Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was under center during an embarrassing 30-0 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals towards the latter part of his rookie campaign last season.
Over the course of that disastrous game, Manziel managed only 80 passing yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. This terrible performance certainly wasn’t the way the rookie wanted his starting debut to turn out.
Despite this, the coordinator that led Cincinnati’s defense to a shutout of the Browns in that game has come out in support of the much-maligned signal caller.
“Honestly, I think the kid needs more time,” Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther told ESPN.com.
The Bengals’ defense had their way with Johnny Football all game long during that matchup. It’s interesting to see that Guenther still believes in Manziel. The veteran coach also compared Manziel to a much more successful quarterback when further commenting on the division rival:
“Drew Brees did it,” Guenther said. “I know Drew is a little bit thicker than Johnny but about the same height. … I don’t see any reason why he can’t do it up there. (Manziel) was such a high-profile guy out of college and everyone expected what he did at Texas A&M, but it’s a man’s game, it’s a lot different, and it takes time. You have to take your lumps a little bit.”
We all know what an accomplished quarterback Brees has become over his 14-year NFL career.
The one thing that’s different this season, outside of a renewed commitment from a sober Manziel, is the fact that he’s heading into training camp as the backup to unquestioned starter Josh McCown. He is in the perfect role to to erase the disappointments of last season and make the necessary improvements to be considered a starter-caliber quarterback in the NFL.
Maybe it is just time that Manziel needs. Time to adjust to the professional game. Time to mature off the field. If that happens, there’s a chance his story will ultimately be known as a successful one.
Photo: USA Today Sports