Does Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer's two interception performance against the Indianapolis Colts last week mean the end for him in Cleveland?
"It does, at least as a starting quarterback," Dennis Manoloff of The Plain Dealer said. "For the rest of this season...I'd be stunned if they didn't make the move to Manziel."
So would I. I laid out my argument for the Browns to go to Manziel last week. Nothing has changed. Hoyer passed for just 41 yards in the second half of Sunday's game. He's thrown just one touchdown against eight interceptions over his last five games. Unsurprisingly, the Browns are just 2-3 in that span, and rapidly falling out of the playoff hunt in the AFC North.
The entire argument for keeping Hoyer as the starter was that the Browns were in the midst of a playoff race. Well, now they are losing that race with Hoyer at the helm. Why not make the move to Manziel then? He could be the much needed injection of life that this long dormant franchise has been waiting for. There is, after all, a reason the team used a first-round pick on the former Heisman Trophy winner. At some point, they have to see if he'll sink or swim.
Manziel entered Week 13's games against the Buffalo Bills with 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. He led the Browns on their only touchdown drive of the season, finishing it with a ten-yard scamper into the endzone himself. With wide receiver Josh Gordon getting comfortable, Manziel has a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver to help him get acclimated to the NFL.
Either you lose with Hoyer, or you see what you have with Johnny Football. Seems like an obvious choice to me.
