1. Review of Manziel's start elicits more optimism
Twenty-four hours later, little changed in Mike Pettine's mind about how Johnny Manziel performed Sunday in his fourth start, and that's a big step forward for the second-year quarterback.
The Browns coach called Manziel's 270-yard performance against the 49ers "solid." As he did after Sunday's game, Pettine called the quarterback's interception in the second quarter a "glaring" mistake but focused more on the strides he made from an intangibles standpoint.
Before Pettine mentioned any of the specific throws or plays Manziel made with his feet, Pettine praised his command in huddle, "sense of the plan," in-game adjustments and checks in the running game.
"Overall, he made good decisions, was accurate with the football and when he could stay in the pocket, he did and made plays, and there were times – we all saw – he has that special ability to extend the play and was able to do that numerous times with solid success," Pettine said. "Overall, I think it was a good day for him."
Manziel's second season has had its ups and downs. His latest performance vaulted straight to the top of the "ups" side.
The support throughout the season, particularly from his teammates, hasn't wavered, and Pettine said it was a testament to the work Manziel has done inside the Browns facility dating back to April.
"He asks great questions, brings up good points and guys respect that they can tell when he talks that he's getting into that information when he's out of the building," Pettine said. "It carries over to the practice field. They see a guy that is competitive, that wants to win, goes out, works hard on the practice field and then it carried over in the game.
"When they see him frustrated after throwing a boneheaded interception and get after himself a little bit, there's some respect there because they see how competitive he is."
2. More injury updates
When Pettine spoke Monday, the Browns had yet to put defensive back Joe Haden on season-ending injured reserve, but he provided some clarity on a handful of other injuries.
Wide receiver Brian Hartline will undergo surgery on his broken collar bone Tuesday, Pettine said.
"It's a big loss for us," Pettine said.
Running back Glenn Winston is in the league's concussion protocol after sustaining his injury during Sunday's first half.
Wide receiver Taylor Gabriel recently exited the concussion protocol but was not active for Sunday's game. Pettine said he expected Gabriel to be ready for the Seahawks on Sunday.
"With Gabe being out the length of time that he was out, from a playing football standpoint, he had done a good job of maintaining his level of condition, but it ended up just being a numbers game and giving him an extra week," Pettine said. "With Hartline being down, we certainly anticipate Gabe being up this week."
3. Expanding role for Pryor?
Along with Gabriel, Terrelle Pryor is anticipated to see his snaps and responsibilities increase because of Hartline's season-ending injury.
Pryor made his Browns debut Sunday and played 16 snaps. He was not targeted for any passes.
"He did his job. The big thing is he knew where to line up and he knew what his job was," Pettine said. "He is a guy that has a skillset that hopefully we can take advantage of. Over these last three weeks, I look forward to the opportunity of him getting out there even more."
4. Pasztor 'steps up to the plate'
Pettine joked that Austin Pasztor got his "money's worth" on a holding penalty Sunday that negated a 19-yard run down to San Francisco's 1-yard line, but he was otherwise pleased with the left guard's starting debut.
"I think Austin did a solid job. He had a good week of practice," Pettine said. "I thought he communicated well with Joe (Thomas) and with Alex (Mack) being on the left side. Had his share of minuses in the game, but overall, I thought it was a winning performance."
Pasztor was the third different left guard to line up between Thomas and Mack this season. Thomas came away impressed, too.
"For his first start next to me," Thomas said, "I thought he did a nice job."
5. One last thing…
Linebacker Armonty Bryant, who added to his team lead with two sacks Sunday, summed up the feelings of the locker room when he explained why the Browns played so hard despite the 2-10 record they carried into Sunday's game.
"You just have to know who you're fighting for," Bryant said. "You're fighting for your team, you're fighting for you family, you're fighting for the man next to you and you're fighting for your job. You're out there fighting for your brother and you go out there, you don't want to be the guy that makes that mistake, so you're going to have to do everything you can so he doesn't look at you like, 'dang, you let him down.'"
