When Mike Pettine informed Johnny Manziel he was giving him the reins to the team on Tuesday, naming him the full-time starting quarterback, making him the face of the Browns, the conversation turned to Manziel’s history of off-the-field incidents. Now that it is here, Manziel can not play average or the chances of the Browns acquiring another QB either through the draft or free agency will increase.
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Pettine said that Manziel has earned the trust of his teammates after a disastrous rookie season that ended with him admitting himself to the treatment center.
As they do at every bye, no matter who the coach is, the Cleveland Browns will use the time between now and their next game on the final night of November to do some self-scouting before preparing for their next opponent. Pettine wanted to play McCown against the Steelers, but the 36-year-old’s injured ribs were still bothering him.
“This is a guy that set records here”.
“I drank a lot of milk”, Roethlisberger said after the game.
Johnny Manziel, named the Browns’ full-time starter Tuesday, promised coach Mike Pettine that he’ll be a model citizen – beginning with the bye this week.
After fumbling on his first play, Manziel regrouped and completed 33 of 45 passes with one touchdown. It’s unclear what’s more impressive: the fact that Manziel could throw for that many yards without a clear No. 1 receiver, or the fact he could do that and help manage only nine points.
The ability to clean up what he didn’t do right in the loss at Cincinnati and prove he can make plays within the pocket and within the confines of Cleveland’s offense left Pettine impressed, and Manziel considered it a “big improvement”. The Steelers are even 3-2 in games Roethlisberger didn’t start, though he had more than a little to do with that last victory.
McCown has been professionalism personified. “It is about the team”. This team is s 2-7. “As long as we get the right pieces in here and the right staff and anything we need to make this team great, I’m willing to stick by for the long haul”.
Truth is, the only thing they lead the league in is controversy. “That’s what this week is for and then come back in on Sunday and Monday and be ready to go”.
Rex Ryan admits it would be “fun” to hire his brother, Rob.
One of the most risky return men in the National Football League of this century, Jones muffed a punt and a kickoff Sunday that were – fortunately for him and the Steelers – not detrimental.
So, Bills fans aren’t likely to see Rob, who orchestrated the historically-awful Saints’ defence before getting fired this week. Get a little bit of rest and get ready to get refueled for the end of the season. “What he did for us was tremendous, and I think a lot of Johnny’s success you can trace directly to Josh McCown”. It was alarming to hear Manziel compare the second half of the Bengals game to last season’s disastrous opener.
“It’s been pretty constant fire since the day I got here, ” he said. “I’m going to get a chance to go and relax like everybody else in this locker room is. I just wish we had a better result from a team standpoint because he played his (butt) off”.
“Off the field, I’m not really anxious about anything”.
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The biggest test will be whether he can act like a starting quarterback when he isn’t in uniform. Manziel was under siege and sacked six times. The Browns want him to improve on the field and show he can be a leader away from it.
