Another Brandon Weeden start, another spectacularly horrific performance. This week against the Green Bay Packers, Weeden went a WHOPPING 17 of 42 for 149 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Once again he looked clueless, uncomfortable in the pocket, and hopelessly hapless. It seems that he has learned absolutely nothing since entering the NFL! Some throws were launched yards out of the reach of his receivers, and some were thrown ridiculously wide of their targets. My personal favorites were the check-down throws he would make to his running backs that were thrown as if he were still pitching and attempting to hit 100 mph on the radar gun. And, of course, there was The Flip 2.0- Brandon’s classic last-ditch effort to save a play by attempting to “shovel” the ball to a nearby target. It resulted in a comeback-killing interception last week, but this week it just served to amuse whoever had the opportunity to see it happen again, as the game was lost for the Browns by this point.
This repetition of the flip throw (there is no way it qualifies as a pass) demonstrates his bizarre inability to learn from mistakes and actually improve. All in all, Weeden has proved time and again that he simply does not have what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the National Football League. At this point, his play has become pathetically bad, and honestly, it just can’t be tolerated any longer. I think we all saw that with a decent quarterback at the helm (*cough* Brian Hoyer ’04), the Browns are a very capable football team (not to mention a legitimate competitor for the AFC North title), but with Brandon Weeden at the reins, it is abundantly clear that they aren’t going anywhere. It is clear, though, that Coach Rob Chudzinski is at least aware of this, as he announced earlier today that he would be meeting with his staff to discuss what should be done regarding the Browns’ quarterback fiasco.
Despite Weeden’s ridiculous antics, Coach Chud and his staff have to this point for whatever reason been unwilling to use veteran backup QB Jason Campbell at all, whatsoever. His lone appearance in the regular season came against Baltimore after Weeden injured his thumb, and it was a very fleeting appearance at that. There has been speculation as to whether Campbell might possibly be in Coach Chud’s “doghouse”, as the saying goes. Others have wondered if the language and incentives in Campbell’s contract could be factors in this odd situation; this scenario seems unlikely, but nevertheless these factors could be at play here.
Anyhow, with the Campbell situation where it is, many have clamored for the Browns to scour the free agent market for a Weeden replacement, with the justification being “how much worse could it possibly get?” However, all indications from the Browns are that they will not pursue an alternative in this way. And, as wisely pointed out by 92.3 The Fan’s Dustin Fox, the odds are stacked against quarterbacks acquired in midseason by a team, as they are forced to learn an offense in a very short period of time and be able to execute a variety of plays in a high-pressure situation during games. The Vikings’ Josh Freeman was a perfect example of this, as the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback struggled mightily against the New York Giants last night on Monday Night Football, connecting on just 20 of 53 attempts for 190 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. It was very clear throughout the game that Freeman didn’t have a good grasp on Minnesota’s offense at all yet, and that he was essentially set up to fail. For this reason, I can’t blame the Browns for not seeing the merit in signing and starting a brand new quarterback.
Hopefully, with all of this in mind, the coaching staff finally opts to start Jason Campbell and at long last put Brandon Weeden’s starting career to an end. Although they have shown, as I mentioned before, a strange unwillingness to use Campbell, at this point there is no way they can just ignore his presence and continue to throw Weeden out there. There’s no doubt that Chud is in a tough position, but enough is enough. The fans can’t be subjected to Weeden any longer- Coach Chud and his staff must give Jason Campbell a chance.
