Way too early to tell

Johnny Manziel sure is a news magnet.

No matter what he does, the rookie Browns quarterback is the subject of a story. Good, bad or otherwise.

The most ridiculous notion thus far is that Manziel should know his place on the team. He’s a newbie and thus should be treated like one.

He knows that. He doesn’t have to be told he should “act like a backup” and not like he’s king of the block. Give the guy a little credit. He’s not that ignorant where he actually believes he can walk right in and take over. He doesn’t need to be humbled.

After the first OTA session the other day, Browns General Manager Ray Farmer went on radio and declared Brian Hoyer was a better quarterback right now by a substantial margin.

Of course he is. What a ridiculous thing to say considering Manziel is taking baby steps in his transition to the professional game. He is merely dipping his toes in new waters.

The GM doesn’t need to go on radio and announce something like that to the world.  Some opinions are better off being left unsaid. Especially when the most rabid fan base in the National Football League is listening and gloms onto every word.

Hoyer is a seasoned veteran by comparison. He’s been down this road a few times. At this juncture, it stands to reason he is the much better quarterback. It’s not even close. And if the season started this Sunday, he would be under center.

But this is the latter part of May and the season does not begin for another 15 weeks.

It appears as though the Browns are taking something relatively benign right now and making a big deal of it. There is time for that later in training camp and the ramp-up to the regular season with four exhibition games.

It’s time to settle down and let this whole thing play out. Cool it with the hyperbole. By the time training camp begins in late July, Manziel will be that much wiser and the gap between him and Hoyer will narrow. It’s inevitable.

Hoyer is much closer to his ceiling now than Manziel. What will be interesting to watch is how quickly (or slowly) Manziel handles his learning curve in his acclimation to professional football.

If nothing else, that will be one of the determining factors as he takes Farmer’s broadsides and uses them as motivation in his efforts to unseat Hoyer.

It should prove to be an interesting battle and bodes well for the future at the position.