Johnny Manziel: I Want To Be The Guy

Dec 21, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) on the sidelines in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) on the sidelines in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel said he was motivated by his last two starts to work harder in the offseason and prepare to start in 2015.

The Cleveland Browns will watch a once-promising season end short of the playoffs, but there’s hope for the future. If they can just sort out this quarterback mess, they can make a serious run at the AFC playoffs next season. If they’re going to do that though, again, they’ll need a franchise quarterback, which they didn’t have this season. Rookie Johnny Manziel looked rough in limited action, but he told the media that he thinks he can fill that void next season.

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“A very positive thing for me to get in here with these guys and this week going through the walkthrough,” Manziel told the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “and going through everything I was a lot sharper and a lot more on top of this stuff, and I think these guys see me and see that I’m in the building really putting in a lot of work and I want to be the guy.”

Of course, it’s not that hard to be sharper after posting 80 yards and 2 picks in your road debut. If Manziel is to be the guy, his work will be cut out for him. It also might not start until after the season, pending results from an injured hamstring that sidelined him for much of the team’s loss to the Carolina Panthers.

The team doesn’t know the severity of Manziel’s injury, but they do know they’ll have the young QB next year, which puts the expectations of a franchise quarterback on the shoulders of Johnny Football. Whether he handles that burden will depend on how that offseason work pays off.

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