NFL analyst Greg Cosell said Johnny Manziel is ‘a small quarterback with average arm strength and almost no pocket skills and discipline at this point.’
Johnny Manziel didn’t have a banner debut for the Cleveland Browns. You hardly needed a second look at Cleveland’s 30-0 loss at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals to know that much. But in case you were holding out hope for some promising film in retrospect, Yahoo’s Greg Cosell is here to shatter your dreams.
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Cosell made a fantastic post to his ‘Shutdown Corner’ column at Yahoo! where he dissected Manziel’s first career start. This article is almost NSFW for the carnage left behind by Cosell’s pointed criticism of the former Heisman Trophy winner.
“One thing that was immediately evident (and could be seen on detailed film study) is that Manziel has an average arm by NFL standards,” Cosell said. “Manziel needs functional space and a clean pocket to step up into throws and drive the ball. He works hard to put any velocity on his throws.”
OK, but what about those improvisational skills? Didn’t Manziel at least impress a little with those for which he is so famous?
“Manziel didn’t want to stay in the pocket,” Cosell added. “He lacks any feel for the pocket, has almost no pocket patience and discipline and is very quick to move and play what I call ‘random football’ outside of the structure of the offense.”
Cosell notes that the Bengals designed a game plan intended to keep Manziel tight inside the pocket, which limited the rookie’s effectiveness.
“Can he get there with experience?” Cosell asks. “Maybe. But he has a lot to overcome to be a high-level NFL quarterback. He’s a small quarterback with average arm strength and almost no pocket skills and discipline at this point.”
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