Johnny Manziel Declared a 'New Guy' by Browns OC John DeFilippo

Two solid preseason outings into 2015, and it appears the narrative is finally beginning to shift on Johnny Manziel. Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo praised the team's second-string quarterback as a "new guy" in an interview with Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal on Monday:

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I think he's a new guy. I think from a preparation standpoint and a want-to standpoint haven't changed since OTAs, but I think you see a different quarterback. I really do. I think his overall understanding of the game and what we're trying to do has changed drastically. I really think that. He understands protections. He's making the calls. He understands his sight adjust. He understands his hots.

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Manziel, who sat out Monday's practice with a sore throwing elbow, has thrown for 160 yards and a touchdown without an interception through two preseason games. He was 10-of-18 for 118 yards and a 21-yard touchdown pass in Thursday night's 11-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.   

"He's really getting better every day," DeFilippo said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Northeast Ohio Media Group. "I mean, he's into it. Obviously he's got some magic to him, which we see when he's on the field and I think we're comfortable with where he is in his role.''

ESPN's Skip Bayless was among the chorus praising Manziel:

By comparison, starter Josh McCown was picked off twice and managed only 57 yards on seven completions.

“Obviously, not the standard I want to play at, but inevitably in this game, there is adversity and you’re going to have things that happen, mistakes,” McCown said, per Andrew Gribble of the Browns' official website. “I thought as a group we responded well, got down there and got three points so that was good, but certainly not the standard of where we want to be.”

The Browns' decision to be unwavering in their support of McCown is interesting. At age 36, he is not the quarterback of the future. Given his history of replacement-level play, he might not even be the present. Take away his magical eight-game run with the Chicago Bears in 2013, and McCown has thrown 10 more interceptions than touchdowns for his career. That Bears campaign was the only time he's so much as topped a 75 quarterback rating.

Manziel's troubles, both on the field and off, are well documented. But he's 35 passes into his NFL career. That's not a remotely representative sample, especially how scattershot his opportunities were as a rookie. If Manziel is truly a "new guy," as DeFilippo says, it might behoove Cleveland to stop looking for a game manager and roll the dice on its former first-round pick.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.