~~**SCHWANGERSCHAFTSECKE**~~ » nvitational. What about the other

BEREA, Ohio - On one knee and far from the action, quarterback Johnny Manziel leaned on his orange helmet and watched. This is his new position. As Browns starter Brian Hoyer worked with Clevelands first-team offence during 11-on-11 drills Thursday, Manziel, for now relegated to the second string, observed from the side. He took mental notes as he waited for his turn. This rookie has been no sensation. Hes not ready to start. Meet Johnny Backup. Failing to make any magic happen in his first two NFL preseason games and unable to close the gap enough to beat out Hoyer, Manziel will begin the season as Clevelands No. 2 quarterback, matching his uniform number. Its not a major surprise given hes had to learn a complex offence and he entered training camp behind Hoyer. But Manziels inability to leap-frog Hoyer, a journeyman who has made four career starts and is coming off knee surgery, shows the jump from college to pros is gargantuan — even for Johnny Football. "Obviously I didnt want this to be the outcome," Manziel said. "But at the same time, I didnt necessarily feel I was ready, I felt like there were steps that I needed to take, and I need to take, to get better." Manziel has shown flashes, just not enough. Still, the Browns have seen promise in him, and Manziels immense fan base now has members inside Clevelands locker room. "We got arguably the best No. 2 in the NFL," said wide receiver Nate Burleson. "Im a Johnny Football fan. Not only was I a fan before he got here, but now hes family because we play for the same team. Ill always be in his corner." Manziel has improved in recent weeks. Hes got a much better grasp on offensive co-ordinator Kyle Shanahans playbook and its tongue-twisting verbiage; some plays contain 17 words. Hes made better decisions with the ball, and hes won over some skeptical teammates with a solid work ethic and humble attitude. Trouble is, Manziel may have damaged his chances to win the starting job before camp with his well-documented partying. The photos of Manziel chugging champagne while floating on an inflatable swan, talking into a phone made of money, and rolling a dollar bill in a bathroom brought him unwanted attention. The Browns were privately concerned about Manziels behaviour and warned him about it. He obliged, but had two recent missteps: being late for a team meeting and flipping his middle finger at the Redskins sideline Monday night on national TV. The gesture, relatively harmless compared to other things than go on during a game, may have reinforced the belief of coach Mike Pettine and his staff that Manziel wasnt prepared mentally or physically to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 7. Sitting and waiting is nothing new for Manziel. He was so far behind when he got to Texas A&M that the Aggies redshirted him as a freshman. It wasnt long, though, before he was the big man on campus and quickly the biggest name in college football, a one-man scrambling highlights machine. Manziel, who has completed 14 of 27 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown, said nothing has surprised him so far. "Its exactly what I thought it would be," he said. "I knew it would be a big step, a big learning process. If people would have seen me my first year at A&M they wouldve said no way this kid could get to where Im at today. People dont understand that my first year-and-a-half at A&M I was terrible. "I just continued to try and get better, learn the playbook, got more comfortable around everybody, around the coaches with the system, and then good things happened for me." Pettine said there wont be a "leash" on Hoyer, who will get an opportunity to take the job and run with it. But the Browns difficult early schedule — theyll host New Orleans and Baltimore after facing the Steelers — could make things interesting if theyre 0-3 or 1-2 at the bye week. Manziel isnt the first prominent rookie to take a back seat in Year 1. Hell find his path, and knowing Manziel, it wont be a straight one. "You dont have to come in from your first day of your rookie season and play right away," he said. "Theres no exact guideline to how this process works with young quarterbacks. For me, I need to continue to do what I need to do to get better as a football player, get smarter and learn more, control what I can control and everything will work out fine for me." NOTES: Pettine plans to play his starters most of the first half against St. Louis on Saturday. Pettine is also leaning toward his starters playing in the exhibition finale against Chicago. ... Pettine said WR Josh Gordons pending NFL suspension has weighed on the Pro Bowler. "He wants to get on with it and move forward," Pettine said. "Just being in limbo for so long, it can be draining." ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Nike Huarache Sale Cheap .The Hamilton Tiger-Cat defensive back always has the required receipt. But he also walks around with a tangle of metal screws, rods and plates after breaking his neck in 2006 playing high school football in Louisiana. Nike Air Huarache Womens .Currently no, Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs deputy director of the competitions division and head of womens competitions, said Tuesday in an interview from Ottawa. http://www.huarachesnikeshoes.com/. Cincinnati has lost back-to-back games in overtime, wasting a chance to take a commanding lead in their division. Nike Air Huarache Sale . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. Nike Air Huarache White . Jurrjens signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati in May, and was 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. He has a 53-37 record with a 3.63 ERA in seven major league seasons, including five with Atlanta.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - With the No. 1 player in the world already out of this years Masters, injuries are clearly the top storyline heading into the first major of the season. Tiger Woods, as we all know, had back surgery last Monday and is out of the tournament. If that wasnt enough, three of the next four players in the world rankings are also ailing. Henrik Stenson, the third-ranked player in the world, continues to play with wrist pain that he has been dealing with since last year. No. 4 Jason Day hasnt played since winning the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, while No. 5 Phil Mickelson is battling the newest injury. The three-time Masters champion and reigning British Open champ hurt his oblique at the Texas Open, and withdrew. After some practice at Augusta, he shared 12th at the Houston Open. While those four battle with injuries, the remainder of the field deals with a lack of momentum. Outside of the last two Masters winners, not many players have any momentum heading into Augusta. Reigning champion Adam Scott has six top-25 finishes in six starts this season. However, he did close the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a 76 to lose the title. The man who slipped the green jacket onto Scotts shoulders, 2012 Masters winner Bubba Watson, also has six top-25 finishes in eight starts this season. Watson also has a win and two runner-up finishes in that span. That victory for Watson was his first since donning the green jacket in 2012. Watson already has more top-10s this year than he had all of 2013, so his game is clearly in fine shape. As for the remainder of the field, two of the biggest storylines early in the 2013-14 wrap-around season have been Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed. Walker has three victories and Reed has a pair, making them the only multiple winners of the season. Thats the good news. The bad news for both, this is their first appearance in the Masters. Why is that bad news? Only Fuzzy Zoeller won the Masters in his first appearance. Could one of those players add their name to that short list? Since winning three times in eight events, Walker has cooled with five top-25 finishes, but none better than tied for 16th at the Texas Open. Reeds only start since his second victory ended in a tie for 52nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. What about the other two reigning major champions? U.S. Open champ Justin Rose has three top-10 finishes in seven starts, but is coming off a missed cut at Bay Hill and he has broken par in four of his last 10 stroke-play rounds. PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner has three top-10s in eight starts and he has been off since the Valspar Championship. Tough to say what to expect from either of them. As you can tell, the seasons first major is wide openn with no clear-cut favorite.dddddddddddd Will either of last years combatants be in the mix again this year? Scott and the man he beat in the playoff, Angel Cabrera, both are valid picks, but also have question marks. Scott, as mentioned above, blew the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the final round. Cabrera, on the other hand, has missed the cut in six of his seven PGA Tour starts dating to last October. Honestly though, that doesnt mean much when it comes to Cabrera and the Masters. He had two missed cuts and one finish inside the top 30 in seven starts last year before playing his way into the playoff with Scott. In 2011, the Argentine had missed three cuts in six starts, then tied for seventh at Augusta. When Cabrera won in 2009, he was coming off back-to-back missed cuts and hadnt finished better than tied for 13th. There is something about Augusta with Cabrera. Last year, Scott and Cabrera both birdied the final hole of regulation to get into the playoff. Scott made his first as Cabrera stood in the fairway and watched. Cabrera responded by stuffing his approach inside three feet. The 2009 Masters champion kicked that in for birdie to force the extra session. In the playoff, both players spun their approach shots off the front of the green on the first extra hole. Cabrera nearly holed his chip as it skirted the edge of the cup. Scotts chip stopped three feet short of the hole. They both made their par putts, and it was off to the 10th. Cabrera left himself 18 feet for birdie, but failed to convert. Scott drained his 12-footer for birdie and the win. It was a huge turnaround for Scott, who had bogeyed the final four holes of regulation at the 2012 British Open to lose the title. Watson also won his title in a playoff in 2012. Those were the first back-to- back playoffs since 1989-90, when Nick Faldo won consecutive green jackets. There has never been three straight playoffs at the Masters. How the scoring plays out depends on the condition of the course and the weather. Augusta was hit with several ice storms over the winter, and the biggest result of those storms was the loss of the Eisenhower tree that framed the tee shot on No. 17. The long range weather outlook shows dry conditions for the four tournament rounds after some rain earlier in the week. That sets up perfectly for how the tournament tends to play out. As the week goes on, the course gets firmer and faster making it harder to score. You will hear over those first few days that the tournament doesnt really start until the back nine on Sunday. Well, the last two years, the combatants were determined on that final nine, but settled in a playoff. Will it take another playoff this year? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure - this Masters is as wide open as any in recent memory. ' ' '