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Jonathan Paul Manziel

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  • I like the insight. And Johnny does throw an excellent quick slant, as the ball comes out very quickly and quite hot. My question is, when are we going to get a guy that can catch that quick slant and then break a tackle or two? How many times has Benjamin caught that quick slant and ALMOST broke it? And when I say "break it", I mean just break a tackle or two. And honestly, Benjamin has been close to catching that pass and going all the way. It happened last game, actually. He caught a quick slant and just about broke a tackle, and with his speed, he would've had a huge gain.

    But he didn't break the tackle, and he doesn't usually break the tackle. Why? Because he's tiny, like just about every other freaking WR on our team. I absolutely hate to say this...it hurts to mention...but where is this team with Josh Gordon? Where are we with a guy that scares the pants off of defensive coordinators? And yeah, I know we can't even begin to count on Gordon, but quite frankly, he's a big reason why we can't win games. WE DON'T HAVE ANY PLAYMAKERS. We don't have a guy who is going to bring that contested TD pass down (see Taylor Gabriel on our FG drive). Sure, Barnidge has been amazing, but even he is a stretch.

    You don't just draft a quarterback and say, "Whew...we did it. We're good now." You draft a QB, and then you build AROUND HIM. Johnny had Mike Evans in college, and had many spectacular plays where he basically threw a jumpball to him. Who on this team can come down with that kind of pass? Who can routinely catch a pass, make a move, and get to the house. We all know hindsight is 20/20, but come ON Ray Farmer. You trade up to get Manziel when both Derek Carr and Teddy Twatwater are available? You neglect to draft a WR like Allen Robinson, but make a trade to get a RB like Terence West? The Dwayne Bowe monster contract? I mean, what the heck. And I realize that Shelton plays a rather unglamorous position, but what has he really done? I think he plays around 30% of the defensive snaps (I'm not totally sure on this, but I'm close). So we have a first round pick that plays about a third of the game, and another first round pick that doesn't even PLAY.

    @jiggins7919 said:

    I like the insight. And Johnny does throw an excellent quick slant, as the ball comes out very quickly and quite hot. My question is, when are we going to get a guy that can catch that quick slant and then break a tackle or two? How many times has Benjamin caught that quick slant and ALMOST broke it? And when I say "break it", I mean just break a tackle or two. And honestly, Benjamin has been close to catching that pass and going all the way. It happened last game, actually. He caught a quick slant and just about broke a tackle, and with his speed, he would've had a huge gain.

    But he didn't break the tackle, and he doesn't usually break the tackle. Why? Because he's tiny, like just about every other freaking WR on our team. I absolutely hate to say this...it hurts to mention...but where is this team with Josh Gordon? Where are we with a guy that scares the pants off of defensive coordinators? And yeah, I know we can't even begin to count on Gordon, but quite frankly, he's a big reason why we can't win games. WE DON'T HAVE ANY PLAYMAKERS. We don't have a guy who is going to bring that contested TD pass down (see Taylor Gabriel on our FG drive). Sure, Barnidge has been amazing, but even he is a stretch.

    Too bad Andrew Hawkins is injured

  • I get it Fluges......Still dont see any viable comparison between the 2......other than Young was mobile.....

    The point isnt whether a mobile QB can succeed in the league, cause we know its possible because of Young or Tark....

    The point is whether a mobile QB has succeeded based only on that mobility, without the ability to play out of the pocket....

    And the answer is a resounding.....NO.....

    Now....it took Steve Young 5-6 years(and some learning from Bill Walsh) to get it.....do we have the patience to wait 5-6 years for Johnny?.....how about Pettine?.....or Gilbert?.....or Farmer?.....

    Lets not forget TB cut Steve Young loose after only 2 years.....and he then sat behind Montana for how many?....5-6 years?

    Edit:...just looked it up....Steve Young became a starter in his 8th season(10th if you count the USFL)...

    So.....shall we give Johnny 8-10 years to show us he's the next steve young???

  • You're on a roll Flugs. 😁

    @texasag1969 said:

    You're on a roll Flugs. 😁

    Thank you sir!

  • I'm getting confused. I am supposed to assume that it is only a matter of time before Manziel's greatness shows itself simply because he has a stat line similar, at times, to what some other quality quarterbacks have posted???

    Serious question, is anybody actually seeing anything on the field that says Manziel is on his way to being a franchise quarterback? I'm no expert on QB play, but I am guessing every single of these quarterbacks, whose names everybody likes to drop, had way better fundamentals at their worst point in time than Manziel currently has. Manziel has one strength, the ability to succeed at playground football. Unfortunately, that will not win consistently in the NFL. And it never has with any of the quarterbacks all of you have mentioned as there was/is much, much more to their skill set as quarterbacks than just running around and making plays.

  • I get it Fluges......Still dont see any viable comparison between the 2......other than Young was mobile.....

    The point isnt whether a mobile QB can succeed in the league, cause we know its possible because of Young or Tark....

    The point is whether a mobile QB has succeeded based only on that mobility, without the ability to play out of the pocket....

    And the answer is a resounding.....NO.....

    Now....it took Steve Young 5-6 years(and some learning from Bill Walsh) to get it.....do we have the patience to wait 5-6 years for Johnny?.....how about Pettine?.....or Gilbert?.....or Farmer?.....

    Lets not forget TB cut Steve Young loose after only 2 years.....and he then sat behind Montana for how many?....5-6 years?

    Edit:...just looked it up....Steve Young became a starter in his 8th season(10th if you count the USFL)...

    So.....shall we give Johnny 8-10 years to show us he's the next steve young???

    @mudfly said:

    I get it Fluges......Still dont see any viable comparison between the 2......other than Young was mobile.....

    The point isnt whether a mobile QB can succeed in the league, cause we know its possible because of Young or Tark....

    The point is whether a mobile QB has succeeded based only on that mobility, without the ability to play out of the pocket....

    And the answer is a resounding.....NO.....

    Now....it took Steve Young 5-6 years(and some learning from Bill Walsh) to get it.....do we have the patience to wait 5-6 years for Johnny?.....how about Pettine?.....or Gilbert?.....or Farmer?.....

    Lets not forget TB cut Steve Young loose after only 2 years.....and he then sat behind Montana for how many?....5-6 years?

    Edit:...just looked it up....Steve Young became a starter in his 8th season(10th if you count the USFL)...

    So.....shall we give Johnny 8-10 years to show us he's the next steve young???

    Hold on a second Mud, there's an inexperienced NFL version of Steve Young we need in this comparison too which actually is far more pertinent. Therefore, I completely agree with you that Manziel doesn't look like the HOF version of Steve Young - he looks more like the inexperienced, indecisive version on a franchise with a losing culture unwilling to fit their pass offense to his strengths. Couldn't agree more. That's why SF deserved him so much more than Tampa did. The numbers didn't lie. When he first got to SF, they had to break some bad habits that developed at the QB Concentration Camp in Tampa like leaving the pocket too early. What made that somewhat difficult is the QB with 4.5 speed could scramble for a 60 yard TD against Minnesota's playoff caliber. Not much diofferent than the challenges Todd Haley had from getting Ben to buy into staying in the pocket longer than he did previously before he started posting the best passing numbers of his career doing so. Same thing.

    Where this is relative to Manziel from an experience standpoint s all this takes way longer then 4 starts. I'll guarantee we agree on that as well.

  • I'm getting confused. I am supposed to assume that it is only a matter of time before Manziel's greatness shows itself simply because he has a stat line similar, at times, to what some other quality quarterbacks have posted???

    Serious question, is anybody actually seeing anything on the field that says Manziel is on his way to being a franchise quarterback? I'm no expert on QB play, but I am guessing every single of these quarterbacks, whose names everybody likes to drop, had way better fundamentals at their worst point in time than Manziel currently has. Manziel has one strength, the ability to succeed at playground football. Unfortunately, that will not win consistently in the NFL. And it never has with any of the quarterbacks all of you have mentioned as there was/is much, much more to their skill set as quarterbacks than just running around and making plays.

    @ramblin said:

    I'm getting confused. I am supposed to assume that it is only a matter of time before Manziel's greatness shows itself simply because he has a stat line similar, at times, to what some other quality quarterbacks have posted???

    Serious question, is anybody actually seeing anything on the field that says Manziel is on his way to being a franchise quarterback? I'm no expert on QB play, but I am guessing every single of these quarterbacks, whose names everybody likes to drop, had way better fundamentals at their worst point in time than Manziel currently has. Manziel has one strength, the ability to succeed at playground football. Unfortunately, that will not win consistently in the NFL. And it never has with any of the quarterbacks all of you have mentioned as there was/is much, much more to their skill set as quarterbacks than just running around and making plays.

    Nope all QBs in the history of the NFL aced the gig in their very first start except:

    John Elway, Steve Young, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Brett Favre, Steve McNair, Fran Tarkenton, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Phil Simms, Joe Theisman, Doug Williams, Drew Brees, Brian Sipe, Dan Fouts; but who these guys anyway?

  • @mudfly said:

    I get it Fluges......Still dont see any viable comparison between the 2......other than Young was mobile.....

    The point isnt whether a mobile QB can succeed in the league, cause we know its possible because of Young or Tark....

    The point is whether a mobile QB has succeeded based only on that mobility, without the ability to play out of the pocket....

    And the answer is a resounding.....NO.....

    Now....it took Steve Young 5-6 years(and some learning from Bill Walsh) to get it.....do we have the patience to wait 5-6 years for Johnny?.....how about Pettine?.....or Gilbert?.....or Farmer?.....

    Lets not forget TB cut Steve Young loose after only 2 years.....and he then sat behind Montana for how many?....5-6 years?

    Edit:...just looked it up....Steve Young became a starter in his 8th season(10th if you count the USFL)...

    So.....shall we give Johnny 8-10 years to show us he's the next steve young???

    Hold on a second Mud, there's an inexperienced NFL version of Steve Young we need in this comparison too which actually is far more pertinent. Therefore, I completely agree with you that Manziel doesn't look like the HOF version of Steve Young - he looks more like the inexperienced, indecisive version on a franchise with a losing culture unwilling to fit their pass offense to his strengths. Couldn't agree more. That's why SF deserved him so much more than Tampa did. The numbers didn't lie. When he first got to SF, they had to break some bad habits that developed at the QB Concentration Camp in Tampa like leaving the pocket too early. What made that somewhat difficult is the QB with 4.5 speed could scramble for a 60 yard TD against Minnesota's playoff caliber. Not much diofferent than the challenges Todd Haley had from getting Ben to buy into staying in the pocket longer than he did previously before he started posting the best passing numbers of his career doing so. Same thing.

    Where this is relative to Manziel from an experience standpoint s all this takes way longer then 4 starts. I'll guarantee we agree on that as well.

    @flugel said:

    When he first got to SF, they had to break some bad habits that developed at the QB Concentration Camp in Tampa like leaving the pocket too early. What made that somewhat difficult is the QB with 4.5 speed could scramble for a 60 yard TD against Minnesota's playoff caliber. Not much diofferent than the challenges Todd Haley had from getting Ben to buy into staying in the pocket longer than he did previously before he started posting the best passing numbers of his career doing so. Same thing.

    Where this is relative to Manziel from an experience standpoint s all this takes way longer then 4 starts. I'll guarantee we agree on that as well.

    This is what Im saying.....

    Young, Ben and all the rest got good only after they learned to play from the pocket.....

    And folks here are saying that Pettine and the Browns are messing JM up by doing the same.....making him learn to to play from the pocket.....and, instead, they are saying "let Johnny be Johnny and run around"......

    So......is Pettine being a fool to force Johnny to learn this?.....was Walsh?.....or any of the others?

    Cant have it both ways......

  • @flugel said:

    When he first got to SF, they had to break some bad habits that developed at the QB Concentration Camp in Tampa like leaving the pocket too early. What made that somewhat difficult is the QB with 4.5 speed could scramble for a 60 yard TD against Minnesota's playoff caliber. Not much diofferent than the challenges Todd Haley had from getting Ben to buy into staying in the pocket longer than he did previously before he started posting the best passing numbers of his career doing so. Same thing.

    Where this is relative to Manziel from an experience standpoint s all this takes way longer then 4 starts. I'll guarantee we agree on that as well.

    This is what Im saying.....

    Young, Ben and all the rest got good only after they learned to play from the pocket.....

    And folks here are saying that Pettine and the Browns are messing JM up by doing the same.....making him learn to to play from the pocket.....and, instead, they are saying "let Johnny be Johnny and run around"......

    So......is Pettine being a fool to force Johnny to learn this?.....was Walsh?.....or any of the others?

    Cant have it both ways......

    @mudfly said:

    This is what Im saying.....

    Young, Ben and all the rest got good only after they learned to play from the pocket.....

    And folks here are saying that Pettine and the Browns are messing JM up by doing the same.....making him learn to to play from the pocket.....and, instead, they are saying "let Johnny be Johnny and run around"......

    So......is Pettine being a fool to force Johnny to learn this?.....was Walsh?.....or any of the others?

    Cant have it both ways......

    BINGO!

    That said, SF had portions of their playbook (similar to Joe Gibbs) where their QB did pass outside of the pocket as displayed in Joe Montana's pass referred to as "The Catch." Gibbs loved to bootleg Theisman out via play action for Waggle passes. Shanny had Hoyer throwing a ton of bootleg passes out of pocket last year to the extent opponents started to wait for them ie Jax. Where Pettine is confusing many of our fans is him voicing he wants a pocket passer to the extent he's agreeing with the opposing coach that wanted Manziel in the pocket way more frequently. What coach ended up feeling better when that's exactly what happened in half 2?

    One of my favorite throws on Thursday came when Manziel had all the time in the world to to survey the field at least twice before making an easy accurate completion.

    Do you know what the biggest difference between our loss to Cincy and Pittsburgh's loss to Cincy was? Pittsburgh's defense only gave up 16 points in spite of Ben's 3 INTs. Our defense gave up how many points off of how many turnovers from our QB? Is this where I get yeah but Pittsburgh played an undefeated team vrs don't hand me that undefeated opponent nonsense for our QB?

  • You are right Flugel. I'll admit it, we are seeing the beginning of a hall-of-fame career for Johnny Manziel. After all, most, if not all. hall-of-fame QB's struggled in their first starts.

    Let's face it, we were able to draft this future HOF QB at what, #22. Which means that the Browns were the only team needing a franchise QB that thought Manziel was the answer. Anybody could have had him before #22 so that is not a ridiculous statement. It as said on another thread, but once we drop the "1st round draft pick" from our thinking, this whole process will go a lot better.

    Tell me something. Besides obviously Brian Hoyer, which starting QB's in the NFL today would you NOT trade straight up for Johnny right now? If that is not a VERY long list, you may want to rethink your position here.

  • You are right Flugel. I'll admit it, we are seeing the beginning of a hall-of-fame career for Johnny Manziel. After all, most, if not all. hall-of-fame QB's struggled in their first starts.

    Let's face it, we were able to draft this future HOF QB at what, #22. Which means that the Browns were the only team needing a franchise QB that thought Manziel was the answer. Anybody could have had him before #22 so that is not a ridiculous statement. It as said on another thread, but once we drop the "1st round draft pick" from our thinking, this whole process will go a lot better.

    Tell me something. Besides obviously Brian Hoyer, which starting QB's in the NFL today would you NOT trade straight up for Johnny right now? If that is not a VERY long list, you may want to rethink your position here.

    @ramblin said:

    You are right Flugel. I'll admit it, we are seeing the beginning of a hall-of-fame career for Johnny Manziel. After all, most, if not all. hall-of-fame QB's struggled in their first starts.

    Let's face it, we were able to draft this future HOF QB at what, #22. Which means that the Browns were the only team needing a franchise QB that thought Manziel was the answer. Anybody could have had him before #22 so that is not a ridiculous statement. It as said on another thread, but once we drop the "1st round draft pick" from our thinking, this whole process will go a lot better.

    Tell me something. Besides obviously Brian Hoyer, which starting QB's in the NFL today would you NOT trade straight up for Johnny right now? If that is not a VERY long list, you may want to rethink your position here.

    I'd still trade Johnny straight up for Brian.

  • @tiamat63 said:

    Bullshit. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut. QB's do not make simple execution look difficult and find success in this league. Doesn't happen.

    Yeah, Tarkenton and Wilson and Zorn and Young and early Vick really sucked a bag of dicks.

    @tim-couch-pulls-out said:

    Yeah, Tarkenton and Wilson and Zorn and Young and early Vick really sucked a bag of dicks.

    You fail to realize that these players were able to operate with efficiency behind their respective Olines.

    Everyone here believes Wilson to be like Johnny. That couldn't be further from the truth. He's a passer with mobility, not a runner looking to throw.

    And Ben was/is also the exact same thing. Efficient passers, yet scramblers when the need arises.

    The comparison of Johnny to Fran, Wilson, Young and Ben is beyond stupid.

    Vick? Sure, compare a generational athlete with a fucking gun for an arm to Manziel. You can see where the comparison falls short.

    edit: That said, even Vick had times where he was functional play caller under center. So again, bullshit comparison.

  • ...I'm starting to wonder in Alex Mack has already checked out and has his sights set on the end of the season. I guess that's why you don't want to give the player the option of terminating the rest of his contract. If he decides to leave, we get nothing, right?

  • ...I'm starting to wonder in Alex Mack has already checked out and has his sights set on the end of the season. I guess that's why you don't want to give the player the option of terminating the rest of his contract. If he decides to leave, we get nothing, right?

    @poeticg said:

    I guess that's why you don't want to give the player the option of terminating the rest of his contract. If he decides to leave, we get nothing, right?

    we didnt give him that option.....he was a free agent and negotiated that deal with Jacksonville....

  • @tim-couch-pulls-out said:

    Yeah, Tarkenton and Wilson and Zorn and Young and early Vick really sucked a bag of dicks.

    As said many many many times....Tark, Wilson and Young all played from the pocket(well!)......and Young and Vick lasted how long?....

    And honestly.....Johnny is no Young, Wilson or Fran Tarkenton......thats laughable really.....

    Hey, if he cant play out of the pocket and has to rely on his legs to get it done, what happens when he loses a step or gets hammered so much he CANT run......then?......

    Oh yeah.....Vick, Young and RGIII.....

    @mudfly said:

    As said many many many times....Tark, Wilson and Young all played from the pocket(well!)......and Young and Vick lasted how long?....

    And honestly.....Johnny is no Young, Wilson or Fran Tarkenton......thats laughable really.....

    Hey, if he cant play out of the pocket and has to rely on his legs to get it done, what happens when he loses a step or gets hammered so much he CANT run......then?......

    Oh yeah.....Vick, Young and RGIII.....

    Except, you know, Manziel is a better passer than Vick, Young and RG3. That's why we're talking about extending plays, not running the ball.

  • @tim-couch-pulls-out said:

    Yeah, Tarkenton and Wilson and Zorn and Young and early Vick really sucked a bag of dicks.

    You fail to realize that these players were able to operate with efficiency behind their respective Olines.

    Everyone here believes Wilson to be like Johnny. That couldn't be further from the truth. He's a passer with mobility, not a runner looking to throw.

    And Ben was/is also the exact same thing. Efficient passers, yet scramblers when the need arises.

    The comparison of Johnny to Fran, Wilson, Young and Ben is beyond stupid.

    Vick? Sure, compare a generational athlete with a fucking gun for an arm to Manziel. You can see where the comparison falls short.

    edit: That said, even Vick had times where he was functional play caller under center. So again, bullshit comparison.

    @tiamat63 said:

    You fail to realize that these players were able to operate with efficiency behind their respective Olines.

    Everyone here believes Wilson to be like Johnny. That couldn't be further from the truth. He's a passer with mobility, not a runner looking to throw.

    And Ben was/is also the exact same thing. Efficient passers, yet scramblers when the need arises.

    The comparison of Johnny to Fran, Wilson, Young and Ben is beyond stupid.

    Vick? Sure, compare a generational athlete with a fucking gun for an arm to Manziel. You can see where the comparison falls short.

    edit: That said, even Vick had times where he was functional play caller under center. So again, bullshit comparison.

    Show me some numbers that disprove the theory that Manziel and Wilson aren't comparable passers.

    While you do that, I'll leave you with this.

    One of the most underrated parts of Manziel's game is his accuracy from the pocket. He led all AQ players this season with a 73.5 completion percentage from inside the pocket. He completed at least 65 percent of such passes in every game during his sophomore season except for the Aggies' loss to LSU.

    Manziel was not just completing short throws as a result of Texas A&M's spread offense. One out of every four passes he attempted from the pocket traveled at least 15 yards. On such throws, Manziel completed an SEC-high 54.9 percent, more than 15 percentage points higher than the AQ average (39.5 percent).

    Just like Manziel, Wilson was outstanding from the pocket during his final FBS season. Wilson led the nation with a 76.3 completion percentage from the pocket and threw only three interceptions in 224 such attempts.

    One difference is Manziel had several more interceptions from inside the pocket. With the Aggies' defense ranked last in the SEC in points per game allowed, Manziel took more chances and made more big plays.

    Size and measurables

    Height: Since 2006, six quarterbacks have measured under 6 feet tall at the NFL combine. Wilson and Manziel were two of them.

    But height has not seemed to affect their play. As noted, they were two of the top passers from the pocket, and neither player had more than three passes batted down in his final collegiate season despite playing behind offensive lines that had similar size to that of the average NFL offensive lineman (6-5, 312 pounds).

  • @mudfly said:

    As said many many many times....Tark, Wilson and Young all played from the pocket(well!)......and Young and Vick lasted how long?....

    And honestly.....Johnny is no Young, Wilson or Fran Tarkenton......thats laughable really.....

    Hey, if he cant play out of the pocket and has to rely on his legs to get it done, what happens when he loses a step or gets hammered so much he CANT run......then?......

    Oh yeah.....Vick, Young and RGIII.....

    Except, you know, Manziel is a better passer than Vick, Young and RG3. That's why we're talking about extending plays, not running the ball.

    @tim-couch-pulls-out said:

    Except, you know, Manziel is a better passer than Vick, Young and RG3. That's why we're talking about extending plays, not running the ball.

    Honestly, I dont know that and dont really agree....but thats just opinion...

    Personally, I never thought Vick or RGIII were very good QB's to begin with....which is a big part of my issue.....compare away all you want, but neither of them ever won anything and neither will finish being known as a great QB or anything.....

    But this thread is about Pettine being a bad coach for trying to force Johnny to play from the pocket....and the ONLY point Ive tried to make is that I agree he needs to learn this and Pettine is doing the right thing by expecting him to....

    And, if you think they should just let him "do his thing" without any structure....then I completely disagree......

  • You are right Flugel. I'll admit it, we are seeing the beginning of a hall-of-fame career for Johnny Manziel. After all, most, if not all. hall-of-fame QB's struggled in their first starts.

    Let's face it, we were able to draft this future HOF QB at what, #22. Which means that the Browns were the only team needing a franchise QB that thought Manziel was the answer. Anybody could have had him before #22 so that is not a ridiculous statement. It as said on another thread, but once we drop the "1st round draft pick" from our thinking, this whole process will go a lot better.

    Tell me something. Besides obviously Brian Hoyer, which starting QB's in the NFL today would you NOT trade straight up for Johnny right now? If that is not a VERY long list, you may want to rethink your position here.

    @ramblin said:

    You are right Flugel. I'll admit it, we are seeing the beginning of a hall-of-fame career for Johnny Manziel. After all, most, if not all. hall-of-fame QB's struggled in their first starts.

    Let's face it, we were able to draft this future HOF QB at what, #22. Which means that the Browns were the only team needing a franchise QB that thought Manziel was the answer. Anybody could have had him before #22 so that is not a ridiculous statement. It as said on another thread, but once we drop the "1st round draft pick" from our thinking, this whole process will go a lot better.

    Tell me something. Besides obviously Brian Hoyer, which starting QB's in the NFL today would you NOT trade straight up for Johnny right now? If that is not a VERY long list, you may want to rethink your position here.

    Let me be responsible for my words but not responsible for what you cannot understand. This was my reply to the post you started with a confession you were confused:

    Nope all QBs in the history of the NFL aced the gig in their very first start except:

    John Elway, Steve Young, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Brett Favre, Steve McNair, Fran Tarkenton, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Phil Simms, Joe Theisman, Doug Williams, Drew Brees, Brian Sipe, Dan Fouts; but who these guys anyway?

    Now you're asking me what starting QB I'd trade our 4 start old QB for? How about this one? I wouldn't draft a QB in the first round that I don't believe in. You would so you could trade him after only 4 starts? Don't I feel stupid? Do I even have to tell you I had nothing to do with the Cleveland Browns drafting a QB half those in the decision never had any intentions of starting? Try reading the flow of discussions you choose to participate in so you don't have to start off confessing you're confused.

    Tell me something- how much better was Blake Bortles looking when the 24 years old was 4 NFL starts old? Jax drafted 3rd overall while Oakland drafted 4th overall in 2015 to show me both those teams with rookie QB had to endure some inevitable growing pains. Which one of those QBs would have preferred to come to Cleveland? Even better, if Derek Carr was told we don't believe in adding talented WRs like Amari Cooper or Michael Crabtree - how pumped would he be or would older brother red flag that right down to you don't want to be me? Bortles' franchise brought in 2 first round WRs. Has Allen Robinson been helpful to growth and development? How about Cooper and Crabtree?

    Didn't we already bring in a 36 year old QB to make it clear that half those in charge of bringing Manziel here don't have the testicles to play the QB they chose over Carr and Bridgewater. I'm not the reason we're debating how much prettier 1-6 football looks from a 36 year old QB getting killed in the pocket every week than 1-1 football from the QB we burned a first round pick on. More specifically, I'm not your problem. It's those you're mad at for bringing him here without ever sacking up to go through the types of growing pains that had Jax drafting 3rd overall in 2015 and Oakland drafting 4th.

  • @tiamat63 said:

    You fail to realize that these players were able to operate with efficiency behind their respective Olines.

    Everyone here believes Wilson to be like Johnny. That couldn't be further from the truth. He's a passer with mobility, not a runner looking to throw.

    And Ben was/is also the exact same thing. Efficient passers, yet scramblers when the need arises.

    The comparison of Johnny to Fran, Wilson, Young and Ben is beyond stupid.

    Vick? Sure, compare a generational athlete with a fucking gun for an arm to Manziel. You can see where the comparison falls short.

    edit: That said, even Vick had times where he was functional play caller under center. So again, bullshit comparison.

    Show me some numbers that disprove the theory that Manziel and Wilson aren't comparable passers.

    While you do that, I'll leave you with this.

    One of the most underrated parts of Manziel's game is his accuracy from the pocket. He led all AQ players this season with a 73.5 completion percentage from inside the pocket. He completed at least 65 percent of such passes in every game during his sophomore season except for the Aggies' loss to LSU.

    Manziel was not just completing short throws as a result of Texas A&M's spread offense. One out of every four passes he attempted from the pocket traveled at least 15 yards. On such throws, Manziel completed an SEC-high 54.9 percent, more than 15 percentage points higher than the AQ average (39.5 percent).

    Just like Manziel, Wilson was outstanding from the pocket during his final FBS season. Wilson led the nation with a 76.3 completion percentage from the pocket and threw only three interceptions in 224 such attempts.

    One difference is Manziel had several more interceptions from inside the pocket. With the Aggies' defense ranked last in the SEC in points per game allowed, Manziel took more chances and made more big plays.

    Size and measurables

    Height: Since 2006, six quarterbacks have measured under 6 feet tall at the NFL combine. Wilson and Manziel were two of them.

    But height has not seemed to affect their play. As noted, they were two of the top passers from the pocket, and neither player had more than three passes batted down in his final collegiate season despite playing behind offensive lines that had similar size to that of the average NFL offensive lineman (6-5, 312 pounds).

    @tim-couch-pulls-out said:

    Show me some numbers that disprove the theory that Manziel and Wilson aren't comparable passers.

    While you do that, I'll leave you with this.

    One of the most underrated parts of Manziel's game is his accuracy from the pocket. He led all AQ players this season with a 73.5 completion percentage from inside the pocket. He completed at least 65 percent of such passes in every game during his sophomore season except for the Aggies' loss to LSU.

    Manziel was not just completing short throws as a result of Texas A&M's spread offense. One out of every four passes he attempted from the pocket traveled at least 15 yards. On such throws, Manziel completed an SEC-high 54.9 percent, more than 15 percentage points higher than the AQ average (39.5 percent).

    Just like Manziel, Wilson was outstanding from the pocket during his final FBS season. Wilson led the nation with a 76.3 completion percentage from the pocket and threw only three interceptions in 224 such attempts.

    One difference is Manziel had several more interceptions from inside the pocket. With the Aggies' defense ranked last in the SEC in points per game allowed, Manziel took more chances and made more big plays.

    Size and measurables

    Height: Since 2006, six quarterbacks have measured under 6 feet tall at the NFL combine. Wilson and Manziel were two of them.

    But height has not seemed to affect their play. As noted, they were two of the top passers from the pocket, and neither player had more than three passes batted down in his final collegiate season despite playing behind offensive lines that had similar size to that of the average NFL offensive lineman (6-5, 312 pounds).

    So you're giving me Wilson's playing style and pro career vs..... Johnny's college days?

    Ok.....

  • @mudfly said:

    This is what Im saying.....

    Young, Ben and all the rest got good only after they learned to play from the pocket.....

    And folks here are saying that Pettine and the Browns are messing JM up by doing the same.....making him learn to to play from the pocket.....and, instead, they are saying "let Johnny be Johnny and run around"......

    So......is Pettine being a fool to force Johnny to learn this?.....was Walsh?.....or any of the others?

    Cant have it both ways......

    BINGO!

    That said, SF had portions of their playbook (similar to Joe Gibbs) where their QB did pass outside of the pocket as displayed in Joe Montana's pass referred to as "The Catch." Gibbs loved to bootleg Theisman out via play action for Waggle passes. Shanny had Hoyer throwing a ton of bootleg passes out of pocket last year to the extent opponents started to wait for them ie Jax. Where Pettine is confusing many of our fans is him voicing he wants a pocket passer to the extent he's agreeing with the opposing coach that wanted Manziel in the pocket way more frequently. What coach ended up feeling better when that's exactly what happened in half 2?

    One of my favorite throws on Thursday came when Manziel had all the time in the world to to survey the field at least twice before making an easy accurate completion.

    Do you know what the biggest difference between our loss to Cincy and Pittsburgh's loss to Cincy was? Pittsburgh's defense only gave up 16 points in spite of Ben's 3 INTs. Our defense gave up how many points off of how many turnovers from our QB? Is this where I get yeah but Pittsburgh played an undefeated team vrs don't hand me that undefeated opponent nonsense for our QB?

    @flugel said:

    BINGO!

    That said, SF had portions of their playbook (similar to Joe Gibbs) where their QB did pass outside of the pocket ....Shanny had Hoyer throwing a ton of bootleg passes.... Where Pettine is confusing many of our fans is him voicing he wants a pocket passer to the extent he's agreeing with the opposing coach that wanted Manziel in the pocket way more frequently. What coach ended up feeling better when that's exactly what happened in half 2?

    One of my favorite throws on Thursday came when Manziel had all the time in the world to to survey the field at least twice before making an easy accurate completion.

    Our defense gave up how many points off of how many turnovers from our QB?

    I agree on the play calling and wish we would see more bootlegs...ala Hoyer last year. For that to work though, they have to at least "suspect" our QB is gonna stay in the pocket. As you said, they figured the Hoyer thing out pretty quick. So Id expect the same if that is all JM does and there is no "risk" of him staying in and stepping up....

    And, while Johnny has looked nice on a couple plays, where he scrambled then connected, what people are missing is what "he" is missing.....a LOT of open looks.....receivers waving their arms, BEFORE he takes off running......simple first down tosses being turned into scrambles ....and that is what coach Pettine is frustrated by.....he's not trying to hog tie Johnny....he's trying to get him to simply learn how to find the open receiver and hit him, BEFORE he takes off....

    And no QB turnovers against the Bungles....only 5 consecutive 3 and outs, along with some terrible punting....which gave the Bungles the ball at mid field.....every three minutes, for the whole second half......so, while the D sputtered, in fairness, they spend the whole half on the field, against one of the best O's in the league, all the while giving them the ball at mid field and closer every time.....

    @flugel said:

    I wouldn't draft a QB in the first round that I don't believe in.

    Tell me something- how much better was Blake Bortles looking when the 24 years old was 4 NFL starts old? Jax drafted 3rd overall while Oakland drafted 4th overall in 2015 to show me both those teams with rookie QB had to endure some inevitable growing pains.

    Even better, if Derek Carr was told we don't believe in adding talented WRs like Amari Cooper or Michael Crabtree - how pumped would he be or would older brother red flag that right down to you don't want to be me? Bortles' franchise brought in 2 first round WRs. Has Allen Robinson been helpful to growth and development? How about Cooper and Crabtree?

    It's those you're mad at for bringing him here without ever sacking up to go through the types of growing pains that had Jax drafting 3rd overall in 2015 and Oakland drafting 4th.

    I wouldnt draft one in the first and not play him either. Though I do wonder how much the Browns really believed in him. Considering, if you think your next QB is sitting on the board and you have a pick, do you pass on him for a CB?....NO, you dont. But If you have an "extra" pick and you've already picked the guy you wanted, then just maybe that pick is worth a gamble. Take a shot, but doesnt mean you have unabiding faith in the guy. And, then, unlike Bortles and Carr, your guy just takes the year off and then enters rehab? I can see why there is concern. After that, it becomes a unique situation and not something thats easily compared to others(Like Carr, Bortles or anybody else, ftm). And, even after rehab and considering our experiences with Josh, I can see why the team would go with the veteran.

    But heres the thing. I think they need to play him now. I agree with this 100%. Seasons gone and its time to endure the pain that Jax and Oak took last year. But, he needs to show he's improving and able to play within Pettines system, like Bortles and Carr did last year. I honestly believe Johnny has a better team here, than those other 2 had, so should be able get some quality reps....and maybe even some wins.

    The WR references and constant talk about how we've not draft one high really doesnt set right with me. When we drafted Johnny. Josh Gordon was coming off a record setting season and we signed 3 veteran WR's to come in and compete, with Austin ultimately winning the job. We also brought UDFA Gabriel, who ended up winning a job. I only mention that, because right now Bortles #2 guy is also a UDFA brought in at the same time. Jax did draft one WR in the first round. It was Marquise Lee, who is basically a bust so far. So, at that time, Johnny woulda been starting with Gordon and Bortles woulda been starting with Lee. And Carr got no one till year 2. Which brings me to this years draft. And the fact that the whole world pretty much agreed we needed Shelton/Defense first. Cooper woulda been gone of course. Now we COULD have drafted one with #19, but before we agree that would have worked, lets consider who was there.....here's who....no one who is playing well now. Of all the top guys available, they are all hurt or sitting or playing very limited roles. And, yes, Oakland signed Crabtree. Good move. If you recall, he was one of the last receivers signed during the FA period and not a very popular choice. And, this year, he seems revitalized. Though, who knew that was gonna happen? In a similar manner, we tapped two veteran WR's in Hartline and Bowe. And I would say they both had similar value and/or interest to Crabtree. So, we too, tried to give our QB speed, size, experience, etc.

    I think we've shown a similar committent to OAK and Jax, in at least "trying" to get some WR's in here. But we also got shat upon by both Gordons problems and then Bowes failure, as well as the very QB we were hoping to develop.

    Id say weve committed more to him over the last 2 years, than he probably has deserved or given back to us. And, after this, I understand the stubborness of the team in just handing things over to him.....or changing their scheme for him.....or giving up wins just to let him learn.....when he's not really showing much and is still in his first REAL season of actually trying....

    So.....in summary.....I think the team tried and expected to have quality WR's here and are as committed to that as Jax or Oak were. And I think we "would have been" more committed" to playing Johnny and taking some lumps for him, if he had shown he was committed to the team. Then Josh took a drink. Johnny blew it. The other Josh took his job. And played well. And now, here we are.

  • @tim-couch-pulls-out said:

    Show me some numbers that disprove the theory that Manziel and Wilson aren't comparable passers.

    While you do that, I'll leave you with this.

    One of the most underrated parts of Manziel's game is his accuracy from the pocket. He led all AQ players this season with a 73.5 completion percentage from inside the pocket. He completed at least 65 percent of such passes in every game during his sophomore season except for the Aggies' loss to LSU.

    Manziel was not just completing short throws as a result of Texas A&M's spread offense. One out of every four passes he attempted from the pocket traveled at least 15 yards. On such throws, Manziel completed an SEC-high 54.9 percent, more than 15 percentage points higher than the AQ average (39.5 percent).

    Just like Manziel, Wilson was outstanding from the pocket during his final FBS season. Wilson led the nation with a 76.3 completion percentage from the pocket and threw only three interceptions in 224 such attempts.

    One difference is Manziel had several more interceptions from inside the pocket. With the Aggies' defense ranked last in the SEC in points per game allowed, Manziel took more chances and made more big plays.

    Size and measurables

    Height: Since 2006, six quarterbacks have measured under 6 feet tall at the NFL combine. Wilson and Manziel were two of them.

    But height has not seemed to affect their play. As noted, they were two of the top passers from the pocket, and neither player had more than three passes batted down in his final collegiate season despite playing behind offensive lines that had similar size to that of the average NFL offensive lineman (6-5, 312 pounds).

    So you're giving me Wilson's playing style and pro career vs..... Johnny's college days?

    Ok.....

    @tiamat63 said:

    So you're giving me Wilson's playing style and pro career vs..... Johnny's college days?

    Ok.....

    It's Wilson's college career vs. Manziel's, because the point is that Seattle has harnessed Wilson's ability, while we have constrained Manziel's.

    In no way was Wilson a legitimately better passer than Manziel in college. For every argument that Manziel can't (or wont) pass from the pocket, there's actual numbers that prove otherwise. Now Wilson is experiencing success while Manziel isn't.

    Logic would then point to the utilization plan for each in the NFL, wouldn't it?