The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into the 2013 with high expectations after missing the playoffs and head coach Mike Tomlin is excited about next year and competing in the AFC North with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens for the division. Ben Roethlisberger is coming off some knee surgery and while some have been worried about his injury, the quarterback and coach said that he should be ready for training camp and the season.
The Cleveland Browns still have a number of questions after wrapping up their minicamp ahead of other teams in the league last week and one of them is at the quarterback position, but so far after offseason workouts finished, second-year player Brandon Weeden is still considered the favorite despite rumors reporting otherwise.
According to ESPN.com, Weeden remains the favorite to start the season at quarterback for the Browns, as he took the reps with the first team exclusively at the final practice, giving him the head start going into training camp this summer. The Plain-Dealer reports that Weeden wants to stick with that plan and said that he has looked at the team as "his" since day one of offseason workouts. Weeden said he felt more and more comfortable in practice as time went on and that he is getting a good handle of the new offense from coach Rob Chudzinski and coordinator Norv Turner.
Weeden has both Jason Campbell and Brian Hoyer behind him and while reports came out that both players were getting a good handle of the offense, it appears to be Weeden's job to lose heading into next season. The team has been working on a faster offense this season and Weeden said that he thinks wideout Josh Gordon could add to his breakout season in the new scheme. Gordon will miss the first two games of the season after violating the drug policy, but he is expected to be a big part of the offense going forward.
Chudzinski has yet to name an official starting quarterback, but based on the way minicamp went, Weeden has the job until he loses it. Weeden came into the league as an older rookie after playing baseball and he had some impressive stretches but overall it was a disappointment compared to other rookies like Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and RGIII. Weeden passed for 3,385 yards and 14 touchdowns last season but he also added 17 picks and completed less than 50 percent of huis throws.
The Browns have had issues finding a consistent starter over the years and since Charlie Frye started the opener in 2006 and 2007, the team has not had a starter make two straight over the past five seasons. After Derek Anderson it was Brady Quinn, followed by Jake Delhomme, Colt McCoy and then Weeden last year. Training camp with help the coaching staff decide between Weeden, Campbell and Hoyer and there is a chance the backups can vault ahead once summertime hits. The team went 5-11 last season and ranked 19th in passing yards per game and 24th in rushing and new owner Jimmy Haslam is expecting improvements after taking over and especially on defense after signing Paul Kruger and drafting a number of players.