Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine had some interesting insights this week when he did a one-on-one sit-down with Jenny Vrentas of the MMQB at SI.com.

Let’s go through some of the things Pettine said about the team’s quarterback position -- this season and last -- taken in the order they appeared in the story.

This isn’t a competition. Pettine obviously made it clear that Josh McCown is entrenched as the starter. That meshes with everything he’s said throughout camp. The Browns obviously like what they see in Johnny Manziel, but to say he’s closing a gap or competing to start at this point is simply not accurate.

“What has helped this year is Josh knowing he is firmly the No. 1. It’s unfair to look back to a year ago and say, well, Brian Hoyer obviously didn’t help Johnny. They were in a competition.” What happened with Hoyer can be debated at length. He’s now in Houston, trying to win the starting job with the Texans. But I can’t remember the organization being so direct in saying it was unfair to expect Hoyer to be a mentor last season. As Pettine said, the situation was different. In the long run, everyone is responsible for their play and Manziel hurt himself with his actions — and he’s taken steps not to repeat the actions. It’s a gigantic what-if, but it’s worth wondering how Hoyer would have responded had he been given the same support in last season’s camp and during the season that McCown is receiving now.

“What we did not do a good enough job here [last year], not nearly a good enough job, is holding [Manziel] accountable, even when he wasn’t the guy.” This statement meshes with everything Jeremy Fowler and I were told when we wrote about Manziel’s rookie season: He was not acting professionally and in some ways the Browns let him get away with it. Clearly the team believed former quarterback coach Dowell Loggains did not do enough, and they like what Kevin O’Connell is doing. By the time Manziel got his start, Hoyer was struggling (the Colts loss was a mess), but Pettine’s statement makes the decision to start Manziel even more baffling than it seemed last season.

“[Manziel’s] a work in progress, but the will is definitely there. I think he realized he let a lot of people down, and he wants to make amends for it.” While some might quibble with the term “work in progress,” this statement by Pettine reflects where Manziel is right now with the team, and that he has plenty of room to grow. It also reflects what the owner, GM, coach and players have said, and what is evident to the eye: Manziel is doing the work to make himself a better person and player.