Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Josh McCown’s finger is OK; Johnny Manziel staying as QB2

By Thomas Moore

facebooktwitterreddit

Aug 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) is sacked by Buffalo Bills cornerback Merrill Noel (46) during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The ring finger of Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown is fine and McCown is, in the words of head coach Mike Pettine, “good to go.”

Pettine met with the media this afternoon to discuss Thursday night’s preseason friendly against Buffalo and once again reiterated that McCown is the starting quarterback, with Johnny Manziel taking his rightful spot as the backup.

“We don’t want to get too wrapped up in the big picture stuff,” Pettine said according to NEOMG. “We feel good about where Johnny is as the No. 2 and we feel good about where Josh is with the No. 1 and also understand that a large part of it is a supporting cast thing. Our thoughts on the quarterback picture are the same this morning as they were going into last night.”

Related: Browns quarterbacks what we expected them to be

It’s a sad day for those who believe, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that Manziel is ready to assume the role of a starting NFL quarterback. The Browns have a plan and Pettine is smart enough to stick to it.

“We have a pretty good plan we feel for Johnny’s development and I think we’re on schedule with it,” Pettine said. “He’s shown great improvement from the day he set foot back in the building and to me, we get very individualized during the preseason. We just want him to go out and do his job for one play and hit the reset button, do it again.”

It is also a reflection of just how poorly and unprepared that Manziel was as a rookie last season that there is a subset of fans who have watched him (we assume they are watching) during the preseason and reached the conclusion that Manziel should be named the Browns’ starting quarterback.

The latest round of Manziel Mania was fueled by the second half of the game against Buffalo, when Manziel played five series and, in addition to leading a lone touchdown drive against second- and third-teamers, led the Browns to the following results:

  • Punt (7 plays, 34 yards)
  • Punt (3 play, -10 yards)
  • Punt (3 plays, 1 yard)
  • Turnover on downs (7 plays, 28 yards)

In addition, as Pat McManamon at ESPN points out, of Manziel’s nine drives in the preseason, four of them have been three-and-out and only one saw the Browns gain two or more first downs.

For reasons that remain inexplicable, that performance is acceptable and cries out “starting quarterback” to some.

Left tackle Joe Thomas, who has been around long enough to know a starting quarterback from someone who is still, for  the most part, a rookie, put it best about the prospect of Manziel as a starter.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

“He’s a popular player because he’s a fun player to watch – the way he escapes and runs around and throws the ball down field. It’s like watching somebody in the backyard in the ‘Turkey Bowl,'” Thomas said after the Buffalo game. “He’s always had a big fan base because of how he plays the game. Certainly, you got to see a lot of that tonight. I think he’s learning to pick and choose his times to do that instead of majoring in that.”

If there is still any lingering doubt out there that Manziel is simply not ready, this final Tweet should seal the deal and remove that doubt:

Cleveland, where the backup quarterback is always the most popular player in Orange and Brown.

Next: Time to name Johnny Manziel the starter

Home/Browns News