All eyes on Cleveland: Six players in the spotlight for Browns vs. Rams
CLEVELAND -- Six people in the spotlight for the Cleveland Browns tonight in the all-important third preseason game against the St. Louis Rams, the first for the Browns in the newly-renovated First Energy Stadium.
1. Brian Hoyer - The starting quarterback of the Browns is 6-of-22 in two preseason games thus far. That was good enough to win the job -- take that any way you'd like -- and now both Hoyer and those around have to be better. New Browns coach Mike Pettine picked Hoyer this week to meet a self-imposed deadline, and tonight figures to go one of two ways: Either Hoyer and the offense play better (it wouldn't take much) and all is temporarily well, or they flop again and collars really start to get tight.
2. Johnny Manziel - The quarterback competition is supposedly over, but what other interesting story is there? And what happens if the lightbulb comes on for Manziel? Or if Hoyer has more misses than hits again? Either way, Manziel clearly needs the reps, and his play has backed up his statements that he's not ready yet. For his own confidence if nothing else, he needs a solid showing tonight.
3. Rex Grossman - What if the first two quarterbacks stink again and Grossman comes in and, ah, nevermind. Even by Browns standards -- well, despite Browns standards -- that's a wild idea. Though people really were calling Cleveland radio stations this week calling for Connor Shaw...
4. Justin Gilbert - This rookie cornerback is off to an impressive start and certainly looks the part. If the Browns get Buster Skrine back from thumb surgery with no complications before the Sept. 7 season opener, Skrine's absence could end up being of long-term benefit because of increased reps for Gilbert. As good as he's looked, though, he's still a rookie corner -- and on this team, he's the guy opposing quarterbacks are going to target.
5. Mitchell Schwartz - He's undoubtedly the starting right tackle and a key part of a line the Browns hope will be a strength of the team this season. The importance of the line and running game increase greatly with the quarterbacks struggling, and though it may not have all been Schwartz's fault, Washington got pressure off his side in the last game. The Rams have a very good defense and a very deep defensive line, so Schwartz has to have a good game tonight.
6. Kyle Shanahan - Only in Cleveland do folks start grumbling about the offensive coordinator in mid-August. The offense has been a mess with a lot of moving parts and it's still very early -- preseason means absolutely nothing in the long run -- but if it doesn't get fixed quickly, more folks are going to wonder exactly what Shanahan is asking these guys to do. Early in Wednesday's practice Shanahan was out on the practice field walking through exactly how deep he wanted the receivers to get on a certain pattern. That's pretty elementary stuff, but until it gets fixed and passes get caught the Browns will still be a long way from where they need to be.
