Johnny Manziel Needs to Start for the Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns need to make the change now — it’s Johnny Manziel’s time to start

Johnny Manziel watched helplessly as the Cleveland Browns announced last Wednesday that Brian Hoyer would be their starting quarterback against the Indianapolis Colts. After a fifth straight subpar week from Hoyer, there should be no doubt as to who head coach Mike Pettine should be starting against the Bengals next week and subsequent weeks thereafter.

Johnny Manziel, in spite of all the questions of his character, should be freed from the shackles of the cold aluminum bench and start against Cincinnati next week. Though Hoyer may have a 10-6 record with the team, it is obvious that the floundering Browns need a shot of Johnny Football to ignite their postseason push.

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At the start of the season, the Browns were justified when they announced that Hoyer would be starting instead of the confident rookie out of the Texas A&M. The 6-year veteran Hoyer was undefeated in his Cleveland Browns career at the beginning of the season and came out of training camp with a better understanding of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s West Coast Offense.

Hoyer rewarded the coaching staff’s faith by leading the Cleveland Browns to a respectable 6-3 record after 10 weeks of football, good enough for a share of the AFC North Division lead. In four of those six wins, Hoyer led the Browns to a game-winning drive in the closing moments of the game. It seemed that the Browns had finally found a dependable quarterback after cycling through a comedy of errors at quarterback position in last the 15 years.

Then something happened to the Cleveland Browns that seems to happen every year they have a chance to make some noise in the NFL: they realized that they were the Cleveland Browns and they start losing games. This time, it is Hoyer who is the root of the Browns problems.

In the next three games, Hoyer posted subpar numbers at the quarterback position, converting 50.7 percent of his passes, throwing for only one touchdown against six interceptions, and a 55.7 quarterback rating.

In the game against Buffalo last week, Pettine replaced Hoyer with 12:01 left in the game to give Manziel an opportunity to spark the Browns anemic offense. He ended up leading them on an eight-play, 80-year drive that ended with Manziel sprinting from 10 yards out to a score a touchdown; the Browns only touchdown of the game.

Nov 30, 2014; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) throws the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills won 26-10. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /

With a solid 12-minute performance under his belt, Johnny Manziel seemed destined to start against the Colts when Pettine was noncommittal about the quarterback position early in the week. Only Pettine stubbornly stuck with Hoyer after asking key veterans which quarterback they had more faith in. The results were frustratingly predictable.

Hoyer threw for 140 yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions, and completed 45.16 percent of his passes. He failed to connect with star receiver Josh Gordon after the first drive and badly missed a wide-open Taylor Gabriel that would’ve ended in a guaranteed touchdown. The offense only picked up three first downs in the second half.

If the Browns have more faith in Hoyer than they do Manziel, it sure was not reflected in the results. Then again, it is hard for an offense to perform when your quarterback is sailing balls and throwing it to the other team. Regardless of what the veterans and coaching staff may think and what Hoyer has done in the past, he has not done enough lately to secure his starting job.

It is always said that the NFL is a results based league. The results for Hoyer show that he is not the quarterback that puts the Browns in the best position to win anymore. Time to hand the keys over the Manziel.

What Manziel lacks in experience, he makes up for in unfamiliarity. The NFL has seen next to nothing of how Manziel plays in actual game situations unless someone is naïve enough to believe that the NFL preseason is anything close. Opposing teams will be unable to predict how he will react in certain situations and that is where the Browns have the upper hand. If no one knows what Manziel is going to do except him, he can improvise and make plays.

If the Browns can utilize Manziel correctly, the offense would look a lot like the offense that the Washington Redskins ran while Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator. Manziel would be the mobile quarterback in a read option, west coast offense with two very capable backs in Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West and a stud wide receiver that can stretch the field in Josh Gordon. With Manziel using his 4.56 second 40-time to run and gun his way down the field, the Browns will be exciting the fan base in no time.

When those fans become interested, they will fill in the stadiums a bit more to see what Manziel will do next. The more seats filled, the more beer bought and the team can benefit financially from Manziel being starting quarterback. The decision makes sense for everyone involved.

No matter what you think of Johnny Manziel, the allure of his talent and personality are undeniable. The Cleveland Browns seemed hell-bent since the beginning of the season to deny Manziel’s rightful spot as a starter under the guises of immaturity and lack of experience, but now, with Hoyer flailing under the pressure, they have no choice but to entrust him with the quarterback position.

The Browns can use what he does in his free time all they want to argue against starting him, but they know the right decision is going to have to be made sooner rather than later. Start Johnny Manziel.

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