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Is It Johnny Manziel Time Now?

By Zac Wassink

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Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine and his staff elected to start veteran Josh McCown over hot-hand Johnny Manziel at quarterback against the Oakland Raiders. The Browns fell to the Raiders 27-20 at home on Sunday. Fans, predictably, are now calling for Manziel to take over for the 36-year old journeyman who is not the future franchise QB of the club.

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McCown, in his defense, was far from the worst player wearing Cleveland brown against the Raiders. Cornerback Joe Haden had another nightmare performance, and it was Haden and not wide receiver Amari Cooper who looked like a rookie throughout the afternoon. Safety Donte Whitner could have been a player of the game candidate if the rules were for two-hand touch. His “Hitner” nickname should be stripped of him for the time being because of the multiple missed tackles that should haunt him during the upcoming midweek.

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On the other side of the ball was a Cleveland rushing attack, one that is supposed to be a strength of the Browns, that was largely non-existent. Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson averaged 2.8 yards per carry on 14 rushes. Johnson (h/t ESPN) picked up 3 whole yards on four carries. An offensive line that is allegedly filled with All-Pro talent is, after 12 quarters, maybe the most overrated unit in all of the National Football League.

With all of that said, McCown was downright awful in the first half of Sunday’s loss to the Raiders. He missed open targets on short throws. He looked like a QB past his prime who could no longer stretch the field with deep bombs. Just as worrisome was that a Browns team that seemed filled with excitement and energy with Manziel on the field versus the Tennessee Titans last week looked flat with McCown under center.

To McCown’s credit, he dusted himself off and showed guts and determination in rallying the Browns back from behind when the Raiders repeatedly failed to close Cleveland out. McCown tossed a pair of touchdown passes, and he then took the offense of the Browns from its own one-yard line into scoring range on what could have been a game-tying drive late in the contest. The touchdown and an overtime period was there for the taking.

McCown and the Browns then gave it away.

There were two plays in particular during the final drive when even the untrained eye could not help but wonder what would have been had Manziel and not McCown been leading the offense. McCown had speedster Travis Benjamin open down the left sideline on a play that would have put the Browns at midfield, at least, but McCown badly under-threw his target. It was a throw that Manziel has hit on to Benjamin on three occasions in his seven quarters of work this season.

Worst of all was the final pass of the game. McCown, facing a 3rd-and-14 at the Oakland 35-yard line, extended the play by avoiding a pass rush. Then, with time to throw, McCown had Benjamin open down the right sideline and tight end Gary Barnidge available over the middle of the field. McCown picked option “A,” but he remained flat-footed as he sailed the ball toward Benjamin. Future Hall-of-Fame defensive back Charles Woodson jumped on the pass and finished the Browns off with an interception.

Game. Set. Match.

It was only a week ago when Manziel faced a similar scenario in the fourth quarter against the Titans. The Browns were needing a first down to maintain possession of the football and potentially run the clock out when Manziel dropped back to pass on third down. Manziel spun away from All-Pro linebacker Brian Orakpo before setting his feet and launching a deep pass for Benjamin. The pass was perfect, Benjamin reeled the ball in, and Manziel earned his first win as a starting NFL quarterback.

McCown and not Manziel gives the Browns the best chance to win right now. Teammates inside the locker room and on the field are supportive of McCown. These statements were used to explain the decision to start McCown over Manziel. Those watching the Browns lose to the Raiders saw proof of neither of those claims. One could easily say that the first of those two sentences was flat out untrue during the opening half-hour of the contest.

The offense of the Browns have two dynamic play-makers who can change a game in an instant. One is Benjamin, who has the speed and athleticism to turn even a basic pass into a home run play that electrifies a home crowd. The other is Manziel, who was wearing an earphone and a ball cap for all four quarters of the loss to the Raiders. That he never once reached for his helmet did not keep pockets of Cleveland fans from chanting his name during both halves of the game.

Not that it mattered one bit.

The nightmare scenario depicted in a piece that was published before the weekend is now playing itself out in front of Pettine:

"What if, in benching Manziel, the Browns are costing the team’s project QB much-needed reps AND also making it more difficult to win games? The answer to that is simple: Pettine and company will likely be looking for new work next January. Betting on Manziel was far too risky for Pettine three weeks ago. That was understood and accepted.Such understanding will quickly disappear if the offense of the Browns flops against the Raiders on Sunday."

It is no longer a case of the Browns seeing what they have in Manziel. Pettine and his fellow coaches must now review the film and be certain, beyond a fraction of a doubt, that Manziel cannot, at worst, be equal to what McCown offered the Browns against Raiders. An inability to say that, if one were to exist, should lead to the only logical conclusion: Manziel should be the starting quarterback of the Browns moving forward.

Maybe Manziel should have started against the Raiders all along.

Next: McCown Better Than Manziel?

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