BEREA, Ohio -- There are plenty of reasons Johnny Manziel will be the Browns' starting quarterback for the rest of the season, and winning is far down the list.
Consider the other concerns or questions that playing Manziel can help alleviate:
• Four home games remaining for the 2-8 Browns, and the likelihood that FirstEnergy Stadium will be eerily and embarrassingly empty.
• Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 30, an unappealing disaster for ESPN with a match-up of teams with two victories and just as mortifying for the Browns because of their error-prone play.
• The trickle-down effect of poor attendance on concession and parking revenue.
• Jersey sales.
• A better evaluation of whether Manziel can be the quarterback of the future.
• Showcasing the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner to increase his trade value.
• A chance for Coach Mike Pettine to save his job, especially if owner Jimmy Haslam hasn't lost faith in Manziel.
Browns fans aren't naive enough to believe Pettine, who thought playing 36-year-old Josh McCown gave the Browns the best chance to win when he was healthy, suddenly reversed course without prodding because of something he saw in Manziel's 372-yard passing performance at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Pettine danced around that question Tuesday and convinced no one with his answer.
"Based on the way he played against Pittsburgh, what he showed, his ability to make plays in the pocket and outside of the pocket, I think the difference in maximizing our chances to win is negligible," Pettine said. "You're not going to hold me down and I'm going to choose one over the other, but that gap is very small."
The marketing and economics of a poorly managed franchise that continues to self-implode seem to be at work. McCown's testy reaction Wednesday to Tuesday's Manziel news gave credence to that premise.
A 13-year veteran, McCown has gone above and beyond in fulfilling his media responsibilities this season. He's talked three days a week, counting postgame. He popped into the media room to give an unsolicited update on his rib and shoulder injuries two days before his Nov. 1 start against the Arizona Cardinals. He's always been friendly and accommodating.
On Wednesday, McCown had a plane to catch, headed out to spend the Browns' bye weekend with his wife and four children. He talked Monday of the possibility that the Browns might stick with Manziel the rest of the way. But that was before Pettine's decision became official that he had picked Manziel over McCown, who leads the league in third-down passing and whose rating of 95.2 is second best of his career.
McCown didn't seem to appreciate a question on his three-year, $14 million contract and whether he would want to stay in Cleveland for two more years as a backup.
"How many games we got left? Six? We have six football games left. OK? So I'm worried about those. I'm worried about the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night," McCown said. "That's all that we need to be focused on, and right now, we get a little time off; I'm looking forward to going home to Charlotte and seeing my family. So all that stuff is so far down the road that it just doesn't make any sense right now to talk about that."
When a member of the Browns public relations staff ended the interview after two more questions, McCown said, "Yeah, thanks, bud," voicing his dismay as he left the locker room.
After five consecutive losses, most in Berea are on edge. All were in a hurry to get out of town. But McCown knew this might happen with Manziel when he signed in February. It seems plausible that if McCown believed Manziel deserved the job, that there were no other forces in play, he wouldn't have been as irritated.
Perhaps McCown's reaction was merely prompted by his urgency to get home. But that doesn't discount that issues beyond football were part of the Manziel decision.
Often dismayed by the off-the-field circus Manziel brings, the Browns jumped right into the center ring with him to try to make themselves relevant again. Presumably now the Manzielots will cut back on Christmas shopping and spend their money coming to FirstEnergy Stadium.
McCown would not be the only one angered by the inherent greed in that.
Sports on 11/20/2015