One week after being named the team’s starter, Manziel was demoted to third string for Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens after social media posts surfaced showing Manziel allegedly partying last weekend in Texas during the team’s bye week.
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The decision to bury Manziel on the bench is predicated by video that surfaced this week of Manziel partying at an Austin, Texas nightclub during the Browns’ bye week.
“To whom much is given much is expected”, Pettine said.
“When you have a great opportunity in front of you, it is important that you demonstrate that you can handle the responsibility that comes with it”, Pettine said, according to ESPN. “We traded for a guy when I first got to Green Bay that Atlanta said was a little bit of a hell raiser and it turned out okay for us”.
“Obviously, Josh has played a lot of football for us this year”, DeFilippo said. “You can see how quickly that has changed”, said Pettine who noted that Josh McCown would return as the starter quarterback in Monday’s game against Baltimore Ravens.
Pettine met with Manziel following practice Tuesday and informed him of his choice to bench him for the foreseeable future. “I won’t speak beyond that right now”.
DeFilippo said that coaches have not determined if Manziel would be dressed and active for the game as the No. 3.
“I think all of us as people, myself included, we’re all a work in progress every day”. Then Manziel threw it all away by losing the trust of his coaches, but Gruden said this should not be interpreted as the end for Manziel.
“This is a decision that I know for him in particular stings in the short term”, Pettine said.
Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said he believed it was possible for the embattled quarterback to make his way back onto the field this season, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. They want to test Manziel in order to map out their offseason plans, but the Browns coach insisted that they had no other choice but to demote him because of his disappointing behavior. With Austin Davis passing Manziel on the depth chart, it nearly assures Manziel will not be playing this week, unless both McCown and Haslam get hurt. if the Browns sit Manziel.
“We went straight at it”, Gruden said regarding his time spent working with Manziel.
This is a heavy dose of adversity. Looks like we’ll have to wait till Week 1 of 2016 to see Manziel back on the field-with a new coach who doesn’t hate his guts.
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McCown complimented Manziel for taking notes in meetings and doing everything he was supposed to do Wednesday despite the circumstances. They were together outside the facility frequently, and in January after Manziel’s rookie season, Gordon and Manziel took a trip to Aspen, Colorado, with other friends. Pettine feels Manziel violated the team’s trust, and the players seem to agree.
