Seven years ago when the Browns had a real training camp battle at quarterback, Romeo Crennel – four coaches ago – flipped a coin to decide whether to start Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson in a preseason opener against the Chiefs. Frye won the toss but not much else that year. He also started the season opener against the Steelers, was benched before halftime and was traded to Seattle two days later. The dynamic of the quarterback battle between Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel this summer figures to be much more heated and also more closely followed because of Twitter and social media. The Hoyer-Manziel competition might also start a civil war of sorts among Browns fans. Hoyer is the local kid from St. Ignatius who sat three years behind Tom Brady in New England and who finally got his chance last year but then suffered a season ending knee injury after winning his first two starts in a Browns uniform. Manziel is already one of the most popular players in the league, judging by his top-rated jersey sales. The Browns moved up in the draft four spots so they could draft him 22nd before the Chiefs got the chance to take him with the next pick. Chances are good the young fans will cheer for Manziel. Older fans who appreciate what the veteran has gone through might side with Hoyer. Coach Mike Pettine’s job is to keep the competition even. Pettine met with quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan the morning of July 23 to discuss the issue. ‘We feel pretty comfortable with the plan we have in place,’ Pettine said later in the day at team headquarters in Berea. ‘They’ll both have a reasonable opportunity to compete. ‘It’s going to start out with Brian as the One. We’ll still be able to evaluate Johnny with the Twos. Right now, even coming out of spring, it’s more Manziel vs. the playbook. I think that’s true for any rookie. We don’t want him to try to mentally jump ahead. Let’s master the system first before he worries about the quarterback competition.’ Hoyer is determined to hold onto the starting job. He will help Manziel, but watch closely which quarterbacks stand next to each other when not involved in practice; you might see more of Manziel shoulder to shoulder with Tyler Thigpen than chilling with Hoyer. ‘I knew, even going back to last summer, that this was the place that I wanted to be,’ said Hoyer, who signed with the Browns as a free agent in May 2013. ‘I ended up working out and getting back here, and then I got a chance to play. ‘So I’ve said it a million times, this is my hometown. This is where my family’s from. This is where I want to make a difference in this program and this organization. ‘I’ll never shy away from competition. It’s something I had prepared myself for. I didn’t know who it would be. It was almost a sense of relief when (Manziel) was drafted, because I knew exactly right then and there what it was going to be.’ Pettine said he has talked with Manziel about the rookie’s off-the-field antics, which now include being photographed in a Las Vegas bathroom rolling up a five-dollar bill. Pettine is confident Manziel will suspend partying. ‘Even in his past, when it was time for football, it was time for football,’ Pettine said. ‘That’s what this is all about right now. I think this should die pretty quickly. I doubt he’s going to be out and about every night taking trips. ‘It’s intriguing. We’re excited to see (how good Manziel can be) as millions of other people are.’ That question will begin being answered at 9:30 a.m. on July 26 before a capacity crowd in Berea.
