Recap of Johnny Manziel's first NFL start

Dec 14, 2014 - Cincinnati Bengals at the Cleveland Browns

Bengals got the ball first and drove the ball through the Browns defense for a TD with a powerful running game.

The Browns got mauled at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Bengals rushed for 240 yards. The Browns struggled to run the ball, and Manziel had little time to pass the ball.

It may have been the worst overall team performance of the season for Cleveland, except for maybe the Browns losing in Florida to winless Jacksonville.

When Hoyer quarterbacked recently, he was under a lot of defensive pressure, and the Browns running game struggled at times.

I thought that Manziel would use his mobility to buy more time on passing plays and to scramble for positive yards.

A couple times, Manziel showed his mobility and his ability to extend a passing play, but I was surprised at a few things.

• Manziel looked slower afoot than I expected. I was surprised at how often Manziel was run down by d-linemen. He did not rush for many yards. Patriots QB Tom Brady had more rushing yards on Dec 14 than Manziel.
• Some of Manziel's passes had little steam. His mechanics were off at times, and that may have caused some of his passes to lack zip and get intercepted. NFL QBs, however, are expected to rifle accurate passes even when they are bit off-balance, footing-wise. Is Manziel's arm strong enough to be an NFL QB?
• He was inaccurate too often. He overthrew some receivers.

The offensive coaches will need to put Manziel and the rest of the offense in better positions to make positive plays.

Manziel will need to move the pocket and find the passing lanes, so that he can set, plant, and fire passes.

But the offensive line has to hit a defender at least briefly. Browns pass-catchers need to catch the ball.

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