Cleveland Browns: 4 things we learned from training camp
By Thomas Moore
Aug 13, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) and quarterback Josh McCown (13) on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of preseason NFL football game against the Washington Redskins at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
While everyone outside of Cleveland is over-invested in Johnny Manziel being the starting quarterback for the Browns (yes, we’re looking at you ESPN), it would do everyone a lot of good if they accepted one simple fact.
Right now, Josh McCown is the best option at starting quarterback.
Does that mean McCown is a good quarterback? Not necessarily. But even if McCown is average or worse, that doesn’t make Manziel a good quarterback. They are two separate players and can be evaluated independently.
In addition, Pettine has sold the team on the notion that they are going to start winning now and that everyone has to earn their place on the team. What message does he send if he picks Manziel as the starter before he is ready?
“Practice after practice after practice together and next thing you know, you’re taking a one day at a time attitude and you put four or five days in a row of good work in.” – John DeFilippo on Johnny Manziel
We’ve heard the arguments that Manziel has “outplayed” McCown during training camp and the preseason, but there is simply no evidence to support that claim.
Has Manziel, at times, looked better than he did last season? Yes. But that has as much to do with him finally taking his job seriously as it does with the fact that he set the bar so low in 2014, there was almost no way he couldn’t improve.
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But that doesn’t make him ready to be a starting quarterback and, luckily for the Browns, there are adults in the room in Berea who understand that simple fact.
“I think (Johnny’s) a new guy,” DeFilippo said. “I think from a preparation standpoint and want to standpoint … I think you see a different quarterback. I think his overall understanding of the game and what we’re trying to do has changed drastically. He understands protections, he’s making the calls, he understands the sight adjusts, he understands his hots.
“You’re seeing those types of growth in him which I’m very pleased with. Our mantra with him and I talked about this with him all the time is one day at a time, just one day at a time. Practice after practice after practice together and next thing you know, you’re taking a one day at a time attitude and you put four or five days in a row of good work in.”
Not only is Manziel different this year, the quarterback room is as well because of McCown.
This isn’t a knock on Brian Hoyer, there are plenty of people lining up to do that for some reason, who had to focus on himself last season, leaving little time for him to help Manziel along. (And with Manziel’s attitude last season, Hoyer had little desire to help him.)
McCown is at a different stage of his career, meaning he can focus on getting in his work while also being open to helping Manziel make progress.
“(Johnny) understands obviously because you have seen it and you see the steps that he has taken that this is a process,” McCown said. “He has a good mindset and he is still working. The thing is for him with a lot of the growth – you can’t ever replace reps, but at the same time, mentally he can still stay sharp and do things. We just encourage him.”
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No matter how much people want to see Manziel on the field because they think he will be the same player he was at Texas A&M, the reality is that he is nowhere near being that player.
“When you think about Johnny, he’s made some great strides,” Pettine said. “But this is a guy [who] less than five months ago was in a very dark place, personally, and he’s come out of it and responded in a very positive way and where he is now personally has helped him professionally.
“I think the natural tendency might be to rush things. We feel we’re in a good spot with Josh. He’s a capable starter in this league when he’s surrounded by the right supporting cast.”
The quarterback situation is going to work itself out, it will just be on the Browns’ timetable rather than one imposed on them by the national media.
And there is nothing wrong with that.