Greg Cosell’s Look Ahead: Brian Hoyer establishing himself for Browns

Quarterback Brian Hoyer has played very, very well this season, which brings up an interesting question for the Cleveland Browns going forward. But we’ll get to that in a bit.

First, let’s analyze what Hoyer is doing so well. He’s not a guy with a big arm, but he throws it better than people probably think. He throws the intermediate balls very well. He’s really tough in the pocket. He’s a great timing and anticipation thrower. And maybe the best thing about him is that he’s steady.

You know what you’re going to get with Hoyer. He’s not a top five NFL talent or anything, but he’s going to run and execute your offense and he can be a very effective player. Coaches love that. They work 18, 19, 20 hours a day during the week and they want to know the game plan they’re putting together will be executed as they draw it up. That’s what Hoyer does, and what he’ll do again this week against Pittsburgh.

There were a few examples of Hoyer making some big-time plays during Cleveland’s comeback win at Tennessee last week, including one on the game-winning drive.

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Hoyer wanted the quick slant to Miles Austin, but safety Bernard Pollard dropped and took it away. Then Hoyer looked to his left to the receiver screen to Andrew Hawkins, but he didn’t feel comfortable with that throw. With his first two options gone, he showed great poise and awareness and improvised – not in the way you think, by running around, but by standing in the pocket and understanding all of the concepts of the play. Then he hit Austin for 23 yards downfield once he got open. That was a professional quarterback play.

There was another play earlier in the game that showed his toughness, his willing to stand in and execute a play and his anticipation. Fullback Ray Agnew missed a blocking assignment against linebacker Kamerion Wimbley. Hoyer knew he was going to get drilled, but he also knew where Travis Benjamin would be running his out route. Hoyer threw it well before Benjamin began his break. And he completed it for a 21-yard gain.

Now, of course, Hoyer playing so well brings up the question of what the Browns will do with him and Johnny Manziel. In the draft, the organization felt it needed a quarterback, so it traded up and drafted Manziel in the first round. But let’s say the Browns go 8-8 or 9-7 or whatever, and let’s say Hoyer plays like this all year. He has six touchdowns, one interception and a 97.6 rating. What do you do after the season (assuming the Browns retain Hoyer, who can become a free agent)? Is there an open competition no matter what happens? Or is Hoyer your quarterback? Who’s to say Hoyer is any different than Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton? Dalton isn’t a great physical talent but is productive and the Bengals have won with him. The Browns can win with Hoyer, too. Nobody can answer what will happen after the season, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

For right now, however, it’s clear that the Browns are playing well – the offensive line is really playing great, they can run the football, and Hoyer is doing the job at quarterback.

Bills vs. Patriots preview

Kyle Orton got the start for the Buffalo Bills last week, and maybe the most important thing was that he made the throws that were there. That wasn’t always the case with EJ Manuel.

Orton was decisive with his reads and throws, and if the design of the route concept worked, Orton will execute it effectively. He made some difficult throws in the middle of the field over and between defenders. He wasn’t perfect – his interception that was returned for a touchdown by Detroit Lions cornerback Rashean Mathis was as bad as it gets; Mathis sat on the route and read Orton’s drop and broke on the throw before it was even out of Orton’s hand – but Orton played a professional game. He left some plays on the field, but he also made some tough throws. The Bills can expect more of the same against the Patriots this week.

The Patriots played well last week too. Their initial game plan featured power formations like straight “I” with base personnel (New England ran only 20 snaps of “11” personnel with one running back and one tight end all game), and they sped up the tempo with no huddle. That caused problems for the Bengals. On a number of snaps their defense wasn’t set. Tom Brady’s quick rhythm throws minimized the Bengals’ aggressive tendencies. The Bengals looked reactive and not proactive all game. We’ll see if New England has a similar plan for Buffalo.

Glennon shines

For a second-year quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon is a very confident thrower. He’ll turn it loose. He has the arm strength to make every throw – and while he needs to become a little more consistent with his ball placement – there’s a consistency and stability to Glennon’s play. He can even improvise, as he showed on a 34-yard throw to Vincent Jackson in which he rolled left and threw back to the middle to hit Jackson in stride.

Glennon showed a lot of these same things last year as a rookie. Now that he’s getting his chance this year, he’s showing again he can be a productive NFL starting quarterback.

Eliminating what’s not there

There’s a concept I discuss frequently for quarterbacks, and it’s quickly eliminating what’s not there. To be an effective quarterback, you have to be able to immediately move on from a primary read when the defense takes it away, and find a better option.

There was an excellent example of this by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees last week. It wasn’t a huge play but it was an example of turning a bad play into something positive.

In the second quarter, the Saints called “sluggo seam,” which is a great concept against “Cover 3” zone (it’s a slant-and-go route by the outside receiver and a seam route by the slot receiver on the other side of the formation). But the Buccaneers didn’t run that coverage, as they initially showed. They rotated to “Cover 2” at the snap, which kills “sluggo seam” because two deep safeties can defend both routes. Brees recognized the coverage rotation immediately, knew the concepts of the play and quickly hit Pierre Thomas on a check down. Thomas caught the short pass and gained 14 yards.

That wasn’t a highlight play, but it was a good one. Brees immediately recognized the play that was called wouldn’t work once the Buccaneers changed coverage, eliminated the primary reads immediately and found something that worked. That’s a great understanding of the nuance of the position.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.