Johnny Manziel should not start for the Cleveland Browns this season.
I said it in September after three games and I will say it again now amid growing pressure from the US media to bench starter Brian Hoyer and usher in the Johnny Football era in Cleveland.
The landscape has changed since the Browns were 1-2, but my stance remains the same.
There is no doubt Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine faces a tough decision ahead of a must-win clash against the Colts in Week 13. It’s the known versus the unknown, the kid versus the journeyman.
Whatever decision he makes, it may end up being that neither quarterback could have led the Browns into the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
The AFC playoff picture is ridiculously condensed this season and a 10-6 team could miss the post-season.
But heading into Week 14 the Browns are 7-5 and still in the hunt. They are on the outside looking in at a wildcard spot, but with four games remaining can still, mathematically, win the division.
And despite his recent struggles, it was Hoyer who got them there. The Browns have to stick with him. If they were 4-8 and out of contention then by all means switch to the rookie to see if he can be the long-term starter in Cleveland. But now is not the time to panic and get caught up in the Manziel hysteria.
The 49ers and Bengals are both in contention for a playoff spot. Both their quarterbacks struggled in Week 13. But there has been no talk about benching Colin Kaepernick or Andy Dalton. Granted, they don’t have Johnny Manziel waiting in the wings, but that is exactly my point. Hoyer is being held to a higher standard because of Manziel’s profile and his perceived ability to be a game-changer.
The talk of Manziel superseding him at Cleveland has encouraged Hoyer to elevate his play and silence the critics all season and it should work that way again with only four games to go. You don’t need to replace Hoyer in Cleveland to see an improvement at the quarterback position, just threaten to replace him. That should be enough.
Hoyer was shocked at being benched given his record with the Browns and was quick to point out afterwards that his team was still alive in the playoff chase.
“We’re 7-5,” Hoyer said Monday.
“That just doesn’t happen by luck. It was hard earned and we’ve worked to get where we’re at. And we’re still in it.
“With those other teams [Pittsburgh and Baltimore] losing yesterday, we have four more games; two of them are division games. You don’t get to 7-5 in the NFL just by lucking into it.
“I think I’ve proven I’ve gotten us to this point and I feel like I can carry us through the next few games. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll be ready to go.”
Hoyer has struggled at times through an up and down season, throwing 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as well as 3056 yards. The Browns have been blessed with a powerful running game and a better than average pass defence. But Hoyer has come up big and led fourth-quarter comebacks on more than one occasion this season.
Without him the Browns would be out of contention already. He marched the ball down the field in the final minutes against the Saints in Week 2 before finding Andrew Hawkins wide open to set-up the game-winning field goal. Two weeks later he led the Browns back from a 25-point deficit against the Titans before throwing the game-winning touchdown to Travis Benjamin with one minute remaining.
He was more of a game manager than a gunslinger in wins over the Steelers, Raiders and Bengals before struggling in a loss against the Texans. Since then he has thrown five interceptions and zero touchdowns. It is a stat the US media has jumped on, calling for Hoyer to be benched and replaced by Manziel. But it needs to be pointed out that despite Hoyer’s error-ridden, three-interception game against the Falcons in Week 12, the Browns still won on a Hoyer game-winning drive.
Hoyer’s struggles against the Bills in Week 13 appeared to be a turning point for coach Pettine. He benched Hoyer after his second interception and brought in Manziel. Johnny Football looked good on his first drive, driving 80 yards before dashing into the end zone and flashing the money sign. But on the second series he showed the other side to his game. He fumbled and was lucky not to give up a defensive touchdown.
You don’t know what you’re going to get with Manziel. And while that might be appealing to some fans who are fed up with Hoyer, the situation is not as dire as some would have you believe and it is not the time to bring in an untested rookie.
There is no margin for error at this point and while you could say Hoyer has shown he has plenty of errors in him, so does Manziel. He is an unpolished rookie working with the first team for the first time. He has shown in his limited snaps that he trends towards a knee-jerk style of play, taking one look at the coverage before bolting from the pocket.
It was the right decision to bench Manziel at the start of the season, it is the right decision again now.
Johnny Manziel should not start for the Cleveland Browns this season.
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