Davis, not Manziel, will start

A person with knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press that the former Miami quarterback has reached a tentative agreement to be the Hurricanes’ next head coach, pending the completion of contract talks. He knows anything can still happen in their remaining games this season, but he is prepared to prove that he deserves to start for the Browns.

“Anybody that knows me and anybody that knows Jimmy Haslam, our conversations are always blunt”. “The time is so valuable during the season that when we get into a conversation we hit topics head-on, there’s no dancing around them”.

Haslam fired Rob Chudzinski after a 4-12 first year.

Browns coach Mike Pettine has picked quarterback Austin Davis over Johnny Manziel to start Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. We own it. This is a bottom line business and where we are isn’t good enough. The question is do we have a plan to fix it; is it fixable? “I see no indication of that”.

“I can’t get wrapped up into all of that, ” he said.

“As the season winds down, that could potentially come up between the two of us”. I’m full speed ahead committed to getting this fixed here in Cleveland. I see it as they’re passionate. “Get out there and play and make mistakes and build on what you do well”. It’s a belief that we can. I’m not going to go beyond that.

-Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins (concussion) did not practice Wednesday.

The Browns don’t sound in a hurry to get Pryor on the field. “I owe private apologies to a lot of people that I disappointed”.

Pryor, waived by the Browns on September 10 after making the 53-man roster, met with reporters on December 3 after being re-signed a day earlier.

Pettine says Davis is also respected, mobile and has some arm strength. “I feel like there are so many people that are counting on you and looking at you to play well”, he said.

Joel Bitonio has continued to show progress from the ankle injury that has sidelined him in back-to-back games.

Barnidge leads the Browns with 55 catches and seven touchdown catches. Before working at Michigan, Durkin was the defensive coordinator at Florida for two years. “I can’t think of too many game-ending scenarios that would make you feel worse at the end than that.”… “I just think it is a big responsibility”.

The Browns were set up for a game-winning 51-yard field goal. I wanted to have some excitement in the last 5 games of the season, something Manziel has proven he can deliver. I still intend to live my life and spend time with my friends, but being the best quarterback I can be will be my primary focus. “Football plays-wise, I was familiar with pretty much everything we were doing”. Yeah. Do the guys want to have more sacks?

It seems at the beginning of every other week the Cincinnati Bengals don’t know which quarterback they will be facing the next game.

Davis drew positive reviews for his performance against the Ravens, and in the days after the game, he was lauded for his preparation. “The kick was low”. It’s just a matter of learning the terminology, learning the guys, learning the cadence, stuff like that. He obviously got a piece of the ball.

The Browns won their home opener when they beat the Tennessee Titans, 28-14, but since then have lost four straight at FirstEnergy Stadium. “But I guess I haven’t been here, so it’s hard to really speak on that”.