Based on how he looked in the pre-season and his limited time in the regular season, I doubt he looks like crap in practice, especially against this awful defense. It likely has more to do with Pettine wanting to keep his job. He probably views being competitive as easier to sell.....hey "we're close!".
My preference in playing Manziel had nothing to do with how I thought McCown might play.....it had more to do with finding a potential resolution at that position. I don't see why you invest a 1st round pick in a guy and then opt to keep him on the bench in favor of an average journeyman QB. For a good NFL QB that can get you somewhere? Sure.....for McCown?....you just can't sell me on that. I have no idea if Manziel will even develop in to an average QB but I'd rather find that out than watch a guy who's going to get us nowhere guide us to a 4-12 record.
Browns now sit at 1-3 and have played just one team on the plus side of .500 (New York), who absolutely blasted them. Schedule only gets tougher from here on out. Team is going nowhere and yet we're going to keep carting out a guy who does nothing for us long term and only a little more in the short. I'm sure this is where all the people break out the "loser mentality" quotes. Have at it.
Listen, I agree with where you are coming from. And I don't think you have a "loser mentality." But, I do disagree with your eventual conclusion.
When I say "looks like crap in practice" I mean he looks definitively worse than McCown. This leads to your point: Pettine wants to keep his job. Pettine knows if he wins, he'll keep his job. Thus, Pettine must think that either Manziel does not give them a better chance to win
or that Johnny gives them a greater chance to lose.
Also, let's be real. McCown has played really well so far. He has a 66% completion percentage, an average gain of over 7 yards per pass, 4 TDs, 1 interception, 9 sacks, and nearly a 99 QB rating. Is he lighting the world on fire? Hell no. But has he deserved to lose the job? Hell no. The reason we signed Josh McCown to a three year deal is because we think he'll mentor our future starter. Right now, that player is Johnny. The Browns are treating Johnny like a rookie, and hopefully they will see something that suggests he can be the future starter, but that does not seem likely. Ultimately, the goal of this year is to get McCown comfortable with the offense, win a few games, and draft the QB of the future next year.
I just hate when people say "we haven't seen Johnny so he should start." We have seen Johnny, he's played at McCown's level for one appearance. Every other time he's ranged between awful and mediocre. Also, let's call that one appearance what it was: a demonstration of improvement where he made two good passes the entire game. The coaches see him
every day at practice and do not think he is better than "career backup" Josh McCown. If they did, Johnny would be starting.