Sunday’s pregame shows featured an eyebrow-raising anecdote from Jay Glazer of FOX Sports regarding Browns backup quarterback Johnny Manziel.
In explaining the decision of Browns coach Mike Pettine to stick with Brian Hoyer as the starter, here’s what Glazer had to say:
“Mike Pettine went to veterans, went to coaches this week, and there was resounding support for Brian Hoyer. You gotta remember, these coaches, these players, they see these guys on a day-to-day basis. Now Johnny Manziel, during practice sometimes, he’ll make some throws and make everybody go, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he did that!’ And then he’ll make some plays to get everybody to think, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he did that.’
“Here is what, perhaps, epitomizes this decision better than anything else. Johnny Manziel was not told that he is not the starting quarterback until Wednesday morning. On Tuesday evening he was . . . at the Cleveland Cavaliers game, sitting court side, and it made people inside that organization, they wanted to see how he would handle potentially starting. And there he is, instead of, if you’re getting your first ever NFL start, they would hope that you’re either gonna be at the complex or home and just getting ready for the Indianapolis Colts. He wasn’t, he was with the Cavs.”
Some misinterpreted Glazer’s report as indicating that Manziel’s decision to go to the basketball game was a factor in Pettine’s decision to stick with Hoyer. It wasn’t. Instead, it was seen by some within the organization as a tangible piece of evidence regarding Manziel’s failure to work as hard as he should to prepare himself to play.
Maybe that’s why Pettine avoided the question from Sunday regarding whether Manziel is ready to go. Maybe Pettine doesn’t want to open that specific can of worms in a public setting.
Still, even if Manziel isn’t working hard enough when he’s, you know, at work, it seems a bit unfair for the Browns to hold his decision to take the short walk from his apartment to Gund Arena when the Cavaliers have a 7:00 p.m. tip on a Tuesday, when the Browns players are off. Peter King of TheMMQB.com addressed the same point today, to which I’ve linked because he agrees with me that it seems a bit unfair to judge a guy based on what he does on his night off.
If he’s slacking while on the clock, it’s one thing. But if he’s taking a few hours to get away from football on an off day, that really shouldn’t be proof of anything other than he’s not a robot.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see whether Manziel is sitting court side this Tuesday night, when the Cavs host the Raptors.