Browns QB Carousel

The Cleveland Browns announced earlier this week that they will be starting Johnny Manziel over Brian Hoyer. Hoyer was the starting QB for the Browns for the first 13 games of the season, so my only reaction to this is, why?

Hoyer has led them to their best start since 2007 and has the chance to take them to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. His numbers haven’t been the best over the past few weeks, but why bench him now and take the risk of things not going well with Johnny Manziel? The Browns would possibly be wasting a game that they desperately need to make a run for the playoffs. Benching the QB that has put them in this position just to start a guy that has only nine attempted passes in his short NFL career doesn't seem like a logical decision.

In week 13 when they brought Manziel in to try to save the game when they were down 20-3 in the fourth quarter, he didn't do that bad. He went 5 for 8, 63 yards and rushed for 13 yards and a touchdown. The next week came and they went back to Hoyer when they played the Colts. If they would have just let Manziel start last week against the Colts, I wouldn't have had such a problem with this. No offense to the Browns, but I don’t think that anyone was giving them a real chance to beat the Colts. If Manziel would have started that game, it was likely the outcome would have been the same, but playing Manziel would have given us a better understanding of what he could do in a NFL game. Now with just three weeks left to play in the season and with the Browns’ back against the wall, it seems they want to try to throw a “Hail Mary” to make their way into the playoffs.

These actions are  going to cause other distractions on and off the field. It’s happened before. At the beginning of the season, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan tried to add Manziel into some different offensive packages. Following that come-back win against the Saints, CBS posted an article that seemed to try to exaggerate the tension between Hoyer and Manziel. Yes, Hoyer did say that he was unhappy, but he never said that he was mad at Manziel. Hoyer only stated that he didn't like the fact that he had to come off the field. You can’t blame the guy; he’s a competitor and he was saying what any competitor would say. Even head coach Mike Pettine really didn't have a problem with the way Hoyer reacted by saying in the post game interview,  "...knowing the competitor he is he probably wasn't real thrilled with having to come off the field. But that's the nature of who he is, as he should be."

Then there is the report from the Bleacher Report, leading into their game against Jacksonville, which referenced that Hoyer might not sign with the Browns after this year if Manziel is there. Hoyer himself came out and said that he never talked to the reporter and that he is more focused on the upcoming game.

This supposed tension within the Browns organization gives others the ammunition they need to drive a wedge into the team. Earlier this week, right after the Browns named Manziel the starter for their game against the Bengals, the Bengals head coach, Marvin Lewis, tried to stir up some trouble of his own by calling Manziel a “midget.” Lewis has since come out and apologized for his statements, but it still seemed to be a way to get to not only Johnny Manziel but to the Cleveland organization as a whole.

With all of this drama, there seems to be very little, if any, benefit to starting Manziel with only 3 weeks left in the season. The false reports, the backhanded comments, and the pressure of a rookie QB trying to lead a team to the playoffs will only serve to divide a team that needs to come together if they have any hope of making the playoffs.

Tiger Returns

Six years ago Tiger Woods won his third US Open and his 14th overall major championship. He seemed to be on the fast track to win many more and was quickly approaching Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major titles.

However, Fate would seem to have a different plan for his career.  A week after winning the US Open in 2008, Tiger had surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee, which would keep him from competing for the rest of the year. The following year, Tiger was hospitalized for a night due to driving his SVU into a tree after having a dispute with his now ex-wife. Since then Tiger has suffered a list of other knee and back injuries and still hasn’t won another major title.

Tiger Woods made his return to golf again this week at the Hero World Challenge where he had the chance to sharpen his skills for the coming season. During the Pro Am event that took place earlier this week, Tiger was looking like the old Tiger. His drives were straighter, his swing was more natural and more free than in recent years, and he seemed to have little to no pain in his swing.

There seems to be a lot of hype that Tiger is back, and people are naming him the favorite to win the next Major, but there isn’t much to support that quite yet.  We haven’t seen enough of him to tell just how well he is feeling and how well and how long he can continue to play consistently.

If you look back on this past week, you can clearly see that there is some work to be done. For starters, his short game is still suffering. Remember when it seemed like it didn’t matter where Tiger was, he would always find a way to hit a quality shot? Well that Tiger needs to come back for him to be competitive, and  he may once he gets comfortable and confident with his new swing. Tiger is also having some troubles staying consistent with his shots. But that’s not to say he hasn't improved.

We also need to see that Tiger is not only healthy but stays healthy. We have seen in the past where he will tease us with a good round of golf only to slide back into old habits and ends up in so much pain that he can’t finish a tournament. We need to see him swing the club with more ease (like he did this weekend) and generate more power with a more free swing. That swing will have to stay steady and consistent. Even though the shots aren’t as straight as he would like them to be he just needs to have a good swing that fits not only his game but his body as well so that he doesn’t end up injuring his back or knees again. If Tiger can stay healthy then he will stay in the conversation when it comes to majors and possibly one day beating Jack’s record of 18 Majors.

If Tiger truly is back, he will end up being his own biggest competition. He is going to have to be patient enough to allow the changes he made to his game to become more natural. Tiger has shown over the past few years that he can be rattled if things aren’t going the way that he had planned or hoped that they would and he is going to have to just stay calm and go out and stick to this new swing and stick with the “game plan.”

Ultimately how well he is doing will be seen in two things: his body being able to hold up week after week and his ability to keep his head in the game and stay focused through a tournament when things aren’t going as planned. If he can do these two things the consistency, accuracy, and power will slowly start to return to his game and he could maybe one day get his 15th, 16th, and possibly more majors, but make no mistake about it, it will be a long long road for Tiger to reclaim that top spot once again.