Why the Browns Should Start Johnny Manziel

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http://mmqb.si.com/2014/12/02/cleveland-browns-start-johnny-manziel/

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Fred Vuich/Sports Illustrated/The MMQB

Why the Browns Should Start Johnny Manziel
Mike Pettine faces a difficult decision at quarterback for the final four games. But his choice will have impact beyond just the 2014 season, which is why Cleveland needs to sit Brian Hoyer and see exactly what it has in its lightning-rod rookie QB
By Peter King

Tough call for Cleveland coach Mike Pettine, who to start at quarterback Sunday. Should he go with Brian Hoyer, the worker bee liked and trusted in the locker room, despite his declining recent performance and his 0-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio the past two weeks? Or should Pettine shake things up and go with the unpredictable Johnny Manziel, who could drive offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan crazy with his knee-jerk style, looking once at the coverage and then bolting from the pocket?

Neither is optimal. To me, if Pettine picks Hoyer (last 47 drives: one touchdown pass) to start against Indianapolis at home Sunday afternoon, it’s more an indictment of Manziel than an endorsement of Hoyer. Pettine isn’t afraid to make a tough call. He’s done it often in Cleveland, and in Buffalo last year. The Browns’ playoff chances are on life-support, and a decisive call is needed. If it’s the status quo, it’ll say something about Manziel—that either he’s jaking it in preparation, or Pettine and Shanahan don’t trust him fully with the offense.

Either way, picking Hoyer says more bad about Manziel than good about Hoyer.

Everyone in the Cleveland organization loves Hoyer. Great guy. Cleveland guy. Local boy makes good. But he’s hit a ceiling. He’s struggling mightily. The season’s on the line, and he just got back the NFL’s leading receiver in 2013, Josh Gordon, and he still can’t make it happen.

So going to Manziel should be a no-doubt pick by Pettine, right? Give the team a spark. Put the bad boy in the lineup. Let the player who drove Nick Saban—the best defensive tactician south of Bill Belichick—crazy have a shot at Indianapolis and its 25th-rated defense against the pass. Manziel against the Colts. It should happen.

The reasons why go beyond the 2014 season, but right now is significant too. If you’re the Browns, you’ve got to have realistic goals. Just make the playoffs. There’s no reason to think anyone in the building thinks the Browns are actually suited for a playoff run. Just give them the sixth seed, and the 2014 season would be a raging success. But to make the playoffs—to go 3-1 or better against Indy, Cincinnati, Carolina and Baltimore—would be a tremendous feat for a team as shaky as Cleveland. And can you really see Hoyer leading them to three wins in the last four? I don’t know if Manziel can, but I feel much better about his chances to do so after seeing a lot of Hoyer the last couple of weeks.

It’s about more than the next month, though. It’s about 2015, and beyond.

Say Pettine’s pick for Hoyer and Manziel is a coin flip. (And it’s probably close to that.) Picking Hoyer keeps Manziel stapled to the bench at a time Cleveland GM Ray Farmer and Pettine need to start making a judgment of his ability to be the quarterback of the future. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if Hoyer played the full season—if the Browns were marching toward the playoffs, or he was playing well enough to justify consideration for a long-term contract in this, his walk year. Well, the Browns have at best an outside shot for the playoffs, and you see how Hoyer’s been playing the past four weeks.

If Manziel gets the job, Cleveland gets four games to see what they have in him—and gets a chance to torment a few defensive coordinators who don’t usually face option quarterbacks. The competitive advantage could be significant. There’s another edge. The Browns can’t be positive Manziel is their quarterback of the future. If Manziel shines, Cleveland knows it can let Hoyer walk in free agency, won’t have to put a priority on scouting quarterbacks in the 2015 draft, and instead can figure out which veteran backup they want to bring in to support Manziel and provide insurance next season.

But if Manziel is full of holes or just okay, Cleveland can enter the off-season knowing it has to spend legitimate money on a quality backup (Mark Sanchez? Nick Foles?), or has to scout every college quarterback. If the Browns have a pick in the teens, say, they may be faced with a difficult decision: what if Jameis Winston is there when they pick? If they are unsure of Manziel and see a player they’re very high on, wouldn’t they be smart to have the existing institutional knowledge to make a difficult choice?

Pettine has a tough call, but only one, as I see it. Start Johnny.
 

FRO

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Hoyer had hit his ceiling. He is a great backup QB, but isn't starting calibre. Put Johnny in there and see what he has.
 

Merlin

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I think the Browns' brain trust is terrified of him self-destructing, those guys are wound too tight IMO. If they stick him in, he's probably gonna improve weekly and even the Browns won't be willing to move him unless it's a ridiculous offer.

So I hope they don't start him, and then he has a "small" incident like extreme partying or whatever which drops his value. Then Snead will be primed to swoop in muhahahahaha...

I can dream right? I like his fit with this division, the dude can ball, plain and simple. He's gonna be good in the NFL and hopefully not with the Browns.
 

dieterbrock

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Hoyer had hit his ceiling. He is a great backup QB, but isn't starting calibre. Put Johnny in there and see what he has.
I agree. Hoyer is nothing special. Manziel may be. I get it that making the playoffs would be great for them, but getting crushed in game 1 will end that quickly.
Playing Manziel now is two fold.
1 it may make them more dangerous offensively
2 prepares them long term
 

Legatron4

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I don't understand how fans can see things like this while the coaches are too stubborn to open their eyes. I've thought Hoyer was shit since last year.
 

-X-

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He's gonna need to play soon, or Snickers is gonna pull their deal with him.
 

Robocop

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barely browsed the article cus its ridiculous IMO. Hoyer got you to 7-5 and the ppl wanna throw in this idiot? yea nice highlight Johnny, how about the next one when that you completely self-destructed under pressure and you fumble in the endzone? refs bailed you nicely on that one. Manziel doesnt know how to handle pressure or play consistent in the NFL, he will fail and do so hilariously, hes a douche so its karma coming around soon. poor man's RG3, cant wait to see how it turns out.
 

mr.stlouis

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Hmmm...

character concerns, a "bad boy" reputation, needs guidance to find his footing, very talented, but nobody is giving up on him yet.

He's not quite a Fisher kind of guy.
 

DR RAM

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I'd stick with Hoyer. He got them where they are. This is a deal breaker for the coach. You start JM, and you lose BH, and half the locker room, IMO.
 

LazyWinker

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I think Hoyer's leash is getting shorter and shorter. The last 3 games he's throw one TD pass to 6 interceptions.
 

Athos

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Hoyer has been awful. Much worse than Davis' bad stretch, b/c at least Davis was still tossing TDs while turning it over.

Hoyer is just turning it over.
 

LazyWinker

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Having watched a bit of the Browns game last week. All the Browns needed for victory was a mediocre effort at QB. The defense force 4 turnovers. 4! They brought two to the house for TD's. It's not like the Colts have a particularly stingy defense either. Hoyer was rushing throws when he didn't have to and just looked like a complete head case out there. I don't doubt Manziel will be an upgrade at this point. Heck 31 other Qb's would be an upgrade over Hoyer right now.
 

Zombie Slayer

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Yeah hasn't Hoyer thrown 7 ints and 0 td's over the last few weeks? I think that's what I heard on the highlights. I think it's the right time to start Manziel to see what he has. Browns could have beat the Colts with just decent qb play.
 

Blue and Gold

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Hey, it's time for scrawney-armed QB (who has cable). But, no doubt, they have to start him and see what he has
 

Rabid Ram

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Well espn justbecame uunwatchable lol
 

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mr.stlouis

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Just got it on my phone. Time to see what he has. If he sucks, I still wouldn't mind a trade.
 

A55VA6

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I like Manziel and I hope he does well. It's about time he gets his shot and the Browns need that franchise QB. Tough team to play in his 1st start, so we'll see what he's got!
 

LesBaker

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I like Manziel and I hope he does well. It's about time he gets his shot and the Browns need that franchise QB. Tough team to play in his 1st start, so we'll see what he's got!

Very similar situation to the Rams. They are a QB away from being a contender. Imagine if they had any of the other QB's in their division playing for them. They'd be in first place IMO.
 

blue4

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I don't understand how fans can see things like this while the coaches are too stubborn to open their eyes. I've thought Hoyer was crap since last year.

Didn't we all say this about Fisher a month ago? Mike Pettine has a team with half of our talent in the mix for a playoff spot in a tough division. Maybe Manziel stinks in practice, or has a bad grasp of the playbook. Tre Mason couldn't pass block and didn't play until he could.