Cleveland Browns going back to Josh McCown:

In a move that’s sure to energize the Cleveland Browns fan base, and roster alike, Mike Pettine has revealed that he’s going back to Josh McCown as the Browns starter Sunday now that McCown is ready to return from the concussion he suffered on the Browns opening drive of the season.

Really?

It’s really difficult to wrap your head around this decision. Browns fans certainly can’t be excited to rush to the stadium Sunday to see the guy who definitely isn’t the future of their football team take snaps from a guy who might be.

McCown was 5 for 8, for 49 yards before suffering a concussion while trying to dive into the end zone in Cleveland’s Week 1 loss against the New York Jets.

Manziel wasn’t dominant in place of McCown, but he played well enough that you’d think the Browns would want to see more of him instead of rolling out a quarterback they know is nothing more than a Band-Aid.

Manziel was 21 for 39, with three touchdowns and a pick while going 1-1 over the first two weeks of the season. Cleveland ran the ball a lot with Manziel at the helm, but Manziel flashed some very good things, including 60- and 50-yard touchdown passes to Travis Benjamin.

Manziel’s 50-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin late Sunday’s victory over the Tennessee Titans was the kind of pass you likely won’t see McCown make. Unfortunately, with Pettine’s decision to go back to the veteran signal caller, Browns fans likely won’t see Manziel make another either before McCown suffers an injury, or they have to suffer through more of his mediocre play.

Pettine’s decision proves he’s looking at the short term for a football team that isn’t winning the big one any time soon. He should be concerned about building a team for the future, but as he said when he announced the decision, he’s just concerned with this Sunday’s game.

”He’s done everything we’ve asked of him in the offseason and so far this year,” Pettine said. ”He’d earned the right to be our starting quarterback. We feel that he gives us the best opportunity to win on Sunday. That was truly the basis for the decision. There’s a lot of exterior factors, but for coaches it’s very bottom line.”

For his part, Manziel wasn’t happy with the decision, and there’s a good chance most Cleveland fans are as frustrated as he is with the move.

”It’s obviously disappointing,” Manziel admitted Wednesday. ”I’m not going to sit here and say that I love the decision.”

DeMarco Murray tweaks hamstring at practice:

There’s a reason why we called DeMarco Murray one of our five bad bets in NFL free agency this offseason, and it’s not because we thought he would have just 11 rushing yards through his first two games this season.

Murray’s struggles through his first two games with the Philadelphia Eagles have a lot more to do with Philadelphia’s offense stumbling as a whole than it does about Murray’s ability.

Murray is a fantastic runner, but after missing 17 games over his first three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, the new Eagles back played in all 16 games for the first time in his career a season ago.

From the lack of continuity on offense to the fragility of players like Murray, Ryan Mathews, and Sam Bradford, the Eagles plan was confusing from the jump. If these guys start dropping like flies, it could eventually spell the end for Chip Kelly.

Murray’s slow start isn’t the offense’s only issue, Bradford is off to a rough start in his first two starts in Philly as well, throwing four interceptions to just two touchdowns, and the Eagles offense looks like a bunch of guys who were just thrown together.

That’s right, it is a bunch of guys who have been thrown together.

The inconsistent Eagles offense which put up just 10 points against the Dallas Cowboys will face off against a New York Jets defense which has created 10 turnovers over their first two games on route to a pair of convincing victories.

If the Eagles are going to get off the snide and don’t keep from starting 0-3 under Kelly’s plan, Philadelphia fans may lose their minds.

Drew Brees is confident he’ll play Sunday:

The situation in New Orleans is a little confusing. Drew Brees came up shaking his arm after a Jacquies Smith sack fumble in the Saints loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday.

Brees remained in the game Sunday, but seemed to be having trouble getting a lot behind his deep balls against the Buccaneers. Brees didn’t look like himself at any time Sunday, but despite being limited in practice Wednesday, the veteran quarterback says he believes he’ll go this week as the Saints look to avoid starting 0-3 when they travel to Carolina.

“I have every intention of playing, but I do have to take it day to day. I have to be smart with this, so that’s what I’m doing,” Brees said Wednesday before adding that he was “pretty confident,” that he’d play.

Regardless of whether or not Brees goes this week, his recent play has seemed to confirm that this is the end of the line for Brees. Despite throwing for almost 5,000 yards a season ago, the decline in Brees’ play cost the Saints games, and ultimately a playoff appearance late last season.

Brees is a smart guy, and he understands another down year in New Orleans will likely lead to major changes, and he could very well be a part of that change in direction. That will likely push him out onto the field Sunday against a much better defense than the one he struggled against this past Sunday. We’re just not so sure it will end up being a good thing if he is out there.