Sports Editor
Johnny
Manziel, college football’s most polarizing player for the past two years,
finally made his long awaited, much hyped debut on Sunday. After being drafted
22nd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, Manziel
was benched for the first 14 weeks of the season in favor of incumbent starter
Brian Hoyer. After Hoyer began struggling, Manziel was finally afforded his
first opportunity as a starter when it was announced that he would start the
Browns’ week 15 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
With
the Browns’ management desperately trying to inject life into a late season
playoff push and Cleveland fans energized by Manziel’s rise to starter status,
he played his first NFL game at last. His
performance was laughable. The diminutive quarterback completed ten of 18
passes for 80 yards with two interceptions, while rushing for 13 yards on five
carries. The Browns lost 30-0, and Manziel finished with a Total Quarterback
Rating of 1.0 (on a scale of 0-100).
It
is impossible to judge a player off of their first career start, so Manziel
cannot be called a Tim Tebow-esque bust just yet. His performance was certainly
concerning, but Browns coach Mike Pettine emphasized that the rest of the team played
poorly around his quarterback, and assured that Manziel would start next week’s
game against the Carolina Panthers.
