Who do you start the next 2 weeks?

[Boone]

Rivera will announce this week's starter in the next 24 hours. If it were up to you, who gets the nod for the last 2 critical games as we try to hold onto that 7th playoff spot?

 

[Chris]

Wentz if the run game continues to be the team’s primary focus and he continues to makes quick decisions and spread the ball around like he did in the last game.

 

[SilentThreat]

I put Wentz, if for no other reason than the move has now been made. You can't play wishy washy at the QB position, especially going into the playoffs (if you have any true aspiriations)

IMHO neither guy is going to change anything on some major level. I think both QBs have their warts, and neither guy has been afforded an offense built to their strengths. I probably wouldn't have gone to Wentz this past game... I would have done it after the first Giants game, going into the Bye. I would have changed given Wentz 2 weeks to play under the Max Protect / Run heavy offense we had seen over the month leading up to that game, and I would have been pounding it down the Giants throats for 4 quarters. Then I would have established quite a bit more Play Action this past weekend against the 49ers...

My bigger concern is now we play Heinicke, and everyone is on edge wondering if he's going to get benched. I just hope it doesnt get into his head and he's looking over his shoulder. As frustrating as he is, we need to play free. He simply can't play tight. He can't play like he's going to lose his job....

 

[Neophyte]

I have no clue and honestly, I'm not sure it matters.

This poll might need a third option to that effect.

 

[DieselPwr44]

Wentz.

If Heinicke was going to take some kind of massive step forward,he'd have done so by now. He's had almost two years to show it.
The best he can do is come alive for a quarter,maybe a half and then revert back to the mean.

As long as Son of Norv keeps the offense run based...and if I'm Rivera,I make that perfectly clear that's what I want....then let's see what he can do with this offense.

BTW....would rather see Howell but this staff doesn't have the testicular fortitude to make that kind of move.

 

[Chris]

No way Rivera rolls the dice on playing a rookie who hasn’t taken one snap at this point in the season.

I wouldn’t. That would be as crazy as punting on the opponent’s 34. Oh, wait…

 

[Neophyte]

I see what you did there.

 

[SilentThreat]

This team has been a bottom 5 offense for 3 years across damn near 10 different Qbs.

Pretty much any QB currently in the NFL can, at a minimum, replicate those results.

 

[Boone]

If they were going to see what they had in Howell, the bye week was the time to do it. Rivera is not an aggressive HC and I never thought for one second he'd make that move, although quite possible it would've made him look like a genius as I think Howell has the instincts to be successful and the arm to hit wide open receivers. But now - obviously not going to happen.

I vote Wentz not because I don't have the same concerns as everyone else, but TH cannot get it done. Wentz - given the right gameplan - can put up points. Will he? No idea. But the upside alone warrants the change.

 

[burgold]

I think it kinda depends on the locker room. If it’s still wholly behind Heinicke then for the sake of morale I might give Taylor another shot. If the team has realized that it has flatlined with a hard ceiling of twenty points then I keep a run centric game plan, but give Wentz a second shot.

Pretty sure it’s going to be Wentz.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I've been thinking about this since Saturday, so thank you for posting this thread. You have to start Wentz if you want to try and save the season. You've seen for 2 seasons what Heinicke can do. There is almost no upside with the offense when he is the QB. But sadly, there is downside and we have seen in the past 2 weeks with the playoffs on the line and he made the mistakes he cannot afford to make. Saturday was the first time since week 2 the offense has scored more than 2 TDs, and the 3rd one came from Wentz. You have to change that if you want to get into the playoffs.

As for Wentz, I don't know what he will do. I think all of us want to see him run the offense that they called for Heinicke and see what happens. I am afraid Turner will go back to the offense they ran the first 4 weeks of the season and Wentz will get killed back there. Despite the hype involved with the players on the Browns D line, they only have 30 sacks on the year, which will be 26th in the league after tonight. I fear that they will live up to that hype if the same offense starting the year is called. Yes, it can produce more offense, but if the plays don't have time to develop, it won't.

Now as to what Rivera will do, I don't know. He may not know. I do think it's a tough decision for him because there isn't a guy that's the obvious answer. The only thing we know is that he won't play Howell.

 

[Canadian Hog]

In easily the three most important games of the 2022 season (New York x 2 and SF), Taylor Heinicke did not deliver.

He might be loved in the locker room, but he cemented the fact that he cannot bring this team to another level. What the players think at this point should be irrelevant as we enter two do or die weeks.

Without question you now have to turn to Wentz in the final two games and see if he can in fact lift this team to the next level that we were pretty certain a year ago that Heinicke was never going to be able to.

If Carson gives you mediocre performances in the final two and can't help secure a playoff spot for the team, then at the very least, it serves as confirmation and clarification that you don't want to hitch your wagon to Wentz either come 2023.

 

[Knightingale]

I love Heineke, and I hope he's here for years to come...as our primary back up.

I'd like to see Howell in the starters role next year, to see what we have in the young QB.

As for the rest of this year... I think at this point Wentz gives us a higher ceiling and with two games that we HAVE to win I think I'd roll the dice with Wentz and hope he lifts the offense for a couple of games. I think the Browns is winnable...Dallas I don't know. Heineke did us proud for a stretch, but we need more on offense, and I'm hoping maybe Wentz can temporarily provide that.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Wentz !!

 

[Chris]

1 more day, kids. Rivera is still waiting on the final poll results.

 

[Boone]

Some will say it’s smart to ask key players what they think. But I think it’s weak.

 

[Canadian Hog]

Some will say it’s smart to ask key players what they think. But I think it’s weak.

I understood it the first time, but to check in with them again when we are losing ball games at a critical time of the year is head scratching. Especially when it is clear that Heinicke is not elevating this team right now. Coach for the best interests of the team instead of protecting their feelings at this point.

 

[Boone]

Sometimes the hard decisions (and right ones) are not the most popular.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Yeah and on top of that, you will get what you seek. If you are looking to get positive feels from the players, you will get that. If you are looking for winning results, you will get that. And that’s not to say he has to start Wentz to get a win. But if he is concerned about the feelings of his players and does what they want, then he will accomplish that goal regardless of the results. Which would mean that the team would see the decision a success even if they lose. You can’t do that and call yourself a coach.

 

[Chris]

I bet that Dyami Brown votes for Howell.