The Cleveland Browns have Johnny Manziel and Brian Hoyer battling for the 2014 starting quarterback position and while Hoyer is ahead, Johnny Football is making progress and some think he will start at some point this season and it comes as the team has found out that Josh Gordon could get between 8 and 16 games for his suspension and that leaves open the possibility of him returning this year.
The Browns have done everything they can to make sure that Manziel feels like a rookie and while he admitted the adjustment to the NFL has been hard, it's clear that he has been improving as training camp moves along. According to ESPN.com, Manziel got work in practice in camp with the first team offense and while Mike Pettine said this was all part of the plan, blogger Pat McManamon writes that it was a good first step and that Manziel could realistically challenge for the starting job if he performs well in the preseason.
Manziel looked good in the scrimmage the Browns had last week and while his numbers did not pop off the stat sheet, many in training camps say scrimmages are not about numbers, but about how the player actually plays and looks on the field. Manziel was impressive writes Pat McManamon, as he led his team on a long drive that had a touchdown wrongly called incomplete and he also wrote that Manziel looked in command while he was on the field.
Manziel is a superstar off the field and he is the most watched player in any training camp since Peyton Manning or Tim Tebow and that only adds to the pressure for the rookie. Manziel is expected to play a great deal during the preseason and while Hoyer has the inside track to the starting job, there is a chance he could win it if he plays well enough. Manziel basically had two touchdowns in the scrimmage, as he had a slant pass dropped at the line by a receiver and also had a wrong call on a player who was out of bounds and he showed that he is getting a solid understanding of the playbook as well.
Gordon is facing a long suspension and the Browns are hoping that it won't be for a full year, as the wideout showed last season he could be one of the best talents in the league. According to SI.com, Gordon's suspension appeal decision will come in a couple weeks and he could get between eight or a full 16 game ban depending on how the ruling goes.
Gordon argued that his positive test came on second hand smoke and while the NFL has shown doesn't really care about domestic violence, they come down hard on drug suspensions and that could lead to Gordon being out for a year. Gordon led the league in receiving yards last season and had a career high 87 catches for over 1,600 yards and having him on the field could be huge for Manziel's development. The Browns are coming off of another 4-12 season and they have a new head coach and possibly some hope with Manziel.
