Johnny Manziel was about as bad as the Cleveland Browns could have imagined Sunday in his first regular-season NFL start. Two first-half interceptions and another pick wiped out by a penalty illustrated why the Browns turned to their rookie quarterback only as a last resort, well after it had become clear Brian Hoyer wasn't playing well enough to win consistently.
The Browns were looking for a spark from Manziel, but instead they got an implosion in his debut. Manziel finished Cleveland's 30-0 home loss to Cincinnati with 80 yards passing on 18 attempts. His 1.0 Total QBR score was the lowest for an NFL starter this season.
Odd as it sounds, this was just the type of disaster Manziel needed to shorten the long odds against him becoming a consistently productive quarterback in the NFL. A couple of more rough outings to close the 2014 season would help even more. It's unconventional thinking, but the conventional kind does not apply to Manziel -- for reasons we'll explore in the first of my 10 takeaways from Week 15.
1. Manziel must fail early before he can succeed.
David Carr and Alex Smith lived the classic cautionary tales early in their careers, suffering through enough hardship to imperil their football futures. No one is suggesting a five-year run of futility would help Manziel become a good player. But three rough games to end the season might do the trick. A former general manager felt strongly about this when I asked him about Manziel back in August.
"I personally think [Manziel] will be good, but he will fail first," the former GM said at the time. "If Manziel has success early, look out. He will not mature. If Manziel falls on his face and realizes how hard he has to work, it will help. He is too competitive. When he realizes how tough it is, he will have to go about it a different way."
