Mike Pettine has been dancing around Cleveland's quarterback situation for quite some time now. At first it was assumed that McCown was the starter because clearly Manziel was not and now it looks to be Terrell Pryor will get the nod heading into camp but Pryor wants to continue to be a wide receiver.
Now Pettine is saying that the Browns could see Manziel as a week 1 starter. All of this talk is just because no one knows who is going to be the Brown's quarterback. McCown has a ton of experience but it is not the experience of an Aaron Rodgers or even a Sam Bradford but of an NFL journeyman who is looking at his last chance to start in the league.
Manziel was drafted to start eventually so instead of sitting on their mistake the Browns need to explore it and see what Manziel is really about. Manziel as a day 1 starter will bring some nerves, but overall organizational stability will follow (if Manziel has matured) plus the Browns really could figure out if he is the right guy for the job. If Manziel is not and the Browns lose a bunch of games then at least they know and possibly could gain another first round quarterback in the next draft.
McCown should only start if Manziel is depleted or not playing like a pro, sure right now it looks like McCown has all of the tools needed to make the Browns a contender, but the reality is he does not either.
McCown is a band aid on a far worse problem, the lack of offensive potency. Look the Browns knew going into the draft that they would need a wide receiver for any quarterback they use going forward. They ignored it in the draft and decided to pick up Dwayne Bowe in free agency?
Understandably with Josh Gordon on your roster it is hard to spend your first round pick on a receiver, but with Gordon suspended all season it should have been a priority. It is utterly confusing, and ultimately setting up both quarterbacks for failure. Whoever starts week one will have to do so with limited weapons so by week 7 expect Thad Lewis to start slinging deep balls all over the field.
