Manziel addressed the media Wednesday for the first time since November 23, the day before Browns coach Mike Pettine demoted him from starting quarterback to third string because he spent a bye-week break partying, then lied to the organization about it. “In Coach Pettine’s mind, he thought that was necessary to get the harsh point across to me”, Manziel said.
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In the release stating the Browns were making their sixth (yes, sixth) quarterback change this season, Pettine said something which definitely caught my eye.
“He’s been solid in the building over the last couple of weeks and we are hopeful he takes this opportunity to continue to build on the progress he’s made on the field throughout the season, ” Pettine said. “No. I’m just sitting here today very thankful to be back in this role, to be back in front of these guys and be in the huddle calling the plays again and trying to go out and salvage what is left of this season and take some pride in these last four games”.
He claimed he would discuss it with Manziel and Austin Davis (the third of Cleveland’s quarterbacks to have taken the field this year) and make the call from there.
Manziel has appeared in six games this season and started three, the most recent coming November 15 at Pittsburgh. But if something were to occur, I could imagine that the repercussions would be harsh.. I had to learn the hard way, and I’m lucky to be back in the position that I’m in and being the starter again.
Pettine also acknowledged for the first time that the Browns did not understand the depths of Manziel’s problems before they drafted the 2012 Heisman Trophy victor previous year. Manziel is expected to start on Sunday against San Francisco. So the larger the sample size they can use to evaluate Manziel, the better.
Manziel will be under center Sunday when the Browns (2-10) host the San Francisco 49ers. They’ll need to know whether they should select a top-rated quarterback like University of California junior Jared Goff or University of Memphis junior Paxton Lynch.
Despite an National Football League investigation into a potential domestic violence incident, the Browns not only kept Manziel active, but started him against the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Manziel has completed 76 of 128 pass attempts for 933 yards with five touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 82.6. He posted a passer rating of 95.8.
Wide receiver Travis Benjamin, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, safety Tashaun Gipson, tight end Gary Barnidge and linebacker Craig Robertson will be free agents. “We’ve got four games left; this will give us a good sense of where we are with that room moving forward”.
“We have to make sure that we support our quarterback”, Pettine said.
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Meanwhile, Brian Hartline did not hold back one day after declining interviews for fear of saying something regrettable in the moments after the Browns suffered their most lopsided loss ever in 86 games with the Cincinnati Bengals. Davis went 25-for-38 for 230 yards and an interception in the 37-3 loss, but Pettine complimented his poise.
