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I'm not saying practice doesn't matter but I saw today that when he was able to throw from the pocket (meaning the play was designed for him to) he made the throws he was supposed to make. Obviously I can't see practice but Johnny has the ability imo

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Ok, Here we go my initial thoughts and review of Manziels first start

Johnny in no way shape or form looked mentally prepared for the speed and pace of the nfl game. From the get go his mechanics went completely out the window. Throwing off his back foot, never setting his feet, not going through progressions etc. Imo this is a reflection on not only johnny but also the coaching the staff. Preparation is on the player and the coach. I don't think any of us truly believed Johnny would come out in his first start and set the world on fire, because honestly how often has any rookie qb done that? But I for one definitely didn't expect it to be that bad. It was kind of a murhpys law type of day, whatever could go wrong for Cleveland went wrong. Their Defense who had actually been playing quite well had one of their worst performances of the season, surrendering over 6 yards per carry. The offensive line was absolutely man handled all day by a very physical Cincinnati front 7. WR dropped passes, didnt come back from their routes to help a qb in stress etc. Now am I stating these facts as excuses for Manziels dreadful day? Absolutely not. They were just factors that certainly didnt help any shortcomings the young rookie was having in his first start.

My biggest issue in all of this (which some on here, BMX being one will disagree) is the game plan Kyle Shanahan has for Manziel. I don't understand it and I certainly dont agree with it. Manziel has NEVER EVER been a zone read qb. Johnny isnt a running qb, hes a qb who is capable of extending plays when they break down, Johnny isnt a RG3 type athlete, nor does he have Mike Vick speed. We have always known this. Yet again Shanahan is calling up designed qb sweeps and run plays, did he not learn his lessons from getting Griffin murdered? Play action doesnt work well either when no one respects your teams over all running game, yet lets continue to call it and have Johnny get murdered before he can finish the play action. I believe today we saw flashes of exactly what johnny can be in this league. When he had time to sit in the pocket and set his feet he threw some fantastic balls (some dropped but thats another issue)

Johnny has a lot of maturation to do in order to get where he needs to be. Those giving up on him at this point is simply a ridiculous decision. The kid has a total of 6 quarters underneath his belt, lets give him a full offseason with #1 reps, a chance for the browns to be HIS team for a season and see where he goes. Far too premature to cast him as a bust.





Im sure this was a tl;dr for most of you but these are my late afternoon Sunday thoughts on Johnny Manziel

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There was a story that he was completing only about 40% of his passes in practice the week before his start. My guess is he hasn't put in the work.

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Just an FYI, in the link about the writer says his source "estimated" Manziel completed about 40% of his passes. We don't have an exact percentage and I think the writer is just trying to give some info to backup his claims Manziel had a bad week of practice. There could be questions about his preparation, but I think trying to quantify it with an estimation from a source is just bad journalism.

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With things so bad in his debut, the Browns are trying to instill more fundamental pocket work in the game plan this week, sources said, with fewer read-option looks or plays that would lead directly into Manziel taking off running. The hope is to slow him down a little and get him playing the position more soundly and traditionally, without sapping his athleticism.

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One of the observations that stuck with Manziel is that he needs to be more of a professional heading into his second season. Manziel said Tuesday, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, that he "still had the college mindset a little bit" when he came into the league and that he's come to realize that he'll need a different approach to succeed at this level.

"I have to take this a lot more seriously. It's a job for me now," Manziel said. "I'm not the Johnny Manziel that came in here a year ago. It's been a year of growing up for me."

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Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will consider leaving Cleveland -- even for a lateral move -- because of friction between some of the coaches and some in the front office, multiple league sources have told cleveland.com.

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Three teams are interested in possibly hiring Mike Shanahan as head coach and Kyle as offensive coordinator, sources said. They are the 49ers, Raiders and Bills. Mike Shanahan has interviewed with those teams and will also interview with the Chicago Bears.

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Kyle Shanahan was eager to strike out on his own again, but landed in a situation that has become dysfunctional for him, the sources said. The biggest problem, they say is that the personnel side and coaches aren't seeing eye to eye on some key issues. One source said some coaches became upset when a high-ranking personnel member texted from the press box to the sidelines about play calls.

The coaches also may have felt pressure to start Johnny Manziel in the biggest game of the season, with the playoffs on the line. No mandate was given from the front office, but some staffers felt that the higher-ups wanted to see what their No. 22 overall pick could do. Shanahan did his best to bring Manziel up to speed, but it was evident he wasn't ready to play when he started against the Bengals, and flopped miserably.

Now, it appears that general manager Ray Farmer is willing to give Manziel another shot next year, and not everyone in the building is in agreement that the former Heisman Trophy winner has what it takes to succeed. Browns coach Mike Pettine has said the quarterback situation is "muddy at best'' and that the Browns will leave no stone unturned in their bid to fix it.

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The Browns would have to let him out of his contract in order for him to make a lateral move. Not even the additional title of assistant head coach would enough for the Browns to have to let him go.

Shanahan looked forward to stepping out his father's shadow in Cleveland and re-establishing himself as a top coordinator in his own right. But if Mike takes a head job and wants to hire Kyle, it's a good bet he'll ask the Browns to let him go.

At that point, they'd likely have no choice but to accommodate him, considering it's the top offensive position on the club. If he doesn't want to be here, the Browns are unlikely to force him to stay.

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Last year at this time, Manziel was all about football, stubbornly refusing media requests as he stayed out of the limelight and (supposedly) focused on getting drafted as high as he could. Ultimately, it was an Eddie Haskell routine that the Browns should have spotted.

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As one unnamed player told ESPN.com, Manziel's rookie year was a "100 percent joke."

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