The Cleveland Browns announced Tuesday that Johnny Manziel will start at quarterback, beginning Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
Advertisement
With upheaval on the horizon, players, coaches and executives are uneasy.
He said he will stop showing Browns games, ban employees from wearing Browns gear and no longer offer “game day” specials, acknowledging it will cost him money.
“We had to just come out and play our game, ” Dalton said after getting his 50th career win as a starter.
The Browns were taken apart on Sunday by the Cincinnati Bengals, a loss that was Cleveland’s seventh in a row, ninth in their past 10 games, 15th in their past 17 games and 13th consecutive loss in the month of December.
“I said the problem is I wasn’t here during OTAs, so we didn’t get to do that and it happened on Sunday, and that’s not what you want, but again, that’s the situation we’re in. That’s a big part of it. That’s where the plan starts, and that to me hopefully will drive what changes need to be made”. It sounds like Pettine may have lost the locker room with the decision, and it looks likely he will be looking for work this January.
And the chatter around the team isn’t good, with the team’s head coach, Mike Pettine, receiving significantly less than total support from the team’s owner, Jimmy Haslam, in the wake of the team’s latest debacle. He went 14 for 19 passing for 220 yards. We all have ideas on how to get it done, and we need to be collaborative and we need to make sure that we’re picking the best ideas and pushing those agendas moving forward. Manziel’s performance they last few weeks can determine that as Pettine told the media that they are constantly evaluating for the future.
Quarterback Josh McCown started last Monday night’s game because Manziel, who had been named the team’s starter for the rest of the season, was sent back to the bench and relegated to No. 3 quarterback against the Baltimore Ravens. Though the loss was lopsided, his passing numbers weren’t awful – he went 33 of 45 for 372 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Pettine will meet with his offensive staff before making another switch.
At just 23 years old, Manziel is still maturing and is figuring out how to handle himself off-the-field.
Advertisement
Earlier on Monday, the news broke that the Browns were planning to turn back to Manziel as the starting quarterback, but Pettine shot that down – at least for another day. Some fans watching the game in Blue Ash at Slatts Pub say they just don’t know what to do anymore. “We have to make sure that we support our quarterback”.
