Johnny Manziel, the polarizing second-year quarterback of the Cleveland Browns would like to believe he has an outside chance of earning the starting job in training camp over veteran free agent signing Josh McCown. If top wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has his way though, it seems like McCown will get the nod.
"I never had a quarterback like Josh [McCown] that was that tall and could see the mismatch and really go to it," Bowe said. "He's got my confidence level high right now."
Bowe is an eight-year veteran, and all eight of his pro seasons have come with the Kansas City Chiefs. In that time he's never had an elite quarterback, spending the majority of those seasons catching balls from Matt Cassel and Alex Smith. Both stand 6'4, just like McCown, but neither of them are particularly adept at throwing the deep ball.
McCown hasn't shown off a rocket arm in his career, but he's familiar with throwing successfully to big targets; he earned a starter's contract based off a hot stretch in 2013 with the Chicago Bears throwing to Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey.
McCown has spent most of his career as a backup. Aside from his red-hot stretch in Chicago-13 touchdowns, 1,829 yards, one interception in eight games (five starts), McCown has been underwhelming. His career record is 17-32, and he's thrown nearly as many interceptions (59) as touchdowns. Tampa Bay signed him to start last offseason but he was dreadful, throwing 11 touchdowns to 14 picks.
None of that matters to Bowe, apparently.
"He's amazing. He's a crafty vet and he knows matchups, he knows the playbook front and back and he knows the personnel. In the red zone he knows who to come to, he knows how to hit the checkdown, the audible, and he's a great fit for this offense."
None of that bodes particularly well for Manziel, as the coaching staff and general manager have heaped similar praise on McCown as well. The most praise for Manziel came as a side not from Bowe, who was discussing McCown's surprising athleticism.
"He's got some moves. He's not a (Johnny) Manziel, but he's a 13-year crafty good quarterback. He wants to fly under the radar and when the season comes around, we're going to shock a lot of people."
[CBS]
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