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EB: What’s the deal with Johnny Football? Manziel has been making headlines since his days at Texas A&M, and at the beginning of the year, it seemed like he might be a distraction. Now, with this most recent Twitter cell phone prank, it actually seems like he’s maturing. Is this like Aaron Rodgers sitting his first three years? When is Manziel going to play?

MJ: My opinion is that this is a strictly football decision based in two areas.

The first is that Manziel is being given time to learn the pro system. What’s not stressed enough is that he came from a system that ran just variants of four to five plays, none of which were of a style much utilized in the NFL. So this guy is being given time to learn a new system and learn how to play from the pocket.

The second is that as the Browns entered this season with a new system, a new scheme and a new coaching staff, sitting Manziel was going to help them win games.

Rookie quarterbacks tend to fail if you throw them into the starting role right away. Andrew Luck and Cam Newton are definite outliers. Starting Brian Hoyer over Johnny Manziel seemed the clear choice, from the beginning, to help the Browns win games. Simple as that.

JM: Additionally, I think that the quarterback the fans think he is is very different from the quarterback the front office thinks he is. The media seemed to think that Manziel was going to start right from the get-go, but I don’t that was ever the front office’s game plan.

Until Manziel can learn to be comfortable in the pocket, he’s a project.

MJ: His first option of running came too quick. Like a default setting.

JM: Yes. He needs to adapt to look to pass first and run second to be an NFL quarterback. Until then, I think watching and learning is good for him, and I think the front office thinks it’s good for him too. You don’t want to set up a rookie for failure. A new player is going to feel pressure no matter what. There’s no need to amplify that.

MJ: Remember, he sat out his first year at Texas A&M too. It’s not unprecedented. It’s what he had to do to transition from high school to college. And of course, there’s the question of maturity. Even that social media thing, which we loved, it came off as negative at first. It seems like he needed this time to mature. Not just on the field, but off the field too.

EB: What about the growth in the past five years of the run-first QB style in the NFL?

MJ: The two best young run-style quarterbacks are Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick. And even with them, you can certainly see a growth curve. They’re pulling back from looking to run first.

You hear from Browns camp that Manziel is still seeing only 50 percent of the field when looking to pass. And, he’s so slight, he might get hurt from running too much.

Those weren’t things we as fans were really “hearing” when the hype machine was active, but now, it’s something we can all pay attention to.

JM: Look, he’s a super-talented quarterback. But everyone who sees him in real life thinks he’s too small. And he’s even young for a rookie. So it’s a legitimate concern.

EB: Other touted run-first quarterbacks like Michael Vick and Robert Griffin III do seem to be susceptible to injury.

JM: The run is a weapon for a quarterback, but it can’t be your go-to. You have to be able to do other things.