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Cleveland Browns: Naming Josh McCown starter the right move

By Peter Smith

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The Browns announced that quarterback Josh McCown had cleared the concussion protocol and would be their starting quarterback as the Browns host the Oakland Raiders; a move that Mike Pettine had forecasted after the game against the Jets.  This move has caused an outrage among both Browns fans as well as critics on the national stage as they want to see Manziel’s exciting style of football.  He’s young.  He’s new.  He represents hope.  He’s the story.  All of that being said, Mike Pettine and the Cleveland Browns made the right decision to go back to Josh McCown at this stage of the season.

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When Mike Pettine was hired as the head coach of the Browns, he kept saying they wanted competition and the best guys will play.  Ray Farmer’s popular tagline is finding the best 53 for the roster.  Pettine took some heat but was proven right as he benched highly touted players in favor of some undrafted rookies such as K’Waun Williams, Taylor Gabriel, Isaiah Crowell, so on and so forth.  In the first two weeks of the season, that philosophy was in play as Travis Benjamin stepped up and has been the Browns’ biggest playmaker.

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It is a message that players embraced immediately and over the course of his first year, they played hard for Pettine, competing until the end of the year as they always felt like they had a legitimate shot to contribute, both for themselves and the team.  Sticking with that message, Pettine is playing the best guy and just like he did with those young guys last year, he is not afraid to take criticism for it.  He is not going to sacrifice his philosophy for the sake of anyone.  It is who he is.

At every stage of the process since Josh McCown has signed, he has been better than Johnny Manziel.  He had a firmer grasp of the offense, could see more of the field and made quicker, better decisions with the football.  Save some elements trying to contrive a story, none of this was really up for debate from minicamps to training camps to preseason.  McCown also provided a mentor and some cover as Manziel worked to get his life together so he could be a functional quarterback and still have a chance to succeed.

That has happened.  Manziel went from looking like a random fan in the game against the Bengals last year to looking like a quarterback, albeit not a great one, against the Jets and Titans.  That is a huge step in the right direction for Manziel as it really looked like he was going to wash out of the NFL.

Now that Manziel is playing, has some exciting plays, including a vintage moment taken right out of his days at Texas A&M to seal the victory against the Tennessee Titans, there is a huge clamor for more, which is understandable.  Nevertheless, Josh McCown, at least for the time being is the better quarterback.

The Browns roster is simply too talented and full of too many important players that have to stay bought in for them to go with the weaker quarterback to ‘see what he can do’ – a popular refrain from those arguing for Manziel to keep playing.

Players like Joe Thomas, Karlos Dansby, Alex Mack, Donte Whitner, and Joe Haden are not interested in the story.  They want to win. Mike Pettine is not stupid and understands that this team is 1-1 and if he goes with the lesser quarterback, he could lose those guys.  They are not interested in next year.  They want to win this year, this week and want the best guy that can help them do that, which is McCown.

Getting back to the ‘see what he can do’ argument, the Browns know what he can do for the most part.  They see him for six to seven days a week in the film room, the practice field, meetings and everywhere else.  Game day is the most important piece of the puzzle but it also comprises the smallest part of it in terms of the entire picture.

Beyond that, the ‘see what he can do’ crowd is making the case for two reasons.  They believe that the Browns need to see what Manziel can do because if he is not the answer, they have to draft a quarterback early next year.  Even if Manziel shows promise or is simply great, the Browns have to draft another quarterback pretty early in the draft.

Sep 13, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown (13) looks to pass during the first half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. McCown was injured and left the game at the end of the drive. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Manziel obviously had off field issues, which are hopefully behind him, but is tiny, has suffered a hamstring injury last year and is currently battling arm injuries.  Additionally, starting quarterbacks are going down left and right.  Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Jay Cutler all suffered various injuries this past week.  The Browns need a legitimate backup that can also potentially have a future as an insurance policy and just increasing the amount of talent.

The other part of this is that even if the Browns add another quarterback next year, Manziel is not out of the picture.  For a team that has been searching for a franchise quarterback since the team came back in 1999.  Between the amount of talent on the roster and simply trying to insure success at that position, they have to get another capable, qualified young quarterback that could be a starter and whether it is Manziel or the newly drafted quarterback, find the best option for this team.  The Browns simply cannot afford to suffer through another year where they are a quarterback away from being a good team.

The other part of the argument from people who want to see Manziel is just that.  They want to see it.  All of their arguments, dressed up in different ways all come down to the same idea – They want to see him play, see him develop and either become the quarterback or fail, move on to the next one.  Those people cannot see him on the practice field or in meetings or late at night in his film room.  They want to see him do it on the field, regardless of how illprepared he might be and refuse to believe in the coaching staff’s assessment because they have not seen it for themselves.

Nothing about this is some conspiracy by the Browns to keep Manziel down or anything else.  They already tried to trade Manziel during the offseason according to reports, but having not succeded in that attempt, have worked with him, gave him the support to get his life on track and are now trying to help him to be the quarterback both parties envisioned when he was drafted.  None of that makes him ready to lead this team at the quarterback position now.

Last year, despite the coaching staff and locker room’s vehement objections, the combination of Brian Hoyer playing awful at the end of the season and the front office and ownership’s insistence, Manziel played against the Bengals and was woefully unprepared.  An embarrassment for everyone involved.  This year, Manziel looks better but just like last year, they know what he is capable of and is ready to do.  Manziel is trending in the right direction, so there is no reason to doubt Mike Pettine’s staff now.

If the Browns struggle, Manziel will be back out there.  If Manziel improves and gets to a point where he is just better than McCown, he will play.  If McCown gets himself injured again, which is a distinct possibility given that it took him a grand total of ten minutes to do it the first time, Manziel will play.  For now, McCown is the best option for this team and their chances of winning and no one should expect anything less from this head coach.

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