The Cleveland Browns mean it when they say Johnny Manziel must earn the starting quarterback spot and right now he is not doing the greatest job at it. After an offseason that was headlined by Las Vegas pool parties and questionable bathroom photos, the quarterback must now refocus and prepare to try and earn the No. 1 quarterback spot. Three days into training camp, Manziel is not impressing.
The quarterback play will be the major headline of Cleveland's training camp outside of the pending future of wide receiver Josh Gordon. Drafting Manziel did the team no favors in the media category as the quarterback seems to just bring on the headlines. Now the rookie is going up against the veteran, Brian Hoyer, to be named the starter and head coach Mike Pettine is noting that if Manziel wants the job then he needs to step up.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Pettine is not thrilled with Manziel lack of consistency. The head coach told the media that Hoyer looked sharp and focused in practice, but Manziel was inconsistent with his throws. The Hoyer lovefest continued with general manager Ray Farmer called the veteran "phenomenal" and "a pro." Was that a subtle dig at Manziel?
One person loving the quarterback competition is wide receiver Nate Burleson. Signed over from the Detroit Lions, Burleson believes the competition of Hoyer and Manziel will only help the offense improve as the quarterbacks improve themselves.
"I like getting in the huddle and seeing these quarterbacks,'' Burleson said, via the Plain Dealer. "They should be saying, 'I'm the captain of this ship. Let's hit the seas, man. Let's go pillage and plunder what we want. That's exactly what these two guys have. We're going to follow their lead. This is an intense sport. We're not here to play around. We're here to make the city proud. We're working for that. We have a long way to go, but we have two guys competing for the same spot. We can't go wrong either way, so it's exciting."
Burleson will be one of the many Browns' wide receivers stepping up to replace Gordon for however long the NFL sees fit. The team did not draft a wide receiver following the news that Gordon could miss the entire season after a failed drug test. Instead they are looking from within to replace his numbers and they might have found it.
Fresh into training camp, the Browns are speaking high praises towards Chris Johnson who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers last year but was grabbed by Cleveland off the team's practice squad. Competing against the likes of veteran Miles Austin and inconsistent Andrew Hawkins, Johnson reportedly looks like the next best thing according to Pettine.
"He's explosive," Pettine said. "He's a guy that is deceptively fast. He doesn't look like he's covering a lot of ground but he is. I think his catch radius is bigger than most. He's got long arms and he's got (big) hands. He's a guy that we hope can emerge from this as a guy that can help us."