The Good, the Bad and the Jaw-Dropping from Johnny Manziel's First Action

Whether Cleveland Browns fans like it or not, Johnny Manziel is their future. At the very least he is their immediate future. The organization used a first-round pick on him, and sooner or later he will get the keys to the offense full-time. On Sunday, we finally got to see his first test-drive.

Like anyone’s first time behind the wheel, it was shaky. There were times he overthought, and there were times he let instinct take control too quickly. But there were also signs that he could be a Ferrari in the backfield with some seasoning and experience.

Like any rookie quarterback, Manziel will have to learn from his mistakes. No rookie enters the league in their first year and is flawless. Heck, in any line of work people make mistakes and tend to lean on mental crutches to help them get by.

For Manziel that mental crutch is his legs. There is a common thought that he needs the run to be an effective quarterback, but that is not the case. That is just an escape mechanism.

Sharon Katz from ESPN.com broke down Johnny’s numbers from college back in July, and it shows just how polished he is in the pocket as well. Manziel had the highest quarterback rating of any AQ quarterback in 2013.

He did, however, also leave the pocket 76 percent of the time he was under pressure, which was more than twice the rate of the NFL average. He will need to learn to move with pressure without running.

We saw signs of all this in Johnny’s first two drives. There was the good, there were the bad and there was the jaw-dropping. Let’s look at some of those plays.

Play 1

NFL Game Rewind

This was Manziel’s first play from scrimmage, and right away his instincts told him to leave the pocket. On this play that is fine because the design is for a play-action fake and then a rollout to the right side.

There are two receivers dragging across the field. The deep receiver is Josh Gordon and four defenders are covering him. The shallow receiver is open but only for a three-yard gain.

This will be the toughest lesson Manziel has to learn. In this situation he should have thrown the ball to the shallow receiver and taken those three yards. Instead he ran to the sideline and picked up the exact same amount of yards he would have gotten with the completion. He risked his body for the exact same result.

This was not necessarily a negative play but something he will have to fight in his instincts moving forward. That risk could get him hurt against the NFL’s bigger and faster defenders.

Play 2

NFL Game Rewind

This is also on Manziel’s first drive, and this time we see that he has a better grasp of reading defenses than many may have anticipated. All week the quarterbacks study the opponent’s defense for tendencies and frequent formations.

Here Manziel recognizes something in the defense and audibles. He has Taylor Gabriel split slightly wider and run a streak route down the seam.

NFL Game Rewind

Manziel drops back and reads the deep safety to the right. He sees that he is going to stay on Gabriel so there is no deep route. He also reads the two linebackers and sees they will stay in a shallow zone. He then knows that Gordon will be running directly through the soft spot in the zone and delivers a perfect strike.

This is exactly what you want to see from your rookie quarterback. A basic recognition of the defense and how to attack it before plays is key.

Play 3

NFL Game Rewind

Here is another example of something Manziel needs to clean up in his game. In college he was able to roll out or escape the pocket and throw off balance because the coverage was not as tight. In the NFL, windows are small and passes must be delivered with accuracy.

On this play he runs a play action and rolls out to his left. He has Travis Benjamin dragging across the field and is wide-open for at least a 10-yard gain. He also has plenty of time to spot and deliver an accurate pass.

Instead, as you can see, he does not get his body all the way turned and leaves his left shoulder open.

NFL Game Rewind

This causes the ball to sail too far in front of Benjamin, and they missed a golden opportunity to move the ball in a large chunk. Head coach Mike Pettine talked about this with the media on Monday afternoon.

“A couple hiccups. I think it was 13 snaps that he played. Handful of minuses, but showed good energy, made some throws. I know he missed Travis (Benjamin) on the one boot.”

Play 4

NFL Game Rewind

This is the play that has fans and Browns general manager Ray Farmer excited. This is what makes Manziel so special and such a wild card in any game. You cannot teach this instinct. You either have it or you don’t.

Manziel drops back inside the red zone and predictably sees a ton of traffic. Windows become miniscule in this area of the field. He has two deep safeties in his vision and one has the ability to cover either route. He also has a linebacker dropped into coverage, which has a shot at either route as well. There are no open receivers.

NFL Game Rewind

Manziel lets the routes pass the middle of the field, dragging the defenders with them and then takes off for the end zone. As you can see, and Manziel anticipated, all the defenders are moving away from his running lane, which gives him an open slot for a 10-yard touchdown scramble.

That is the game-breaking ability that makes him different. He has the speed to see a crease and turn it into points like a running back. Brian Hoyer would have had to throw that ball out of the end zone.

Play 5

NFL Game Rewind

This is Manziel’s final play of the game and it illustrates how he still has a way to go before he truly understands how to decipher an NFL defense. It is fourth down and the Browns need a first down to extend the game.

Pre-snap, Manziel should have recognized the mismatch to his left in the slot. He has a rush linebacker on Andrew Hawkins. He also has an abundance of coverage to the right side of the formation.

NFL Game Rewind

Manziel knows that he has two short out-routes on this play. Miles Austin will run one to the right, and Hawkins will run one to the left. His first read is Austin, but all the signs say he should glance at the other side of the field.

Sure, Austin is open but he is short of the first-down marker and has four defenders in the area to stop him before he gets there. To his left, where he never even looks, the corner has followed Gordon deep clearing he flat for Hawkins.

There is enough room for a first down and to get out of bounds. Instead, he stayed locked on Austin and the play was stopped a yard short of a first down.

Things like this will be fixed with experience on the field and some tough love in the film room. There is obviously a long way to go for Manziel, but it will be interesting to see what he can do with all the first-team reps and preparation throughout the week.

One thing is for sure; it is always interesting when Manziel steps behind center.

All quotes and observations were acquired firsthand unless otherwise noted.