Evan Vucci/AP
Browns QB? Flip a Coin
Neither Brian Hoyer nor Johnny Manziel emerged as the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback after disappointing performances on Monday night. But does it really matter who coach Mike Pettine picks? The answer, plus more reader mail
By Peter King
All along, Browns coach Mike Pettine wanted to name a quarterback entering the third week of the preseason. The third game is when all NFL teams play their first units the most all summer. In the case of a new coaching staff such as Cleveland’s, it’s the best chance to get a good look at September will hold.
Not so this preseason. The Browns got poor quarterbacking (9 of 22 combined) from the contenders for the starting job—incumbent vet Brian Hoyer and
bird-flipping rookieJohnny Manziel. Coach Mike Pettine told me early this morning he hasn’t made up his mind about his starting quarterback for the Sept. 7 opener against Pittsburgh.
“I don’t know,’’ he said, not long before the Browns boarded their charter to return to Cleveland. “Neither guy really distinguished himself tonight, and we’ll have to go back and study the tape and figure out who to go with. I will lean on [offensive coordinator] Kyle Shanahan and [quarterback coach] Dowell Loggains quite a bit, because they’ve watched them every day.’’
I asked: “Do you have a gut feeling right now?”
Mike Pettine (Evan Vucci/AP)
“I don’t. I don’t,’’ said Pettine.
Who can blame Pettine? Each quarterback entering Monday night knew the starting job was on the line. Each quarterback had chances, plural, to move the team. Each quarterback was grim in doing so. In the first three quarters, Hoyer, who started, and relief pitcher Manziel had eight possessions, and they ended thusly: punt, punt, punt, punt, field goal, fumble, halftime, turnover on downs.
On the ninth possession of the night, Manziel finished a 63-yard drive with a touchdown pass, but that came against the second- and third-teamers of Washington. Not conclusive.
Hoyer did nothing on the first two series of the game, and then Manziel matched that, throwing a low pass that hit the ground in front of tight end Jordan Cameron on the first series and throwing behind wideout Josh Gordon on the next possession. Pettine wanted to come away from the night convinced. Instead, he came away confused. He wouldn’t commit to anything Monday night—not when he would make his pick for starter, or whether each man would go into Week 3 of the preseason still dueling for the job.
Pettine said the two players came into the game “fairly close. Brian probably got more time early in practice with the ones, but Johnny got quite a bit. We’re going to go back and look at that, plus how they did tonight.’’
Now a couple of things about the second-half episode of Manziel flipping his middle finger in anger at the Washington bench. As much as Manziel was under a microscope at Texas A&M on and off the field, he’s got to realize it’s going to be more intense in the big leagues. He should assume that, when he’s outside the tunnel, either on the field or on the bench during an NFL game, there’s always going to be a camera focused on what he’s doing. Even in the moments a TV camera isn’t, a fan’s smart phone might well be.
So he’s got to live his life with that in the back of his mind, to prevent what happened Monday night—and also to prevent one of the classic moments in the brief history of Vine: When Manziel was told by Browns PR aide Rob McBurnett that a camera had caught him making the obscene gesture and it was out there, everywhere, Manziel looked aggrieved, then ran his hand over his face as if to say, “I am such an idiot.’’
Pettine told me what he told the media after the game, that he was “disappointed’’ in Manziel and “that can’t happen.’’ But he also made the point that I think is an important one. Paraphrasing: An opponent can’t know the quarterback has rabbit ears. And he’s right.
“Will this event have anything to do with your decision on the starting quarterback?’’ I asked.
“I wouldn’t think so,” he said. “But it will be dealt with.’’
I could see the Browns going either way, and if they go with Hoyer, they’d have him on a very short leash. I don’t see the danger in going with Manziel if the Browns think he’s ready Sept. 7—for one simple reason: He’s old beyond his years, and he won’t be so cowed by failure that it would set him back on a course to be a good quarterback in the NFL. Hoyer’ s a career backup, and it’s unlikely he would be grievously wounded by losing this job.
“It’s a tough call, obviously,’’ said Pettine.
That’s why coaches in the NFL make the big money. But no matter who Pettine chooses, it’s not permanent and it’s not that big of a deal. No fan who has watched the first two preseason games would be upset that the coronation of Manziel would have to wait. The city’s already excited.