Even Browns coach Mike Pettine has a little bit of Johnny Manziel fever.
"I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't excited to see him play," Pettine said in his first remarks following the most high-profile quarterback change of the season.
While Pettine said he wasn't afraid to go back to Brian Hoyer, he intimated that his offense was in need of a spark and that Hoyer's play over the last four games has been in decline. Basically, the Browns are going to take Manziel's impromptu playing style and gel it within Kyle Shanahan's scheme.
"We're not trying to install a new play book in a week," Pettine said. "We'll just be highlighting different portions of it."
He later added: "We're not going to turn every play into a punt return," but conceded that Manziel's mobility will be a factor in his subtle changes.
It seems like Pettine is genuinely curious. After seeing Shanahan's work with Robert Griffin III in Washington, there is an unknown that can propel a team, especially with a quarterback like Manziel.
Now, the task at hand will be prepping the rookie for calling a full NFL game, something that Manziel was obviously not ready for at the outset of the season -- or else he'd have leapfrogged Hoyer in the first place.
As of Wednesday morning, that step seems to be going well. Manziel was at the facility late into the night.
"I know a lot of people were looking for him at the Cavs game," Pettine said, referencing a report about the staff's dissatisfaction with seeing their star sitting courtside instead of reading the playbook. "But he was here."
The latest Around The NFL Podcast reacts to the fallout of Cam Newton's car accident and debates how the Browns will look with Johnny Manziel at QB. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
