Texans Make Wise Move in Naming Hoyer Starter

                Brian Hoyer has been named the Houston Texans starting quarterback, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport has reported. Hoyer had been battling with Ryan Mallett for the QB job throughout training camp.

                The Texans inked Hoyer to a two-year, $10.5 million deal this past offseason. The 29-year-old started the Texans’ preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers while Mallett started Saturday's game versus the Denver Broncos. Mallett finished Saturday’s contest with a 75.3 passer rating, failing to make his case to overtake Hoyer for the starting gig.

                Hoyer posts a 10-7 career record as a starting quarterback. Spending the past two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, he won 10 of his 16 starts. He is the first Browns quarterback to post a winning record since Vinny Testaverde—who played with Cleveland from 1993-95—and the only to do so since the franchise was revived in 1999. Hoyer led the Browns to a 7-4 start last season, before losing his job to rookie Johnny Manziel in Week 15. In 13 starts and 14 appearances overall last season, Hoyer threw for 3,326 yards and 12 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.

Brian Hoyer will be under center for the Houston Texans when the 2015 season kicks off. (Andrew J. Phillip/AP)

                Handing the quarterback duties to Hoyer, a seven-year pro, was a logical move by head coach Bill O’Brien. Mallett, a third-round draft selection in 2011, has made just two starts in his career. The Texans made the correct choice in settling the quarterback battle with Hoyer holding an edge in experience, consistency and decision-making, and throwing less practice interceptions than Mallett. Hoyer gelled with the Texans starters in the first preseason contest. He threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Cecil Shorts III on Houston's first drive and also connected with DeAndre Hopkins for a 2-point conversion to give the Texans an 8-0 lead in an eventual 23-10 victory.

                The statistics for Hoyer last season—32^nd (out of 33 qualified QB’s) in completion percentage (55.3) and 30^th in QBR (39.8)—were not pretty but the veteran QB was able to record more wins (7) than losses (6), something no quarterback has done for roughly two decades for the once-proud but now woebegone Browns franchise. Hoyer spearheaded the Browns to the greatest road comeback in NFL history against the Tennessee Titans in Week 5 a season ago. He also garnered immense praise last year from former teammate Joe Thomas, one of the most dominant and respected left tackles in league history.

                 "He's [Hoyer] a lot like Tom Brady," Thomas told The Cleveland Plain Dealer last year. "When you look at the way he competes and the way he demands the most out of everybody around him, it's no coincidence that those guys played together. (Hoyer) has a lot of those same mental attributes and that's a great thing for a quarterback to have."

               With Hoyer under center, the Texans will look to make the postseason for the first time since 2012.

Ray Farmer, Cleveland Browns the Winners in Round 1 of 2014 NFL Draft

Cleveland Browns Head Coach Mike Pettine (left) and GM Ray Farmer (right) answer questions from the media following the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Farmer has done a commendable job this offseason bolstering the Browns' roster, giving Pettine plenty of talent to work with in his first year as a NFL head coach. (AP Photo)

It’s hard not to admire what Cleveland Browns rookie general manager Ray Farmer accomplished in the opening round of his first-ever NFL Draft. Farmer, spearheading the Browns’ new regime, came away with the top-rated cornerback in the 2014 NFL Draft in Justin Gilbert, the best advertised quarterback in the rookie pool in Johnny Manziel and acquired a 2015 first-round pick from the Buffalo Bills, all within the first day of the 79^th Annual NFL Selection Meeting.

            Farmer wasted no time in making a splash in his first go-around in selecting rookie talent. Cleveland was far and away the most active team in round one of the draft as Farmer maneuvered up and down the selection board quicker than Kevin Costner did in the recent Browns-centered film “Draft Day.” Farmer refused to be complacent in his operations, the way that his unsuccessful predecessors, Mike Holmgren and Mike Lombardi, were in their failed attempts to rebuild the franchise. Farmer and the Browns front office capitalized on the overambitious Bills’ management, who traded away their first and fourth-round picks in next year’s draft to swap spots in the current draft with Cleveland, who were originally slated to have the fourth pick in the 2014 Draft. The Bills selected highly touted wideout Sammy Watkins after moving up in the draft. The Browns, meanwhile, slid to the ninth overall selection, which they ultimately traded up a spot with the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a fifth-round choice in 2015, for the rights to draft Justin Gilbert, the corner out of Oklahoma State that dazzled scouts with his raw speed and athleticism.

            The addition of Gilbert bolsters the Browns’ formidable secondary, a critical aspect of new head coach Mike Pettine’s defensive system. Gilbert will play across from Pro-Bowl cornerback Joe Haden, who is coming off his best season as a pro. Farmer believes Gilbert will be a perfect in Cleveland.

            “Justin Gilbert the player -- He’s long, via ESPN.com’s Pat McManamon. “He’s fast. He’s explosive. He’s a playmaker. He plays like a Brown. Number one thing we talk about when we talk about corners is they’ve got to cover like Browns. He’s got great arm length. He’s got the speed. He’s got the ball skills.”

            Adding Gilbert to a secondary that had already acquired hard-hitting two-time Pro-Bowler Donte Whitner via free agency was an exciting step for the upstart Browns. However, the decision by the Browns’ brass to trade up four spots with the Philadelphia Eagles to select Johnny “Football” Manziel is what made Cleveland the talk of the draft.

            Easily the most polarizing player waiting to be chosen, Manziel brings instant media hype and attention to a franchise that has not a winning season since 2007. The first-ever QB to win the Heisman Trophy as a freshman, Manziel gives the Browns an identity at a position they have struggled with immensely in the past decade-plus. The former Texas A&M quarterback that lit up the college football world with his play-making abilities and off-the-field dramatics will look to return Cleveland to their football glory days.

Before Manziel can dream about leading the Browns to their first championship since 1964, he will first have to upsurge purported starter Brian Hoyer. Pettine has already acknowledged that it will be “very difficult” to beat out incumbent first-string quarterback Hoyer, who went 3-0 as a starter with the Browns in 2013 before an ACL tear cut his season short. With all that said, you don’t bring Johnny Football to town without the intention of him being your guy under center at some point in the very near future.

As with all quarterbacks chosen in the draft, there is no telling whether Manziel will be a whopping success or a major bust. However, Manziel’s history of winning should be an encouraging sign for a club that has not exceeded five wins in any of its past six seasons. Manziel provides the Browns the type of sizzle that franchises need to jumpstart its rebuilding process.

Landing Manziel, coupled with the pickup of Gilbert and an additional first-round pick in next-year’s draft, is a superb initial day at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall for Farmer and the Browns. Now, the attention shifts to the second round and beyond, where Farmer will be counted on to improve the Browns’ offensive line and wide receiver corps. As any successful GM will tell you, championships are not just built in the first round of the draft, but also with wise selections in the rounds that follow. For Farmer, though, it’s so far so good as the mastermind calling the shots.  

Week 3 Roundup: Panthers Obliterate Reeling Giants; Maligned Browns Temporarily Silence Critics Behind Brian Hoyer

Carolina Panthers 38, New York Giants  0

The Carolina Panthers have suffered some excruciating losses in the Ron Rivera era. Since Rivera took over the coaching duties in 2011, the club has posted a dismal 2-14 mark in games decided by 7 points or less. The Panthers (1-2) shredded some of their frustration from their recent gut-wrenching losses by compiling arguably their most satisfying win in Rivera's tenure on Sunday, demolishing the hapless New York Giants (0-3) 38-0 in front of their home crowd in Charlotte.

The front-seven of the Panthers continues to look like one of the best in football after another notable effort on Sunday. The Panthers made Eli Manning’s life a living hell, sacking the two-time Super Bowl champion seven times (6 of which came in the first half) as the Giants offense looked pitiful all afternoon.

Cam Newton flashed his dynamic skills at quarterback, tossing three touchdowns passes and rushing a TD score in the Panthers most lopsided victory in franchise history. Newton amassed 223 passing yards and threw two touchdown passes to Brandon LaFell and one to Ted Ginn Jr. Playing out of the read option on some designated run plays, Newton rushed for 45 yards on seven carries, including a TD run that witnessed him drag defenders into the end zone with him before he let out a ferocious yell.

Cam Newton fired up the Panthers home crowd in their 38-0 thrashing of the sinking Giants. ( Mike McCarn- AP)

The Panthers' blowout victory should temporarily halt questions related to Ron Rivera’s job security. Rivera and the Panthers head into their bye week 1-2, but their defense is playing at a championship level. If the Panthers can consistently play this caliber of defense, then they have a realistic shot at making their first playoff appearance since 2008.

The Giants, meanwhile, have been an utter disaster through the first three games of the 2013 season.  The G-Men have been outscored 115-54 (an average of 38.3 to 18 per game). They have a recorded a mere 133 rushing yards through their first 3 games, the fifth fewest yards to start a season in the Super-Bowl Era, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The club is in complete disarray after totaling just 18 first-half yards and three turnovers in the contest, bringing their season total of giveaways to a whopping 13.

The 38-0 loss was the worst defeat for the Giants in the Tom Coughlin era. 

Cleveland Browns 31, Minnesota Vikings 27

The Cleveland Browns were ridiculed the entire week after trading running back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2014 first-round pick. The deal was perceived as the waving of the white flag by the Browns. Richardson, the third overall pick in the 2012 draft, was viewed as a cornerstone piece of the Browns’ future by former team president Mike Holmgren. Holmgren blasted the shocking trade made by the new regime spearheaded by GM Mike Lombardi.  Other critics asserted the club had quit on the 2013 season and had entered full-NBA-tank-mode before the calendar had even flipped to October.

Determined to silence their detractors, the Browns coaching staff and players mustered an impressive 31-27 road win over the Minnesota Vikings behind third-string QB Brian Hoyer, who threw for 321 yards in the victory. The Browns (1-2) gave the nod to Hoyer over backup Jason Campbell with purported starter Brandon Weeden sidelined with a thumb injury. Hoyer may have snatched Weeden’s job after engineering a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to propel the Browns to their first victory of the season. Hoyer did throw three interceptions, but he also fired three touchdown passes, a feat Weeden has yet to accomplish in 17 career starts.

Jordan Cameron is suddenly emerging as one of the league’s most intriguing young tight ends after his three score game against the Vikings (0-3) on Sunday. Cameron totaled 66 yards on his 6 receptions (3 for TD’s), including the go-ahead grab in the back of end zone with 51 seconds left.

Josh Gordon, fresh off a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, hauled in 10 receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown.

The Browns were able to send a clear message to their fans, the critics and to to the rest of the NFL today that they have no intentions of quitting on the season and will not roll over against any opponent.