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Baffling move
Mike Pettine appeared to make his first mistake as head
coach of the Browns Thursday.
He named Brian Hoyer to start Monday’s nationally televised exhibition
game in Washington against the Redskins. By doing so, he has also named Hoyer
to open the regular season in Pittsburgh on Sept. 7.
That’s because the rookie head coach is on record as saying
whoever starts the third exhibition game a week from Saturday night against the
St. Louis Rams in Cleveland starts in Pittsburgh.
With Hoyer starting the first two exhibitions, how can he
rationalize starting Johnny Manziel – and playing him for at least the first 2½
quarters – in the third meaningless game?
By relegating Manziel to working with second- and
third-teamers against the Rams, Pettine has sent the rookie quarterback a
definitive message: You’re not good enough to start yet. And you’re not going
to get the chance to prove me wrong.
In explaining his decision, Pettine said, “It’s just
something right now where we are comfortable with Brian going out there to
start the game. I think it’s a little overblown as to who the starter is going
to be.”
Overblown? With the Hoyer-Manziel battle grabbing national headlines
on a daily basis? That overblown? Or ESPN (on whose network the Redskins game
will be televised) and Fox and CBS and NBC embedded in Berea? That overblown?
Really?
Pettine went on to explain that “the key component . . . is
that we are going to balance the reps. We will play it by ear as it goes on. We
truly haven’t decided as far as the rotation, but the goal is . . . both have
the same amount of repetitions and hopefully both get a good amount of work.”
What harm would it have done to start Manziel in the Rams
game? None. He would get to work with the first team, something he hasn’t been
given a chance to do yet. And unless Hoyer gets hurt between now and Monday, he
won’t get that chance.
Sure, Manziel has worked with the ones in practice. That’s not
the same thing, though.
There are many unanswered questions about him as he
transitions to the professional game. One of them is how will he perform when
given an opportunity with the first team. Pettine’s actions Thursday make
certain that one will remain unanswered for the time being.
Some critics ask what difference does it make who starts this
game as long as both men get the necessary reps. If Manziel had started the
first exhibition instead of Hoyer, the answer to that would be obvious.
It is possible Pettine and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan
are fearful of rushing Manziel to the point where he might develop misguided
confidence. With Manziel, however, that will never be a problem.
No matter how he performs, he gives off the notion that he won't allow anything chisel away at that confidence. It’s that feeling, that belief
that has carried him to this point in his life.
Hopefully, this is not an attempt by Pettine and his staff
to rein him in, much like they did in the OTAs and minicamp a few months ago.
Manziel is smart enough to know his place on this team and doesn’t need to be
verbally slapped into place.
This one very well could turn out to be the wrong decision
for the wrong reasons. Stunting his growth is not a wise move.
Pettine said Manziel will get snaps with the ones, just not the first snaps of the game.
ReplyDeleteThey're playing the Redskins by the way.
Hi Strummer,
ReplyDeleteWhen will Manziel get those snaps? Is Pettine going to alternate his quarterbacks by the series? Exactly how is going to divide their reps?
Juggling quarterbacks in the second exhibition game is no way to make a determination on who starts the regular-season opener. It only confuses the issue.
And I know they play the Redskins Monday. Said so in the second graf. They play the Rams in the third exhibition a week from Saturday. That's five days after the Redskins game and the one that determines who starts the regular season.
"With Hoyer starting the first two exhibitions, how can he rationalize starting Johnny Manziel – and playing him for at least the first 2½ quarters – in the third meaningless game?
ReplyDeleteBy relegating Manziel to working with second- and third-teamers against the Rams, Pettine has sent the rookie quarterback a definitive message: You’re not good enough to start yet. And you’re not going to get the chance to prove me wrong."
The third exhibition game is when the starters play about 3 quarters. If Manziel gets this start, he's starting against Pittsburgh in the opener.
"It is possible Pettine and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan are fearful of rushing Manziel…"
…into a starting gig when he stall can't call all the plays correctly in the huddle, stares down receivers, and can't yet run a no huddle offense Fixed.
He is also a rookie who was late to a meeting this week.
Hey, I'm not against Manziel, I just don't think he's ready yet. I didn't want the Browns to draft him but they did, so I hope he does well.
Rich, sorry about the typos and bad punctuation.
ReplyDeleteStrummer,
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a bit early to rush to judgment on a kid who has played only one pro game? What would be the harm to start him in the second game to see what he would do with the ones?
How do you know he stares down his receivers? How do you know he can't call plays correctly in the huddle? How do you know he can't run a huddle?
And he was a few minutes late to that meeting. A non-story.
You might be right about Manziel not being ready yet. But unless we see him perform with the players Hoyer gets, it will be a while before we find out.
Rich, he WILL play with the ones on Monday. It's been repeated by Pettine ad nauseam. They will each get the same amount of reps with the ones.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I read from reporters who are at practice, and what I saw in the first game is what I'm going on when I state those things. I don't actually "know" anything except for what I perceive from the game. He's not so good with the progressions.
Late is late. It IS no big deal, but you can't let the rookies make habits of these things, and one way to stop that is to "nip it in the bud" (to quote my favorite deputy). You especially can't play favorites with your famous rookie.