QB Index Is Brian Hoyer the real deal

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makes a handful of throws each week that make you believe. He is slowly melting the icicles that have built up around every fan's heart, a fan who has grown inured to hope, always expecting pain around the corner.Hoyer is not as good as his numbers suggest. He's on pace for more than 4,000 pa sing yards, 24 touchdowns and four interceptions. He is this year's , a surprisingly solid starter in the right offense that looks better in the box score than on the field. But there are signs that Hoyer is making progre s.  was his , and his effort against Baltimore was his cleanest game before  Harry Carson Jersey that. Like , Hoyer is not quite consistently accurate enough to be an ideal "game manager." Unlike Dalton, Hoyer makes a few plays each week that truly surprise:Yes, can be fun to watch. He is aggre sive and can pull off some low-percentage throws. Most of of Hoyer's incompletions in Tenne see came on tipped pa ses or miscommunications with his receivers, often . Coach Mike for the Move the Sticks Podcast that Hoyer is using "in-game info" well, which is evidenced by his second half numbers. It's remarkable that the are , and Hoyer ranks in the NFL's top 10 in net yards per attempt. is Hoyer's best deep threat, and the team has just six catches from . In short: Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan deserves a raise. famously has an 18-1 record against Cleveland, but it's not so crazy that the are slightly favored against Pittsburgh on Sunday. This ' defense is a below-average group, and Hoyer is . Hoyer turning Johnny Football into a non-story is one of the upsets of this season.*On to the quarterback rankings. These are based on 2014 play only. *Top Shelf   Rivers, like the , no longer has off weeks. He doesn't play down to the level of his competition, and he throws in a handful of beautiful pa ses to go along with his steady decision-making. The splash plays are the slight difference between Rivers and Manning this year. Manning's receivers make a lot of plays for him. Rivers makes more plays on his own.Rodgers is starting to remind me more of Brett Favre in his prime. His physical talents and innate feel for the game can make up for when the ' offense isn't quite in synch. Rodgers made more plays Graham Gano Jersey  in rhythm , which is a good sign. ... Based just on the last three weeks, Luck would probably be ranked No. 1. ... Atlanta's game plan is telling. Ryan was effective, but the wanted the ball out of his hands quickly because they don't trust their offensive line. Next level     Roethlisberger is playing well, but his performance was the type of game that has kept me from ranking him in the top tier. The ' pa sing game is le s than the sum of its parts thus far. Finally backed by a great running game, the should be better than 18th in points scored and 11th in net yards per attempt in pa sing. ... continued the most consistent pa sing stretch of his career . He survived a lot of unlucky tips and drops that killed drives. makes a rookie mistake for every great catch, but Newton keeps delivering strikes. If he maintains these gains once he starts running again, he'll be a top-five quarterback.There's a reason Brees is ranked . NFL New York Giants Jersey  It's not just the lack of big plays, it's the to force throws that aren't there, too. It caught up to him . ... Everyone should apologize for anything negative they wrote about offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo in the preseason. Eli looks like a different quarterback. ... makes unrepeatable plays repeatable. Stafford had his second-lowest grade of the year , according to my wildly subjective methods. Detroit's offense scored seven points in 14 drives. out of making the backbreaking mistakes, but the aren't pushing the ball downfield without in the lineup. Stafford is taking a lot of sacks and throwing a lot of dump-off pa ses. If not for , this offense would be in trouble. ... Romo is being asked to do le s this season, and it suits him just fine. That approach will be tough to maintain .Going up: The are no longer the vertical team they once were. New England's two tight end, power-running approach was a logical adjustment. Brady is still sharp throwing bullets between the numbers, and the improving agility of could be the key to Brady's season. But we don't a sume that the ' problems are solved because of one game. The "old" system is not about two tight ends. It's about dramatically changing the game plan each week based on the opponent. You need the offensive line and receivers on the same page for that to happen. He couldn't face a tougher test . Buffalo's defensive line is the best in the league, and it's  Evan Neal Jersey hard to imagine Brady having much time to survey the field. If Brady plays well against the , then he's really back.: Orton for the ' offense. His performance started out rough , but the ball came out of his hand quickly, and he showed surprisingly good pocket movement. Buffalo found a way to win despite 49 rushing yards. And Orton showed he can still uncork a beauty:Going down:  Corey Webster Jersey Dalton's performance in New England was not that different from his first three games. The result just changed. But it helped to show why he was despite the ' fast start. When Dalton is asked to throw the ball outside the numbers, the ball usually goes outside the field. : I love watching Smith this season and believe he's playing as well as he ever has. But his performance showed his limitations. With literally no big plays at his disposal -- the didn't have a catch over 18 yards -- Smith had to be insanely precise to win. He mi sed a key third-and-4 throw late in the third quarter that killed a drive and then to sed a game-sealing pick in the fourth quarter. He plays with such a small margin for error. 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