What Must Johnny Manziel Improve to Become Reliable NFL QB?
After watching Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel display some positive signs of production back in Week 13, I expected much more out of the rookie on Sunday during his first pro start against the Cincinnati Bengals.
This was an opportunity for Manziel to take the lead for a struggling offense, execute the game plan and showcase his natural playmaking ability at the position.
However, Manziel disappointed in all areas of the game from his footwork, release point and decision-making in a brutal 30-0 loss at home that essentially eliminated the Browns from any playoff talk moving forward.
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Early in the ballgame, Browns’ offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan didn’t do the rookie any favors when he got a little too creative in his play-calling on a 3rd-and-short situation by utilizing a wide, four-man bunch paired with an open-side slant.
You want to throw the ball there? Then run a route combination. Think of an inside "Hi-Lo" concept or a quick, two-level read off play action to give Manziel multiple options within the scheme.
Plus, I’m not buying the read option with the former Texas A&M star. That’s not his game, and it almost feels forced when I watch him ride the running back through the mesh point to read the edge defender.
Manziel is a natural playmaker. Let him create in the pocket. That’s what he brings to the field.
But that’s minor stuff when focusing on the issues surrounding Manziel’s lack of production (10-of-18 passing, 80 yards) and the turnovers (two interceptions).
The game was too fast for the rookie at times, and that was reflected by his lack of technique. This impacted Manziel’s throws to the middle of the field on the deep dig (square-in), slant, etc. as the ball often sailed or lacked the proper placement.
And he was often late with his reads to identify the open target.
Go back to the "dig" route to Josh Gordon earlier in the game, with the wide receiver separating at the break point versus man coverage. That’s an opportunity for Manziel to set his feet and deliver a throw to the upfield shoulder.
Instead, the rookie signal-caller was late getting the throw out and left the ball to the back shoulder. That allowed the cornerback to recover, drive to the receiver and make a play.
What about Manziel’s first interception on the deep "over" route?
This is called a “Yankee” combination (reduced splits from receivers is a pre-snap alert), with Gordon clearing out the top of the defense versus Cover 1 (occupy both the cornerback and free safety).
That creates an opportunity for the Browns to bring Andrew Hawkins back across the formation, with the play action forcing the linebackers to attack the line of scrimmage (removes second-level defenders).
Manziel has the time (eight-man protection) to read the free safety in the deep middle of the field and target the over route with the receiver creating separation (away from the defender’s leverage) on an inside breaking cut.
Look at the space Hawkins has to work with here as cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is stuck in a trail position with Gordon clearing out a nice window for Manziel to identify his target and deliver the throw.
In this situation, Kirkpatrick isn’t going to make the play if the ball is thrown on time and to the outside shoulder of the receiver.
This is a throw Manziel has to make. No question about it. The scheme was perfect, the protection was there and the Browns got the correct look from the Bengals (Cover 1) to produce an explosive play.
However, Manziel doesn’t set his feet, falls off the release point and is late with this throw. As a result, the ball hangs in the air. That’s an easy pick for Kirkpatrick (or any NFL cornerback) with the speed to recover versus a poorly thrown pass on the back shoulder.
Later in the first half, with the ball in scoring position, Manziel made a rough decision to take a shot to the end zone once he avoided a sack to keep the play alive.
He did a nice job working up in the pocket to keep his eyes down the field, but the footwork, release point and decision-making process here isn’t going to cut it when a quarterback tosses one up across his body to the middle of the field.
Manziel’s footwork is off, and he drops down to make a side-arm throw without a solid base to get anything on the ball.
That’s automatic trouble in the NFL even when the wide receiver converts the route back to the post, given the short field to work with inside of the red zone.
Adam Jones is beat when wide receiver Taylor Gabriel converts this route, but just like with Kirkpatrick’s interception, the cornerback has time (and speed) to recover when the ball hangs in the air.
These are quick examples, but both situations show us the overall technique/footwork errors that led to poor ball placement and turnovers for the rookie.
Manziel was bailed out of another interception by a defensive penalty on a slant route across the middle of the field.
Was that a play the receiver could have made for his rookie quarterback? Yes. But, again, that’s a quick, inside breaking route that Manziel has to put on the numbers of the receiver instead of forcing his guy to go up and finish on a ball that is off-target.
Late in the game, Manziel made his best throw of the day when he found Gordon on a deep curl route to move the sticks in a third-down situation, but too often I felt like I was watching Manziel’s preseason tape again.
Whether that was giving ground versus pressure or looking for escape doors when the pocket began to tighten up, the rookie struggled to manage this game. And when Manziel did use his legs to get outside of the pocket, he missed on opportunities to find open targets.
With running back Jeremy Hill gashing the Browns defense, Manziel had to work out of a very early hole in this game. Plus, the Cincinnati defensive front pushed around his offensive line on multiple occasions.
However, this is more about the technique issues for the rookie quarterback.
Regardless of the score—or the game situation—these reps are graded based on the ability to execute within the scheme. That means the proper footwork, ball placement and decision-making to keep the team out of adverse situations.
Run the game plan and make the throws to move the ball.
Manziel can learn from this tape, but it will be tough to watch given the mistakes and the plays he left out on the field. He showed his inexperience, and there were moments of panic for the rookie in that game.
Does it mean we should write off Manziel after one start? No way. This will take time (and more reps) for the Texas A&M product to truly develop his technique to fit the pro game.
But I still wanted to see more on Sunday.
Seven-year NFL veteran Matt Bowen is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report.
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