Mike Pettine hasn't switched from Brian Hoyer to Johnny Manziel yet "but it's natural to lean the other way''
Browns coach Mike Pettine declined to announce if he's switching from Brian Hoyer to Johnny Manziel because he hasn't talked to the quarterbacks yet but said, "it would be natural to be leaning the other way.''
He said he wants to meet with the coaches, and wouldn't say when he'll tell the quarterbacks.
He said he hasn't yet made up his mind, but he sounded like he already has.
He said "we all know what the numbers have been in the passing game and we know we need to improve.''
He stressed that the woes Sunday's 25-24 loss to the Colts were not all Hoyer's fault, but indicated his level of play has been "substandard.''
He cited protection problems, dropped passes, and errant routes.
He acknowledged that Hoyer's interception in the end zone was on Jordan Cameron and not Hoyer. But he was obviously unhappy with Hoyer and seemed to be leaning toward going with Manziel.
He said Manziel "absolutely'' would be ready if called upon.
He added that Manziel was not late for the game when he arrived at 11 a.m. and that he wasn't miffed he attended the Cavs game last Tuesday.
"We're going to meet on that here in the coming hours, and I'm not prepared to comment on it. . . in that I have not spoken to the players involved," Pettine said when he met with reporters.
". . . It's natural to lean the other way (toward Manziel). . . but we want to make sure we do our due diligence.
"Brian missed some throws. . . the receivers had some routes that were not run properly. . . We have to perform much better in the passing game. . . There were some throws that he missed, but it was exaggerated by the guys around him in the pass game. . . When they're not playing at the level they should be, it's difficult to overcome that.
"We're in a results business. We've lost two in a row. . . We know what the numbers were in the pass game, and for us to be successful, we have to improve."
Earlier Monday, Hoyer emphasized that it's a team game and that no one stepped up and made a big play to pull out Sunday's 25-24 loss to the Colts.
Hoyer pointed out how absurd it is that he was a hero a few weeks ago and now folks are asking him if his career here is over.
"It's so far removed from my mind,'' he said. "Right now (I'm) getting over yesterday and moving on to Cincinnati. It's crazy how fast things change. I feel like four or five weeks ago we're talking about contract talks and now we're talking about if I'm even going to be staying here. It's the furthest thing from my mind right now."
Hoyer lamented the missed opportunities in the game, including missed throws, drops, blocks, etc.
"Everybody's got to be able to step up and when you're not being perfect you need one guy to step up and make a big play and we didn't have that yesterday,'' he said. "We didn't have one play that just changed it all for us and when you're having a game where there's some inconsistencies, and not everybody's doing their job on every play, you need that one play or that one player to make a play and we didn't have it yesterday.''
Hoyer said he's still the same player he was at the beginning of the season when he was winning games. In the first five outings, he threw seven touchdowns and one interception. In the last four, he's thrown one TD and eight picks.
"It's just that I don't think I'm playing differently,'' he said. "I don't have a different mindset going out there, it's just go out and try to see the defense and react. I can't pinpoint one certain thing."
Subject: Mike Pettine hasn't switched from Brian Hoyer to Johnny Manziel yet 'but it's natural to lean the other way' 
