I'll bite...
The author types, "By the end of the game it didn't look like any of his receivers were still running their routes as hard as they had been. Probably because at that point they were no longer expecting him to actually sit in the pocket and go through his reads which made their crisp routes null and void." Well, that certainly sounds like conditions conducive to fostering good quarterback play. QB struggles? To hell with him, let's dog our routes.
He adds, "I know Manziel fans will scream about drops, but there were basically two drops, both by Browns wide receiver Taylor Gabriel. Manziel was 17-of-33 passing, a completion percentage of 45.5 percent for 168 yards and one touchdown throwing the football. Give him two more completions and let's say, 30 more yards, and you you still have less than 200 yards passing off 33 passes and a completion percentage just over 51 percent. You can even add in his 31 rushing yards on four carries, but this still would be, at best, mediocre production, no?" Again, excuse away any drops and arbitrarily add two completions for 15 yards (nevermind that one of Gabriel's drops would have been a TD). I'll take the author up on his exercise and add two completions for 30 yards along with the 31 rushing yards that he is so graciously gifting Manziel. I'll also add in the TD for context. Viola...we come to a QBR of 94. Mediocre? I'll take that every Sunday and twice on Thursday from my 22 year old QB with receivers dogging routes. So, pardon me for laughing at the author's suggestion that there is no statistical argument for Manziel.
Lets move on, shall we?
2-7 Cle 23 (14:24)- Author sees an 8 yard gain to Duke. I see a zone with an LB read to pounce on a throw to Duke in the flat until the pocket broke down, flushing Johnny to the right.
3-7 Cle 23 (14:16)- Author believes that Johnny should've thrown the ball earlier than he did. 22 year old takes time to diagnose blitz..NEWS AT 11. End result, first down pass play. Nice job, Johnny.
3-13 Cle 29 (12.37)- Author admonishes Johnny for missing Duke and he is correct. However, Johnny extends the play and throws a beautiful ball to what appeared to be an open Benjamin, on the run. Was it the best option? No, but it was a nice throw to an open receiver that put him in a position to make a play.
2-10 Cle 20 (3:13)- Author claims that Johnny should have thrown the ball to Duke nearing the right hash and approaching the 30 yard line. However, there is a Bengal sitting right between the hashes just prior to Duke's vertical positioning. That sounds like a ripe opportunity for an interception if read correctly by the Bengal. Johnny does not throw the pass, he rolls steps UP and out of the pocket and throws the ball when Duke is uncovered, for a 25 yard gain. Great job, Johnny.
3-5 Cin 12
27)- The author maintains that Johnny's TD pass to Duke was, in fact, a poor play of compounded difficulty after Johnny missed a "wide ass open" Barnidge. I'd like to know on what planet Barnidge appears to be "wide ass open." I see Barnidge covered underneath and to the inside (nickel's position cutting down angles) but breaking down the field and on his way to becoming open. A difficult throw to Barnidge amounts to a touchdown but lets not pretend that Barnidge could've camped out and Johnny didn't see him. Johnny does see Duke beginning to make himself open, extends the play, and throws a touchdown pass.
3-12 Cle 10 (9:51)- Travis Benjamin does not run himself open until the pocket has collapsed, Johnny has stepped up, and he notices a good amount of daylight in front of him. I'd actually argue that the better and safer play would have been the dump-off pass out of the backfield but none-the-less, Manziel put the team in a position to convert a 3rd down (short by a few feet). Could Manziel have made an incredible play by avoiding the rush, scampering up to the line, and unleashing a 35 yard pass upfield to Benjamin? Yes, in an ideal world and hopefully after gaining more experience. The irony is that Manziel's physical gifts are what even gives him the possibility of making such a play possible, as the Manning's/Brady's/Brees' would not have had the elusiveness to evade the rush and extend the play up the middle.
3-4 Cle 26 (3:14)- Poor read and dangerous throw. The throw itself was rather impressive, with regards to velocity and placement, but there was an open receiver. That being said, we don't know who the primary read happened to be and again, I'd expect a 22 year old to build confidence in the face of a blitz as his level of experience grows.
"Too late"- The author lambastes Manziel for missing what he argues are two open receivers, instead throwing an incomplete pass. In fact, Manziel is on the run with an uncovered Bengals rushing towards him, Barnidge in position to be tackled immediately, and Dray just working himself open. It appears that most other quarterbacks would've actually been sacked at this point. Time was not a luxury in this situation and the play results in no yardage. Again, it's rich that the author quickly dismisses Manziel while at the same time he is quick to point out the plays that are only made available because of Johnny's ability to buy time for himself. It's as if Johnny is a victim of his own abilities.
2-10 Cle 20 (13:18)- Flustered by the blitz and does not throw dump-offs to the flats. Poor read. Again, experience would be helpful.
My conclusion: Johnny played a game in which his physical talents were on display from arm strength, accuracy, elusiveness, NFL speed, etc. Johnny's lack of experience was also on display as he missed some opportunities that his talents created for him and a few quick check-downs.
As it pertains to the biased account offered up by the author of this article, Stephen White....well I'd expect nothing less from a Tennessee grad. You'll notice that many plays from the second half were omitted, as we wouldn't want to display drops/etc and those lazy routes that White excuses earlier in his article.
