The comparisons were going to come at some point. They swirled in college and now of course are following to the NFL. Johnny Manziel is a mobile quarterback, so naturally he gets compared to Tim Tebow because of his specific skillset. Tebow failed in the NFL and Manziel is hoping to avoid the same fate as he starting training camp with the Cleveland Browns. With Brian Hoyer expected to start for the team, will Manziel take on a Tebow-like role in the offense?
The New York Jets tried it. When the team acquired Tebow, head coach Rex Ryan designed a specific set of plays for the quarterback to run in hopes that it would add another level to the offense and give the team an advantage. However, that experiment failed miserably. Could Manziel be getting the same treatment?
Head coach Mike Pettine does not intend to name a starting quarterback until the third game of the preseason, but Hoyer is expected to be under center for at least the first game. However, Manziel would be getting the Tebow treatment with some Wildcat-style plays much like the Jets tried.
"We've already talked about it," Pettine said, via ESPNCleveland.com. "We've already installed elements of it in the spring. We ran some of the zone-read stuff in practice and Kyle [Shanahan] incorporated some of the mobile quarterback elements of what he did in Washington. We're still going to go back to the beginning in pads, but as we get going, some of the stuff that's more game-plan-specific that we don't want to show, we might work on in our walk-throughs as opposed to a public practice."
Pettine avoided naming Tebow and Mark Sanchez when discussing the idea, instead saying he invasions Manziel to play like Colin Kaepernick in his rookie season. The 49ers quarterback had some package plays that he ran in place of Alex Smith and it paid off for San Francisco. The Browns believe they can have the same kind of success since both Hoyer and Manziel have such different skills.
"On the other side of the ball, I've seen that give defenses some trouble," Pettine said. "I think there's positives and negatives to it. You're taking your starter off the field. You have his rhythm and continuity to take into account, but at the same time defensively you're now forcing a team to basically come up with two game plans. I mean, there are pluses and minuses to it and it's something I'm sure will be discussed at some point."
The Browns will need Manziel's running ability with uncertainty at the wide receiver position. Josh Gordon is planning on appealing his one-year suspension from the NFL. If he not going to be on the field, the pressure will be on players like Miles Austin, Nate Burleson and Jordan Cameron to replace him.
