It’s Johnny Football time. The surprising Cleveland Browns are making the move this Sunday and handing over the QB reigns to rookie Johnny Manziel. The battle between the rival Bengals and Browns was already big to begin with as both teams are battling to make the playoffs. It just got a whole lot bigger at every level.
The trash talking began on Sunday night as Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis called Manziel a “midget” and I would expect the Browns decision to be a hot topic all week long, with fans everywhere eager to see how the volatile rookie performs.
I don’t see where there’s even the slightest controversy here. Brian Hoyer did pretty well early on this season and kept Manziel on the bench longer than most expected. But Hoyer has not been good at all recently, and his numbers over the past three games are simply terrible. It’s a team sport and it’s really tough to single out one player as the goat when a team loses. . That’s a game Cleveland absolutely should have won. Erratic kicker Billy Cundiff missed another critical field goal attempt, so Hoyer has some company. But it’s difficult to avoid at least co-tagging Hoyer for the defeat at the hands of the Colts on Sunday.
I was hoping the Browns would make this move prior to the Colts game. But the NFL is what it is as far as QB moves are concerned, and the rule rather than the exception is that coaches are very reluctant to change things up, particularly when the team isn’t playing all that badly as a whole.
In any event, this ought to be fun. If Manziel has a good game, it’s going to be a huge story. If Manziel has a bad game, same deal. Like him or not, the guy is a lightning rod. I’ve got no idea right now whether or not I’ll be playing this game, but I’ll definitely be watching.
Are you more or less inclined to bet the Browns this week?
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