Johnny Manziel is on thin ice and he knows it. After a lackluster rookie season and roller coaster offseason the quarterback comes into the 2015 season with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. The Cleveland Browns are working to lessen that burden as Josh McCown has been named the starting quarterback for the upcoming season. However, Manziel is looking better by the day which has Cleveland excited about his future.
According to ESPN's Pat McManamon, Manziel is looking strong at this point in training camp. The quarterback has been working with the second team while getting some first-team reps as he progresses. He remains the backup, but according to McManamon, the general consensus is that the quarterback is slowly starting to look like a solid option for the future of the franchise.
"Some of it's physical, but I would say the majority of it is the mental part of it, understanding protections," Pettine said, via Browns.com's Kevin Jones. "The one play he made where defense was a heavy blitz look, he walked up, changed the protection, stepped up in the pocket and threw a touchdown pass. That was probably, start to finish, his best play of camp. But it just typified his - it was more preparation than anything else. I just think he has so much more of an intimate knowledge of what we're doing."
While Manziel continues to improve as a quarterback, certain other position players are struggling. The Browns are having run game issues in training camp as injuries make their way through the group. Both Terrance West and Duke Johnson are struggling to stay healthy. Pettine told the media that neither injury was serious, but both running backs would miss some time. As a result, Isaiah Crowell is taking hold of the added attention and working with the first-team offense.
There is also a battle taking place at the wide receiver spot as Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline are the only guaranteed starters. The Browns are still working out who has earned that third spot in the rotation. Terrelle Pryor is certainly making some noise while Andrew Hawkins, Taylor Gabriel and Travis Benjamin battle it out.
In the upcoming team scrimmage, Manziel is taking the snaps with the first-team offense. While many would believe that means he is pushing for the starting job this season, Pettine downplayed the idea.
"I wouldn't read too much into it that [Manziel's] going with the ones. Josh, right now is firmly the one, but don't be surprised at some point during camp if you see maybe Thad [Lewis], maybe even Connor [Shaw] with that group as well," Pettine said, via ESPN.com.
