Johnny Manziel: Cleveland Browns Starting QB By Default?

Any hope that Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel would sit and learn for the majority of the 2015 National Football League season was dashed after a quarter of meaningful play last Sunday.

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Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine informed the media on Wednesday that Manziel will be taking snaps with the first-team offense during midweek practices leading up to the Browns home opener this coming Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Journeyman veteran quarterback Josh McCown remains unavailable after he suffered a concussion in last week’s road loss to the New York Jets. McCown will first be able to return to practice on Friday, but only if he is medically cleared at that time.

McCown poured gasoline and then tossed a lit match onto Pettine’s original depth chart when he scrambled toward the goal line late in the first quarter of the Week 1 encounter between the Browns and the Jets. With three quarters remaining in the contest and 15 quarters left to play in the regular season, the 36-year old McCown left his feet in an attempt to score while he was surrounded by three players wearing Jets colors. The execution of that idea ended poorly for McCown.

McCown was hit twice by New York defensive players, first low and then high, and he lost control of the football as his body completed a three-quarter spin in the air. The Jets recovered the ball inside of the end zone for a touchdown, and injury was added to insult when McCown’s right hand and face mask bounced off of the turf. McCown was immediately evaluated by doctors, and it was announced by the Browns soon thereafter that he had been diagnosed with a concussion.

Enter the former Johnny Football, and what an entrance it was. Manziel answered a third-and-19 situation with a 54-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin, one that put the Browns up 7-0 early in the second quarter. That, however, was as good as things would get for Manziel and the Browns. The second-year quarterback had three turnovers in the second half, the Browns fell apart as a team, and the Jets cruised to a 31-10 victory.

It did not take long for fans, sports talk radio personalities and supposed respected analysts to drop their hot takes on how well/how poorly Manziel performed against the Jets. Some calling into local radio stations after the game were overly optimistic about what they saw from Manziel. At the other end of the spectrum was ESPN personality Merril Hoge, who continued his ridiculous personal vendetta by claiming on the air that the Browns should give up on the 22-year old quarterback.

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Opinions, pro- or anti-Manziel, may not matter all that much when the September 20 showdown with the Titans rolls around. Manziel is currently the only healthy quarterback that was on the first official depth chart of the Browns, although his name is once again on a pre-practice injury report because of right elbow soreness. A similar matter kept Manziel sidelined for nearly three full weeks during preseason, but he is not expected to miss significant time before this coming Sunday.

Pettine, per ESPN Staff Writer Pat McManamon, told reporters on Wednesday that the Browns may choose to limit how much Manziel throws in individual drills as a precaution.

Manziel is the obvious choice to start for the Browns against the Titans if only by default. He has practiced with different aspects of the Cleveland offense for months. Manziel is gaining experience working with the first-team offense of the Browns. While there were unquestionably rough moments for Manziel against the Jets, his QBR was, according to ESPN, better than that posted by fellow young quarterbacks Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston.

Say, for argument’s sake, that McCown is cleared to return to practice on Friday. He will, in that situation, have had a walk-through and not much more before Sunday’s game. McCown has been around the block several times, sure, but Pettine and company would have to be certain that he gives the Browns a better chance to defeat the Titans than would Manziel before altering the depth chart. The situation could, on the other hand, take care of itself if McCown remains in the NFL concussion protocol.

The final legitimate option for the Browns would be to start Austin Davis against the Titans. Davis is an unproven commodity who had some flashes during a second stint with the St. Louis Rams last season. He has also worked with his new Cleveland teammates for less than two weeks since joining the Browns on September 7. It would be unfair of the Browns to expect Davis to be able to go out and compete as a starter so early into his tenure with the club. He should be an emergency quarterback at most against the Titans.

The Browns added QB Matt Blanchard to the team’s practice squad earlier this week. He won’t be ready to take the field on Sunday or anytime soon.

What is most important after Sunday’s game, whatever happens, is that the Browns maintain the course and do not let anything else disrupt the original plan of action. Manziel may light it up against the Titans. He may be downright dreadful in his third NFL start. He will probably be somewhere in between. It should be made clear to all within the locker room of the Browns that McCown remains the team’s starting quarterback for the time being, and that Manziel is merely doing what any backup would do in this scenario;

filling in for a week until the injured starter is ready to reclaim his post.

Next: Manziel Alone Can't Save The Browns

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