Johnny Manziel's stink bomb of a debut has drawn criticism from every corner, but Browns play-caller Kyle Shanahan hasn't given up on his rookie quarterback.
"Johnny is a real impressive guy," Shanahan told reporters Thursday, per The Plain Dealer. "I don't think everybody knows really what Johnny is about, and Johnny is very humble. Johnny is a real dude. He's not going to sit there and BS me or anything. We all were embarrassed by that game."
Manziel's Total QBR of 1.0 in Sunday's 30-0 loss to the Bengals was the lowest by any starting passer with at least 10 attempts in a game all season. He looked lost on the field, but he wasn't helped by a dead-on-arrival ground game or a Browns defense that gave up yardage and points in bunches.
"Anytime you don't put up points -- it's not just Johnny -- all of us are extremely embarrassed about that," Shanahan said. "We want to get back to Sunday, and Sunday couldn't come quick enough."
Shanahan dismissed talk that Manziel is embarked on a three-game tryout for the starting job, citing "lots of quarterbacks around this league who've been playing for five years that people still aren't quite sure about."
Fair point, but Manziel is under pressure to show something Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. If the next two games resemble the Bengals debacle, Cleveland remains a candidate to sign a veteran arm this offseason or even draft another signal-caller to compete for the job.
Shanahan isn't ready to think that way, though, telling reporters point blank: "I feel the same about Johnny as I always have. Johnny is a playmaker. He's done that throughout his career. Nobody can argue with that at all."
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