Heading into the 2015 NFL season, the question on the minds of most NFL fans and particularly the fans of the Cleveland Browns, was the rookie year for Johnny Manziel a blessing in disguise?
Last year can be described in many ways regarding Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns. Disappointing comes to mind. As well as dysfunctional, which accurately describes the Cleveland Browns organization since their return to Cleveland. But the one that seems unanimously accepted is disastrous.
The celebrity status that encompasses Johnny Manziel is small in comparison to the hype that surrounds him on the football field. Johnny Manziel or Johnny Football to the fans of Texas A&M, was a college superstar. The team that he played on in 2012 & 2013 lacked a viable defense, which left the Aggies and Manziel in constant shootouts. In the two years he was at Texas A&M, he threw for 7,820 yards with 63 touchdowns while also rushing for 2,169 yards with 30 touchdowns. He left college with the highest completion percentage (68%) in the history of the SEC, and the ninth highest in the history of the NCAA.
The numerous accolades that Johnny Manziel compiled while in college had a role in the decision of the Cleveland Browns General Manager Ray Farmer and owner Jimmy Haslam to take a chance on the young college star with the 22nd pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. However, Johnny Manziel was coming from an offensive system that wasn’t conducive to that of an NFL pro-style offense. At Texas A&M, he ran a no-huddle, up-tempo offense known as the Air Raid Offense. And because of that type of offense, he had quite a bit to learn in regards to playing quarterback in the NFL. He never had to command a huddle, set his protections, or even read defenses for that matter. So the learning curve was quite high for the young signal caller.
Heading into his rookie season, head coach Mike Pettine announced that veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel would battle for the starting quarterback position. Both turned in lackluster performances during the preseason and as a result, Hoyer was named the starter. It wasn’t that Hoyer was the best of the two during preseason, he just had superior knowledge of the playbook and a better understanding of what offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan wanted to do. Johnny Manziel had a hard time learning the verbiage for the NFL playbook which was enormous in size. And that goes to his lack of preparation and commitment on his part. Johnny Manziel was never early for practice, nor did he stay late to watch film and study what he did right or what he did wrong. There was zero effort on his part and that spoke directly to his immaturity.
As his rookie season continued, so did his night-life of bar hopping much to the displeasure of the coaches and his teammates. And when All-Pro center Alex Mack went down for the year with a broken leg, the Browns running game suffered mightily and caused the coaches to give more responsibility to Hoyer which they wanted to avoid. His accuracy became a problem as his pass attempts rose, and his inability to make plays finally started costing the Cleveland Browns games. Included among these was a heartbreaking loss to the Indianapolis Colts which cost them any chance at the playoffs. It did ,however, provide Johnny Manziel the opportunity to make his first career NFL start versus the Cincinnati Bengals, who were playing their best football of the season going into week 15.
The time had finally arrived. It was time for Johnny Football to shine and showcase his talent. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a star receiver like Mike Evans, who was his go to receiver in college. In fact, he lacked significant talent at the skill positions. He did however, have Josh Gordon, who at the time was a shell of the former Pro-Bowl wide-receiver he had been.
Manziel and the Browns would get embarrassed by the Bengals, getting shut out in Prime-Time. He had a horrible first start, going 10 of 18 (55.6%) for only 80 yards with two interceptions, but to be honest the team as a whole looked awful. And in his second start the following week, Manziel pulled his hamstring and was done for the year. It was a short stint for the much hyped quarterback of the future, who looked anything but. It was clear he had a lot of growing up to do as well as a ton of learning too.
Manziel must have seen his pro career flash before his eyes, because he took it upon himself to change. It began with a ten week stint at The Caron Addiction Treatment Center in Pennsylvania. Then he moved in his high school offensive coordinator Julius Scott to help him with the playbook and his preparation. Meanwhile, the Browns signed veteran quarterback Josh McCown, not only to replace Hoyer, but to be a mentor of sorts to Manziel. And unlike last year, he is seeking out help from anyone who is willing to help him including former NFL Head Coach Jon Gruden.
The Cleveland Browns new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, has seen a big change in Johnny Manziel. “I think he’s a new guy,” DeFilippo said. “I think from a preparation standpoint and a want-to standpoint things haven’t changed since (OTA’s in the spring), but I think you see a different quarterback. I really do. I think his overall understanding of the game and what we’re trying to do has changed drastically. I really think that. He understands protections. He’s making the calls. He understands his sight adjust. He understands his hots.”
“He actually knows where to look right now in terms of his progressions,” DeFilippo said. “… He’s buying into that and knowing where to go with the football. I made a comment in spring where Johnny needed to be more accurate, and I think that’s another area of his improvement because he knows where his eyes are.”
All of Johnny Manziel’s coaches and teammates acknowledge how talented he is. There is no argument there. As long as he continues to listen, study and learn, he could be starting for the Cleveland Browns some time soon. Josh McCown is a solid backup, but he’s been a backup for 13 years for a reason. He’s always been a little reckless with the football. Last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL when he was under pressure. In eleven starts he went 1-10 and he had much better wide receivers with the Bucs in Vincent Jackson, and Evans, than he does with the Browns. So if they have trouble running the football and are forced to throw, it could be only a matter of time before we see a new version of Johnny Manziel instead of the lost, over-his-head rookie from a year ago.
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