By now we've all heard King didn't think much of Weeden's chances (mostly because he simply isn't accurate enough)... but Pat Kirwan was VERY bullish on the team and Weeden:
I think Mingo is gonna be a beast. In fact, I'd say our offensive line and defensive front 7, judged by both quality and depth, can and should be among the league's very best. Based on his draft position and talent, Trent Richardson should be among the league's best few running backs... which along with about $1.35 gets you a Venti at Starbucks these days. Rams have had Steven Jackson playing at a Pro Bowl level for a very long time, right?
Assuming health (physical and mental), Weeden should have way more than enough quality targets in Gordon, Little, Bess, Benjamin, T-Rich, Dion Lewis, Cameron, and hopefully Nelson. He should have a top five line and a top five RB. He has an offense tailored to his comfort. He literally has ZERO excuses.
It's a one-year audition, maybe less.
I tend to follow Vic Carucci's comments on Weeden. As we all know, Carucci is a homer, but if one makes allowances for that, one can get an idea of how things are going. In general, Carucci tends to be quiet on days that Weeden struggles and reports the improvement when he has rebounded. There has been the one notable exception when, after the fourth practice, Carucci mentions that Weeden has been uneven and has gotten off to a slow start through most of the practices.
Maybe it depends on which day a reporter decides to visit and watch practice. In any case, it may be encouraging that Carucci has reported improvement the last couple of days in a row.
First Practice, Thursday, July 25
>>Weeden rebounded from a slow start. After being off the mark on some early throws, Weeden began looking fairly sharp and consistently connected with his receivers. He had some nice deep passes and also showed good touch on shorter ones. As is the case in Norv Turner’s scheme, Weeden had a wide variety of targets and used them all – from receivers Josh Gordon and Greg Little and Travis Benjamin on the outside, to slot receiver Davone Bess and tight end Jordan Cameron in the middle, to running back Trent Richardson out of the backfield. And the routes were usually fairly deep. Very little dink-and-dunk stuff.
Third Practice, Saturday, July 27
>>Brandon Weeden rebounds. After a somewhat rough practice on Friday, Weeden rallied with a solid showing on Saturday. His throws were generally more accurate and he displayed better timing with his receivers. Weeden also spent some extra time after practice throwing passes to Greg Little. And Little continued his routine of watching numerous passes from the JUGGS machine well after the workout. If this is any reflection of the team’s overall mindset toward striving for optimum performance, there is reason to be encouraged that the striving-for-excellence-in-everything-we-do culture being instilled from the very top of the organization is catching on.
Fourth Practice, Sunday, July 28
>>Weeden uneven. The quarterback has gotten off to slow starts through most of the practices, including Sunday’s. But he did manage to rebound again. Weeden does a good job of connecting on longer throws, but sometimes misses the mark on shorter ones. He does have the greatest velocity and tightest spiral of the Browns’ three quarterbacks, and his release on deeper routes takes minimal effort. It’s fair to say that some of Weeden’s inconsistency is due to dealing with the complexities and variables of the Browns’ defense, so there is reason to think he can improve with time.
Seventh Practice, Thursday August 1
>>Brandon Weeden’s improvement. His performance showed a significant jump from Wednesday, when he mostly struggled through drills. Although Weeden got off to a somewhat slow start on Thursday, he wound up looking sharp on many of his throws the rest of the way. His biggest challenge is consistently making quick and accurate decisions of where to go with the ball. When Weeden is able to promptly determine the spot to where he is going to make a throw, he usually makes the completion. It’s when he hesitates before releasing the ball that Weeden tends to run into trouble.
Eighth Practice, Friday, August 2
>>It’s in the eyes. Brandon Weeden had another solid day of practice on Friday. He made some nice throws to Greg Little and even showed some decent mobility on designed runs. For the most part, it looks as if he is doing a better job of scanning the secondary (or, as scouts like to say, “moving his eyes”) for second and third options rather than being so quick to lock onto a single target.