Mike Pettine Comments on Starting Josh McCown over Johnny Manziel in Week 3

Only three games into another NFL season, and the Cleveland Browns are mired in yet another quarterback controversy between veteran journeyman Josh McCown and exciting playmaker Johnny Manziel.  

Browns head coach Mike Pettine spoke Wednesday about the decision to play McCown over Manziel in Sunday's 27-20 Week 3 home loss to the Oakland Raiders. Per the Associated Press' Tom Withers, Pettine seemed to address the TMZ report that quoted multiple Browns starters pining for Manziel to start moving forward:

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Are we going to have one thousand percent agreement on how we're using players? No. It falls into coaches coach and players have their jobs to do. And are they going to have their opinions? Certainly. I'm confident there is no rift in the locker room. We always talk about controlling the controllables and external debate is something we don't control, so we're confident in our plan and we'll move ahead forward with it.

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Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins claimed the TMZ report was "1,000 percent made up" on Twitter, while left tackle Joe Thomas likened it to the satirical news outlet The Onion, per ESPN Cleveland (h/t ProFootballTalk.com's Zac Jackson). 

"Given the veterans that we have in the room and being on the inside and talking to the players constantly, and getting feedback whether it's other coaches or other players, and getting a sense for the pulse of the locker room, I'm confident this is not an issue," said Pettine, per Withers.

Pettine was forced to turn to Manziel in Week 2 and saw the 2014 first-round pick lead Cleveland to victory over the Tennessee Titans. Then, Pettine reverted to McCown once the latter had cleared the NFL's concussion protocol, and the 36-year-old threw a game-sealing interception to Raiders safety Charles Woodson.  

Fans at FirstEnergy Stadium were chanting for Manziel before McCown sparked a late rally that ultimately fell short.

"He's been in this league a long time, and whether he's personally gone through it, or a quarterback that he's worked with has gone through it, I don't think he's any stranger to situations like this," Pettine said of McCown on Wednesday. "That would be the least of our problems, worrying about how Josh is handling this."

If there isn't a rift within the team—or if McCown isn't feeling the heat of losing the starting job—external pressure will continue to build for Manziel to play if McCown doesn't produce results.

Although McCown threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns in Week 3, he failed to deliver the ball accurately to deep threat Travis Benjamin multiple times when the speedster got behind Oakland's secondary. Manziel has connected with Benjamin on three long touchdowns this year.

Category	Manziel	McCown
Quarters Played	7+	4+
Completions/Attempts/Pass Yards	21/39/354 (53.8 pct)	33/57/390 (57.9 pct)
Yards Per Attempt	9.08	6.84
TD/INT	3/1	2/1
Fumbles Lost	2	1
Rush Attempts/Yards	8/36	3/23
Sacks Taken/Percentage	5/11.4	5/8.1
Passer Rating	99.7	83.2

It's not out of line to question Pettine's QB decision, though he may deserve criticism in his reputed area of expertise.

Pettine is a defensive-minded coach whose 2015 Browns team is currently last in the NFL defending the run, which was the case last year. The hyped secondary also isn't playing to an acceptable standard.

Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan points out how much Cleveland has invested in a defense that simply isn't producing results this season:

Whether currently suspended general manager Ray Farmer has simply misfired on a myriad acquisitions or Pettine's players are unable to execute his schemes, the Browns seem to be in even more trouble on defense.

Complementary football is what separates the best from the rest in the NFL, though. Having an above-average quarterback can help achieve that objective.

McCown has never proven capable of playing at that level, save for a brief stretch with the Chicago Bears during 2013, while Manziel has at least flashed the potential that made him a first-round pick in the first place.

The bottom line is McCown has lost 12 of his last 13 starts, and Pettine has guided the Browns to just one win in the past eight games. It won't matter whether the veteran McCown tries to help Cleveland play ball control or the Browns ultimately turn to Manziel due to his big-play ability and upside if Cleveland's defense doesn't improve.