Many of you have probably seen this billboard around town. It kind of sounds like a joke. Tyler is Cleveland Browns territory? The majority of the state of Ohio isn’t even Cleveland Browns territory. The Browns are always a laughing stock of the league. Who cares who the quarterback is? The Browns go through quarterbacks like paper towels, and they’re about as easy to tear apart. Remember the name Tim Couch? How about Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson or Colt McCoy? It wasn’t that long ago they drafted and had high expectations for Brandon Weeden. Seriously, it was two seasons ago and they shipped him off. Cleveland is a graveyard for quarterbacks and as long as Manziel is there, we’ll never really know how much NFL potential he truly has.
Not to mention, Manziel is currently the backup. It says a lot when you’re not even the starter on a crappy team. Bryan Hoyer is the starter and he showed signs of potential before getting hurt and the job was taken over by Jason Campbell. Yes, the former Redskins quarterback from Auburn. He played for the Browns just last year. And people have high hopes for Manziel? Someone actually suggest Tyler is Cleveland Browns territory? I can understand the frustration of being a fan owned by Jerry Jones but why be a fan of a franchise that sucks all the potential out of quarterbacks and leaves us wondering “what if?”
The billboard is obviously paid for by the Manziel family. It’s no secret of that family’s influence and money on the town and money speaks loud. It just doesn’t speak for all Tylerites. He’s certainly not Johnny Tyler. He can keep the title of Johnny Cleveland but it’s really not a badge of honor. Who knows, maybe he’ll be the best quarterback in franchise history since Charlie Fry or Trent Dilfer. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and claim him the next Kelly Holcomb. The name Jeff Garcia ring a bell? Yeah, he was a Brown for a little while too. Now Manziel may get to join the list.