Going forward, it's got to be Hoyer

There he goes again.

Rob Chudzinski is being coy when asked about who will play quarterback for the Browns Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Lemme help you here, coach. Here are a couple of clues. It won’t be Brandon Weeden. And it certainly won’t be Jason Campbell.

I guess that leaves – ta da – Brian Hoyer.

Now that wasn’t so difficult, was it?

You tell the media you’re going to “wait to make my determination on that until I have all of the information.”

What kind of information? Like 321 yards passing by Hoyer in the upset victory over Minnesota Sunday? Or the Browns' first comeback victory in the final minutes in who knows how long?

How about only one penalty by the offensive line all day? Even Oneil Cousins went penalty free. Now that’s something on which to hang your hat.

Now try this one on. Hoyer accomplished this feat without a running game. Think that’s easy? You were an offensive coordinator. You know the importance of a running game.

You say the health status of Brandon Weeden could factor into your decision. Even if his sore thumb is healed sufficiently enough to allow him to practice this week, that still should not be a factor.

Assuming you have looked closely at the tapes of the first three games this season, you must have noticed a significant difference between Weeden’s two games and Hoyer’s debut against the Vikings.

Is there any doubt that Hoyer, based solely on that game, is the better choice right now to open against Cincinnati? Of course he is. Even Marvin Lewis down in Cincy knows that.

Wait a minute. Now I get it. You don’t want Lewis to know which quarterback will play and thus prepare for him, right? Weeden or Hoyer? Which one will it be?

“We’ll see in the next day or two where that (Weeden’s sprained right thumb) is at and be able to determine going forward,” Chudzinski.

By the way, has any one noticed how much Joe Banner and Chudzinski have used the term “going forward” lately? Is that some sort of buzz phrase for anything past today?

He might be a rookie head coach, but you can tell he’s been paying attention to the language spoken on a plane higher than the one on which he resides.

I think Chudzinski already knows who’s going to be under center against the Bengals. I think he’s just messing with the media.

If it isn’t Hoyer, a lot of Browns fans will be mighty upset. Being a Cleveland kid, it would be a public relations disaster to stick him back on the bench.

So let’s go forward a few days and predict Chudzinski will not disappoint and name Hoyer as his starter even if Weeden’s thumb is completely healthy.