Johnny Manziel Deserves Opportunity from Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine went with the safe play this week when he handed the ball back to quarterback Brian Hoyer after sitting the veteran late in the Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Hoyer needed to be pulled this past Sunday, and we can also make a case that he should’ve gotten the hook the previous week in Atlanta before he dug himself out of a self-made mess on the field, which included turnovers and poor decisions with the ball.

But after seeing rookie Johnny Manziel come in cold off the bench to put some good things on the tape versus the Bills (including a scoring drive), did the head coach really make the right call here?

"After thorough evaluation and talking to the staff, we feel Brian gives us the best opportunity to win on Sunday," Pettine said in a statement, per Mary Kay Cabot of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. “This is a football decision and those are always going to be based on what we think is best for our team.”

That’s coach speak when Pettine starts talking about the “best opportunity to win,” because on the tape I’m watching, Hoyer doesn’t tell the same story.

Don Wright/Associated Press

The veteran’s level of play has taken a dramatic dip over the last three weeks, and I don’t see a quarterback on the film that has control of the offense.

During that three-game stretch, Hoyer has thrown six interceptions and only one touchdown. As a result, the offense in Cleveland seems stale and dull. It lacks flow and consistency. And while the decline in overall production on offense is always a collective issue, the quarterback is still the catalyst.

He’s the conductor who runs that show.

"Brian has led our team to a 7-5 record,” Pettine added in his statement. “I'm confident that we can get the entire offense playing at the level needed to accomplish the goals we set at the beginning of the season. Those goals are still very much attainable."

Sure, the Browns are still in the mix for a playoff spot with four weeks to go in the regular season, but anytime a coach starts using the team record to justify his quarterback, I start to tune out what he is saying.

Would Manziel change the narrative for the Browns offense?

I don’t know. No one does.

We have to be honest about Manziel at this stage of his rookie season given his lack of true, live-game reps. Nearly all of what he has put on tape came during the exhibition schedule in August.

In his brief action out in Orchard Park on Sunday, Manziel did ignite this offense. The Browns played faster in my opinion, and even though the quarterback made some mistakes, the overall flow of the offense improved.

Is that enough to make a change?

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

Making a switch at the quarterback position isn’t a simple move. This isn’t the same as swapping out a veteran offensive guard or safety for a young player who flashes on the tape.

You flip quarterbacks and the dynamic of the football team shifts. It impacts the entire roster and sometimes, that move changes the identify of your club. It has to be a calculated move, one that the head coach knows might not return 100 percent approval from the locker room.

But I also strongly believe that this is a production-based business and players must autograph their performance every time they step on the field in the NFL. And those players should be held accountable for their lack of positive production when the film is rolling.

Pettine opened the door for Manziel when he yanked Hoyer on Sunday. That was a real opportunity for the rookie to impress the coaching staff and his teammates. I think Manziel showed enough positives to warrant another chance, given the recent play of Hoyer and the general direction of this offense in Cleveland.

However, by Pettine taking the safe (almost predictable) route to hand the keys back to the veteran quarterback, we won’t find out what Manziel could’ve done with a week of game prep as the No. 1 guy.

Maybe he would have crashed back to reality while being exposed due to his lack of experience on the big stage. Or, just maybe, Manziel might have cashed in on that opportunity to elevate this team.

Seven-year NFL veteran Matt Bowen is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report.

Follow @MattBowen41