Cleveland's season didn't start according to plan.After putting under center all offseason, the saw their veteran starter with a head injury 13 minutes into the new campaign.Thrusting onto the field, Cleveland's coaching staff was forced to attack a stingy defense with an inexperienced quarterback who mi sed the last half of the preseason with elbow sorene s.With McCown still mired in the league's concu sion protocol, Manziel will get his first start of the year this Sunday .What can we expect based on how he performed against the ?The GoodEven his first pa s suggested changes to Manziel's preparation and execution.On second-and-13, out of the gun, Johnny stood in the pocket despite linebacker coursing in off the edge. With an instant to react, Manziel works to set his feet and uncork the ball to an open :He needs to step into more of his throws, but the footwork is cleaner than what we saw last season against the :Against New York, he used his feet three plays later on third-and-4, escaping a diving behind a crumbling line to scamper for 22 yards to the ' 17. Manziel showed good vision in open space, leaving in the dust and wisely sliding before taking a hit. Coaches Film shows all four Cleveland targets well-covered. Under pre sure, Manziel made a wise decision, although a flag wiped out the play:One snap later, Manziel -- sore elbow and all -- showed solid arm strength with this on-the-money to s to . It was a quick-decision throw to a wideout who had Cromartie easily beat in coverage with the safety out of place:Let's look at one more play where Manziel stays home in the pocket. All four targets are covered out of the chute, but Johnny waits patiently for his tight end to break Chris Murphy Jersey free. drops the ball, but this marks progre s from a young quarterback who danced around a year ago:Where the team e sentially balanced two playbooks in 2014 -- one for Manziel and another for -- play-caller John DeFilippo said Thursday that he "didn't change the game plan one bit" once Johnny took the field, adding: "That's a credit to him.""If you didn't notice a change in , then I don't know," said DeFilippo. "Did he run when the lane was there? Yeah. Did we get down and was he trying to do a little bit too much at times? Probably. I think that just comes with the maturation of understanding situational football. You can't get two scores back on one drive, and I think the more he plays and the more he learns those things, the better he'll get."More work to doManziel didn't have the preseason reps to get into rhythm with his targets. pa s-catchers dropped three balls against the , while Cleveland committed an outrageous 12 penalties and struggled to block New York's intense front line.Johnny walked into a tough situation, but he also left points on the board. He could have put the up by a touchdown with more fine se on this high-pitched ball to an open in the end zone:His lone interception came off a poor decision. With blanketing along the sideline, Manziel puts the ball where Hartline has no shot at it -- but Williams does:An equal concern: Manziel's ball-control i sues in open space. He lost a pair of fumbles, the first on a scramble and the second on a sack. These giveaways sealed the game for New York. No NFL starter can hand away po se sions like this and keep his job. What's Next?At just under 6-feet, Manziel's size is a concern. He looks faster to me than he did last season. He also comes acro s as a completely different player. There was le s freelancing and more of a commitment to stay home in the pocket and make a throw.Johnny's mobility also hurt the and will remain a nightmare for defenses if he wisely uses his feet. The question is whether he has the build, the durability and the arm strength to last multiple NFL seasons."Coach Landry taught me something when I was a very young coach trying to make my way. He said, 'If you start tak
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