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Cleveland Browns ready for Johnny time once again

By Thomas Moore

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Dec 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) signs autographs before the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns will reportedly name quarterback Johnny Manziel as the starter for the rest of the season.

The Cleveland Browns decided on Monday that the third time is the charm in naming quarterback Johnny Manziel as the starter for the remaining four games of the season.

With the Browns officially eliminated from the playoff race – something that was apparent for several weeks now, but didn’t become official until Sunday’s loss – and currently in control of the No. 1 overall pick in next spring’s NFL Draft, the team has reached the point where it simply has nothing to lose by putting Manziel back under center.

Of course, since this is Manziel – a player who wants to be seen on TMZ’s homepage as much as he wants to be an NFL quarterback – the move comes with conditions.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Manziel will get the starting nod on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers unless he does something to once again mess it up:

"The Browns want further evaluation of Manziel’s ability on the field and how he handles any success and failure off it, a source told ESPN. Even then, the sources said, the Browns are uncertain whether Manziel can re-establish the hope the franchise had when it made him a first-round pick in 2014."

This will mark the third time the Browns have turned to Manziel as the starting quarterback with each previous time resulting in diminishing returns.

Last season, the Browns named Manziel the starter for the Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals only to see him post a historically pathetic performance. Completely unprepared, Manziel finished the game 10-of-18 for 80 yards and two interceptions, while being sacked three times. The performance left everyone wondering just what Manziel had been doing all season.

The Browns turned to Manziel again this season heading into the team’s bye week, only to see Manziel spend the weekend partying and then compounding the situation by lying to the coaching staff when confronted with the evidence.

Now, with Josh McCown on injured reserve and Austin Davis playing like a possibly serviceable backup, and with nothing to lose but draft position, the Browns are going back to Manziel for what may be the final time.

In the four games this season where Manziel has been the primary quarterback (three starts and the opener against the New York Jets, where he played all but once series), Manziel has posted a 1-3 record while completing 59 percent of his passes for 894 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.

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More importantly, the offense has scored 10 or fewer points in three of those four games.

Be that as it may, the Browns are basically in a no-lose situation at this point with Manziel.

If he plays well over the final four games, the Browns can at least entertain the idea of having him on the roster in 2016.

If he plays poorly, that makes the decision on what to do with him in the off-season that much easier.

If he does play well, that theoretically could up any potential trade value if the Browns decide to go in another direction at quarterback – if they can still find a team willing to take a chance on Manziel, of course.

As the season plays out, more and more people are starting to turn away from Manziel the highlight reel and focusing on Manziel the quarterback, and it is not favorable toward Manziel.

Last week, Jean-Jacques Taylor at ESPN, wrote that:

"Part of the reason Manziel currently resides in purgatory is that he hasn’t shown the discipline to be an NFL quarterback."

"The quarterback must be the most trusted and reliable player in an organization because the game revolves around their skill set. Name a good team with a bad quarterback? You can’t. They don’t exist."

There was also Cedric Golden in the Austin American-Statesman, who wrote that:

"You have put your head coach and the Browns franchise in a tough position. If you were picked in a later round, you would have been run out of town months ago. But now you find yourself possibly in the position to play over the last month of the season because Davis will either get hurt of play himself out of the starting job."

"When does this madness end: with you realizing your potential or getting your name added to to a long list of good players who didn’t have enough upstairs to make it in this league:? Do you want to mentioned with Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, and Akili Smith?"

"Contrary to popular belief, there isn’t as much time to get things straightened out as you might think. Just Ask Vince Young. He actually started 50 games before the league gave up on him. At your current pace, you will be gone long before a 50th start."

"And it will all be your fault."

Or Randy Galloway in the Star-Telegram, who wrote that:

"Jerry’s new potential barstool pal, Johnny Manziel, is another in a long line of idiots who wander in and out of the NFL."

"From his final season at Texas A&M to his two years in the NFL, Johnny has been a dumb-A fool."

"I don’t know how many people around here have actually watched Johnny in the games he’s played in Cleveland. Anyone strictly looking at the limited stats, and a few of his TV highlights or lowlights in action, can say the guy is KP. Kan’t Play."

Now those are just opinions, of course, and they could be coming from “haters” and “moralists” who can’t full appreciate the awesomeness of letting Manziel “just ball” on Sundays.

Or they could be the reflections of how others outside of Cleveland are starting to view Manziel. Only time well tell.

For now we all get to bask in the glory of the Johnny Manziel Redemption Tour, take three.

It should be quite the party.

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