The Cleveland Browns’ defense was the reason the team was even in its game against the Indianapolis Colts. And, in an indirect way, the defense was the reason the Browns lost.
The Browns needed to change quarterbacks during Sunday's game. Brian Hoyer’s November struggles continued into December. The Browns chose Hoyer over rookie Johnny Manziel this week, and even if that was the right choice at the time, it became clear early on that Manziel would give them a better chance to win on Sunday
But, thanks to two defensive touchdowns, the Browns led most of the game. Did that have anything to do with Hoyer, who was terribly tentative and inaccurate? Of course not. But coaches don’t make drastic changes when things are going well, even if it makes logical sense. It’s just not in their DNA to upset the apple cart like that. They don’t want to face the criticism from an unconventional decision like that.
So Browns coach Mike Pettine stayed with Hoyer, and Hoyer's bad play kept the Colts in the game just long enough for Andrew Luck to pull it out in the end. The Colts scored on a T.Y. Hilton touchdown catch in the last minute and beat the Browns 25-24. The way the defense played, Cleveland should have won easily. But the offense was horrible.
Hoyer was 14-of-31 for 140 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. And, again, the best guess is the reason no change was made was because the Browns led until the final minute – even though Hoyer had almost nothing to do with that.
Will Manziel get the start next week? It’s possible. But it’s probably too late for the Browns, who fell to 7-6 and are in bad shape in the AFC playoff race after dropping a game they should have won. Maybe Manziel would have struggled too on Sunday and the result would have been the same. But, thanks to the defense being so good and the coach being unwilling to make a tough decision because of it, we’ll never know.
- - - - - - -
Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1ANefJG
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire