Johnny Manziel had a brutal debut in Week 15, and Browns fans shouldn’t expect him to get better any time soon.
On Sunday, we all saw what the future holds for Johnny Manziel and it’s not pretty. When the Cleveland Browns selected the Texas A&M product with the 22nd pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, it was bound to be a decision they eventually regretted. After Manziel’s first professional start, there is very little hope for his future as a quarterback in the NFL.
Manziel was horrendous against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. He completed 10-of-18 passes for just 80 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked three times, rushed for 13 yards on five carries and looked completely overmatched on nearly every snap he took. The 22-year-old finished the game with a Total QBR of 1.0 and a quarterback rating of 27.3. Yeesh.
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For those thinking that Manziel might have just had a rough day, or that he’ll be exponentially better over his next few starts, you’ll probably want to pump the brakes on that line of thinking. Manziel is missing a lot of the traits quarterbacks need to succeed in the NFL, and while his athleticism is impressive, it takes a lot more than that to win games at this level. What worked in college for Johnny Football won’t work in the NFL.
Johnny Manziel was electric in college. He was exciting and incredibly fun to watch. His knack for improvisation, his scrambling ability, the way he made something out of nothing then somehow found open receivers were all amazing, but that’s the problem. What made Manziel successful in college was his ability to freelance and in the NFL a quarterback can’t live like that. Manziel is nowhere near ready to be a pocket quarterback, or even a guy who works within the parameters of a professional offensive system.
At Texas A&M Manziel usually made one read and if it wasn’t there he would bail out of the pocket and either make a throw on the run or just take off himself. Sunday against the Bengals he bailed out every time his first read wasn’t open. Instead of standing in the pocket and delivering the ball in the face of pressure, Manziel tried to scramble. He quickly learned that he’s not that much faster than his pursuers at the NFL level.
In college Manziel got away with a lot of dangerous throws as well. He threw up a lot of 50-50 balls when he got into trouble, but luckily he had stud wideout Mike Evans catching passes for him. Evans helped disguise a lot of his quarterback’s bad throws. Manziel would also scramble then throw without setting his feet and often deliver the ball across his body. He could get away with that against slower defenders at the college level. If you do that in the NFL, this happens. The problem is, that wasn’t just a mistake by a rookie, that’s who Manziel is. He’s a gambler who makes terrible decisions, but he made it work at Texas A&M.
Before the 2014 NFL Draft I said that someone would fall in love with Manziel and make him a first rounder because of the excitement factor he brings. The truth is, after studying him on film I tweeted that I had never seen a prospect expected to go in the first round with worse footwork or mechanics than Manziel. I stand by that assessment.
Manziel throws the ball without using his lower half at all, his motion is all arm. That costs him a tremendous amount of velocity, leads to changes in his release point and causes the ball to sail on him. Additionally, because he doesn’t shift his weight forward as he throws, he winds up throwing off his back foot a lot of the time. His footwork on drop-backs is awkward and he rarely steps up in the pocket and into throws.
There is a whole lot going wrong with Manziel right now. Sure, he’ll conjure up some good plays, a really nice drive or a solid half of football here and there, but to succeed in the NFL quarterbacks have to work within a system consistently and be on the same page as their receivers. Manziel will never get there unless he completely changes who he is.
Manziel defenders often like to compare him to Russell Wilson, a similarly height-challenged quarterback with some athleticism. The problem with that comparison is that Wilson shined in a pro-style system at Wisconsin and his game thrives when he’s in the pocket making things happen by reading defenses and making the right throws. What worked for Wilson at Wisconsin is exactly what makes him successful with the Seattle Seahawks. Manziel is incapable of doing those things at this point.
You’ll notice I didn’t mention anything about Manziel’s off-field issues in this piece. That’s because – while they could be a serious problem – I think they are completely irrelevant. Even if he was a saint off the field he would never be a success on it because he has too far to go in his development.
The Browns drafted Johnny Manziel and now they have to live with him. He may provide excitement from time to time, but Cleveland will once again be looking for its franchise quarterback in a few years.
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