Johnny Manziel is working to prove that he can be the man for the Cleveland Browns. Thursday was not the best showcase of that as the quarterback went 15 of 33 for 168 yards and touchdown along with three sacks for 24 yards. Manziel did some good things while also not doing some great things in place of the injured Josh McCown. While head coach Mike Pettine is not committing to someone yet for Week 10, Manziel is hopeful he can keep the job.
Manziel is aware that he is auditioning for the future. While McCown is the short-term favorite at the quarterback position, Manziel must prove that he can be the guy down the road. While he has struggled with off-the-field issues, he is an improved play from last season, but how long can the Browns remain patient with Manziel? Pettine is not making any calls yet for when the Browns take on the Steelers.
"No, I can't," Pettine said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "When we get in and get back from this time off, we'll assess what pool of players are available and go ahead and make those decisions from there. This will be a good time to step away and reassess where we are moving forward."
According to Cabot, McCown is expected to be the starter against the Steelers, but only if he is healthy. McCown has been dealing with rib and shoulder injuries that have kept him off the field. Cabot writes that the Browns truly favor the veteran over Manziel and they hope he can get healthy with extra rest in order to start again. That means Manziel is once again the backup and might not emerge from the spot again.
Regardless of who is under center, the Browns need better production from their role players moving forward. The surprise of Thursday night was the sudden rise of Dwayne Bowe who was filling in for injured players after being a healthy scratch for most of the season. Bowe led receivers with three catches for 31 yards. While those numbers are not impressive, they were productive which begs the question of why he has not been playing more this year.
Cleveland is trying to keep the ball in Duke Johnson's hands as he was the most productive player of the day. He and Isaiah Crowell must begin to rush better as they accumulated just 69 yards on the ground along with Manziel. If Cleveland can get more production out of their offensive stars, the quarterback play could easily improve along with it.
