(CINCINNATI, OH) - Leading up to week 15 of the 2014 NFL season the Johnny Football hysteria was at an all-time high in Cleveland. The 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft was set to make his start for the quarterback starved Cleveland Browns against division and interstate rival Cincinnati. Everyone was intrigued and excited to see what would happen, one way or another.
Was the NFL ready for Johnny Manziel? Was he going to “wreck this league”?
The city was alive, hopes were high, and then the game started.
After 60 minutes of something that barely resembled football, one thing was clear. Johnny Manziel was not ready for the NFL, and in no way was he going to be able to “wreck this league” because the Bengals wrecked him in a 30-0 pulverization of the Browns.
Manziel was 10 of 18 for 80 yards. He threw two interceptions. His quarterback rating was a miniscule 27.3. He was also sacked three times.
There have been worse number in debut games, but what was most disturbing was the obvious lack of control for the offense that Manziel had. Multiple times Manziel was lost on snap counts, protections, hand offs, and it was clear that he was unsure of the routes his wide outs were running.
Cincinnati confused and befuddled Manziel and promptly put an end to the Johnny Football hysteria in one afternoon.
The following week Manziel had an opportunity to prove that the Cincinnati game was merely a bump in the road as the Browns went on the road to face the Carolina Panthers. After only completing three of his eight passes and suffering a hamstring injury on an option play, Manziel was done for the game and the season. Brian Hoyer finished the game and returned the Cleveland offense from the dark ages and almost won the game.
At that point we believed Manziel’s issues were football related. Maybe the jump from an uncontrolled college system to an NFL system filled with playbooks, lengthy verbiage in play calls, protections, numerous snap counts and hot routes, was too much for him in his first season. Maybe he just isn’t good enough. Maybe it was a mix of everything and included the head coach’s unwillingness to commit to him. The problem however began off of the field.
Manziel was partying too often, missing or showing up late to meetings, and was showing his teammates that the Johnny Football lifestyle was what he cared most about. Then, on February 3, 2015, Manziel voluntarily checked himself into a rehabilitation center for treatment for an apparent alcohol addiction.
After months in rehab, Manziel came out and told reporters that it was a wakeup call and that he was a changed man. As usual Johnny was saying all of the right things and Browns fans and media members were eating it up.
But was he actually different? Did he actually realize that if he wanted to continue a career in the NFL that he was going to have to commit his life to the sport?
Months later, we still do not have definitive answers to those questions, but what we have seen is a better Manziel on the field.
When he entered the season opener following Josh McCown’s helicopter in the endzone that gave him a concussion, Manziel entered and played like he had been there before. His feel for the game and command of the offense, while not perfect, had clearly come a long way.
He showed even more growth when he received his third career start against the Tennessee Titans in week two of the 2015 season as he threw for two touchdown passes in a 28-14 Browns victory. His second touchdown was the first glimpse of Johnny Football that we have seen in the NFL. On the play, Manziel took the shotgun snap and was faced with a free rushing Brian Orakpo. But this time, rather than panic, Manziel’s instincts took over and he spun out of the way leaving Orakpo grasping at air. He rolled to his left, stopped, and fired the ball down field to Travis Benjamin for the game clinching touchdown.
Overall on the 2015 season he has thrown for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Not very glamorous numbers, but at least a turn in the right direction.
He gets another chance tonight in Cincinnati to prove that he is headed in the right direction as he starts for the battered and bruised Josh McCown.
For Manziel it is the biggest opportunity of his young career. A primetime matchup against the team that embarrassed him last season. If Manziel wants to prove that he can be a part of the Browns future, he needs to command this game.
The odds are heavily against him. He is leading an injury riddled, double-digit underdog, into hostile territory, against an undefeated Cincinnati team that is better than the Browns in nearly every aspect of the game. However, if he can control the offense, sustain drives, show growth and maturity, he can prove that he deserves a shot at being a part of the Browns future. Regardless of what happens tonight, Manziel deserves the opportunity to play for the rest of the season. McCown has been very good this season, but even he knows he is not part of this teams’ future. The Browns need to see what they have in Manziel and need to find out very soon if he is worth another year.
The future for the Cleveland Browns starts tonight, who will be a part of it is yet to be seen.
POSTED 11/05/2015 at 18:32
Lake County Sentinel
Manziel looking for revenge against Bengals tonight in Cincy
BY JEREMY SOMERVILLE
BROWNS BEAT WRITER
