CINCINNATI, Ohio Long after the field emptied of players, and after all of Andy Dalton's out-of-bounds passes were collected by ball boys, a couple hundred Browns' fans squatted in front of the Thursday Night Football broadcasting booth and chanted.
And sang. And hooted.
This, I'm told, is what Browns' football used to look and sound like.
I wouldn't know. After all, I've only been here 23 years.
Nobody is suggesting this is a return to the 1980s under the other quarterback whose first name began with a "B" and the head coach whose first name began with an "M."
(That's the kind of insight this column brings, people. You're welcome.)
Mike Pettine's Browns, with Brian Hoyer under center, are a long way from Marty Schottenheimer and Bernie Kosar. But there is a sense of a sea change happening in this 6-3 season after a second overpowering performance against a division rival (see Browns 31, Steelers 10.)
Now comes a weekend off before welcoming a Texans team that willingly broke into the quarterback shuffle this week.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is out. Ryan Mallett is in. Start the carousel music. We know it well.
That same carousel has finally stopped spinning in Berea, at least for this season. Setting aside the curiosity to see how Johnny Manziel translates in the NFL, we can at least agree that stability and competent quarterback play is no small factor in the Browns' success.
The contrast between Hoyer's competency and Dalton Thursday night prompted Browns fans to dominate the sound track in an opposing stadium. They belted a sing-song "Bri-an Hoy-er" as their team finished off the Bengals, 24-3.
On a night when the Browns ran the football 52 times for 170 yards, Hoyer could've been dismissed as a hood ornament on a monster truck. But the people who've been watching bad quarterback play for years (and who delighted in seeing it from Dalton) were correct to give Hoyer some respect.
At year's end, we may find the Browns never thought Manziel was ready. We may find out they reluctantly picked Hoyer in training camp and expected him to be ripe for replacing at the bye week.
But give them credit. My guess is they matched Hoyer's competence in recognizing that playing Hoyer this season barring a string of Jacksonville disasters was not only best for Manziel but was also the only real chance for a relatively young offense to grow together.
Asked Thursday night what he liked most about Hoyer's performance, Pettine said what the Manziel flock will read as the ultimate lefthanded compliment but shouldn't.
"That he didn't try to do too much," said Pettine. "It looked to me like he just went out and did his job and made some big throws. I don't think he threw for 200 yards. But he did an excellent job of in the second half when we needed him to work the clock a little bit."
If the running game on display Thursday was a sign of a resurgence among a group finally getting over the loss of Alex Mack -- and not just a product of a poor Cincinnati run defense -- we have seen the blueprint for a playoff run.
Contention in the AFC North in November and December is predicated on a running game, a stout defense and a smart quarterback who doesn't do to his team what Dalton did to his Thursday. Or what most rookie quarterbacks do to their teams through no fault of their own other than their lack of experience.
Dalton's game three picks, 10 of 33 completions for 86 yards and a passer rating of 2.0 was just a reminder that NFL quarterback is the hardest job in sports. You could see the spirits of the Bengals' receivers sag as every Dalton flutterball eluded them.
Hoyer had his stinker in Jacksonville.No way to defend it. Still, he is 9-3 in games he's started for the Browns. Take away Buffalo where he left with an injury trailing 10-0, he's 8-3 in games he's finished.
It was enough Thursday night to revel in his competency. His play, in part, has allowed the Browns to prosper offensively with Jim Dray in place of Jordan Cameron, with Taylor Gabriel and Andrew Hawkins and Miles Austin in place of Josh Gordon.
"No one cares who gets the credit," Hoyer said late Thursday night. "It's special in this league when you play like that and not have individuals pouting that they didn't play well ... I think that's what makes us unique."
You know what else is different about Cleveland football this season? Six wins in nine games.
And, for the first time in a long time, zero reason to change quarterbacks.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index.ssf/2014/11/cleveland_browns_144.html
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