All eyes are on the Cleveland Browns as the team prepares for their first preseason game of a season that features a new quarterback rotation, a new coaching staff, brand new running backs and potential missing wide receiver. Of course the only thing people care about is the quarterback battle and who will be getting the most reps with the first-team, Johnny Manziel or Brian Hoyer.
Entering the 2014 season, the Browns were very quick to say that Hoyer would be the team's starting quarterback. He showed a brief amount of promise last season stepping in for the struggling Brandon Weeden before tearing his ACL and ending his year. Now healthy once again, Cleveland is counting on Hoyer being "the guy." However, that was until the Browns drafted Manziel in the first round, sending speculation running wild as to who would actually be the starting quarterback moving forward.
Much has been made about Manziel on and off the field. The rookie quarterback simply cannot keep his name out of the headlines as he spent most of the offseason partying with the stars and starring in local car commercials, all while head coach Mike Pettine called him the backup quarterback. Now in training camp, the reviews on Manziel have been mixed at best and the quarterback will now get a chance to prove himself to the critics as he is expected to play a fair amount of time against the Detroit Lions.
Meanwhile the other big headline for Cleveland surrounds their wide receivers. Josh Gordon is awaiting a ruling on his future with the team after he failed another drug test. Gordon was thought to be handed a year-long ban, but it appears he might only miss eight games, leaving a big whole to be filled after he led the team in receiving last season.
The Lions come in having kept their name out of the press. Detroit focused on getting Matthew Stafford more offensive weapons to work with. Calvin Johnson returns healthy. Ryan Broyles is also back, plus Golden Tate who signed on in free agency. The team also has first-round pick Eric Ebron to pair with Brandon Pettigrew who earned a contract extension as well in the offseason. There is some lingering questions regarding the status of both Nick Fairly and Ndomukong Suh and their contract statuses, but all the Lions care about is what they do on the field.
