OT: Manziel demoted from starter to 3rd string QB

an Rapoport ‏@RapSheet
The #Browns announced that Josh McCown is now their starting QB. Wow.

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet
Even more incredible: Johnny Manziel will now be the No. 3 QB. Austin Davis will be Josh McCown's backup.

What in the hell happened there? That seems like a dramatic turnaround from last week.

Looks like the Browns will be looking at Paxton Lynch as their guy next year.

He is on a road to perdition.

Pettine is S T U P I D.

Tony2046 said:

What in the hell happened there? That seems like a dramatic turnaround from last week.

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Videos surfaced of him partying last week during the bye.

vuudu said:

Pettine is S T U P I D.

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Not like they're going anywhere this year anyways

vuudu said:

Pettine is S T U P I D.

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Browns are a mess and Pettine will most likely be fired. They should probably go with Johny the rest of the year and then see if they need to sign a FA QB or draft another QB after Johny's sting. McCown gets injured way too often.

I have two thoughts about this. The first is that Manziel is an alcoholic. The Browns are benching him now because one of the conditions of him continuing to play football in Cleveland was staying off booze after going through rehab in February. He's an immature idiot, but he's also an alcoholic. Unless he makes a serious change, he will likely never have a successful football career, but more than that, he is in very serious danger of watching his life totally fall apart. I feel for him, even if I don't particularly like him.

The second is that the Browns (and the league in general, on this issue) are hypocrites, since they named him the starting quarterback last week after some pretty nasty domestic violence allegations dropped less than a month prior to that, and have now revoked that due to the much less serious offense of "partying." Of course, the DV was almost certainly alcohol-related as well.

patsinthesnow said:

an Rapoport ‏@RapSheet
The #Browns announced that Josh McCown is now their starting QB. Wow.

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet
Even more incredible: Johnny Manziel will now be the No. 3 QB. Austin Davis will be Josh McCown's backup.

Click to expand...

At first thought I think why would they bench him for holding a bottle of champagne. It seems over the top, but then I just think Manziel is stupid, it was clear his head coach did not want to have him as a starter and was looking for an opportunity to remove him, Manziel gave him the video to do that.

Manziel was my 2nd overall rated player in the draft, right below Donald at #1. I will never let myself live that down.

I thought he had "it" the way Butler does. But it really isn't a chip on his shoulder, he just doesn't give a damn.

I'd still take him in 2016 or 2017 Pats training camp, whenever his full downfall occurs. He's only 22.

The most exciting college player I've ever watched. What a waste.

Manziel will be a Cowboy very soon. The Browns should just cut him. This is stupid. I think Manziel can either flourish or burn to the ground in Dallas. He likes to party but has he committed any crime? I pray everyday not to one day get a boss like Pettine. He is in over his head but acts like he knows what is going on. Rode Rex Ryan schemes and took too much credit.

This doesn't make sense; last night ESPN only promoted Manziel as the star in next week's game about a dozen or so times. How could he only be a 3rd stringer?

patsinthesnow said:

Manziel was my 2nd overall rated player in the draft, right below Donald at #1. I will never let myself live that down.

I thought he had "it" the way Butler does. But it really isn't a chip on his shoulder, he just doesn't give a damn.

I'd still take him in 2016 or 2017 Pats training camp, whenever his full downfall occurs.

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He's clearly an alcoholic. I don't think it's that "he just doesn't give a damn."

Brady6 said:

At first thought I think why would they bench him for holding a bottle of champagne. It seems over the top, but then I just think Manziel is stupid, it was clear his head coach did not want to have him as a starter and was looking for an opportunity to remove him, Manziel gave him the video to do that.

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It's only a bottle of champagne in a vacuum. Manziel went to rehab in February for alcoholism and drug use, and that bottle of champagne (and the DV arrest last month) are signs he's off the wagon and totally falling apart.

vuudu said:

Pettine is S T U P I D.

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Pettine is an idiot, but I wouldn't call anyone stupid for not playing Manziel. He's terrible.

Ah, poor ESPN. remember during last night's game how Tirico was essentially saying you have to be a rare diehard football fan to get excited about the next MNF game, Browns vs. Ravens. And the ESPN promos for that game went 100% with trying to get us intrigued about watching "Johnny Football" -- you wouldn't have known from their ads that Manziel had teammates, let alone an opponent.

Back to the drawing board!

primetime said:

It's only a bottle of champagne in a vacuum. Manziel went to rehab in February for alcoholism and drug use, and that bottle of champagne (and the DV arrest last month) are signs he's off the wagon and totally falling apart.

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I do not know what he went to rehab for, alcohol may never have been a problem for him, so I cannot put the champagne in a vacuum without knowing more about his issues.

I agree though he should have towed a line much better than he has.

primetime said:

It's only a bottle of champagne in a vacuum. Manziel went to rehab in February for alcoholism and drug use, and that bottle of champagne (and the DV arrest last month) are signs he's off the wagon and totally falling apart.

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Yep. Plus that bottle of champagne was reportedly just one moment in a 2-day-long public bender.

I suspect Manziel made his employers a whole lot of promises and broke them all. The Browns can't just shrug their shoulders at that.

Brady6 said:

I do not know what he went to rehab for, alcohol may never have been a problem for him, so I cannot put the champagne in a vacuum without knowing more about his issues.

I agree though he should have towed a line much better than he has.

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I was saying it "only a bottle of champage" in a vacuum, i.e. that bottle of champage is really a symbol of a much larger problem if you know anything about Johnny Manziel. He did go to inpatient rehab for alcohol in February, and he had mandatory counseling for alcohol abuse while he was in college, after being arrested for an alcohol-related violent crime.

I get it, but double-demoting him is just so freakin' weak in my opinion. If you're so damn offended by his partying then just cut him. Keeping him around in a role that will likely just be game-day inactive isn't helping anyone.

Cleveland is a total mess.