greybeard
Well-known member
Pretty bad debut as a starter--the Bengals ate him alive.
All that hype, all that hope, and Johnny Manziel was no better than the other 20 guys the Cleveland Browns have given the ball to since 1999. Instead of providing the Browns a spark and reviving their playoff hopes, he was overmatched and underwhelming in a 30-0 blowout by their intrastate rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals.
Three of Manziel's first four drives were three-and-out. The other ended in an interception telegraphed so badly everyone in the stadium knew it was coming.
USA TODAY
Bengals rough up Manziel, Browns in 30-0 blowout
Forget not leading any scoring drives, Manziel could barely lead them across midfield. One time – once! in a 60-minute game – did the Browns get into Cincinnati territory, and Manziel brought the drive to a crashing halt with his second pick, this one in the end zone.
"Whether you're playing in a Pop Warner league or you're 6 years old playing in the driveway, you can't throw that ball," Manziel said.
He was sacked three times, and harassed all afternoon by a Bengals defense that made no secret it was just itching to take Johnny Football down a notch. They threw Manziel's money rub sign every chance they got, and not even Rey Maualuga's taunting penalty could stop them.
"There was some incentive for us just to show him this isn't college, it's the NFL," Bengals nose tackle Domata Peko said. "You've got grown men chasing after you.
"He has a lot to learn, but he's young. That's what you expect from a young guy."
Not this young guy, however.
Manziel's start was the most eagerly anticipated debut since Tim Tebow was wearing an NFL uniform, the guy who was going to put the brakes on Cleveland's quarterback carousel and give the Browns the bite to match their Dawg Pound fans. He had the credentials, dissecting SEC defenses like they were chemistry class frogs and winning the Heisman Trophy as a freshman.
And oh, did he have the confidence. He was Johnny Football, flashing his money rub sign at every chance, partying in Vegas and flipping off defenses that dared disrespect him. He was so brazen even Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was once forced to concede, "We expect better from him."
Sure, he was a circus. But he was Cleveland's circus, and it couldn't wait for the big tent to go up at FirstEnergy Stadium.
"He's a superstar, and that's what we need," said Jon Lang, who was proudly sporting his No. 2 jersey after scoring last-minute tickets. "Now that they're giving him a chance, I think he's going to go with it."
But go where? Aside from a play or two, Manziel showed little feel for being an NFL quarterback. He stayed in the pocket when he should have moved around. He took off running when he should have stayed put. His timing was off.
He completed 10 passes for 80 yards – most of that coming on a long, but fruitless drive that spanned the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters – and his quarterback rating was a measly 27.3.
"I'm not using the rookie excuse," Manziel said. "Yeah, I'm a rookie but that's out the window. I needed to play better. I felt coming into today that I was absolutely prepared. Being out there, I never felt overwhelmed or that it was too much for me.
"You need to play better than the other team, and today I didn't do that."
Maybe we should have seen this coming after Browns coach Mike Pettine stuck with Brian Hoyer over Manziel despite eight interceptions in the previous five games. Or maybe we should have known better than to put faith in any quarterback in Cleveland, where a glance at the jerseys of the fans waiting to enter the stadium tells the city's sorry tale.
Hoyer. Quinn. Weeden. There was even someone bold enough to break out a Tim Couch jersey.
"The bad thing is the result. The worse thing would be not to learn from it," Pettine said. "We have to come out and push through it, and hopefully he'll be better next week."
He can't be much worse.
