Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015 (PM) – A Day That Underscores the Importance of Backup Quarterbacks
👉 Ready to take your Browns fandom outside? Shop all Cleveland Browns Lawn Décor on Amazon
For the Browns — and for their Week 1 opponent, the New York Jets — Tuesday served as a stark reminder of just how critical it is to have reliable backup quarterbacks.
At Browns training camp, Johnny Manziel was sidelined during Tuesday morning’s practice due to stiffness and soreness in his right elbow. As a result, he didn’t throw, and the team adjusted accordingly. Connor Shaw and Thaddeus Lewis, both vying for the potential third quarterback spot (assuming the team keeps three), took increased reps behind starter Josh McCown as the Browns wrapped up the bulk of their on-field preparations for Thursday night’s preseason opener against Washington at FirstEnergy Stadium.
While that was unfolding in Cleveland, major news broke in New York — and it was even more chaotic. Geno Smith, the Jets’ presumed starting quarterback for the regular-season opener against the Browns on Sept. 13, was sucker-punched in the locker room by reserve linebacker Ikemefuna Enemkpali (No. 51). The altercation resulted in a broken jaw for Smith, sidelining him for 6 to 10 weeks. As a result, veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick will now take over as the Jets’ starter.
That changes everything.
The Week 1 matchup, and perhaps the first quarter of the Jets’ season, must now be viewed through an entirely different lens. This certainly isn’t the kind of challenge first-year head coach Todd Bowles envisioned. Bowles, who served as the Browns’ secondary coach under Butch Davis from 2001–2004, now has to navigate an early-season crisis before coaching his first official game as a head coach at any level.
Oddly enough, Bowles’ current situation echoes one of Cleveland’s darker quarterback misfortunes.
Back in 2000 — just one year before Bowles joined the Browns staff — Cleveland suffered a similarly bizarre loss of their starting quarterback. During the final play of practice leading up to an October 22 game at Pittsburgh, reserve linebacker Ryan Taylor (also wearing No. 51) got too close to Tim Couch and broke his right thumb. Couch was done for the season, and the Browns’ year unraveled from there.
To make matters worse, backup quarterback Ty Detmer had already been lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in the preseason finale. That left the team scrambling to sign Doug Pederson, who was no Bernie Kosar or Brian Sipe — and, to complicate matters further, he had taken minimal practice reps all week. The result? A 22-0 loss in Pittsburgh, just five weeks after Cleveland had beaten the Steelers 23-20 at home. The Browns lost 12 of their final 13 games and finished 3-13. Head coach Chris Palmer was fired after just two seasons.
As a postscript to that saga, Palmer swiftly released Taylor after the injury to Couch — just as Bowles wasted no time in cutting Enemkpali following his assault on Smith. Enemkpali, at least for now, is free to pursue a different career path — perhaps in boxing.
One final note: NFL head coaches often burn the midnight oil, trying to account for every possible contingency. But let’s be honest — who prepares for losing their starting quarterback to a locker room sucker punch? Misery may love company, and if anyone can relate to Bowles right now, it might just be Chris Palmer.
Steve King
