The Official Cleveland Browns Discussion Thread.

[ThomasTomasz]

Johnny Manziel's preseason debut will likely come in Week 1 against the Lions, but it won't come as the Browns starting quarterback. Cleveland coach Mike Pettine said this week that Brian Hoyer will be the starter for the Browns in their Aug. 9 preseason opener at Detroit.

"Brian will start the first preseason game if nothing else changes," Pettine told ESPNCleveland.com. "There's plenty of time in there, daily updates staff-wise, to decide then how we want to [proceed]. There's a lot of different ways it can play out."

The fact that Manziel might not start in Week 1 of the preseason shouldn't come as a huge surprise. What is kind of surprising though is that Pettine wouldn't even commit to Johnny Football being the starter for Week 2 of the preseason.

"I haven't made that decision," Pettine said. "That will have to be earned."

Back in June, Pettine said that Hoyer was "securely ahead" of Manziel, but even if that's the case, you'd think Pettine would want to see what Manziel can do in a starting capacity. That would mean letting Hoyer and Johnny Football each start a preseason game and then letting the better quarterback start the all-important Week 3 game.

Even if Manziel loses the quarterback competition, he could end up on the field during the regular season. Pettine said there's a package for Manziel, meaning we could see Hoyer and Johnny Football playing in the same regular season game.

"We've already installed elements of it in the spring," Pettine said. "We ran some of the zone-read stuff in practice and Kyle [Shanahan] incorporated some of the mobile quarterback elements of what he did in Washington."

Shanahan was the Redskins offensive coordinator and incorporated zone-read after the team drafted Robert Griffin III.

Although Manziel will likely have a zone-read package, that doesn't mean the Browns will use it if Hoyer's the starter.

"I think there's positives and negatives to it," Pettine said. "You're taking your starter off the field. You have his rhythm and continuity to take into account, but at the same time defensively you're now forcing a team to basically come up with two game plans."

The bottom line here is that Pettine is choosing his words carefully and making sure that Manziel knows he's going to have to earn everything is he wants to get on the field in Cleveland this year.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...ohnny-manziel-will-start-first-preseason-game

 

[buckeye]

The national press is pushing hard for Manziel but most of the local chatter is Hoyer deserves to be the starter.

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[ThomasTomasz]

Hoyer did a good job before getting hurt last season. If Manziel doesn't have a good pre-season and Hoyer does, he deserves the job on merit. I would base that decision off performance, not because Manziel is a rookie. Rookie QBs can start in this league now from Day 1 and be effective, so you don't hold him out of the lineup based on that.

 

[kingbryk]

I'm not saying Hoyer is next Tom Brady or Johnny next Russel Wilson but who ever wins the starting job needs to be able to just win games for us. I personally would love to see Johnny just from the stand point the Browns have tried pocket passer's for so long looking for the next stone legged bernie kosar i'm tired of watching boring QB play. Johnny for what ever reason just seems like he might add the excitement the team has not had on offense for a long time. The team is heading in the right direction a 8-8 season would be a huge win for the team and city, anything better would be magical.

 

[buckeye]

1st Browns writeup for the year.

 

[number_55]

I can't wait for that week 3 match up Ravens vs Browns. I fully expect the Ravens front 7 to crush Johnny or Hoyer.

I read online somewhere that Shanahan does not allow his QB's much decision making freedom. So I am interested to see if that clashes with Manziel's improve ability. Either way, I hope the black and purple team destroys the browns.

 

[kingbryk]

I can't wait for that week 3 match up Ravens vs Browns. I fully expect the Ravens front 7 to crush Johnny or Hoyer.

I read online somewhere that Shanahan does not allow his QB's much decision making freedom. So I am interested to see if that clashes with Manziel's improve ability. Either way, I hope the black and purple team destroys the browns.

Flacco will be sacked more than either browns QB, Ravens front 7 have nothing on the browns front 7 this season.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I can't wait for that week 3 match up Ravens vs Browns. I fully expect the Ravens front 7 to crush Johnny or Hoyer.

I read online somewhere that Shanahan does not allow his QB's much decision making freedom. So I am interested to see if that clashes with Manziel's improve ability. Either way, I hope the black and purple team destroys the browns.

Don't know where that would come from considering RGIII scrambling and all. Sure, he had designed runs, but also had option plays and times when he took off because no one was open. Perhaps in Houston that was the case, not in Washington.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Everyone who's followed Johnny Manziel's career from Texas A&M to the NFL has probably noticed one thing: Johnny Football likes to party.

Apparently he's partying a little too much for the Browns though. According to Cleveland.com, the team is 'alarmed' by the Manziel's antics and even slightly stunned.

One of the reasons the Browns took Manziel with the 22nd overall pick in May's draft is because Johnny Football had said he had 'grown up' and put the partying behind him. In only two months with the team, that clearly hasn't been the case and the Browns think his partying is actually hurting his play on the field.

From Cleveland.com.

Manziel regressed in practice after the first week of organized team activities, and some in the organization attributed it to too much jet-setting and not enough dedication to the playbook.

Team officials had bought into Manziel's pre-draft promises to tone down the partying and leave his frat-boy lifestyle back in College Station, Texas, and they've been stunned by his non-stop antics, sources said.

In the 11 weekends between when Manziel was drafted and when he reported to training camp, the quarterback has gone on at least eight trips. One of those trips included a Fourth of July visit to Austin, Texas, where he was pictured in a bathroom rolling up some cash.

The bathroom picture alarmed the Browns so much that coach Mike Pettine called Manziel from Hawaii, where Pettine was on vacation. According to Cleveland.com, a picture like that can warrant an NFL inquiry and a drug test.


In an interview with ESPNCleveland.com this week, Pettine was asked specifically about the conversation he had with Manziel regarding the bathroom picture, "I felt very positive coming out of the conversation and I'm very confident moving forward, now that it's 100 percent about football, that it will be much less of an issue," Pettine said.

Of course, Pettine's not going to come out and say, "I think Johnny has a problem." However, he didn't unequivocally say 'no' when he was directly asked by ESPN Cleveland if he thought Manziel had a drinking problem.

Pettine has made it clear Manziel is a long way from winning the starting job in Cleveland and that Hoyer is 'securely ahead' of Manziel.

Pettine has already announced that Hoyer will be the team's starter in Week 1 of the preseason. An anonymous Browns player took that one step further on Friday, telling ESPN.com, "We're all expecting Hoyer to start" in Week 1 of the regular season.

Should the Browns be alarmed? Or is this just Johnny being Johnny?

If you've lost track of what Manziel's offseason has been like, here's a brief reminder: Manziel went to Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, then was back there for the Fourth of July. That Fourth of July vacation also included a stop in Austin, Texas, where he was caught in the aforementioned bar bathroom photo.

Manziel has also been photographed riding an inflatable swan, hanging out with Justin Bieber and taking a selfie with RG3. He's also in a picture with Bieber's ex-girlfriend in Houston and of course there's the video of Manziel using a wad of cash as a cell phone.

Manziel also played along during the ESPYs when Drake made a joke about Johnny Football doing mushrooms.

Does all of this mean Manziel can't win the quarterback job? A source who talked to Cleveland.com thinks the rookie can still win it.

"People will see how hard Johnny works once this thing gets rolling," the source said. "He'll get more mature as he goes along. He's 21 and people want him to be 35. I would not count him out."

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...-stunned-by-johnny-manziels-non-stop-partying

Gonna be an interesting season :lol:

 

[number_55]

Don't know where that would come from considering RGIII scrambling and all. Sure, he had designed runs, but also had option plays and times when he took off because no one was open. Perhaps in Houston that was the case, not in Washington.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/24/griffin-takes-another-shot-at-the-shanahans/

I based my rg3 comment from this article.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Interesting. They are drawing conclusions without it being spelled out. I can see why Grossman would say that from the time in Texas when the offense was based out of the pocket. I also feel that RGIII did have the freedom to at least make decisions on when to run and option plays. To run an option-based attack, you have to allow your QB some semblance of freedom and the ability to improvise. I have definitely seen that in 2012 from RGIII, maybe not last year because of the whole knee injury, but it was there.

I guess we will see how it plays out in Cleveland, it will be interesting to watch for a number of reasons.

 

[Aso]

Interesting. They are drawing conclusions without it being spelled out. I can see why Grossman would say that from the time in Texas when the offense was based out of the pocket. I also feel that RGIII did have the freedom to at least make decisions on when to run and option plays. To run an option-based attack, you have to allow your QB some semblance of freedom and the ability to improvise. I have definitely seen that in 2012 from RGIII, maybe not last year because of the whole knee injury, but it was there.

I guess we will see how it plays out in Cleveland, it will be interesting to watch for a number of reasons.

Well in 2012 they really didn't ask a lot of RG3. They ran the ball a ton and when they did pass they ran a lot of play actions off of those runs and screens. They really did keep the offense very simple for him. I definitely think Jay Gruden will ask him to do a lot more and he'll definitely throw it more than he ever has before.

 

[kingbryk]

So Hoyer gets the start vs lions week 1 preseason. Word is Johnny is right on his heels and have been improving every day of practice. This is a great camp for the browns. Lots of position battles sadly would have made a great HARD Knocks special on HBO.

 

[buckeye]

So Hoyer gets the start vs lions week 1 preseason. Word is Johnny is right on his heels and have been improving every day of practice. This is a great camp for the browns. Lots of position battles sadly would have made a great HARD Knocks special on HBO.

At this point neither QB has been lighting it up. Its either gonna be a really long year or our defense really is THAT good.

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[kingbryk]

looks like tonight is going to be make or break for either QB. HUGE preseason game for these guys. Can't wait for the verdict. Either qb can win games i believe.

 

[Nucking Futs]

 

[kingbryk]

love it.... but to bad the QB play was so bad

 

[buckeye]

That was a horrible game from the offense. Defense played pretty well again.

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[HardHittnOzone]

love it.... but to bad the QB play was so bad

Stay classy Cleveland. There is nothing to love or be proud about that.


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[MrBill]

Wonder how much that choice of finger will cost Manziel?