Johnny Manziel's throwing mechanics causing elbow soreness
Johnny Manziel's unorthodox release when throwing the football is causing pain in his elbow.
Johnny Manziel's somewhat unorthodox 3/4-motion release is the root cause behind elbow soreness, which has bugged Manziel this summer and forced him to miss practice on Monday.
On Monday, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo revealed what was causing the pain. Still, the team expects Manziel, who didn't need an MRI on his elbow, to practice Wednesday and Thursday, and to play against the Buccaneers on Saturday night.
Though Manziel is experiencing pain due to his throwing mechanics, don't expect the team to force Manziel to undergo a transformation in terms of his delivery.
"At this point in his career, we're not going to try to change his throwing motion," said head coach Mike Pettine via Cleveland.com. "I think that's an advantage that he has. There are times he'll change his arm angle to make a throw."
DeFilippo explained why Manziel's motion is causing pain, saying that the 3/4's delivery puts "a lot of pressure on the elbow and shoulder."
He then explained why he won't be forcing any changes on Manziel.
"I'm a big believer in once guys get to this level, you can help them with their lower body from the waist down. It's really, really hard to change from the waist up. It really is," DeFilippo said via Cleveland.com. "You look at the guys that have been documented in the past in terms of bad mechanics at quarterback, it kind of follows throughout their career. It's really hard when a guy has been throwing the ball since he's been 10 years old to change that in an offseason, especially now with the new CBA we don't get these guys in the offseason."
But that doesn't mean DeFilippo isn't a fan of Manziel's throwing style. DeFilippo attributed Manziel's quick release to his 3/4 motion. He also said that "a lot of successful quarterbacks throw the ball like that."
And, because it's always worth mentioning, Pettine once again remained committed to Josh McCown as the Browns' starter, despite Manziel's progress this preseason. Pettine called McCown a "capable starter" and made sure to point out that they're taking it slow with Manziel.
"When you think about Johnny, he's made some great strides," Pettine said. "But this is a guy [who] less than five months ago was in a very dark place, personally, and he's come out of it and responded in a very positive way and where he is now personally has helped him professionally."
