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You know…I like what he’s saying here.
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/12/foxs_brady_quinn_on_johnny_man.html
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Brady Quinn, who will call the Browns-49ers game Sunday for Fox, hopes the Browns don’t give up on Johnny Manziel like they did him and other young quarterbacks.“He’s got all the talent in the world to be a franchise quarterback,” Quinn told cleveland.com. “It’s just a matter of the stars aligning and somebody giving him the opportunity to be the guy. Can the Browns draft guys to help him out? Will they have the patience enough to let him develop? No one has any patience anymore. The second he has a bad game, people are calling for the next guy to come in.”
First and foremost, however, Quinn hopes that Manziel — who gets his starting job back Sunday after two weeks on the bench — takes care of himself off the field so he can excel on it.
“I know what I’d want out of a Cleveland Browns quarterback,” he said. “Being a fan growing up, and being a guy who was here and got traded away, I took a lot of pride in playing quarterback here and I wasn’t going to be out galavanting around town, especially during the season. This team has been starved just to go to the playoffs, so that’s the most difficult thing for me to swallow is seeing that stuff.
“Just figure out a more professional way of doing it, and do it in the offseason and out of the public eye,” he said. “It’s such a bad image and obviously perception is reality.”
Quinn, who was highly critical of Manziel for his frat-boy personna last season, is now more concerned for him than anything else.
“When you go to a clinic for some sort of substance abuse issue or whatever it was, it sets off red flags and you’re concerned for the guy’s wellbeing,” he said. ” Last season, I was disappointed to see what he was doing. This year, if he’s got a real issue, it’s heartbreaking. It’s sad and you hope that he can get help and he can fix whatever his issues are if indeed that was the case.”
He said it appeared to him that coach Mike Pettine did the right thing in benching Manziel for the past two games for partying over the bye weekend and lying to the coaching staff about it.
“If Johnny Manziel has an issues with drug abuse or alcohol, whatever it is, that would be what’s alarming to me,” said Quinn. “That’s what would make the punishment make sense, because he’s trying to protect the young man. He’s trying to take something away from him that makes him realize he can’t keep turning to that sort of thing. As a coach, you want to have trust in your quarterback because they’re an extension of you on the field and it’s a very delicate thing.”
He said he believes the Browns should focus as much on helping Manziel off-the-field as on, which echoes what Pettine has been saying.
“If there’s an issue with addiction, it’s not like it goes away,” said Quinn. “You don’t go to rehab and it gets cured. You battle that your whole life. If that’s what’s going on — based on (admitting himself to inpatient rehab) this spring — you hope they can continue to work with him and they don’t just give up on him.”
If Manziel can get it together off the field, Quinn believes he’s worth more time and effort.
“At some point, if you draft a kid, then let him go through his growing pains,” said Quinn. “He’s not going to be perfect right away. Johnny’s not going to be perfect (on Sunday). But the more reps he gets he’s going to get better and I promise you that because he’s got all the talent and the skills in the world.”
Quinn said quality rookies such as Marcus Mariota are more the exception than the rule.
“It’s a difficult transition regardless of what system you’re coming in from, but Johnny has also had to learn an entirely new system and I think people underestimate that,” he said.
He said he was encouraged by the leap Manziel made in one week this season from the Cincinnati game to the Pittsburgh game.
“He had a terrible start in Pittsburgh (the fumble on the first play) and it’s hard to start much worse, but as the game wore on, he got more comfortable and more confident,” said Quinn. “You started to see him move his feet really well through is progressions, and he was really in control and kind of put the game on his shoulders. It was encouraging to see the type of strides he had made just in that one week.”
On Sunday, Quinn is curious to see how Manziel fares against Quinn’s former Browns head coach Eric Mangini, now the 49ers defensive coordinator.
“It might be tough to get back into the rhythm, plus he’s going against a guy who’s a pretty good defensive mind in Eric Mangini,” said Quinn. “He’ll disguise coverages and to try to confuse Johnny before the snap and after the snap. He’ll use some different stunts and games up front to try to pressure him and get him to leave the pocket the way he wants him to leave the pocket, and he’ll have a guy chasing him down from the backside or a guy wrapping back around that will be free coming after him.
“I can guarantee you, he’s going to have something dialed up for Johnny that they haven’t seen before.”
Quinn, who would ‘jump at the chance’ to re-sign with the Browns, doesn’t believe nine starts for Manziel — which he’ll end up with if he starts the final four games — is enough to decide if he’s the quarterback of the future.
“I had 12 and they wanted to move on from me in Cleveland,” he said. “Is it enough? It all comes down to what happens after the season. If (general manager) Ray Farmer and (coach) Mike Pettine are still here, I’d imagine he’d have a great opportunity to be their guy if he plays well the next four weeks. That will be a big factor.
“Beyond that, do I think it’s enough time? Heck no. To really see what he’s capable of, it would take three full seasons of playing in the NFL. Not 10 starts. People have no patience in the NFL anymore.”
Quinn, No. 12 on the list of 24 Browns quarterbacks to start a game for the Browns since 1999, is tired of watching the Browns cast aside good young quarterbacks — especially those drafted in the first round. Selected No. 22 overall out of Notre Dame in 2007, Quinn started only 12 games (3-9) for the Browns before they shipped him to Denver after the 2009 season for running back Peyton Hillis.
“I’d love to think I could’ve been successful, especially if they would’ve let Rob Chudzinski stay as the offensive coordinator,” said Quinn. “I would’ve loved to see where my career would’ve gone if I had time to develop there. I’m probably the only quarterback who would’ve stayed in Cleveland my entire career regardless of how many games we won or whatever else, because it was the place I wanted to be, it was the place I grew up rooting for and the place I never really wanted to leave.
“That’s the unfortunate thing. I would’ve signed a deal for life and tried to get better until they had to drag me off the field physically.”
Since his ouster, Quinn has watched the Browns turn over coaches, front offices, owners — and especially quarterbacks. Twelve have started a game since he debuted in 2008, and the Browns have quickly abandoned good young prospects such as Colt McCoy, Brandon Weeden and Brian Hoyer.
“Once they decide they have a guy who’s a franchise guy, they need to stick with him,” he said. “I feel like what they did to Brian Hoyer was just awful. The only quarterback since 1999 to have a winning record and you just let the guy go? And now he’s down with the Houston Texans who are still in the playoff hunt in the AFC South. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
A lifelong Browns fan, Quinn has followed the careers of other deposed Browns quarterbacks such as McCoy, who’s currently the backup in Washington. Last season, McCoy beat the Cowboys 20-17, throwing for 299 yards and completing 83.3 percent of his passes for a 94.3 rating.
“It’s funny,” said Quinn. “He’s done a pretty good job with the opportunities he’s had in Washington, so I’ll be curious to see what happens when free agency comes up this offseason.”
Quinn, who’s career fizzled after back surgery when he was with the Rams in 2013, noted that most players never rebound from a rocky start with a bad team. Quinn went 1-7 with the Chiefs in 2012 and never got another chance to start.
“Once you have an experience where things don’t go well, it’s really hard to overcome that stigma of ‘he’s a bust,”’ said Quinn.He cited the case of 49ers starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who’s 2-2 this season since replacing Colin Kaepernick. The No. 10 overall pick in 2010 by the Jaguars, Gabbert went 5-22 in his four seasons as a starter in Jacksonville.
“The young man got absolutely pounded playing for a really bad team in Jacksonville,” Quinn said. “Now he’s getting an opportunity with a team that’s actually giving him the chance and actually believes in him. He’s 2-2 as a starter this year and looks like a different quarterback after sitting on the bench and watching and learning. It shows you what can happen if you give guys the opportunity to develop and mature, and an organization that isn’t ready to pull the rug out from underneath him at a moment’s notice.”
Still, he noted that Gabbert is penalized for his time spent in Jacksonville.
“It’s not like he’s got a ton to work with this season and and he’s doing a really good job,” said Quinn. “But people are still like ‘they have to draft a quarterback because Blaine Gabbert is not the long-term solution.’ It’s like ‘who knows?’ People immediately want to write him off because of what he was in Jacksonville.”
Quinn, who analyzed 14 college games this season for Fox and CBS, cautioned against trading Manziel and drafting a quarterback with the top pick.
“It’s hard,” he said. “You can look at guy like (Memphis’) Paxton Lynch, who has all the measurables, the size, the strong arm, athleticism, is built to withstand the beating he’ll take in the NFL, but at the same time, he’s playing in the American Conference, so is the competition going to be up to par and is the system he’s running going to translate?
“I think Connor Cook is the most prepared to be in that position based on the offense he ran and the size and protocol pocket passer that you look for, but he didn’t have quite as an impressive year as you would’ve hoped in his final year. So it becomes, who are you going to draft?”
Likewise, Quinn is opposed to firing Pettine after only two seasons.
“I don’t know Mike Pettine but he seems like a really good guy,” said Quinn. “If he sat Johnny because he feels like has a problem, he’s almost acting like a father figure and that sends a strong message to me, like this guy really cares about his players and all of that.
“He seems like a good guy who’s trying to do the best he can with what he’s got. You’ve got to have everyone in that building on that same page. You have to let the guys who have the football knowledge to control it.”
Quinn, who’s open to playing again, has been saddened by all the losing and the revolving door since he left.
“There’s not many guys left from where I played here,” he said. “Only Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. It’s incredible when you look at other teams and other rosters. Since 1999, the Browns have had the most turnover of any team by far. Jacksonville and Oakland are up there too, but it’s ridiculous how much turnover Cleveland’s had.”
Especially at the quarterback position.
Quinn projects himself into every young QB who was awesome in college. I’m intrigued on hearing him call the game today. Should be interesting.
I was texting my buddy during the game. Like, his commentating was pretty standard at selling the product.
I will take note, he kept on talking about young qb’s progressing. Something I don’t think he is an expert on.
Hue Jackson is a loser.
I think Quinn did a pretty awesome job commentating. I’d take him over Solomon Wilcotts every single day.
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