What grade does Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel get for his starting debut?
The Cleveland Browns started a new era of football with Johnny Manziel as their starting quarterback against the Cincinnati Bengals. There was a lot of excitement in the city of Cleveland leading up to the game, but there was a big letdown after the Browns ended up losing by a final score of 30-0. Quite a few fans were extremely upset with Manziel, while others understand how difficult it is for a rookie quarterback to get thrown into that situation.
What grade should Manziel be given for his first NFL start?
It’s hard to talk about his performance in a positive light due to the blowout loss that it was in. He completed 10 of his 18 passing attempts for 80 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. Manziel also picked up 13 yards on five attempts on the afternoon.
While the two interceptions and no touchdowns is an issue, there were still some nice throws that Manziel made throughout the game. He found Josh Gordon for a 32-yard gain, which was by far his best play of the game. Part of the issues was that his offensive line wasn’t giving him much time to work with at all.
Needless to say, a rookie quarterback being hurried like Manziel was isn’t going to have a successful debut. He wasn’t able to stay in the pocket and get used to the speed of the game, and was instead forced to make plays on the run and speed up his own game. That isn’t a recipe that is going to work well for any quarterback, much less a rookie in his first meaningful playing time.
Cleveland’s rushing game wasn’t very good either, as Terrance West was the leading rusher with five carries for 23 yards. Isaiah Crowell also carried the football seven times for 17 yards in the game.
Those numbers aren’t enough support for a quarterback making his debut, and the defense did an awful job of slowing down the Cincinnati offense. It just wasn’t a good game all-around for the Browns, and it cannot be pinned on Manziel. Cleveland has been faltering over the past few weeks even with Brian Hoyer at the quarterback position, and they simply need to make another move or two in order to position themselves to make a legitimate playoff run next season.
All of that being said, Manziel deserves some grace as far as his grade is concerned. He cannot be held completely accountable for the rough outing that he had in his debut, and there are some explanations for the embarrassing numbers he put up.
There is still a ton of potential to be the franchise quarterback that Cleveland has been looking for in Manziel. He’ll get his confidence back behind him for his second start next week against the Carolina Panthers, and his teammates will rally around him. Expect to see a much better performance from Johnny Football next time he steps on the field.
So what grade does Manziel get for the disappointing debut performance that he put up against the Bengals?