Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers

Johnny Manziel last fewer than six NFL quarters before he was injured.

(Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There are times when these three words must be said: I was wrong.

I was wrong about Johnny Manziel.

Not about Manziel and the draft. I was against taking the rookie quarterback before the draft. I expressed doubts about him immediately after in a column ("Still not convinced Manziel is the right move") that made me very few friends from the millions who are enamored with the mystique of Johnny Football.

But I was wrong calling for Manziel to start after the Browns lost in Buffalo.

That was the game where Mike Pettine pulled Brian Hoyer in the fourth quarter, replacing him at quarterback with Manziel. Then the coach made what I considered a rookie mistake. He refused to clarify the quarterback question for three days.

Now, I can understand why Pettine turned back to Hoyer. Manziel is miles away from being ready to be a starting quarterback. But the reversal after the brief Manziel fling put Hoyer in terrible position. He knew the coach was ready to pull him out again, and that the plan seemed to be to turn to Manziel ASAP.

Hoyer had a lousy game against Indianapolis, a 25-24 loss in which he threw two interceptions. Once again, I wrote that it was time to start Manziel. Hoyer had thrown eight interceptions compared to one touchdown pass in four games. His confidence was shaken. The team was losing.

Let Manziel play the last three games and see what happens, I reasoned.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW

Also, the coaches were telling us that Manziel was working hard in practice and in terms of preparation.

Once the regular season opens, the media is not allowed to watch anything meaningful in practice. Nor do we have an idea who is attentive in team meetings and video sessions.

Yes, you all hear things about players. But the truth is, the media doesn't really know what happens in practice and preparation. That's a fact, regardless of how some people in my profession profess to have more inside knowledge than even cyberspace can hold.

Another factor is that Pettine has been willing to mention certain players did not practice well, especially rookies. Terrance West has lost playing time at least twice this season because of poor practice habits. After the loss in Carolina, Pettine said top pick Justin Gilbert didn't have a good week of practice, so fellow rookie Pierre Desir started instead.

Given Manziel's reputation for the night life and his sense of entitlement, it was a safe guess that he wasn't putting in near the time of the studious Hoyer.

But we didn't know that for certain. I also believe it's unfair to judge a young player simply on reputation when I couldn't find any tangible evidence during the season about his worth ethic.

My assumption was that Manziel had to be doing enough off the field or Pettine never would have brought him into the Buffalo game. Nor would Pettine have spent so much time agonizing over a starter after the loss in Buffalo.

When the Browns drafted Manziel, they talked about the "It" factor, an intangible that helps certain quarterbacks make huge plays. My guess is part of the push to play Manziel was his reputation as a guy who produces on game day, even if practice is so-so. It's the swagger, the confidence, the knack of making big plays.

It's why Manziel was drafted.

But so far, Manziel doesn't have "It," and there are few clues that he soon will.

WHAT WE DO KNOW

Football coaches often say, "The film don't lie." From a grammar standpoint, that sentence has some holes. But the video fills in the gaps.

So did watching Manziel play all of the 30-0 loss to Cincinnati. He injured his hamstring late in the second quarter of what became Sunday's 17-13 loss in Carolina.

We don't need a video to tell us the obvious -- Manziel is a mess as a quarterback.

Suppose his name on the back of his jersey was Jones -- and he was an undrafted free agent. His performance of three points and five (non-penalty) first downs in six quarters would be lucky to land him a spot on the practice squad.

That was especially evident when he was replaced by Hoyer in the second half, and he at least led the Browns to 10 points. That really told me how I had gone so wrong about Manziel, assuming the offense could not sink much lower than it did in the previous four Hoyer games.

Manziel had 12 offensive possessions. Nine were three plays and a punt.

That's right, 9 of 12 possessions were 3-and-OUTS!!!

Manziel could not use his legs to evade defenders. He was late on most passes. The 6-footer seemed to have trouble seeing over the linemen, and often quickly bolted from the pocket.

No matter what Manziel says, he looks over-matched and under-prepared.

WHAT WE SHOULD THINK

For those of us who were initially against the drafting of Manziel, it's tempting to dismiss him as a first-round blunder.

There will long be a debate about exactly how much influence Jimmy Haslam had in his selection. The Browns owner is from Tennessee and is an SEC fan, the conference where Manziel set records at Texas A&M.

Regardless of all the draft stories, the Browns have him. Yes, six quarters isn't much to draw any grand conclusions -- but Manziel offered virtually nothing to indicate he is ready for the NFL.

So yes, I was wrong about playing him in the last few games. But something good did come out of it, even if it's very bad news.

When it comes to considering the quarterback situation for 2015, the Browns can't possibly think that Manziel is ready to open the season as a starter.