CLEVELAND -- Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden had to overcome boos from his home fans last week, and was ripped a day later by Steelers Pro Bowl safety Ryan Clark, who proclaimed on national television that "Cleveland is definitely an easier team to beat with Brandon Weeden at quarterback.''
During in interview on ESPN's FirstTake the morning after Weeden pulled out the 37-24 victory over the Bills, Clark explained that his winless Steelers can still win the division, because the 3-2 Browns -- tied for first heading into Sunday's game against the Lions at FirstEnergy Stadium -- have Weeden back in the saddle.
"We're in a division where right now the Cleveland Browns are leading at 3-2, and they're an extremely good team, but they do have cracks,'' said Clark, whose Steelers are 0-4. "Brandon Weeden is now the quarterback. I think it's a team we can definitely compete with and beat.''
Clark, who will face the Browns Nov. 24 in Cleveland and Dec. 29 in Pittsburgh, wouldn't let up on Weeden throughout the interview, conducted by Skip Bayless, a Weeden supporter.
"For me, I feel like he's easier to defend,'' said Clark. "I think we'll do a good job against him, being able to confuse him, make him hold the ball and get some pressure, so Cleveland is definitely an easier team to beat with Brandon Weeden at quarterback.''
Clark wouldn't even give Weeden credit for coming from behind to beat the Bills with some big plays down the stretch, including a 47-yard pass to Greg Little and a 37-yard touchdown strike to Josh Gordon.
"You can obviously see, Brandon Weeden was ready to go (vs. the Bills with his sprained thumb), and they didn't want to put him in,'' said Clark. "They still wanted Brian Hoyer, and if it's not for (returner) Travis Benjamin being electrifying in the first half, I think they still lose that game.''
He also suggested that offensive coordinator Norv Turner had to simplify things for Weeden.
"I give a lot of that credit to Norv Turner as well,'' Clark said. "He took the guesswork out for him. He made some big throws downfield early, got his confidence up and once his confidence was going, he made throws down the end of the game, and in the stretch of the fourth quarter that allowed them to win.
"I don't think it's a physical thing. It's definitely not a lack of talent with Brandon Weeden. We see more and more with these spread quarterbacks coming out of college though, it takes them awhile to adjust to the NFL game, adjust to being under center, staying in the pocket and I think those are things Brandon is still working on right now.
But Clark thinks Weeden -- who turns 30 on Monday -- may be too old to catch on to the pro game.
"At his age, though, it may be too late to actually master these things,'' he said. "He may be maxed out as good as he's going to get.''
Clark stressed he'd fear the Browns more if Brian Hoyer had't been lost for the season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament. Hoyer, who went 3-0 including the Bills victory in which he played only a series and a half, will undergo surgery next week at the Cleveland Clinic, and coach Rob Chudzinski said he hopes to have him back for organized team activities in the spring.
"I feel like Brian Hoyer came in and he gave them first of all a spark with his story, but also he was a guy we had in Pittsburgh last year,'' said Clark. "He was running the scout team reps and there were times when you didn't want to try to intercept the ball even when you knew where it was going because it had such velocity. It was always on the mark. We felt like he was a guy going into this year that we would try to sign in the offseason and get back. Obviously he went to Arizona and played there last year, and then Cleveland made a smart pickup by getting him in.''
If Weeden is to prove Clark and the rest of his critics wrong today against the Lions, he'll have to get the ball out quickly against their relentless defensive front.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, Weeden was holding the ball for 4.3 seconds compared to 2.8 for Hoyer heading into the Bills game. Afterwards, profootballfocus.com had him ranked sixth-slowest in the NFL with a release time of 3.12 seconds.
I dont know who has the stopwatch and whos looking at it,'' Turner said of the release figures. "Some of it is by design. Some of it is by who were playing, what were trying to get done. Theres certainly the same emphasis.We do need to get the ball out.
Turner added that, "its not physical, it has to do obviously with decision-making and giving him things where he has the option to get the ball out quick and emphasizing that."
In his three games, Weeden has been sacked 16 times, which is tied for third-most in the NFL. But projected over five games, it's 27 times, which would be first in the NFL. Hoyer was sacked six times in his two-plus games, which would be about 15 over five. Miami's Ryan Tannehill leads the NFL with 24 times sacked.
"(Weeden) can speed up the process when the play's not there and get the ball out of his hands quicker and that would help our protection a little bit, but in some cases it's not going to help the result of the play,'' said Turner. "The thing that was important to me is when Brandon got comfortable playing again, he made all the key plays down the stretch. He made plays throwing the ball deep to get us in the end zone when were down by seven. He made key plays in drives to get us down there and key plays to get the second field goal that gave us a chance to play the type of defense that we've been playing."
Turner said the rule of thumb is to release the ball "when he sets his feet and steps up in the pocket, you want the ball to be out of there. it doesnt always work that way, but generally if you do, if he has options to get the ball to, youd like to get it out of his hand. Brandon made two big plays the other day by taking a little extra time and holding the ball and getting the ball thrown. youve just got to go play is what you have to do.''
Weeden will face a formidable Lions defensive front that includes two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, rookie end Ziggy Ansah, who leads the team with 3.5 sacks, and defensive tackle Nick Fairley. The Lions only have 10 sacks this season, but have rattled some good quarterbacks, including Jay Cutler. In a 40-32 victory over the Bears, they pressured Cutler into three interceptions, sacked him three times and stripped him once.
"From a second from a secondary standpoint, I know theyre gonna be back there, hopefully getting him to hold the ball,'' said Suh. "We always make it a point, no matter who were going against, to shut them down and get them to hold the ball and be in their face as fast as possible, very similar to how we went against the Chicago Bears. They were getting the ball out fast the first three games and we got an opportunity to get after that particular quarterback in Cutler. We look forward to doing the same thing against Weeden''
The Lions are also superb in three other key defensive categories:
* They're No. 2 in the NFL in third-down defense, allowing 17-of-63 conversions for 27%. Weeden completed 3-of-9 third down attempts against the Bills and was sacked three of his five times on third down. Overall, he's 33rd out of 34 in the NFL with two picks and no TDs on third down for a 35.9 rating. However, he converted a huge third down against the Bills, an 18-yard pass to Gordon that led to a field goal for a 30-24 edge.
* They're tied for fifth in the NFL with 11 takeaways, and are second with eight interceptions.
* They're third in the NFL in red zone defense, allowing just a 33.3-percent conversion rate.
"They create a lot of turnovers on third down,'' said Turner. "You're not going to convert every third down. When guys get into trouble against Detroit, they think they have to make a miraculous play, then Detroit ends up getting a sack, sack-fumble or an interception -- and they're very good at it.''
Quarterback Jason Campbell, who will be the No. 2 on Sunday, said Weeden needs to understand he doesn't have to hit the big play all the time.
"We know he has a strong arm, but the home run isn't always going to be there,'' said Campbell. "I think he's starting to learn that. Some guys that may not have the same arm strength he has, they understand that they have to get it out quicker. A guy like him, he believes in his arm and he believes he can still throw the deep ball no matter what.''
Campbell said he was the same way when he was young.
"I always thought no matter what, I could throw the ball down the field and out-throw the defense,'' he said. "Sometimes the best thing to do is throw the ball away and live too see another day.
Campbell was one of several players, including Gordon and T.J. Ward, who calmed Weeden down on the sidelines last game.
"He went out there and the crowd started booing and he started pressing and wanting to do well,'' Campbell said. "I said, 'you have to block that out and just work yourself into the game. I said 'your defense is playing great, they're not giving up anything, just get yourself into the flow. Don't try to win it on one or two plays.''
Once again, Weeden will be out to prove his many critics wrong.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2013/10/brandon_weeden_makes_cleveland.html
