Johnny Manziel - First 4 Games of 2015
Johnny Manziel may be the most talked about figure in the NFL, but most of the talk about him is centered around his off the field antics. But what does Johnny bring to the field? You’ve heard all of the cliche’s: he’s too small, he can’t read NFL defenses, he doesn’t have a strong enough arm. Through four starts in 2015, Manziel has completed 59.4% of his passes for 933 yards, averaging 7.29 yards per attempt and 12.3 yards per completion (good for sixth in the league). Manziel has thrown for 5 TD’s against only 2 INT’s but has also fumbled 5 times. The best way to determine what Manziel can bring to the table is to turn to the tape.
Short Passes (0-10 yards)
Most of Manziel’s throws thus far have fallen under this category. The Browns offense has been simplistic and conservative for the most part with Manziel under center.
Situation: 2nd & 13. -42. 13:32 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 3
The Jets bring the heat on Manziel bringing both of their Inside Linebackers. In the secondary, the Jets are in a Cover 3 with what appears to be man-to-man responsibilities on the weak side of the formation. With the Browns in an empty backfield, it is Manziel’s job to diagnose the defense pre-snap and deliver the ball quickly in the face of the blitz. With the TE (right slot) uncovered, that is Manziel’s first read. The two vertical routes occupy the CB and Safety, who has been rolled down. Manziel does a nice job of catching and throwing an accurate pass for a gain of 13.
Situation: 3rd & 6. -24. 8:28 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 1
With the Jets playing Cover 1, and being in man-to-man on all underneath routes, the Browns have called a good play. The two crossing routes will create the ever so popular pick concept allowing one of the WR’s to become free. Manziel does a good job allowing the play to develop in front of him but he gets happy feet in the pocket right as his receiver is coming open. The ball is still complete, but you would just like to see Manziel step into his throw to allow his WR more room to run after the catch. The result of the play was 7 yards, but was called back for holding.
Situation: 1st & 10. 35. 5:54 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 1
By the way the offensive line is blocking it looks like a run play was originally called and Manziel audibled to a quick pass based on the defense’s look. The slot WR runs an arrow route to try to get inside the DB quickly. The WR is open but the DE does a nice job of reading Manziel and staying in his passing lane. Manziel needs to move and reset his feet to deliver the throw. Instead he panics and tries to deliver the ball quickly and winds up falling incomplete.
Situation: 1st & 10. -9. 14:56 3rd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 3
Manziel immediately looks to his left as the ball is snapped, with three options on this side he has plenty to pick from. He does a good job of looking towards his TE and holding the LB’s in their coverage. The slot WR makes a nice move and frees himself open on the slant route. Manziel needs to trust his insticts more on this play and deliver the ball on time because even though it is completed, the late release puts his WR in a tough position.
Situation: 3rd & 8. -25. 13:04 3rd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 1
With the Browns in a bunch formation to the field, the Jets defenders are left to sort out their coverage responsibility as the plays goes. The point man (LB) takes the first person that goes away from him. The other two defenders are left to sort out the routes. the slot CB takes the WR breaking in towards him, leaving the outside CB with the last WR. Manziel does a good job of reading this on the fly and recognizes the separation created between the outside WR and the CB. Manziel delivers the ball on time and accurately, low and away from the charging defensive player. The result of the play is a first down.
Situation: 2nd & 10. -20. 7:32 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 2
With twin WR’s to the field, Manziel immediately recognizes this and as soon as he takes the snap he looks in that direction. With the slot WR running into the coverage, Manziel moves on to the outside WR who is running a slant. With the CB playing off coverage it is an easy throw to make, hitting the WR in the chest but not leading him into a big hit.
Situation: 3rd & 1. -29. 7:06 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 1
This is poor play from Manziel, it is 3rd down and you must be able to pick up the 1 yard necessary for the 1st. With the Jets in man-to-man coverage, the WR runs a quick out route and creates the separation needed for a completion. Manziel delivers a poor ball because he does not step to his target directly, causing the ball to be out of reach to the diving WR and bringing up 4th down.
Situation: 1st & 10. 28. 7:11 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 12 Personnel
Opponent: Tennessee Titans
Coverage: Cover 1
The Titans try to fool Manziel by blitzing their Nickelback off the left edge and dropping their DE into covering the slot. Manziel does an excellent job of recognizing the blitz (terrible job of disguise by Tennessee) and delivering an easy pass to his TE for a gain of 17.
Situation: 2nd & 7. -23. 14:24 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 21 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 5
Another missed read here from Manziel. With the CB to the field in man-to-man coverage, it leaves the two defenders to cover two players. Both defenders sit on the curl route from the slot WR, leaving the RB in motion wide open in the flats. Manziel initially looks to that side but does not stay in the pocket long enough to see the flats come open. Although he is under pressure, he should learn to flush to the strong side of the formation to find the routes that have come open.
Situation: 3rd & 7. -23. 14:16 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnell
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 3
With the Bengals in Cover 3, the CB to the single WR side has man-to-man responsibilities. The Bengals bring the heat on Manziel, a very similar play to when the Jets blitzed. The WR to the single side runs a crossing route and Manziel waits in the pocket long enough to hit the WR coming across. In an ideal situation you’d like to not see him falling back when he throws the ball but it is a completion and that is the goal of the play.
Situation: 1st & 10. -32. 13:35 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel (RB and TE in slot)
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 1
This is a poor throw by Manziel but it is not made any better with the poor route ran by the RB. The RB runs a pivot route where he cuts inside, switches directions and runs to the sideline. The RB fades up the field, closing the throwing window for Manziel. Manziel does a very nice job hanging in the pocket without fading or panicking. He does not step into his throw fully, partly due to the pocket collapsing. The ball falls incomplete, but this isn’t all on Manziel.
Situation: 2nd & 10. -24. 7:33 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 01 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 1
The Bengals bring the blitz from the right side on this play, Manziel feels the blitz and gets the ball out of his hand quickly. The throw is high causing the WR to have to jump to try and make the catch. The ball deflects off the WR’s hands and falls incomplete, an opportunity or a big gain is missed from a poor throw. Manziel also could have looked to his right and delivered an easy throw to the out route towards the sidelines.
Situation: 1st & 10. 37. 3:27 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 2
This is a very nice play from Manziel, the Bengals are in Cover 2 with the Nickelback covering up the slot WR. Manziel recognizes that the Nickelback will get his hands onto the slot WR as he runs his route, freeing up the slant route from the outside WR. Manziel drops back and delivers a nicely timed and accurate pass to the WR for a gain of 16 yards.
Situation: 4th & 10. 21. 2:41 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 0
From a pre-snap perspective, Manziel already knows the Bengals are bringing the blitz and will be in man-to-man coverage since there is no Safety over top of the coverage. Manziel recognizes he must get the ball out quickly to his WR running a slant route to his left. The ball is completed, but you would like to see Manziel snap out of his bad habit of falling away on his throws. If the CB were in tighter coverage it could have been a turnover due to the ball being inaccurately thrown.
Situation: 2nd & 10. 46. 0:59 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 1
You don’t tend to see quick screen’s on a QB film breakdown but this particular one needs to be addressed. The quick screen game is essentially an extension of the running game, the QB delivers the ball to the WR and he runs behind blockers for a short gain. In order for this to be effective, the QB has to deliver the ball accurately for the WR to catch it in stride. On this play, Manziel delivers a very poor throw causing the WR to jump to catch the pass before trying to gain yardage. Manziel must work on these ‘automatic’ throws in order to become a complete QB.
Situation: 2nd & 14. -10. 11:39 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 12 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
This is a very nice play from Manziel in a traditional QB sense. In a pro-I formation, Manziel does a nice job of seeing the play action all the way through and scanning the defense to see that his deeper routes have been taken away before getting his head around and planting his feet to find his TE in the flat. Seeing these throws really makes me believe that Manziel can keep progressing into a good starting QB in this league.
Situation: 1st & 10. -20. 3:27 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 10 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
On this play, Manziel shows great patience to allow the play develop in order to find a good throwing window. With the inside WR running a bubble screen, it causes the Nickelback and LB to flow in that direction. The slot WR is running a slant behind the flowing defenders. Manziel waits until the WR is clear of any defenders and throws an accurate pass into a tight window. The WR ultimately fumbles the ball while running but nonetheless it was still a very nice throw.
Situation: 1st & 10. -20. 15:00 3rd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
Manziel is at his best on the run and this play is exactly how he should be used in most cases. The play fake sucks in the LB’s and Manziel bootlegs to his right, looking for a target to come open. His WR dragging across the field comes into his vision from behind the LB’s and Manziel is able to hit him in stride in order to pick up an easy 1st down.
Situation: 2nd & 17. -23. 13:39 3rd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
Another nice play from Manziel here, even in the face of the blitz. With the inside WR uncovered Manziel recognizes that he will be open at the snap of the ball. The LB is coming on a blitz and Manziel is able to throw a quick strike to his WR before he gets to the Safety. The result of the play is 15 yards setting up a manageable 3rd down.
Situation: 2nd & 8. -22. 8:32 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
This is another impressive progression by Manziel. With the Steelers playing a soft zone, his deep routes are taken away, leaving his underneath routes open. His first choice is to go to his slot WR running a dig route, this is taken away by the dropping LB and the Nickelback reading Manziel’s eyes. The use of his eyes allows his outside WR running a curl route to become free. Manziel hits him on an easy throw and the result is a 21 yard gain.
Situation: 1st & 1o. 15. 7:09 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: 2-Man
With the good comes the bad for a young QB. After beating the Steelers with quick throws throughout the game, they finally decided to sit on the quick vertical throws. Manziel snaps the ball and before he realizes that the defenders are not giving any ground to his WR’s, he delivers the ball and it is nearly intercepted. Every option was covered so it would’ve been nice to see Manziel tuck the ball and run or throw it away to avoid a turnover of any sorts.
Situation: 3rd & 15. 20. 6:59 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 01 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
This is a poor play by Manziel and one that can not be made in competitive games. The Steelers are in Cover 3 in order to eliminate deep passes. The Browns run a three verticals concept with the inside WR dragging across the field. Manziel does a good job of buying time in the pocket but he needs to make a decision before he leaves the pocket. At the bottom of the screen, the two vertical routes are being split by one safety, that’s where the ball should go had it been delivered on time. Manziel instead opts to scramble outside and throw up a jump ball that is ultimately caught but could have just as easily been an interception. These types of plays may have worked in college but they won’t in the NFL.
View Manziel’s Intermediate throws on Page 2
View Manziel’s Long throws on Page 3
Intermediate Passes (10-20 yards)
In my opinion this is the area Manziel needs to work on most, drives are continued with passes in this area and Manziel needs to work on his accuracy and footwork on these types of throws.
Situation: 2nd & 5. 5. 3:37 3rd.
Offensive Personnel: 12 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 1
Manziel displays good awareness and ability to extend the play but he throws a poor pass at the finish of the play. The original read of the crossing route is taken away and Manziel does a good job of seeing the opposite field Safety dropping into his zone. Manziel then avoids the blitz and his WR does a good job of getting open for him. It seems he has an easy throw over top of the LB in coverage, but Manziel leads him too far and the WR can’t make the catch. The result of the drive is a FG, but it needs to be a TD.
Situation: 1st & 10. -20. 10:38 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 1
This is a beautiful play on Manziel’s part, he recognizes the 1-on-1 coverage to his left hand side before the snap, and as the ball is snapped he sees the blitz coming from the LB’s. Manziel takes his drop and steps into his throw, making a nice throw with little room for error with the CB trailing the WR.
Situation: 1st & 10. 40. 8:33 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 12 Personnel
Opponent: Tennessee Titans
Coverage: Cover 3
Johnny Manziel doing what Johnny Manziel does best on this play. Manziel stays in the pocket long enough before the edge of the Titans defense collapses and then rolls to his right. The WR to the outside runs an out route but once Manziel breaks the pocket he takes off up field before getting open. Manziel delivers a nice pass to his WR for a gain of 18 yards.
Situation: 2nd & 9. 9. 0:23 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 02 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Coverage 1
Manziel does the right thing to leave the pocket when it breaks down because no one is open. Once he breaks the pocket, his WR in the endzone rolls with him in the back of the endzone. Rolling to his left definitely makes it a tougher throw for a right handed QB, but Manziel still makes a nice throw and hits his WR in the hands but he is unable to reel in the catch.
Situation: 3rd & 5. 12. 0:27 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 1
Manziel once again makes a nice play with his feet here. The Browns run a 4 verticals concept with the RB running underneath. The pocket collapses with pressure from Manziel’s right but he is able to escape to his right side. Manziel is able to throw a strike to his RB, a little behind, but enough power behind it to get to his target before the defenders. The result of the play is a TD.
Situation: 1st & 10. -20. 13:36 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 1
On this play, Manziel shows courage in the pocket to deliver the ball as he gets hit but the throw is risky. Manziel tries to squeeze it in over top of a LB and in front of a CB. Although Manziel makes a good throw, this is a throw he probably shouldn’t attempt. Manziel could look to his left and deliver the ball to the slant. But then again all of this is happening in a millisecond so in hindsight it all looks easier.
Situation: 3rd & 10. -24. 7:29 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 1
The Browns once again run a 4 verticals concept, with the TE breaking off his route. I am not a fan of this throw because I think Manziel is just trying to let his WR make a play but the CB has great coverage. The ball could have been easily intercepted as Manziel tries to throw it to his WR’s back shoulder.
Situation: 3rd & 14. -37. 1:28 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
This is one of the better throws you will see from Manziel this season. A 5-step drop, Manziel takes his drop and throws the ball on time and accurately to his WR coming out of his break. Had this throw not been on time it would have allowed the underneath defender to possibly move into position to defend the pass. If Manziel can continue making throws like this he will be successful.
Situation: 1st & 10. 46. 1:04 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
Manziel has been pretty successful on bootlegs thus far, this is not an example of that. While Manziel rolls right, the defense rolls with him. Manziel spots his target dragging across with him but he is unable to hit him on the run. Although his WR does not help him much by stopping on his route for some reason.
Situation: 2nd & 6. -46. 6:47 3rd.
Offensive Personnel: 01 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
Another nice throw on a timing route from Manziel here, and I have definitely seen an improvement in this area from his 1st start to his most recent. He throws this one a little late but displays good arm strength to fit this ball into a tight window. The WR breaks his route down in front of 3 defenders and Manziel puts the ball right on his chest for a gain of 16 yards.
Situation: 2nd & 6. 7. 12:33 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 0
With the pre-snap read of Cover 0, Manziel knows that he has his TE in 1-on-1 coverage with a smaller CB. Theses are the types of plays that you throw the ball up and let your target make a play. The TE does a nice job of beating the jam off the line and he lofts the ball up to him nicely where he can run under it for the TD. Nice touch displayed by Manziel on this play.
Situation: 1st & 10. -43. 8:12 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coverage: Cover 3
An impressive throw here from Manziel, displaying touch and accuracy to loft it over the defenders. The Browns once again run a 4 vertical concept and with the Nickelback jamming the slot WR and letting him go, he sees a small window to fit the ball into and is able to get it to the WR before he gets to the Safety. The result is a gain of 20.
View Manziel’s Long throws on Page 3
Long Passes (20+ yards)
The big play is Johnny Manziel’s specialty, and this season he has been successful on the few long throws that he has attempted. This is defintiely a positive part of his game because he has a chance to score on any play.
Situation: 3rd & 19. -46. 11:08 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: New York Jets
Coverage: Cover 3
3rd and long has often been a running down for the Browns but here Johnny shows he’s a gambler and he goes deep. Once again the Browns run their common 4 vertical play and Manziel recognizes that there is no Safety help over the top. Once he sees his WR get even with the defender, he loads up and is able to hit him in stride for the long TD.
Situation: 2nd & 8. -40. 12:59 1st.
Offensive Personnel: 12 Personnel
Opponent: Tennessee Titans
Coverage: Shallow 2-Man
The first thing you will notice about this play is the play fake gets the Safeties to bite completely. Once Manziel turns around and sees this he knows that he has 1-on-1 coverage with his WR going deep. Manziel does a good job of competely setting himself and stepping into his throw. His WR has to slow down just slightly but the result is still another TD.
Situation: 2nd & 13. -39. 14:26 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 13 Personnel
Opponent: Tennessee Titans
Coverage: Cover 3
Manziel has had some success going deep so far and on this play he gets greedy. The Browns only run 3 routes on this play with max protection, so it is designed to go deep. His WR gets inside position but Manziel does not see the Safety with over the top help. This throw could have been easily intercepted but luckily it falls incomplete. I would like to see Manziel check down to his RB on this play.
Situation: 3rd & 6. 50. 3:01 4th.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Tennessee Titans
Coverage: Cover 1
When I think of Johnny Manziel, this is the type of play I think of. The Titans bring pressure off the edge but he has enough awareness to recognize it and then the agility to escape the blitzer. With him out of the pocket, the Safety sucks up to stop him from running. Manziel sees his WR coming across the field and turns his shoulders, sets his feet and hits his WR in stride for the game clinching TD. This is what people expected when Johnny Manziel came to the NFL.
Situation: 2nd & 10. -20. 3:13 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 7
Once again Johnny makes a really impressive play rolling to his left and delivering a nice ball. Once the pocket breaks down Manziel does a good job of stepping through the open lane to get clear vision of the field. His RB continues his route until Manziel sees him and then lofts a nice pass over top of the shallow defenders right into the hands of his target for a gain of 26.
Situation: 2nd & 9. -47. 2:00 2nd.
Offensive Personnel: 11 Personnel
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coverage: Cover 3
The Bengals jump offside on this play and Manziel does a good job of taking advantage of the free play. Once again the pocket breaks down around him and Manziel shows good awareness to climb in the pocket to clear his vision. The Bengals blow their coverage and Manziel is able to hit his TE on a corner route for a big gain of 25.
The popular opinion seems to be that Johnny Manziel does not have what it takes to be a good QB in the NFL, I believe he does have the ability to be very successful in this league. Manziel has improved from game 1 to game 4 this season in his progression, his decision making and his timing. He has been smart with the football and his decisions of where to throw it. He displays big play ability, something the Browns have not had since 2007, with the ability to score on any play at any time. He takes chances on deep passes and has the accuracy and touch to deliver intermediate throws to his WR’s in tight windows. Manziel receives a lot of attention for his off the field issues and for some of the mistakes he has made on the field this season, but the tape doesn’t lie, he has the talent and ability to be a good QB in this league especially once he gets a better team surrounding him. Keep an eye on him throughout the rest of the season and see if you notice his progression, accuracy and decision making.
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