The Cleveland Browns are trying to create some confusion. As the team prepares to play the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, they are being coy about their quarterback situation. With Josh McCown healthy, he is expected to be the starting player for Week 4, but that does not mean Johnny Manziel will be riding the bench for the Browns. According to offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, there is a package of play for the quarterback to run in the upcoming game.
Browns' fans are split on the battle between McCown and Manziel. The coaching staff is all in on the veteran taking over until McCown gives them a reason to not be confident anymore. While head coach Mike Pettine has already said McCoy is "the guy", DeFilippo wants to get Manziel on the field at some point for some creativity in the play calling.
"That's always a possibility," DeFilippo said, via Cleveland.com. "To say we don't have plays ready for Johnny Manziel against the San Diego Chargers, I'd be lying to you. Okay? I'd be lying to you. So you never know. We may use them and we may not. That's the competitive advantage of showing up and playing an opponent on Sunday. They don't know what we're going to do and we don't know what they're going to do."
After TMZ reported there was a split in the locker room over which quarterback was better, everyone is denying the idea of drama. Manziel did get the team a win in his lone start of the season, but the Browns have remained committed to McCown from the beginning and it will stay that way for as long as possible. For his part, McCown is not thinking about the outside Manziel talk and is simply focused on what he can do moving forward.
"This is a diverse group of guys in here," McCown said, via ESPN.com. "On any issue that you talk about there are people who will have different opinions on anything. Position things and stuff like that are probably no different. There are people who are going have different opinions on that. And that's OK. That's fine. But at the end of the day, do I question whether or not we're going to be on the same page when we set out there on Sunday? Absolutely not."
The quarterback position is not the only place on the roster having a battle over the starter. The run game has been an area of focus so far this season. Both Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson have struggled. With Terrance West traded, the duo have not made the impact the Browns need them to make. According to Mike Clay of ESPN.com, there is the belief that once he is healthy, Robert Turbin will take over the starting job in Cleveland. Turbin is expected back on the field next week and could immediately be a favorite for the offense.
