Manziel battling the playbook is not a good thing.

Manziel Drft

Browns head coach Mike Pettine made the comment yesterday that Johnny Manziel biggest challenge is the playbook rather than Brian Hoyer. ESPN and most of the national media took that to mean that as soon as Manziel gets the playbook down, he will be the starter. Not so fast my friend.

What Pettine means is that Manziel is struggling to learn and understand the playbook. That is not a surprise. At Texas A&M the playbook was the size of the US Constitution. To Manziel the Browns playbook looks more like the IRS rules and regulations.

We were told that he was studying even while going to and from Vegas. Maybe the inflatable swan had an I-pad built in. His time enjoying himself could be costing him now. You can’t win the locker room as a QB unless you know the playbook COLD and can communicate it in practice. Until he can do that he will not get a snap in the regular season.

Also in college Manziel never had to make pre-snap reads. His offensive teammates took their position on the field then read the signs on the sideline to determine which play would be executed. Manziel also never had to worry about blocking adjustments but he will be expected to know and implement them now.

In the NFL, a GM or coach that listens to what the fans want will be sitting with them soon. Manziel hurt his standing in the locker room with his off the field partying. Once a QB loses the locker room it is very hard to get it back. Hoyer seems to have a better understanding of the playbook and the support of most of the team.

The bottom line: Don’t expect Johnny to be the starting Browns QB any time soon.

That is what I think. Tell us what you think by commenting here or tweeting me @NNRonDSN.

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Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits https://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/. Follow him on twitter @NNRonDSN to get the schedule of Special News, Notes and Rumors broadcasts. You can hear the previous shows on https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/ and the live show Mondays at 6 PM Eastern time on .

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