BEREA, Ohio -- Johnny Manziel had one of his best days throwing the ball on Wednesday. The second-year quarterback was sharper than at any time since the Cleveland Browns' training camp started one week ago.
Manziel, still the backup, continues working to make himself into a pocket passer. Manziel had a pair of throws to Vince Mayle, a deep throw in 7-on-7 to Shane Wynn off a double-move, and a deep throw down the sideline to Darius Jennings in 11-on-11.
Manziel also has done an excellent job avoiding off-field controversy. The last time he spoke to the media, Manziel said he had to do a better job of tamping down the hype, and there has been almost no off-field chatter about him this camp.
"He is in a good place," coach Mike Pettine said, "especially when he is here in the building. He shows up every day and works hard."
Manziel has had some success and struggles, but Wednesday was more of the former.
Unofficially, Jason Gibbs of ESPN Cleveland tracked Manziel's completions and had him at 75 percent for the day (12-for-16).
That led to a moment of levity from Pettine.
"I saw him make some good throws, but I just don't know off the top of my head," Pettine said. "I don't chart or do those statistics during training camp like some others do. I'll defer to seeing the tape."
Unofficially, Gibbs' tally has Manziel at 67 percent for training camp, up from 52 percent in his rookie season.
"His mentality is night and day from last year," guard Joel Bitonio said. "He's focused in the meetings. He's determined to be better. I think the naked eye can say how he's approaching practice. He's trying to be a good football player. He's frustrated when he does stuff bad. He's excited when he does stuff well.
"He wants to be the best and I think that's the right mentality to have and he really improved that," Bitonio continued. "He's taking notes in meetings; he's on top of things. There's definitely an improvement and I think these preseason games are going to be valuable for him to get back on the field and kind of get his bearings back."