Johnny Manziel Could Help Cleveland By Displaying Patience

Cleveland made some big moves in the 2014 NFL Draft, one of which was trading up with their second first round selection to acquire phenom quarterback Johnny Manziel out of Texas A&M University.  Manziel was a beast on the field during his tenure at Texas A&M, and entering the draft, he was the most discussed pick in the first round.  The discussion was over which team would draft him, and which teams would be the perfect fit for his abilities on the field, ranging from the Dallas Cowboys to the New York Jets.

Brian Hoyer was injured early on last season, so the Browns needed to add a high quality backup to their roster, in the event that Hoyer should go down again this season, or if his performance failed to meet the Browns expectations from their starting quarterback.  Manziel was the perfect fit for Kyle Shanahan's offense out of the quarterbacks available with said pick.

Johnny Manziel was impressive during the pre-season, and talks began swirling around the nation that Cleveland had just created yet another controversy at the position.  Brian Hoyer was etched in as the starter for the Browns, primarily due to his success during the three games he started last season.

Cleveland has been very competitive in the AFC North this season, where they are currently only a half game out of first place, despite being ranked fourth in the division.  Johnny Manziel has been keeping himself primed and ready to go at moments notice, whether he's needed as a starter, or to be utilized on gimmick plays.

The problem for Manziel has been the successful play from starting quarterback Brian Hoyer, who has already thrown for 1,714 yards this season.  Hoyer has also been efficent at the helm, completeing 57% of his passes, while throwing 8 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions.  His current rating score is 91.0, a rating the Browns haven't witnessed since Derek Anderson's 82.5 rated performance in 2007.  In fact, the last Browns quarterback to finish closest to Hoyer's current rating was Vinny Tesaverde, who had an 87.8 rating in 1995.

Right now this is Brian Hoyer's team, and the starting quarterback job is Brian Hoyer's to lose.  Manziel is a very competitive player and leader on the field, so it's understandable why his impatience continues to grow each week.  That being said, Manziel needs to realize he's in a very good situation right now in Cleveland.

Manziel can benefit by learning from Hoyer, who spent three seasons learning from future Hall of Famer Tom Brady, and head ciach Bill Belichick, while serving as a back up quarterback for the New England Patriots.  The best thing Manziel can do now is learn to display some patience.  His time will come, but he needs to realize that time isn't right now.