Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings desperately needed a win in Week 3, and can now sleep soundly knowing that the Cleveland Browns have named Brian Hoyer their starting quarterback for Sunday’s showdown.
With starter Brandon Weeden nursing a sprained thumb, Browns head coach Rob Chudkinski informed Hoyer on Wednesday that he would get the start against the Vikings. The move, however, comes as a bit of shock considering that the Browns have Jason Campbell on the roster.
Campbell, an eight-year NFL veteran, has an 82.5 passer rating and a 76:52 touchdown-to-interception ratio over 71 starts. Meanwhile, Hoyer is relatively inexperienced with one start and 96 career attempts under his belt.
That inexperience, however, could be what the Browns are hoping will help Hoyer succeed against the Vikings.
With Campbell, the Browns know what they’re getting. At this point, he’s already shown his best and isn’t going to surprise anyone with some elite performance. With Hoyer, though, Cleveland doesn’t exactly know what to expect. He’s played in 15 career games and was believed to have some potential during his time with the New England Patriots.
The Browns saw some promise in Hoyer during the preseason and have been impressed with his work during practice. It also gives the team an opportunity to see what they have in Hoyer in terms of long-term potential, so him becoming the Browns’ 19th starting quarterback since 1999 makes some sense.
No matter how much upside the Browns believe he may have, Hoyer isn’t going to get them the win. The Vikings have a ferocious pass rush, and the Cleveland native has shown in the past that he doesn’t handle pressure well. He has limited offensive weapons to work with and will be facing a Minnesota defense bent on ending up in the win column.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me, but it’s not like the Browns have tasted any sort of success this season anyway.
If the Browns haven’t been able to get it done with Weeden under center, they’re doomed with Hoyer in the driver’s seat.
Gil Alcaraz IV is the Content Planner for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @GilAlcarazIV, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
