Kyle Shanahan's Departure Poses Troubling Questions for Browns, Johnny Football

Former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan just. couldn't. even. with Johnny Manziel.

That's the impression emerging from several reports, especially ESPN.com's Pat McManamon's, which addresses why Shanahan requested—and received—a release from his contract with the Browns. Quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains was let go as well, per McManamon.

"The split was caused because the pair did not see eye to eye with the front office about quarterback Johnny Manziel," McManamon wrote. "The front office wants Manziel to be the starter, and the source said the coaches do not believe they can win with him."

Of course the front office wants Manziel to be the starter. You don't invest a No. 22 overall draft pick on a guy you don't believe can start, especially not at quarterback. Browns general manager Ray Farmer told the media he still believes Manziel can be a solid starter, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. And why wouldn't he?

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Manziel was a spectacular Heisman Trophy-winning player in his two seasons as a starter for Texas A&M; he just turned 22 and has his whole career still in front of him. Why would Shanahan, known for being able to adapt his offense to athletic quarterbacks, give up on Manziel after three games, two starts and 35 pass attempts?

OK, yes: They were three bad games, two bad starts and 35 bad attempts. Still, his electrifying playmaker instincts—obvious to even the most skeptical evaluator—should earn him a longer leash than that.

There has to be something beyond the box score here.

Remember: Shanahan did brilliant work with Robert Griffin III in Washington. As detailed by Grantland's Chris Brown, Shanahan took his father's zone running system and play-action pass concepts, the pistol formation and zone-read run, and created a simple offense that forced defenses to choose between letting RG3 run wild or letting him throw to wide-open receivers.

Couldn't Shanahan do something similar with Manziel? Well, yes. He tried.

Here's Manziel's first called pass as a starter. No doubt Shanahan scripted this specifically to give him an easy win early and build up his rhythm. After two successful runs, the Browns are facing an eminently makable 3rd-and-2 against the Bengals Dec. 14:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Any time a defense sees stacked receivers, as in the four-receiver bunch split wide right, its first thought must be "screen." That's exactly what's about to happen here; the trailing receiver will drop back and the three receivers in front of him will block. It's telegraphed, but it should be an easy completion—and should go for at least the required two yards.

At the bottom of the screen, to Manziel's left, receiver Josh Gordon will run a slant against tight man coverage. This is a great matchup, especially given the deep coverage.

Yeah, look again: There is no deep coverage.

This is a shocking, almost comical level of disrespect for a quarterback's arm. The deepest defender is six yards off the line of scrimmage. If Manziel can hit Gordon coming out of his break, Gordon could take it all the way. Manziel has the same thought.

He locks on to Gordon the instant the ball hits his hands. He winds up to throw, and—WAIT!

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

This is the instant Manziel decides to pull the ball down.

Perhaps he didn't think Gordon was coming freely enough to the inside (doubtful). Maybe he was worried one of the encroaching defensive linemen would swat the ball down (possible). Probably, he was surprised to see safety Reggie Nelson (circled in red) crash down into his passing lane.

No matter what he thought, he pulled the ball down while the correct target, receiver Andrew Hawkins (circled in orange), stood around wondering what was going on. Manziel pinballed around in the pocket before making a run for it; Nelson tracked him down and stopped him shy of the sticks. On 3rd-and-2.

This play was a called receiver screen. Manziel made two different decisions to do two different things, neither of which was throw the called screen pass, and neither of which resulted in the necessary two-yard gain. This is a comprehensive failure to execute the most basic of plays.

What about that pistol read-option RG3 awesome sauce? Oh yes, Shanahan tried letting Manziel run some of that, too. Here's a second-quarter 2nd-and-8:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

This looks complicated, but it's a one-read play. The Browns are in the pistol, with a tailback, fullback and H-back. Hawkins, split to the right, will run a deep slant-in, while the other receiver runs a straight vertical, or go route. Against the Bengals' single-high coverage, this puts all the pressure on Nelson, the free safety:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

At the execution of the play fake, we see all eight Bengals in the box bite down hard. This is ideal; it opens up plenty of room for Hawkins underneath. Shanahan has kept all three backs in to block. The max protection should give Manziel plenty of time for both deep routes to develop. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick's off-man coverage means Hawkins is wide open:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

This is the moment of truth, the one read Manziel has to make: Does Nelson bite down on Hawkins' crossing route? Or does he backpedal to keep Gordon from taking the top off the defense? No matter which receiver he chooses to cover, the other will be open for a big gain. Manziel's job is simply to throw it to the wide-open guy, as RG3 did so well in Washington.

Nelson flips his hips to run with Gordon, leaving Hawkins all alone. As Hawkins goes into his break, here's how it looks from Manziel's eyes:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Now. Now. Throw it now. Hawkins has half the field to himself. Throw it. Throw it!

Manziel waits. He pats the ball. He re-sets his feet. Finally, with Hawkins past the far hash and heading for the numbers, he takes a hitch step and throws:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Unfortunately, Manziel's indecision has turned the route he has to throw from a 10-yard crossing route to a 15-yard out—and despite setting his feet, taking a hitch step and putting his back into it, this ball is a little floaty and falls a little short. Hawkins has to hit the brakes to come back to it, and Kirkpatrick (remember him?) comes flying in from several steps behind to jump the route and pick it off.

Again, it doesn't get any easier than this. It doesn't get any simpler. He's got one decision to make, one throw to make, and he can't make the decision fast enough and can't make the throw. It's no wonder Shanahan decided he can't go forward being forced to use Manziel as his starter.

Shanahan must choose his next job wisely. As Bleacher Report NFL Lead Writer Matt Miller noted on Twitter, he'll only get to go through so many first-round quarterbacks before the stink of failure sticks to him.

This isn't necessarily the end for Manziel. He's very raw and was admittedly unprepared to take over as the starter. He needs much more time than he's been given (though he's been given more time than most first-round rookie quarterbacks get) to become comfortable with the speed and size of the NFL.

For the Browns, they may have to choose between wringing as much as they can out of Manziel in an effort to save their investment and gunning for the playoffs with a squad that played winning football for most of the season.