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What does Johnny Manziel's horrible series on the first day of camp mean? Mary Kay Cabot

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/07/what_does_johnny_manziels_horr.html

By Mary Kay Cabot, Northeast Ohio Media Group on July 30, 2015 at 6:45 PM, updated July 30, 2015 at 8:31 PM

BEREA, Ohio -- Johnny Manziel had a series he'd like to forget on the first day of Browns training camp Thursday, but no one else should remember it either.

The series, in an 11-on-11 period, went like this: 1. Manziel would've been sacked in a real game, but dumped the ball off to running back Luke Lundy. 2. Manziel would've been sacked again, and threw the ball away. 3. His pass was almost intercepted by first-year defensive back Kendall James. 4. His pass was batted at the line of scrimmage, and Pierre Desir almost came down with it.

He had another pass swatted down during the two-hour practice, and several times offensive coordinator John DeFilippo barked at him to execute the play faster.

But none of that should set the alarm bells off in Berea.

The Browns have made it clear that Manziel is still learning the pro game. That's why he's not competing for the starting job with Josh McCown this summer. The coaches are teaching him how to be an NFL quarterback and he's a work in progress. The lights might not even come on this year.

Remember, Manziel started only two years in college, while most young quarterbacks who are successful early on started three or four. What's more, he never had much of a playbook to speak of at Texas A&M. He's still learning how to decipher complex plays and multi-front defenses.

In addition, he's learning a new offense for the second straight season, and last year was mostly a wash because he didn't put the time in. It's like he's a rookie all over again.

What's more, Manziel is working exclusively with the second-team offense this camp, and he can't be compared drill-for-drill with McCown. Last summer, when he was splitting first-team reps with Brian Hoyer, it was virtually apples to apples. This year, he's throwing primarily to rookies, first-year players and backups. He made one nice throw down the right sideline Thursday to fourth-round pick Vince Mayle -- who's coming off thumb surgery -- and the rookie dropped it.

Manziel threw the same route a play later, and third-year wideout Kevin Cone out of Georgia Tech caught it. Ultra-competitive, Manziel often looks frustrated after a botched play, but that's consistent with his entire career. He's used to winning, he's used to it being easy and he's not accustomed to balls on the ground.

The Browns already know Manziel can take off running, and they're working at getting him comfortable in the pocket. To that end, he must be able to think quickly and get the ball out fast. It will take a lot of studying, and a ton of reps.

But even if the game slows down for him, it doesn't mean he can play at this level. He might not be fast enough to elude NFL defenders. He might not be big enough to take a pounding. He might not be dedicated enough to be great. And he just might not be good enough to pull it off.

But the Browns aren't ready to give up on him yet, and one horrible series on the first day of camp doesn't mean he's a bust.

But, hey, maybe it's a start. Asked in other posts: What is reasonable as far carrying him at 2. If he became The Default Man, say in camp, I am not sure the Browns could use him.

^This sums it up in a nutshell.

My concern: He will never get taller, he will never get faster, he could lapse into bonehead mode out of frustration.

My hope: He becomes a cerebral player, learning to dissect opponents' defenses, developing the skills to pick them apart. And that he learns to use his elusiveness, developing a "sixth sense" when pressure is applied that allows him to sidestep, move around and run when necessary to avoid taking sacks.

His arm is live and he can make all the throws, but the only thing that can take him to the next level is his brain, and right now no one knows if it's working properly or not.

My fear for Manziel is he goes the way of Tiger Woods. Once the real Woods was exposed, he lost his edge. Whatever superhuman feeling prancing around with dozens of women gave him, that translated to the golf course. Once the thrill of that was gone, he was done. It was part of what made Woods a great golfer.

I fear this has already happened with Manziel before we find out even if he could have been a good QB. What made Manziel a good college player was the psychological edge that came with living a reckless life. That's what helped make him special on the field. Without that, you have an undersized guy without a lot of skill. There's nothing left to make Manziel special.

Their personal lives fueled who they were as athletes. Disrupt the personal life and the athlete slowly dies. Obviously beating demons is better for the person. But it really removes the edge that made them great athletes to begin with.

Nothing would make me happier to be more wrong about this.

+ steroids

I hope all those things too - but there is nothing in my gut that says he's going to become an NFL starter - and that's acknowledging that 6 quarters of play is too little time to evaluate. . . . I wish he could grow 3 inches taller too, but I know for sure THAT isn't going to happen!!

I was never a Woods fan - in fact I was something of an anti-fan - but this summary of Woods is inaccurate and doesn't give the man the kudos he deserves for being one of the best golfers the world has ever seen. By the time his scandal happened his body was already breaking down and it's never been 100% since.

In Day 2, Johnny Manziel is 8 for 8 passing. Got to love the extreme views in the first few days of TC.



https://twitter.com/Mr_KevinJones

What's even more funny is that a more detailed report that I read was talking about a couple beautiful throws that Manziel made and how a couple of his better passes were dropped and how his mish-mash of receivers didn't look all that good....

This is what QB coaches and other staff get paid to do, they are going to have to put what Manziel does in context considering who he is working with and against.. then they will have to determine what progress he is making...

WE FINALLY HAVE A PRO BOWL QB!





/purple

they were probably all dump offs and bubble screens.

Hey-now!

An obvious typo, eo...

JMHO... I think he stopped doping after the scandal. It's the only logical explanation. A few of my friends that golf have better rounds then he has lately.

If it makes you feel any better, I wrote him off long before this.

We've already had one.

I think he has his own thread somewhere on this board... "one Hit Wonders"

lol, well I haven't written him off yet. Loved him in college, and I'm hoping he can turn everything around.

Am I counting on him? Not at all, but I'm hoping

You got that right!

You can make fun of him, but I sure as hell wish we had him instead of McCown.

At least McCown puts touch on a pass. Hopefully he won't get easily as rattled as DA.

DA's deep balls had beautiful touch. Most fans pick up on something others say and roll w/it..........no matter how stupid it is.

Hopefully Manziel turns it on and McCown assumes the same role as DA.

aaaaaaah, SNAP!

His deep balls were beautiful to behold.

His short game was atrocious. Max velocity on a 5-yard flare, 98 mph worm burners... if I wasn't a Browns fan, I'd have tuned in just for the laffs.


But he was fun to watch on a 40-yarder.

Have any of you ever considered the stats he put up in 2007? He might have had the best season in Brown's history.

Have any of you watched him in Carolina? He has been outstanding when filling in for Cam.

The idiot fans and media wanted BQ so badly, that they made it impossible for DA to succeed in Cleveland.

The guy can play qb. Much better than McCown.

Most fun I've had as a Browns fan in a long time was when DA was QB.

But his short game did leave a lot to be desired.

sounds like he had a good day.

I don't think PED's do much for the short game, and his has gone into the crapper.

'Haslam: Despite what you’ve heard, we still believe in Manziel'

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/201...partner=ya5nbcs

Posted by Michael David Smith on August 1, 2015, 4:07 PM EDT

Reports out of Cleveland this offseason that the Browns have given up on Johnny Manziel were unfounded, according to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.

“Despite what everybody reads and says, we’ve not at all given up on Johnny,” Haslam said, via Cleveland.com. “We think he has the potential to be a good football player. Now, having the potential and doing it are two different things, but I think we’ve said numerous times that you’re not going to win consistently in this league without a good quarterback and we’re trying to make that happen.”

Haslam said the Browns are willing to be patient with Manziel and wait for him to be their starter. Josh McCown is expected to start this year, although Browns coach Mike Pettine has said McCown isn’t just being handed the job.

“I think it’s important — everybody forgets he’s barely 22 years old,” said Haslam. “He’s still young, so I think over the next couple of years we’ve got to see if Johnny can be a legitimate quarterback or not. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him or our coaches to say it has to happen this year.”

Still, if Manziel doesn’t show anything this year, that would be two seasons in which he gave the Browns nothing. That’s not what they thought they were getting when they chose him in the first round of the 2014 draft. At some point, Manziel has to show he can play, or the Browns really will give up on him.



(end)

Meanwhile, in Minnesota........there are no QB questions. But, we should just ignore that and say.........Farmer is GREAT!!!

It is what it is, so we probably shouldn't worry about Minnesota. It's always easy to look back and say what we should have done. To be fair to you, I recall you didn't want Johnny.


My only real point is the Johnny story isn't over just yet. It may not be happening as fast as we would like, and I admit it may never happen. We'll see.

He did want Johnny but he had them ranked Teddy then Johnny.

Vers was high on Johnny.

A) Two good games against the Bucs last year doesn;t make him outstanding by any measure
B) His long game was stellar but his short game was/is among the worst I've ever seen. Once teams figured it out, it was game over.
C) Saying someone is better than McCown is setting a low bar.
D) DA got handed a fat contract extension, did jack with it and then delivered the classic "They don't deserve a winner" line. While he's right that Browns fans can be ruthless, he can get stuffed so far as I'm concerned.

I was adamant that we draft Bridgewater. I would have drafted him at the top of the first round. I still feel that way. Relying on a pro day and ignoring actual the games is ignorant.

I had Johnny as my number two guy. I just didn't trust Carr's moxie. I never thought he could deal w/a pass rush and would check down too fast. It turns out that is somewhat true, but he had a pretty good rookie year.

I always said Johnny had more of a boom/bust potential than any of the QBs. I could envision him being all-world and bringing more to a team than just about anyone. On the other hand, I also envisioned him being the guy that he has been thus far.

I will say that I was not as keenly aware of all of his off-field issues at that time. Then again, I don't get paid to evaluate. I didn't have the resources to investigate his character like Farmer did. I wasn't able to interview JM. I couldn't interview his coaches, family, and teammates. I couldn't do exhaustive background checks on his character.

I find it inexcusable that w/all those tools in his toolbox, that Farmer STILL took Manziel over Bridgewater. As it turns out, he should have also taken Carr over JM.

There is a thread about evaluating GMs and QBs. Not sure why it exists when the answers are right there for all of us to see......

Writing off a first rd draft choice at 22 and one/1/4 games is really smart, especially for an organization who hasn't spent any first rnd draft choices on Qbs...except for Quinn, Weeden, those attempts were canned after little over one game.....take some cheese with your wine...Manziel admitted to stupidity and he's doing something about all his issues...what the employed leadership of Browns did is well documented...JMHO...let's give J Manziel/not Johnny Football, an opportunity to earn playing time...and yes, Bridgewater is the savior of all purple...he'll be watched in his second year too....they won their division and made Super Bowl with Teddy, right....NOT....GO Browns!!!!