The Cleveland Browns will not be able to escape the Johnny Manziel talk. The more the team practices and addresses the media, the more they will get asked about the quarterback and whether or not he is good or bad. Manziel has been a media fixture since college and that spotlight has only increased. However, most of the Browns' roster is taking that in stride and praising Manziel for the amount he has improved in terms of work ethic and maturity.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, head coach Mike Pettine has already named Josh McCown the starting quarterback in Week 1, but early reports on the improvement of Manziel show he is not far behind the veteran. Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo took time to praise Manziel, confident he will be a starting quarterback in the NFL in the near future.
"All I know is this: From the moment he stepped in this building from the last two weeks, he's been nothing but a consummate professional,'' DeFilippo said, via Cleveland.com. "He's spent every hour that he's been allowed to spend in this building. We give them worksheets every Tuesday and every Friday, and they're done to the unbelievable detail that we need an NFL quarterback to do. From that standpoint, like I said I can't predict the future, but all I can do is tell you right now Johnny Manziel is putting himself in a position to be a quarterback in the NFL."
DeFilippo noted that he is really thrilled with the way the offense looked and credited players like Brian Hartline and Dwayne Bowe as reasons the quarterback play is improved. Rookie Duke Johnson has also been earning rave reviews for his ability to be versatile within the offense. Pettine likes the brewing running back battle as everyone brings something different to the field. Hartline made it clear that he was not about to say which quarterback is better between Manziel and McCOwn, taking the stance that Pettine has over the past few weeks.
"We installed almost 100 passes the first day (of team activities)," Hartline said, via the Akron Beacon Journal. "No one really has a leg up. When a new OC comes in, everyone's learning from scratch."
As expected, McCown will be the starter Week 1 for Cleveland simply based on experience alone. However, the praise for Manziel certainly bodes well for his future with the franchise. The Browns did not acquire a quarterback in the NFL Draft which means they gave Manziel a silent endorsement for the future. Now the task is living up to the expectations.
