Head coach Mike Pettine told Johnny Manziel he better start acting like the backup quarterback because right now, that is exactly what he is. The Cleveland Browns kicked off voluntary minicamps on Wednesday and Manziel was shifted right into his rightful rookie spot, third string. As Brian Hoyer took over the starting quarterback role, early reports say the veteran is well ahead of the rookie in the race to Week 1.
Despite the Nike deals and the trademark nickname, the Browns intend for Manziel to earn his spot as the starting quarterback and to do so he will have to work from the very bottom to get there. Fresh off his rookie minicamp where coaches praised his grasp of the playbook, Zimmer is cooling off on the compliments.
"I just think just like any other rookie that he's inconsistent," Pettine said, via ESPN.com. "I think a lot of it is the mental part of it. [Manziel] is more worrying about getting the formation right, making sure the motion's correct. Then he's got the cadence, and then he's got to worry about where guys are. Being good mechanically takes a backseat to learning the system first."
According to Browns' beat writers, Manziel struggled with consistency passing. He completed several passes outside of the pocket and hit receiver Josh Gordon for a deep ball, but there were several bad moments that went with that. Pettine is encouraging foundation first and foremost, noting that until Manziel has a solid grip on the system and how to play it in live situations, he will not be considered the starter.
"You've got to build a foundation first," Pettine said. "I think we want him to learn the offense first. We know that when we get into live situations that he's going to be able to make plays. We're not going to try to coach that out of him. These are just basic, basic installs. Just trying to learn formations, trying to learn basic plays. I think there will be a time down the road for the stuff that makes him special, the improv stuff."
The biggest question for Hoyer is how his surgically repaired knee is holding up this close after surgery. The quarterback participated in most team drills while also taking snaps out of shutgun. He has not been cleared to take snaps under center yet, but Pettine notes he will be by the time training camp rolls around. Hoyer is loving the competition with the other players and believes it will help everyone involved.
"Those guys are competitors and just knowing both of them, they're guys that both are going to want to be the guy out there on day one," Pettine said. "We wouldn't want them here if they weren't that way."
