Juicy storylines spice up Redskins-Browns preseason game August 13, 2014, Tarik El-Bashir - Redskins Insider Preseason games rarely feature juicy subplots, much less several of them. But Monday night’s meeting between the Redskins and Browns will be the exception to that rule. The biggest story, from a national standpoint at least, will be Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel, who could end up starting opposite Robert Griffin III under the lights at FedEx Field. Browns Coach Mike Pettine hasn’t publicly announced who will start, but he has committed to giving Manziel some reps with the starters as the quarterback battle between Manziel and Brian Hoyer intensifies. “It will be exciting,” Redskins Coach Jay Gruden acknowledged this week. “There’s a lot about Johnny Football that’s exciting to watch—him as a player and as a rookie.” The game will also feature Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan making his return to Landover. Shanahan, of course, was the architect of the Redskins’ attack from 2010-13, and he was instrumental in devising the scheme that helped Robert Griffin III earn offensive rookie of the year honors two seasons ago. Shanahan was fired along with his father, Mike, after last years unsightly 3-13 campaign. In addition to Kyle Shanahan, the Browns’ staff features two other former Mike Shanahan assistants—Mike McDaniel, Clevelands new wide receivers coach, and Richard Hightower, the offense quality control coach. The Browns also signed former Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman this week. Gruden, however, insisted the Redskins’ focus will be on themselves, not Manziel or anyone else. “All we’re going to do is focus on ourselves … what we’re going to do, how we’re going to prepare and, really, starting Friday, it’ll be the first time we start to game plan, how we’ll go about it in the regular season,” Gruden said Tuesday. “I haven’t looked at Cleveland yet. But I will starting [Wednesday] and Thursday, and we’ll start to game plan.” But the storylines don’t end there: Gruden’s older brother, Jon, will be the analyst on ESPN’s broadcast. Jon and Jay are close, as are their families, and Jon has already visited Redskins Park at least twice this offseason. Indeed, the hype and interest that will surround this game is rare for an exhibition contest. But for a Redskins team thats still coming together, it could be a good lesson in blocking out the noise and staying on task. “It’ll be an exciting event, Monday Night Football here,” Gruden said. “My brother is coming to town, so that will be fun. And Johnny Football. But I really want to make it about our guys, how we perform, how we come out under the lights [with all] the excitement. And show them what we can do.”
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 11:43:07 +0000
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