Manziel’s Future? It’s Up to Him.

Last year, the Cleveland Browns excited the NFL and fans of the team by moving up a few spots in the draft to take former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.

The media swarmed training camp and Manziel’s progress in practice and the pre-season were closely monitored by everyone.

He didn’t win the job to start the season as Brian Hoyer led the Browns to a 7-4 record, but Hoyer started to show some warts and Johnny Football made his debut against Buffalo and led Cleveland to a touchdown on his first drive.

Unfortunately, that was the high point of his season.

However, after Hoyer struggled mightily at home against the Colts, a game the defense played magnificently, coach Mike Pettine named the rookie the starter against Cincinnati.

The Bengals led 14-0 after the Browns had the ball once, a three and out, and the myth of “Johnny Football” was gone.

What if Hoyer played well against Indianapolis, making the Browns 8-5, keeping them in playoff contention, and Manziel didn’t see any action after the Bills game?

Everyone connected to the Browns would be looking forward to the first round pick being the starter going into the 2015 season, and no one would be doing stories about how unprepared the kid was to be the starter in those games.

But the games against the Bengals and Panthers did happen and now there are serious questions as to whether or not Manziel has a future in the NFL.

Those games could show Manziel that he needs to put a lot of work into his profession or he will be out of the league fairly soon. Whether he does this or not, the proof will be during the spring mini camps and when the team convenes in Berea (or wherever) in July.

Right now, it doesn’t look like he is making it a priority in his life to be a starting signal caller in the NFL. He appears to be more interested in being a celebrity.

So, what should the Browns do?

We have already advocated that six quarters of action isn’t enough of a look to decide Manziel can’t be an effective player in the league, but he needs to show he has the dedication and he needs an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach who will tell him the style he played in college won’t work in the professional ranks, and teach him to be a pro passer.

If Manziel comes to camp in July and doesn’t put the work in, then the Browns have a big decision, and we wouldn’t have any complaint if they let him go at that point.

Until then, GM Ray Farmer can’t put all his eggs in Manziel’s basket, nor should he settle for Brian Hoyer. The Browns need to attempt to upgrade the position if they want to get to the post-season.

In the meantime, the people who want to “send a message” to the locker room by cutting the rookie aren’t thinking clearly. They view him as a punk who will never amount to anything.

That’s short-sighted. He has some ability and the Browns owe it to themselves to find out if he has the determination and drive to be successful in the league. However, they can’t wait too long.

Six quarters isn’t enough of a sample size. What they really need to see is the level of commitment from the player himself.

The Plan Should Be for Manziel to Succeed

It’s hard to believe that so many people have decided to give up on Johnny Manziel after a whopping six quarters of playing time. Both fans and the media, local and national, have declared the Manziel era over after just two starts.

For what its worth, we did not advocate taking the former Heisman Trophy winner with the fourth overall pick in the draft, and we were ambivalent about selecting him at #22. If there was a quarterback to be had, we wanted Jimmy Garoppolo, who New England took in the second round.

However, it is ridiculous to dismiss Manziel after such limited playing time.

It is our opinion that the Browns contributed to the slow transition for the rookie signal caller by not teaching him to be a professional quarterback from the moment he became a member of the organization.

By this we mean they kept talking about his “skill set” and the “Johnny package”. Is Manziel a good athlete? Yes. Can he move and run the football if pressured? Yes. But, to use read option plays and designed runs didn’t help his development. And that’s on the Browns.

They should have told him they were going to train him to be an NFL quarterback, meaning dropping back, reading the defense, planting your back foot, and throwing the football.

If that’s what they tried to do, and the pupil wasn’t willing to listen, then there is another problem, and that one may not be able to be fixed.

But we think the offensive coaches looked at Manziel as a toy, something to play with, instead of teaching him how to make plays in the pocket. And when Brian Hoyer’s play started to subside, they had to change signal callers, and the rookie wasn’t ready.

So, how does he get ready?

That starts with Manziel’s meeting with the coaches when the season ends. They have to find out if the rookie is ready to put the time in to be a successful NFL quarterback. If that answer is yes, then they should tell him this is the course of action following some time off. By the way, we would tell him to keep a lower profile during his time off.

Next, we would tell him after his time off, that it is time to move to Cleveland and be around the training facility as much as he can. If we wants to continue working with George Whitfield, his personal coach, that’s fine, but he should be taking the time he needs to learn his craft.

When it is time to work with the coaches again, he should be heavily involved with Kyle Shanahan and Dowell Loggains working on the things he needs to do to be the starter when the season opens next year.

If Manziel is the competitor he is reported to be, this shouldn’t be a problem for him. He should be burning to show these two starts are not indicative of his performance level.

Both parties have to change for this to work. Manziel has to start settling down and also needs to eliminate his urge to leave the pocket at the first sign of trouble.

The Browns need to stop treating their first round pick as a circus act and start educating on what needs to be done to be a winning quarterback in the NFL.

Why not try this before looking for another rookie passer in this year’s draft?

Manziel Not Good, But Several People Let Him Down

It turns out that Johnny Manziel is just like any other rookie quarterback who has entered the NFL in the recent future and is not named Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck.

That is to say there is a learning curve and struggles early for most QBs in the NFL coming right out of college.

However, coach Mike Pettine gave the right answer after the game when asked who would be his starter at the position next week at Carolina when he gave Manziel’s name as the answer.

After all, there can’t be another first start for the former Heisman Trophy winner. It should be only up hill from here if he has the talent to be successful in the National Football League.

Still, even in his dismal performance, and being 10 of 18 for 80 yards with two interceptions in a 30-0 defeat is indeed dismal, there are several people who let the rookie down. And in saying that, we realize both picks were plays that worked in college for Johnny Football, but don’t work for John Professional.

Kyle Shanahan. We wanted to see Manziel run the offense that worked for Cleveland the first eight weeks of the season, meaning the attack Brian Hoyer ran, but with a quarterback with a stronger arm and more mobility.

Instead we got some elements of the read-option, an offense that really hasn’t work since Robert Griffin III’s rookie season.

On the Browns’ first possession, they faced a third and 2, and it looked like the play call was for Manziel to fake a throw and then run up the middle. He was stopped short, and after the Bengals ate up seven minutes on their initial possession, they got the ball back after three plays.

Why not have Manziel rollout with the option of a short, safe throw?

Then, there was no attempt by Shanahan to establish the running game which was so effective against Cincinnati the first time the two teams met either.

After that initial series, eight of the next 11 plays run by Cleveland were passing plays. So much for easing your rookie signal caller in.

It looks like the offensive coordinator got caught looking at Texas A & M game films from the last two seasons instead of what the Browns did well in their first 13 contests.

Receivers. It wasn’t the finest performance by the Cleveland receiving corps either, particularly Andrew Hawkins, who dropped a throw that could’ve kept the Browns on the field on their second possession.

After moving out of the pocket, Manziel threw a strike to Hawkins for a first down that was dropped after the wide out was hit by Reggie Nelson. Yes, it was a big hit, but we’ve seen Hawkins take bigger hits and hold on. The drop forced another punt, forcing the defense back on the field.

Walt Anderson. Yes, today’s referee was a culprit as well. Apparently, Mr. Anderson likes being on television, calling nine penalties on Cleveland. While some were deserved, two on the Bengals first drive aided them to a 7-0 lead.

The first was Barkevious Mingo’s roughing the passer call on a third down throw. Yes, technically, Mingo’s helmet hit Andy Dalton’s, but the outside linebacker didn’t lead with his headgear. Instead of forcing an early punt, Cincinnati kept possession.

The second call, a horse collar tackle on Justin Gilbert against Giovani Bernard didn’t give the Bengals a first down, but it was still terrible because Bernard didn’t go down as a result of the so-called illegal move.

Also, the illegal man downfield against Ryan Seymour on a screen pass to Jordan Cameron was also a reach.

In a 30-0 loss, pointing to the officials seems a little tacky, but could the game have been different if Cleveland forces a punt early? We’ll never know.

The Defense. The Cleveland problem stopping the run reared its ugly head again today, as they allowed 244 rushing yards. We don’t know the success rate of teams that allow over 200 yards on the ground in an NFL game, but it probably isn’t high.

Manziel didn’t play well in his debut, and the shutout loss today put the Browns out of the playoffs again barring some sort of miracle. However, we should see progress next week.

That’s a reason to stay interested in this football team.

Manziel’s Role Model Should Be Wilson

So, it’s now official. Johnny Manziel will make his first start of the season this Sunday at First Energy Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mike Pettine is 100% correct in saying the rookie currently gives his football team a better chance to win this week and for the final two games of the season. The Cleveland offense under Brian Hoyer had become stagnant, and wasn’t able to take advantage of the turnovers and great field position the defense had given them.

It is refreshing to hear Manziel say that he will not be the player he was at Texas A & M, because he can’t be. This is the NFL, and hopefully the former Heisman Trophy winner will change his style to adapt to the bigger and faster athletes in professional football.

Here’s hoping that Johnny Football emulates in style the Super Bowl winning quarterback of a year ago, Russell Wilson.

Wilson is around the same size as Manziel and he also has the ability to be mobile. However, the Seahawks don’t run a lot of read option plays for Wilson, probably because they want him to stay healthy and limit the hits on him.

We know that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan coached Robert Griffin III during his first two years in the league and Griffin ran the football a lot. We hope that Shanahan has observed that style of offense doesn’t really work in today’s NFL.

We would like to see Manziel make most of his plays from the pocket, but with the added dimension of being able to move out of the pocket if the protection breaks down. Certainly, the new quarterback has better arm strength, so the offense may be able to take some shots down the field.

As CBS college football analyst and former Browns’ QB Gary Danielson said earlier this year, Manziel needs to realize there are 4000 yards in the pocket, and maybe 500 yards running the ball.

Some quarterbacks struggle with making the conversion from college to playing inside the tackles in the NFL. Griffin III is the most current example, but Michael Vick has had the same issues over his years in the league.

On the other hand, Donovan McNabb came into the league with the reputation of being a running quarterback, but quickly learned the lesson that playing from the pocket is what wins in the NFL.

Think about it. The great passers currently in the NFL are pocket passers: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisburger. The latter two can use their legs to extend plays, but they run the ball out of necessity, not generally from designed plays.

That’s the way to go if Manziel wants to have a long, successful career in the league.

As for this Sunday, if JFF can make some plays with his legs to revitalize what has become a moribund attack, then fine. The team needs to win this Sunday to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Also, here’s hoping that Shanahan gives him some safe throws early in the game to ease him into his first start. Although, it would be fun to see the rookie drop back on his first play from scrimmage and look deep for Josh Gordon, just to show Cincinnati the Browns now have the ability to stretch the field.

There is no question that Manziel brings a buzz to the “Battle of Ohio”. But to have extended success in the NFL and have the chance to become the franchise quarterback for the Browns, he will need to make an adjustment in the style of play he used in college.

It may not be exciting for the Manzealots, but it’s the smart way to go.

Playing Manziel Would Likely Mean Mistakes to Follow

It seems that even when the Cleveland Browns are playing good football, we still have a quarterback controversy.

For the first time in several seasons, the Browns are sitting at 4-3 and most definitely in the race for a playoff spot in a division where every team is currently over .500, the AFC North.

Yet, fans are still debating who should play quarterback, the incumbent, Brian Hoyer or the rookie, Johnny Manziel.

Whether there would be any debate at all stems from Hoyer’s and the entire team’s poor performance against a winless Jacksonville team on October 19th, because had Cleveland won that game, even in a squeaker, they would be sitting at 5-2 and there wouldn’t be a reason for a change.

And, of course, if the back up wasn’t Manziel, the people’s choice and former Heisman Trophy winner, there wouldn’t be a discussion either.

But Hoyer completed less than 40% of his throws that day and the offense couldn’t get into the end zone, and followed that up by not scoring a touchdown for the first three quarters of Sunday’s game against another opponent without a victory, the Oakland Raiders.

Therefore, the entire offensive unit is under scrutiny, including the guy taking the snaps.

There are Hoyer people who staunchly support the local kid and there are Manziel folks who believe he will have the same success he had in college immediately after taking the field in the NFL.

Our opinion is that Hoyer shouldn’t be in jeopardy of losing his job because he is performing decently and the team in winning.

Think about it, if another 4-3 team’s coach announced he was changing his starting quarterback in favor of playing a rookie, you would think he was crazy. But some people want Mike Pettine to do just that and the sooner the better.

Look, Brian Hoyer isn’t Tom Brady, he isn’t Peyton Manning, and he isn’t even Ben Roethlisburger. Those guys are all Super Bowl winners and most likely will be enshrined in Canton someday. Hoyer will never be in the upper echelon of passers in the NFL.

However, right now, he gives the Cleveland Browns the best chance to win games. Why? He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s thrown two interceptions on the season and fumbled once. He takes care of the football, and that’s what Pettine wants. He doesn’t want to put his defense in a jackpot and have to defend a short field.

And mistakes are what you get with a rookie quarterback. Last week, we documented that the three players drafted in May who are currently starting signal callers preside over among the worst offenses in the NFL in terms of both yardage and scoring. And while Oakland’s David Carr has been relatively interception free, his team doesn’t score a lot of points.

Now Hoyer has had a problem getting the Browns into the end zone the past two weeks, and he hasn’t exactly been a precision passer lately, but he doesn’t turn the ball over either. Yes, at times he’s the dreaded “game manager”. And right now, he’s in control of a team that, with a win at home against Tampa, could be 5-3 at the halfway point of the season.

The coaches see Manziel at practice everyday. If they deemed him a better fit right now for this football team, they would play him. To be sure, they have to be weary for the mistakes that come with being a rookie.

Fans only see the upside with playing Manziel, which is excitement and spectacular plays. Pettine and his staff see the warts and they don’t want to deal with them at this time.

No one, particularly us, is writing off Johnny Manziel. We believe he has a bright future. But it’s not his time right now.

The Reason To Let Manziel Sit is Inexperience, Not Hoyer

Cleveland football fans are a fickle lot to be sure.

One week ago, people were talking about how well Brian Hoyer has played this season, this week, they are calling for Johnny Manziel to start.

We have said before that the difference in Mike Pettine and his staff vs. the past few coaching regimes is the emphasis on winning. These Browns are playing to win and right now, they are very much in a race for a playoff spot.

Just looked at how they’ve handled first round draft choice Justin Gilbert. He wasn’t playing well, so the staff went with K’Waun Williams, an undrafted free agent. They aren’t giving out playing time based on draft position.

That’s the biggest reason why the coaching staff will be very hesitant to play Manziel with the team still in play for a spot in the post-season, which would be the Browns first since 2002.

Take a look around the NFL. Right now, there are three teams starting rookie quarterbacks: Oakland (Derek Carr), Jacksonville (Blake Bortles), and Minnesota (Teddy Bridgewater). Those teams combined records? Try 3-17

The Raiders currently rank 31st in the NFL in scoring and 32nd in the league in total offense. Carr has played fairly well, completing 60.5% of his passes with eight touchdowns and five interceptions.

Jacksonville is just the opposite and by that we mean they are 32nd in the NFL in scoring and 31st in yardage. Bortles has completed 65.5% of his throws, but turnovers have been a big problem in the five games he has played (four starts), as he has tossed 10 interceptions, including three in the win over the Browns.

The Vikings also have one of the league’s worst offense, ranking 30th in scoring and 29th in yardage. Bridgewater has made three starts and appeared in four games in total, completing 61.1% of his passes, with only one touchdown and five picks.

By contrast, the Browns, with a veteran quarterback in Hoyer at the controls, rank 14th in points scored and 10th in yardage through the first six games of the season.

Look, Brian Hoyer isn’t an All Pro quarterback, and he certainly isn’t one of the top ten players at his position in the sport. He’s better than a lot of back ups, but probably not good enough to be a starter long term in this league. That’s why the Browns drafted Manziel, he likely will be the guy who the front office expects will be the long-term starter.

We get that, and we believe Johnny Manziel will be that guy in the future. However, that future isn’t now.

What you will get right now if Manziel plays is something like the other rookie starters are giving their teams, and that is not many points, and a lot of turnovers. That flies directly against Pettine’s vision for the team. He wants to run the football, play defense, and avoid mistakes.

It is doubtful a rookie quarterback, unless he is Andrew Luck, can provide that.

That’s what Manziel’s true competition is, the experience factor.

If and when the Browns are out of playoff contention, and/or the offense’s production with Hoyer at the controls starts to be among the worst in the NFL, then we will see Johnny Manziel, because the Browns need to find out what they have in him.

However, right now, to give his team their best chance to win, it makes sense for Pettine to stay with Hoyer, who has been more good than bad so far in 2014.

Hoyer or Manziel? Whoever Can Win Should Play

The exhibition football season hasn’t even started yet and already there seems to be a quarterback controversy involving the Cleveland Browns.

Veteran Brian Hoyer has his supporters within the Browns fandom, and of course, there is a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding rookie Johnny Manziel, aka Johnny Football.

The incredulous thing to us is the Manziel supporters seem to be willing to suffer through another 4-12 and 5-11 campaign in order for the former Heisman Trophy winner to gain much-needed experience.

For a franchise that has lost the number of games Cleveland has over the past 15 years, that is ludicrous.

Who should start for Cleveland in the opener at Heinz Field against the Steelers? The player who gives them the best chance to win and get off to a good start.

Remember, the Browns have won their season lidlifter just once since returning to the NFL in 1999, so a victory in week one would be rarefied air indeed for the franchise.

The notion that Manziel should start no matter what is crazy. If he shows in the pre-season games that he deserves to be under center for the first offensive play of the regular season, then fine, let him start.

There is no hidden agenda for Hoyer here, and we believe the coaching staff doesn’t have an affinity for either QB at this point.

The guess here is that Hoyer is starting against Detroit this Saturday night and will play with the first team offensive unit with Manziel playing with and more to the point, against, the second teamers.

We also think the following week against the Redskins, the roles will be reversed, and the rookie will go with the first team offense against the Washington starters. As a matter of fact, that’s the fair way of doing things.

After those two outings, head coach Mike Pettine will make a decision before the third exhibition contest, the dress rehearsal if you will.

We understand the feelings toward both players. Hoyer is a hometown kid, and he sat and watched and worked with one of the sport’s all time greats in Tom Brady while at New England. He’s going to do a professional job.

Last year, he got an opportunity to start three games and the Browns won all three, although in his last start he was hurt and Brandon Weeden got the bulk of the action in a victory over Buffalo.

Hoyer’s second start, a workman like win over the Bengals at home, is more the type of game we would expect to see from the former St. Ignatius and Michigan State star. The Browns used a ball control offense and a tough defense to dominate Cincinnati.

Manziel is obviously the flashier of the pair, and fans want to see the guy who took college football by storm the past two seasons. He will probably make a lot of great plays, but the potential for some colossal mistakes because of inexperience is there as well.

Mike Pettine has a defensive background and those coaches generally try to win games with that unit. They don’t like quarterbacks to make mistakes which put the defenders in bad situations. That would seem to give Hoyer the edge.

However, the games will start this week although they obviously don’t count. So, if one of the two plays very well and the other doesn’t, the decision will be an easy one. If both Hoyer and Manziel play well or play poorly, then we believe Pettine will go with the veteran to minimize errors.

Either way, the guy who gives the Browns the best chance to win should start. The franchise needs to start putting numbers in the win column this season.

Browns’ Camp Starts. Please Don’t Overreact.

The Cleveland Browns’ training camp has started and it is one of those things that make us smile.

Not because it is the start of football season, but rather because of all of the over analyzing of everything that happens during each session.

What is even more ludicrous is the daily question and answer period with new coach Mike Pettine, where the media asks him some inane stuff and other questions that he cannot possibly answer as he is coming off the practice field.

This year, because of rookie QB Johnny Manziel, that position is particularly under the microscope, with every throw, and especially every interception is discussed ad nauseam.

First of all, it is practice. It’s called practice for a reason. If the players and the team were in mid-season form, they would start the regular season this weekend. Practice is a time for rookies to try to impress the coaching staff, and it’s also a time for the veterans to pace themselves and perhaps try some new techniques and test their limit.

When the exhibition season starts, that will be analyzed even more. And God forbid if Brian Hoyer plays a poor series or two in the pre-season opener against the Lions. The calls for Manziel will grow loud immediately.

Unless of course, Manziel is terrible, in which case, he will be called a “bust” by fans and media alike.

These games are for the staff and the quarterbacks to find out what plays can be successful and which ones won’t work. And when you think about it, that’s the perfect time for errors to occur. You don’t want poor play and execution in Heinz Field during the opener against the Steelers.

So if Hoyer forces a throw, maybe he’s testing the reaction of a defense. If Manziel misses on some over the middle throws, perhaps it is because he missed a pre-snap read.

Really, training camp is great for the fans to watch, to see their heroes preparing for the long season ahead. It’s also a rite of passage. My father took me to Hiram College in the 60’s to get a close up view of Jim Brown, Paul Warfield, and Gary Collins go through the paces, and today, dads are taking their sons to see Manziel, Joe Haden, and Joe Thomas.

However, it should be taken for what it is in terms of football. It’s practice. It is not a game.

Coaches are examining how players respond to different circumstances and challenges, and they also give veterans some privileges they wouldn’t receive during the regular season and certainly during games.

Pettine has already said he will give Thomas off certain sessions, a nod to his status as one of the game’s premier offensive linemen. We can’t imagine the coaching staff taking Thomas out during games once the contests start for real.

Heck, these days, there isn’t even a lot of hitting doing on. For the most part, it is glorified touch football. Yes, there are days when the practice will go live, but it is the responsibility of the head coach to make sure players stay healthy for the regular season.

Training camp is a cool way to spend a summer day. Just realize, that maybe, just maybe, the players and coaches are making mistakes on purpose and don’t read too much into it.

Browns Handling Johnny Just Fine

After the Cleveland Browns decided to draft Johnny Manziel in the first round (22nd overall) of the NFL Draft, to be sure, they knew things would be different in Berea.

Suddenly, the national media would pay attention to the Browns and the former Heisman Trophy winner’s media persona, “Johnny Football”.

However, we think the brown and orange are handling things just fine so far, although ESPN and other national football writers would probably disagree.

First was owner Jimmy Haslam’s public statement that Manziel should come to the mini camp and training camp “acting like a back-up quarterback”. This statement is fine on so many levels.

It tells the rookie and everyone else that no one, including Manziel, will be handed a starting job. If the 22nd overall pick comes in and plays better than incumbent Brian Hoyer in training camp, he will be the starter against the Steelers in the season opener.

If Hoyer plays better, then he will take the first snap.

The other good reason for the comment is the organization’s read on Manziel, that he is ultra competitive. Telling a player with the competition gene that he isn’t the number one guy is the same as waving a red cape in front of a charging bull.

You know that now Manziel is going to work his tail off to prove the owner, the head coach, and his teammates wrong, and show he is capable of taking the ball at Heinz Field in the opener.

How can blame the Browns for playing that card?

The Browns are also taking heat for limiting the national media during the rookie mini-camp this weekend. Most of the players at the camp are fighting for their NFL lives, and having a tremendous focus on the rookie QB from Texas A & M isn’t fair to those players.

Plus, ESPN is their own classic way, blasted the Jets for the media circus their training camp became after they signed Tim Tebow. Talking out of both sides of their mouth, the hammer the Browns for limiting the media distractions.

Could it be that it’s because Manziel happened to turn up in Cleveland, the poster city for losing according to the four letter network?

As for Manziel, you have to be impressed at how he says the right things. He portrays himself as needing to earn his playing time, he understands he needs to work hard to get the starting job.

He has also said he understands that Hoyer isn’t going to hand him the starting gig.

It is also refreshing to hear how Manziel talks about wanting to be here, to be part of the solution, to be part of a turnaround for the franchise.

We understand that there is a certain part of the fan base that wants Manziel in there no matter what.

But the time to win for the Cleveland Browns is right now. They can’t afford to have another 10 loss season, and most fans don’t want to hear how a rookie quarterback is going to make mistakes that rookies do, and have those error contribute to another 5-11 season.

That would just be more of the “wait ’til next year” theme the franchise has had over the past several years.

If Manziel is the best QB coming out of camp, then start him. We have no problem with that. However, if Hoyer is better right now, than let the rook sit and watch for a while.

He’s the future signal caller for the Browns, but the future doesn’t have to start this September.

Farmer’s Trade With Bills Eases Risk on Manziel Pick

For weeks, fans of the Cleveland Browns were wondering about what kind of offensive weapons they could get to instill life into this losing franchise.

They had to wait awhile, but Ray Farmer moved up from the 26th pick to #22 by trading with Philadelphia to get Johnny Manziel, the former Heisman Trophy winner out of Texas A & M.

With the fourth pick, Manziel would have been an incredible risk, and #22, he still is risky, but not as much.

And Farmer minimized the chance even more by trading for another first round in next year’s draft by trading down from the fourth overall pick to ninth, and getting the Bills first rounder next year.

Now, the pressure is squarely on Mike Pettine and Kyle Shanahan to decide who is the best player to take the snap in the opener at Pittsburgh, veteran Brian Hoyer or the much hyped rookie, Johnny Football.

Because we will not back down on our expectation for the Browns this season. It is time to stop looking toward the future, it is time to win and win now.

With Cleveland’s first selection of the night, GM Ray Farmer dug into the team’s history to find out the strengths of the team the last time they were a perennial playoff squad.

Those were the Browns of the late 1980’s. Yes, they had a good quarterback in Bernie Kosar, and a strong running game led by Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack, but the cornerstones of those teams were a pair of excellent cornerbacks in Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield.

Perhaps that’s why Farmer’s first pick as GM was Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert.

Gilbert was considered by many to be the top player at his position in this year’s draft and together with Pro Bowler Joe Haden, could form this generations pair of excellent corners to compare with Dixon and Mighty Minnie.

Having a pair of excellent cover corners allows the defense to be very creative in putting pressure on the quarterback because you don’t have to double cover any wide receivers. It allows Mike Pettine and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil to come up with a variety of blitz packages knowing the wide outs will be taken care of.

Of course, picking Gilbert was Farmer’s third move of the night. He traded down from the 4th pick to the 9th pick getting Buffalo’s first round choice next year.

Normally, we criticize the Browns for always playing for next year, but the opportunity to get a first round pick in ’15 from a team not figured to be a playoff contender this season was too much to pass up. Plus, Gilbert appears to be the guy Cleveland wanted all along, so you have to like that move.

So, on the first night of the draft, Farmer improved his defense and took a gamble on a franchise quarterback. Only time will tell if the Browns have solved their woes at quarterback, or Manziel will be latest in a group of failures at the position.

Once again, we repeat, getting another first round pick next year does reduce the risk factor on Manziel.

So Browns’ fans, your football team will be noticed in 2014, whether or not it will be for winning or for a circus, only time will tell.