The Cleveland Browns are on the verge of entering the Johnny Manziel era, and while the players support Brian Hoyer, they are prepared to rally behind Manziel.
Browns players are ready for ‘baller’ Johnny Manziel
The Browns could be going with Johnny Manziel instead of Brian Hoyer this week, and the players let their thoughts be heard on the matter.
Update: “Baller” or not, the Browns are reportedly sticking with Hoyer at quarterback for Week 14.
Head coach Mike Pettine is expected to announce Wednesday whether Manziel or Hoyer will start the team's upcoming game against the Indianapolis Colts. Hoyer was replaced by Manziel during a 26-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13. Manziel managed a touchdown on his first drive and displayed the electrifying attributes many expect him to bring to Cleveland.
Count defensive end Billy Winn among those impressed by Manziel's debut, via Cleveland.com:
“I was excited to see him get a chance to show the league what he can do,” said defensive end Billy Winn. “He went out there and made everything come to life.
“Watching him here since training camp, I’ve been really surprised at the kid. He’s able to do a lot of things for the team and he’s going to confuse a lot of defenses because he has the aspect of his game where he can run the ball.”
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Wide receiver Travis Benjamin also praised the dual-threat aspect Manziel brings to a game:
“Johnny is a baller, no matter what,” said Benjamin. “Ready or not, you put him in the game and if he doesn’t make the play with his arm, he’ll make the play with his legs. Running backs, receivers, tight ends and linemen also have to come together and help him and make sure we have limited mistakes so we can push Johnny to get the edge on people.”
Winn did stress that the team supports both Hoyer and Manziel and will rally around whoever is under center going forward:
“We have a lot of trust in Brian. If he is the starter, Brian’s our guy, but if not, if Johnny goes out there, we’re still behind him 100 percent. They brought Johnny here for a reason, and he went out there and he put a drive together and ran fearlessly into the end zone. He looked good.”
Offensive guard John Greco also supported Hoyer, who has started every game this year and gone 10-5 as a starter for Cleveland over the past two seasons:
“He’s got a lot of things he’s battling whether he’s hearing stuff from the outside (or whatever),” Greco said. “He comes to work every day and focuses because it’s his job. I heard him say in the press conference (Sunday) he feels like he’s the guy and we do, too, and it’s his job. And he’s been our leader all year, but decisions are out of our hands, and we’re going to roll with it no matter what they choose.”
As for Hoyer himself, he believes he’ll be able to hold on to the job because he gives the Browns the best chance to win:
“You don’t get to 7-5 in the NFL by lucking into it,” Hoyer said. “This just doesn’t happen by luck. It was hard-earned, and we’ve worked to get where we’re at. We’re still in it. With those other teams losing yesterday, we have four more games. Two of them are division games.”
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