Managing Johnny Manziel much easier than Tim Tebow mania, Browns coach ...
Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine has seen first-hand the chaos that can ensue when a celebrity quarterback lands on his roster. Pettine was the Jets defensive coordinator in 2012 when Gang Green traded for Tim Tebow. Though Tebow ended up being merely a wildcat-quarterback, he was a season-long distraction for a team that would go just 6-10.
Handling Johnny Manziel? Not as hard, Pettine says.
'The circumstances are different,' Pettine told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. 'Tebow was an established NFL player, he wasn't coming in as a rookie, unproven. It's a little easier for us with Manziel because he understands he earned Johnny Football as a college player and nobody understands it more than him. It's like, 'Listen, I don't want to be named starter coming out of the draft.''
Manziel was drafted out of Texas A&M by the Browns with the 22nd overall pick in this year's draft.
'People criticize us for referring to him as a backup,' Pettine said. 'That's what he is. It would have been a disservice to the other 80-some players in the locker room and it would have been a (disservice) to him carrying that burden of 'What have you done to deserve this?' We all want him to be successful but there is a process that has to occur and he has to go through it.'
Tebow was also the backup but certainly wanted to be the starter. He was passed over twice by Rex Ryan to start - once when he benched Mark Sanchez and again when Greg McElroy suffered a concussion - and has not played in a regular season NFL game since playing with the Jets in 2012.
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