I really need these people who want to temper our enthusiasm after the win over the Niners to shut up, ok? And quit telling me not to burn down mosques, by the way. Stop trying to impress everybody by talking to them like they're children.
Others need to quit cherry-picking Manziel's mistakes out of what he did well as if he's a seasoned veteran, because he's not. For all intents and purposes, he's a rookie, and he can't be held to that standard...yet.
By that standard, Marcus Mariota is a bust. Winston is mediocre.
In reality, Manziel is light years ahead of where many of us thought he'd be six games into his career. Including me.
His stats were efficient, but not overwhelming. That's mostly because for a change he had lots of help from his running game and defense. The run was working, so they stuck with it. They didn't fall behind, so they didn't have to pass that much.
Against Pittsburgh, when he was behind and they couldn't run, he threw for 370 yards. View the two games in context, and you have a more accurate picture of this young quarterback.
Of course, Seattle is a different story. The Steelers secondary doesn't compare to the Legion of Boom.
Throw out San Fransisco. The Browns defense against the Steelers managed to hold the run in check, and might be able to do that to Seattle's third and fourth running backs. That's a faint ray of hope.
But Russell Wilson is a far more advanced version of Manziel, and can work without that net.
For this team and Johnny, Seattle really is the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
More rays of hope can be derived from both of Johnny's recent starts, though. Sure, San Francisco sucks, but they'd beaten Chicago and were thought to be on the upswing. Vegas had the game as almost a pick, and the fantasy gurus called (ahem) Reuben Draugns a "must-start"...
I figured the Browns would probably win a close one, but was pretty shocked by how thoroughly they dominated that team.
Yes, we must keep it in context. This was a bad team. But the way the Browns crushed them was shocking.
I say that this whole team hasn't just taken a step. They've made a leap.
Johnny, and the energy he brings, could be part of that. Suddenly, both sides of the ball looked like what was drawn up on the white board before the season began.
No, I don't think they can beat the Seahawks in that noise machine. But maybe they can give them a hard time, and make them work for it.
Their one chance to actually win is Terrelle Pryor. He was in for sixteen snaps vs San Fran, but Johnny never threw to him. Say, was he blocking downfield on Crowell's two big runs? Hmmm...
At any rate, I don't believe that the Seahawks will go out of their way to put Richard Sherman on him, and he might be targeted more in this game.
Barnidge is another factor. Seattle doesn't handle tight ends that well. Even Benjamin: if Sherman is matched with him, that's a mismatch in the microbe's favor.
Wilson is all that, but now has lost Rawls. Rawls was maybe even as good as Beastmode, but the guys he's got now are basically Draughnses. It means the defense can attack on every down (as long as they stay in their lanes and don't let that little guy get loose).
But no, I don't think the Browns will win. Hard to find a win in K C or Pittsburgh, either...but they'll have a better shot there than here.
Bob Condatta, a Seattle writer, wrote a good, objective story on Manziel and this game.
I no longer worry about the first overall pick. I don't believe the Browns will need a quarterback, and if they do, there are several of them.
I like Davis too. And McCown should have another year left.
I'm jumping the gun on Johnny? No I'm not. For him to be playing this well this early in his career with the receivers he has tells me all I need to know.
If Seattle makes him look bad, the permabashers will be hopping up and down shouting "See? I told you! Case closed!"
Then I'll list the other quarterbacks this defense has embarrassed, and tell them to take a pill.
Still, I fantasize about an actual win here...then I wake up. Oh well.
The talk of a Manziel trade was dumb before and it's dumber now. He is doing a lot of what he does from the pocket, just like Wilson and Brees. A new coach who wouldn't want him isn't worth hiring.
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