Written by Jason Askew

---

Since I haven’t had the time to write my customary ‘novels’/articles I thought I might take this opportunity to give an example of why Cleveland’s rookie QB, Brandon Weeden, is tied for the league lead in interceptions. Some may read this and think it is an attack or a pile on to Weeden when his team is 0-5, but I think of it as more of an example of the type of growth and improvement needed in order for the young QB to lead this group of puppies into full blown Dawg-hood.

The photo below is a snapshot of the play that turned the course of the game against the Giants. Sure there were many plays that shaped the outcome but this was a huge momentum swing as the Browns were driving with a 17-10 lead…..they were on the Giants 25 yard line and they had a very manageable 3^rd down and 1 to convert in order to continue the drive and, of course, they were already in range for Fabulous Phil Dawson.

Some may argue the call of the coach to throw the ball instead of running it and they have that right, but for this article I will focus on the execution of the play (or lack of). Some may argue that I don't know what the 'progressions' were. But I do and the coaching staff confirmed them: 

(Pat Shurmur being criticized for Richardson being off the field for the third and one play) – “We’d like to thrown it to the guy that flashed open in the flat. That’s where it was designed to go first and foremost, and the fact was we didn’t. We got a 50-50, we’re going to run it, (or) we’re going to throw it. We had it up as a throw and a completion for a first down, which it easily could’ve been. In my wildest dreams, I didn’t expect it to go back the other way.”

(On it being obvious that they were going to pass with Richardson not there) – “I don’t know if it was obvious, it was open. I know what you’re getting at, is you’re getting at, Trent how come he’s not in the game? He played, what 85 percent, which is 53 out of 60 plays. He has to get a drink of water sometime too, you know? A guy like (Chris) Ogbonnaya has been productive in what he has done for us. When we put them in the game, everybody has some kind of role. It’s not that somebody’s going to be in the game 100 percent of the time.”

(On if Weeden explained why he didn’t throw it) – “Why he didn’t throw it? He said he didn’t see it, I think.”

The play is originally designed for the inside WR (Norwood-Red Circle) to the double WR side. He runs a quick out and as you can see in the picture, he clearly beats his man and creates enough separation for the throw (wide open by NFL standards). The single biggest fail on the play is the rookie QB failing to remember down and distance as he gets greedy and looks past the open WR in the flat to the curl pattern of the outside WR.

You can see in the photo that the rookie’s head is turned towards that side of the field and you can even see the ball in a fairly decent throwing position, but the problem is that he isn’t looking in the flat at all. He is actually looking past the inside WR all together and focusing on the matchup I highlighted in the blue square.

That square is fellow rookie Josh Gordon. If this was a video and you could see the play actually continue, you would see that Gordon does a short curl pattern that is covered so he begins to turn the route into a dig as he begins working towards the middle of the field. Gordon has pretty decent coverage and Weeden ends up throwing high and behind the young WR. The ball goes over his head into the safetey’s hands and the interception is returned to the Cleveland 40 yard line.

Another thing that can’t be seen on the picture and part of the reason the throw was off the mark was the MLB (seen in the middle of the photo) ended up coming on a delayed blitz that hurried Weeden’s throw………but Weeden had already missed the open WR and at the point of the pressure he was well past the normal time the play expected the ball to be out of his hands, so the pressure from the MLB is really a secondary point.

That interception and game changing play began a 3:49 stretch to end the first half where the Giants scored 17 points……..flipping the score from 17-10 in Cleveland’s favor to 27-17 in favor of the Giants. That sequence changed the momentum of the game going into halftime and the young Cleveland team could never recover from that stretch.

The key elements of frustration for me, and more than likely the coaches, would be the lack of understanding and respect for the down and distance as well as the bad throw Weeden ended up making.

As a NFL QB Weeden needs to respect the situation much more than he did on that play and the situation is actually much more than a 3^rd down and 1situation. It was a road game against the reigning Super Bowl Champions where your young team actually has a 7 point lead and is threatening to go up two scores. At the very worst the Browns should have walked away with a FG and a 10 point lead. Instead they ended the half down by 7 on the road against the defending champions.

When you look at all the facts and understand what the play was originally designed to do the rookie’s mistake is amplified and a QB, even a rookie QB, should be ripped for it.

A ton of people are focused on the fact that it was a pass play and not a run play given the down and distance (3^rd and 1) but I can’t focus on that in the wake of Weeden’s league-leading interception total and the fact that his interceptions have come at extremely crucial points in these games.

Sure it disgusts me that the RB we gave up 3 picks to acquire, and our offensive line, can’t be counted on to get that one yard but I am not going to turn my back on the execution and results of that play just because I didn’t agree with the play call itself.

For a good QB in the NFL that was a first down as easy as a breakaway layup and Weeden blew the bunny. I hope he took it as chance to learn and move on but you can better believe with the advantage of having the coaching tape available I will be watching and diagnosing as I try to figure out if he is moving forward or stuck in neutral.

As a coach you can probably expect players to make mistakes. The key to evaluating their futures is seeing them learn lessons and make changes based on those mistakes so I am being patient along with many other Browns fans………..but when Brandon Weeden comes out in a interview and says one of the things he needs to do in order to get better and limit his turnovers is putting his ego in check you should use this play and his confirmation that he needs to check down on his ego and pay attention to the outcome.

Whether it is ego or common sense, the next time there is a 3^rd and 1 on the opponent’s 25 yard line I hope the rookie just gets the first down. I don’t care how he does it, just move the chains and don’t throw it to the other team. Cleveland is in need of a winning QB…..not a “Stat King”.

It doesn’t matter to me that Brandon Weeden ranks 11^th in the league in passing yards and he is off to the 2^nd best start for a rookie ever when it comes to yardage…….next time get the damn first down and at a minimum protect the FG.  Enough of letting the air out of the balloon at key moments……Derek Anderson had enough of those moments for this franchise to last a lifetime.

There is a time and place for everything and this town needs the rookie QB who was touted  (if not drafted) for his maturity to make some mature plays.

As always Browns fans, until next time……..Go Browns!