns_sign_quarterb_4.html#incart_river