The media is officially allowed at Cleveland Browns' practices after being banned during rookie minicamp. This means the Johnny Manziel show is officially live and no matter how much head coach Mike Pettine tries to downplay it, the distraction will be there. It does not help that the newly hired coach is encouraging his two quarterbacks have a not so nice attitude towards one another.
Pettine is ready for a little competition during practice. Despite calling Brian Hoyer the team's starter and denying that Manziel will have anything handed to him considering he already has a high-priced Nike contract, Pettine is encouraging that the two quarterbacks battle in every aspect of the game.
"We don't want guys who are going to be warm and fuzzy," Pettine said via The Plain Dealer. "They're fighting for a job. It's somebody you're going to be working with. It's a unique situation where you're competitive, you want that job. It's not going to be this warm and fuzzy (thing). That to me is how you want your quarterback to be."
Manziel is getting a head start on the competition. Hoyer is still recovering from a torn ACL that ended his season early last year. Despite not yet being at workouts, Pettine noted that the veteran would be the starter come OTAs and it was someone's job to take that role from him. By all accounts, Manziel did enough in rookie minicamp to make the head coach believe he can earn that spot in OTAs and training camp.
"He's said all the right things," Pettine said. "... He knew he was going to have to take a step back. He was going to have to kind of check his ego at the door and earn that nickname again. It wasn't forced on him or that he was berated into that."
Pettine is right about Manziel saying all of the right things. While every news channel camera is pointed in his direction, the quarterback continues to stress that he has yet to earn anything in the NFL and is focused on betting himself and the Cleveland Browns. The head coach is making it known that just because the media is there and they have a high-profiled rookie, this is not a Tim Tebow situation and the Browns will not let the cameras distract from the bigger goal.
I'm a rookie," Manziel said. "I need to earn my place. I need to earn my keep. Nothing here needs to be handed to me. I don't need to be treated based off what I did in the past because that doesn't mean a thing at this level."
The Browns traded up for Manziel for a reason. They would not have staked draft picks on a player they did not believe could start Week 1 if needed. Hoyer might be the wise veteran, but he is not going to sell tickets. Keeping the media guessing and naming Manziel the starter is what gets the season-tickets sold and money made. The Browns need all they can get.