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Brandon Weeden and Josh Gordon will be together in the starting lineup again on Sunday when the Browns begin Phase 3 of the season against the Detroit Lions.

(Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After five games, the Browns are already on Phase 3 of their offense.

The season began without Josh Gordon and with Brian Hoyer as the third-string quarterback. The offense was supposed to feature Brandon Weeden throwing long and with Trent Richardson running the ball.

Two games later …

Think about that for a moment, two games later Richardson was traded. Gordon's suspension ended, but Weeden was out with a sprained thumb. The Browns also were 0-2 and had scored one touchdown in two games. End of Phase 1.

The moment Richardson was dealt to the Colts' for their 2014 first-round pick, the assumption was that the team's new theme was: Wait For Next Year's Draft, 2014 here we come.

Three wins later …

The Browns are 3-0 since trading Richardson. Obviously, far more went into the winning streak than losing Richardson -- but who knew that was coming on the night of the deal?

Phase 2 began with Gordon's return and Hoyer's promotion to starting quarterback and a 31-27 victory at Minnesota. That was when Hoyer became the first Brown to throw three touchdowns passes in a game since 2009.

OK, that quarterback was Brady Quinn, who has been cut a few times and is now the No. 3 quarterback with the New York Jets. But hey, history is history -- and a Browns QB doesn't throw three touchdowns in a game every week … or even every year.

Starting over ... again

Hoyer then led the Browns to a 17-6 victory over the Bengals. You know what happened next. If only Hoyer had run out-of-bounds, or at least slid much earlier. Then maybe his knee would not have been crunched in the Buffalo game.

Instead, it's a season-ending ACL injury for the North Olmsted/St. Ignatius product. And the Browns enter Phase 3, which pairs Weeden with Gordon. Most fans don't feel very good about it, despite Weeden helping claim a 37-24 victory over Buffalo in relief of Hoyer.

You must be fair, Weeden did indeed help the Browns. No turnovers. He threw a magnificent 37-yard touchdown pass to Gordon. He led the team on a 14-play, 71-yard touchdown drive ending with Willis McGahee's one-yard plunge.

After the game, Rob Chudzinski praised the play-calling and adjustments made by Norv Turner. Not only did the veteran offensive coordinator have to adapt to a QB change in the first quarter, the Browns also lost running back Chris Ogbonnaya to a concussion. The game plan for that night was for Ogbonnaya to receive more carries, but he wasn't on the field long enough for that happen.

Can Phase 3 work?

Phase 3 really begins with Sunday's game with Detroit.

You can be sure that when the season opened, the coaches never expected Richardson to be traded or to have bounced from Weeden to Hoyer to Weeden in the first five games. If any of us had been told that before the opener, would there be any reason to believe the Browns would be 3-2?

That's why I have some hope for Phase 3, even if most fans seem to believe it will be a flop. Somehow, Chudzinski and Turner must create a game plan that allows Weeden to look like something other than the rather indecisive and mechanical quarterback who has been sacked 16 times in three games.

This season, Weeden has two TD passes compared to three interceptions, a humble 69.2 rating. While Weeden was better in the Buffalo game (13-of-24, 197 yards, 1 touchdown, 95.3 rating), he still was sacked five times. The offense didn't appear as quick or crisp as it was with Hoyer.

Weeden did show off his powerful arm on back-to-back passes of 47 yards (to Greg Little) and 37 yards (to Gordon). Those were two of the prettiest passes thrown by a Brown all year.

Hoyer brought a lot of confidence and even a bit of fourth-quarter magic. Chudzinski called it "a spark." It was evident that Hoyer was more comfortable and perhaps better suited to the offense than Weeden. The Browns seemed to use a greater variety of plays.

But this season has demonstrated not to underestimate the Browns and this staff. To expect the offense to be as fluid as it was with Hoyer is unrealistic. But Chudzinski and Turner have shown the ability to adjust to different quarterbacks with different teams in the past.

Can they do it again?