Case of the Mondays: Browns Lose Game, Hoyer May Lose Job
by Ricky Dimon - 12/1/2014
"Here's Johnny!" That's basically what the Cleveland Browns said to the Buffalo Bills early in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, and Buffalo passed the
test without too much trouble even though Manziel was far more impressive than initial starter Brian Hoyer. It was a rough week not only for Hoyer but also
for plenty of other quarterbacks at both the professional and college ranks. J.T. Barrett, for example, is the second Ohio State signal-caller to be lost
for the season.
Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag unless otherwise indicated
.
Brian Hoyer
. With Cleveland trailing 20-3 and 12 minutes remaining in Buffalo, head coach Mike Pettine made the move to Manziel. Hoyer had been 18 of 30 for 192 yards
with no touchdowns and two interceptions at the time. Manziel promptly led the Browns on their first touchdown drive of the afternoon, an eight-play,
80-yard trek down the field that culminated in a 10-yard scoring run by the former Heisman Trophy winner. Johnny Football finished his busiest outing since
Week 3 with 63 yards through the air on 5-of-8 passing, and he rushed twice for 13 yards in Cleveland's 26-10 loss. The Browns are +4 home underdogs against the Colts in Week 14.
Colin Kaepernick
. Completing just 16 of 29 attempts for 121 yards with no touchdowns with two interceptions in a 19-3 defeat is bad under any circumstances. That the
setback came against Seattle, and the two picks were made by arguably the most hated man in San Francisco makes it even worse for the 49ers. Kaepernick's
first ill-fated throw fell into Richard Sherman's hands late in the first quarter and led to the only touchdown of the game. Sherman's second theft came
midway through the fourth quarter with San Fran making a rare appearance in Seattle territory. The Niners are +800 to win the NFC West.
Georgia
. The most recent installment of the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry was a wild one even by its lofty standards. It was also the second consecutive
Dawgs-Jackets showdown to require overtime. UGA had gotten the best of things in 2013 to win for a fifth consecutive year, but this time around GT came out
on top for the second time in the last 14 seasons. Georgia appeared to be dead and buried when Tech recovered its own kickoff after taking a 21-17 lead
with four minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs soon had the game all but won after scoring a touchdown for a 24-21 edge with 18 seconds left. Instead, they
inexplicably opted for a pooch kickoff, the Yellows Jackets got in field goal range in one play, booted a 53-yard field goal as time expired, then won
30-24 in the extra frame thanks to a clinching interception. Thus suddenly ended a disastrous week for Georgia in which it missed out on an SEC
Championship berth by virtue of Missouri's win over Arkansas. Tech is a +3.5 underdog against Florida State in the ACC Championship.
J.T. Barrett
. First Braxton Miller, now Barrett. Ohio State is down to its third quarterback after Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the first
regular-season game and Barrett sustained a broken ankle during the Buckeyes' 42-28 win over Michigan. The freshman is out for the season, forcing Urban
Meyer to go with Cardale Jones for this weekend's Big Ten Championship against Wisconsin and for whatever bowl becomes Ohio State's postseason destination.
Barrett threw one touchdown and ran for two more before the incident on the first play of the fourth quarter. He will wrap up the 2014 campaign with 2,834
passing yards and 45 total touchdowns (34 passing, 11 rushing). OSU is +1500 to win the National Championship.
DeMar DeRozan
. Speaking of injuries, DeRozan tore a muscle in his left groin (the adductor longus tendon, for those wondering) during the Toronto Raptors' 106-102 loss
to the Dallas Mavericks last Friday. The shooting guard is expected to be sidelined for a month. He is averaging a team-high 19.4 points per game to go
along with 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals for the Raptors, who are 13-4 and in first place in the entire Eastern Conference. DeRozan had been especially hot
prior to the Dallas game, with three straight performances of 20 or more points to cap off a six-game winning streak for his team. Toronto is +600 to win
the Eastern Conference.
Rutgers
. Rutgers' football team outscored its basketball team on Saturday…by 15 points, too. No, that is not a misprint. The Scarlet
Knights beat Maryland 41-38 on the gridiron, but they got humiliated by Virginia 45-26 on the hardwood. Rutgers' futility came in the championship game of
the Barclays Center Classic, and the team came within two points of its all-time record output for fewest points in a single game (24 in a loss to
Princeton during the 1942-43 campaign). Virginia held its opponent to 25 percent shooting and a horrendous 0-for-13 from three-point range. Amazingly
enough, the Scarlet Knights actually led at halftime before getting destroyed 28-8 over the final 20 minutes. Rutgers is getting 9.5 points at Clemson tonight in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
Chelsea
. Chelsea remains comfortably on top of the English Premier League table, but it did nothing to help itself over the weekend. The Blues played to a 0-0
draw against Sunderland, which is in 13th place in the 20-team standings and not entirely out of relegation danger. It was the first time they
had been shut out all season. Chelsea came close to scoring on two occasions, with Willian knocking one off the post and Branislav Ivanovic getting stoned
by Sunderland goalie Costel Pantilimon. The Blues actually gained ground on the former second-place team because Southampton lost to Manchester City 3-0.
However, Man City is likely the biggest EPL title threat to Chelsea and it is now in the No. 2 spot and just six points back. Chelsea is -400 at Bovada
Sportsbook to win it all.
Read more articles by Ricky Dimon
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