He was loose. He was into it. I thought he did an outstanding job in between series, getting input from the quarterbacks.
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That trend was on stage again Sunday at Heinz field when the Steelers held their fourth opponent under 14 points with a 30-9 victory against the Browns.
Coach Pettine is willing to forgive Manziel.
A witness said Manziel was driving at a high speed and that Crowley was attempting to exit the vehicle before they stopped. “I definitely won’t take all five (days off), but two or three days, get a chance to shut it down”. Only the Aggies holding the reins believe he is still a surefire franchise quarterback, but the rest of us range from the curious types to those who enjoy watching train-wrecks.
“We’ll move forward accordingly”, McCown said Monday.
STATUS QUO: Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said there would be no major changes during Cleveland’s bye week, though Pettine understands his floundering team needs to change course quickly. Manziel, 22, takes over from Josh McCown, who has paid for the Browns’ disappointing 2-8 record.
McCown, who went 1-6 as the starter, was brought in to mentor Manziel, and by all accounts, the 36-year-old has helped groom the talented and troubled quarterback. He has done so in a rather inefficient manner, as his Passing NEP per play (0.098) ranks 18th among the 33 quarterbacks with at least 142 drop backs (McCown has 276 drop backs). He posted a passer rating of 95.8. I think that is why he was so effective. “That was the thing he stressed to me as well”.
“We’re not going to look back and make excuses and talk about what-ifs”. Although he clearly wasn’t 100 percent, Roethlisberger had one of his best games of the season.
“It’s a great opportunity for me”, Manziel said Tuesday, following coach Mike Pettine to the podium. “Also, Josh’s circumstances being what they are, not being entirely healthy”.
“It’s something that we understand where our season is, at this point, and this is a kid that we have invested a lot in”. “We’re challenged as a staff to do a little soul searching, come up with some answers and make sure when we come out of this break, we’re ready to go and ready to snap this streak”. “No matter what happens, whatever you think, if this may be for next year or whatever the case is, we are going to win some of these games down the road”.
“I learned a lot about myself”. I am still baffled this team was supposed to rely on its running and defense this year.
“I was just looking forward to coming out and trying to have a little bit of a spark and more than anything, get some wins”, Manziel said. The week without a game gives Pettine the chance to reflect on everything that’s gone wrong and try to figure out how it happened. His hard partying, often chronicled on social media, affected his preparation last season and led to him spending more than 10 weeks this past offseason in an inpatient rehabilitation facility specializing in alcohol and drug addiction treatment.
“Last week was probably the best I’ve thrown the ball in awhile, ” he said.
“Off the field, I’m not really anxious about anything. I’m in a good place”.
Fresh off a loss which begged their still-loyal fans to root for literally any other football team, the Cleveland Browns are heading into a much-needed bye week. Unsure about where he’ll spend the downtime, he said he might visit family if he leaves town.
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Roethlisberger hasn’t lost to the Browns at home during his career, even if this one got off to a more unorthodox start than most. We need to play better. He did some good things but there’s some things that can be improved upon. Manziel made a concerted attempt to stay in the pocket, showing that he could deliver passes on time and on target without the need to scramble. We’re going to come to an understanding of the why and do what we can to get it fixed.
