[h=1]Gruden QB Camp: Johnny Manziel[/h][h=3]How Manziel reminds of Steve Young, more observations from Jon Gruden[/h]
By Jon Gruden | As told to Mike Sando
EPN INSIDER
ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando went to Orlando, Fla., to watch Jon Gruden's QB Camp taping with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. He has written up Gruden's five biggest takeaways from the interview and throwing sessions below, in Gruden's voice.
1. Steve Young is who I see when I watch Johnny Manziel's tape
Now, it's the Steve Young we saw coming out of BYU, not the finished product who won a Super Bowl and became a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But the similarities are there, and it's exciting: He's very fast, all over the place athletically, very similar size. My dad was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they took Young in the supplemental draft back in 1984. I remember him studying a lot of Young's tape at BYU and with the L.A. Express (USFL). There's a lot of common ground: their size, speed, playmaking ability and upside. The upside is tremendous.
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I love this kid, but he is not a finished product. This is a young player, very young. He has just turned 21 years old. This is not a fifth-year senior. This is a guy who had two seasons of college eligibility left. But he is a rare playmaker. He has had incredible production in what people think is the most difficult conference in football. It wasn't very difficult for him. He ran for 1,410 yards and 7.0 yards per carry as a freshman. I didn't even see Bo Jackson do that as a freshman [Editor's note: Jackson rushed for 829 yards his freshman season, with a 6.5 yards-per-carry average]. And he threw for 7,820 yards in two seasons.
The production is off the charts. His passion for the game and his guts are as good as there is. Now, he needs to improve in his technical knowledge of the game, of the position, of the league he is going into. This is true for every quarterback entering the NFL as a rookie, but particularly for a player as young as he is.
<!-- begin inline 1 --><!-- INLINE MODULE -->[h=4]Conversation: Gruden and Manziel[/h]Jon's interview session with Johnny was full of entertaining exchanges. This was one of my favorites. --Mike Sando
Jon Gruden: You are crazy, aren't you, the way you play the game?
Johnny Manziel: Sir, I believe so.
Gruden: When I say clock in head, what am I saying?
Manziel: I feel it naturally. I know what you are talking about based off times I'm going through my progessions, and you feel almost like you are on a game show or something. You feel it: tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.
Gruden: Your clock -- sometimes, it almost looks faster at times than others. Right here [points to a play on screen], what would I say to you?
Manziel: Hit this under.
Gruden: Get on with it. What is it about you sometimes, Johnny, that doesn't allow that to happen?
Manziel: Just trying to make that great play every time instead of trying to make it whenever it is asked or whenever it is needed.
Gruden: When I say high risk, high reward, what are the risks I'm talking about?
Manziel: Risks of taking hits like that. [Referencing hit on screen.]
Gruden: Don't want to see you get a lot of those hits. You see my friend No. 1 here? [On screen, Aggies running back Ben Malena is open for a short completion.] This could have been the first checkdown in the history of Aggie football.
<!-- END INLINE MODULE --><!-- end inline 1 -->2. Manziel aced the workout I put him through, and he can make all the throws
That was just an exclamation point on his ability. This guy has got great ability, natural passing ability. He has very big hands. We had him throw some brand-new footballs without any laces on them to simulate game situations when there isn't time to spin the ball into ideal throwing position. He can control a ball that is brand new, without laces.
You can just tell by the trajectory, the accuracy, the way the ball spins and the release, the timing. It didn't matter if he was in a seven-step drop, three-step, five-step, shotgun, one-step, no laces. The guy can play. He can make all the throws. The footballs got wet at times when we were out on the field. It was windy. I thought he performed well with receivers he has never met or worked with.
3. Manziel can energize a franchise
I'd like to see him go early to one of these teams that is starving for a quarterback, to give them hope. Manziel gives somebody a reason to go down to the local season-ticket office. He gives a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars or Cleveland Browns or Oakland Raiders a name, an exciting player. He said it: "My brand of football is exciting."
Now, if he goes to one of those teams, he might have to play early. That is feasible, but someone is going to have to fast-track him. They will probably have to do some things that he is comfortable doing, that he has had success doing and, at the same time, feed him and bring him along in some of the areas where they would like to see him grow. But he can throw, he can scramble and I do think he has a good head on his shoulders. He needs training. He needs time. Unfortunately, being drafted by a team that needs a starting QB isn't the way to get time.
4. 'Dusty' tells the story of Manziel
We don't have to go for the home run every play; second-and-3 is OK. Manziel needs to learn that. The way I made that point to him was through a play called "72 Dusty X Individual" (or "73 Dusty X Individual," depending on the protection). "Dusty" stands for double under when we've got two receivers running underneath routes on the trips side of the formation. And then, we have the "X" receiver on the back side. I saw A&M run it probably 25 or 30 times. Everyone in the NFL runs it. I know how to read it. That is common ground, so I can evaluate off it.
All we want to do is pick a side. We're either going to work the Dusty side with three receivers or the X receiver on the other side if we get a great look over there. Really, we're going to check it down a lot of the time. And I think it somewhat tells the story of Johnny Manziel. You watch him run Dusty and you go, "Wow! What a beautiful corner route. Great job." And then on the next one, "Wow! What are you doing? Why did you do that?"
Take the game against Alabama. He's already been shredding their defense. He's got the unders open on Dusty, but it's not enough for him. He's late on the throw, and the backside safety gets a good break, and, suddenly, we're watching replays to see if there is a roughness penalty on the incompletion. Hit the unders and get on with the game. I want him to eliminate those bad results on the routine plays. Dusty is a routine play. When I call "22 Hank" and the primary is open, throw him the ball every time. That is why I am calling the play: I think he is going to be open. If he is not open, you can throw the curl or to the flat. When I call Dusty, when I call "Z In," when I call "Flanker Drive," when I call "X Shallow," when I call another concept, we're going to read it like this, this and this.
5. Johnny Football must learn to win with his arm
If you need your quarterback to shake and bake and get the hell out of there because a protection broke down, Manziel can do that. You are getting a guy with those types of resources. He ultimately needs to be a three-headed monster. He has to use his legs when he needs to, he has to use his football mind on every single snap -- eliminating the negative plays -- and then he has to lean on his right arm. He needs to learn to win with just his arm.
I do think Manziel has a good arm. He has really good deep-ball accuracy. I have seen him drive it. I have seen him get rid of it quick. I have even seen him throw it without laces quickly and accurately. There is a lot to work with there, but don't get bored with success. You don't go broke making a profit on every play. I just feel like the offense he played in at Texas A&M was a high-risk, high-reward type of offense. I think he has put himself at personal risk there taking hits. I think his durability was an issue late in his career at A&M, and I think it hurt their football team.
With Manziel, you are getting a blank canvas in some areas. He hasn't been underneath the center. He hasn't been asked to use a lot of different types of snap counts. They didn't even use a snap count on the road. So if you listen carefully, there are some things that this kid is going to have to really learn and experience for the first time. That is kind of cool, too.
I just think he is the kind of kid who is going to continue to get better, and he is going to continue to compete, and, at the end of the day, if you put him in the right system and give him the right amount of support, you are going to have a helluva quarterback.
By Jon Gruden | As told to Mike Sando
EPN INSIDER
ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando went to Orlando, Fla., to watch Jon Gruden's QB Camp taping with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. He has written up Gruden's five biggest takeaways from the interview and throwing sessions below, in Gruden's voice.
1. Steve Young is who I see when I watch Johnny Manziel's tape
Now, it's the Steve Young we saw coming out of BYU, not the finished product who won a Super Bowl and became a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But the similarities are there, and it's exciting: He's very fast, all over the place athletically, very similar size. My dad was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they took Young in the supplemental draft back in 1984. I remember him studying a lot of Young's tape at BYU and with the L.A. Express (USFL). There's a lot of common ground: their size, speed, playmaking ability and upside. The upside is tremendous.
<OFFER></OFFER>
I love this kid, but he is not a finished product. This is a young player, very young. He has just turned 21 years old. This is not a fifth-year senior. This is a guy who had two seasons of college eligibility left. But he is a rare playmaker. He has had incredible production in what people think is the most difficult conference in football. It wasn't very difficult for him. He ran for 1,410 yards and 7.0 yards per carry as a freshman. I didn't even see Bo Jackson do that as a freshman [Editor's note: Jackson rushed for 829 yards his freshman season, with a 6.5 yards-per-carry average]. And he threw for 7,820 yards in two seasons.
The production is off the charts. His passion for the game and his guts are as good as there is. Now, he needs to improve in his technical knowledge of the game, of the position, of the league he is going into. This is true for every quarterback entering the NFL as a rookie, but particularly for a player as young as he is.
<!-- begin inline 1 --><!-- INLINE MODULE -->[h=4]Conversation: Gruden and Manziel[/h]Jon's interview session with Johnny was full of entertaining exchanges. This was one of my favorites. --Mike Sando
Jon Gruden: You are crazy, aren't you, the way you play the game?
Johnny Manziel: Sir, I believe so.
Gruden: When I say clock in head, what am I saying?
Manziel: I feel it naturally. I know what you are talking about based off times I'm going through my progessions, and you feel almost like you are on a game show or something. You feel it: tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.
Gruden: Your clock -- sometimes, it almost looks faster at times than others. Right here [points to a play on screen], what would I say to you?
Manziel: Hit this under.
Gruden: Get on with it. What is it about you sometimes, Johnny, that doesn't allow that to happen?
Manziel: Just trying to make that great play every time instead of trying to make it whenever it is asked or whenever it is needed.
Gruden: When I say high risk, high reward, what are the risks I'm talking about?
Manziel: Risks of taking hits like that. [Referencing hit on screen.]
Gruden: Don't want to see you get a lot of those hits. You see my friend No. 1 here? [On screen, Aggies running back Ben Malena is open for a short completion.] This could have been the first checkdown in the history of Aggie football.
<!-- END INLINE MODULE --><!-- end inline 1 -->2. Manziel aced the workout I put him through, and he can make all the throws
That was just an exclamation point on his ability. This guy has got great ability, natural passing ability. He has very big hands. We had him throw some brand-new footballs without any laces on them to simulate game situations when there isn't time to spin the ball into ideal throwing position. He can control a ball that is brand new, without laces.
You can just tell by the trajectory, the accuracy, the way the ball spins and the release, the timing. It didn't matter if he was in a seven-step drop, three-step, five-step, shotgun, one-step, no laces. The guy can play. He can make all the throws. The footballs got wet at times when we were out on the field. It was windy. I thought he performed well with receivers he has never met or worked with.
3. Manziel can energize a franchise
I'd like to see him go early to one of these teams that is starving for a quarterback, to give them hope. Manziel gives somebody a reason to go down to the local season-ticket office. He gives a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars or Cleveland Browns or Oakland Raiders a name, an exciting player. He said it: "My brand of football is exciting."
Now, if he goes to one of those teams, he might have to play early. That is feasible, but someone is going to have to fast-track him. They will probably have to do some things that he is comfortable doing, that he has had success doing and, at the same time, feed him and bring him along in some of the areas where they would like to see him grow. But he can throw, he can scramble and I do think he has a good head on his shoulders. He needs training. He needs time. Unfortunately, being drafted by a team that needs a starting QB isn't the way to get time.
4. 'Dusty' tells the story of Manziel
We don't have to go for the home run every play; second-and-3 is OK. Manziel needs to learn that. The way I made that point to him was through a play called "72 Dusty X Individual" (or "73 Dusty X Individual," depending on the protection). "Dusty" stands for double under when we've got two receivers running underneath routes on the trips side of the formation. And then, we have the "X" receiver on the back side. I saw A&M run it probably 25 or 30 times. Everyone in the NFL runs it. I know how to read it. That is common ground, so I can evaluate off it.
All we want to do is pick a side. We're either going to work the Dusty side with three receivers or the X receiver on the other side if we get a great look over there. Really, we're going to check it down a lot of the time. And I think it somewhat tells the story of Johnny Manziel. You watch him run Dusty and you go, "Wow! What a beautiful corner route. Great job." And then on the next one, "Wow! What are you doing? Why did you do that?"
Take the game against Alabama. He's already been shredding their defense. He's got the unders open on Dusty, but it's not enough for him. He's late on the throw, and the backside safety gets a good break, and, suddenly, we're watching replays to see if there is a roughness penalty on the incompletion. Hit the unders and get on with the game. I want him to eliminate those bad results on the routine plays. Dusty is a routine play. When I call "22 Hank" and the primary is open, throw him the ball every time. That is why I am calling the play: I think he is going to be open. If he is not open, you can throw the curl or to the flat. When I call Dusty, when I call "Z In," when I call "Flanker Drive," when I call "X Shallow," when I call another concept, we're going to read it like this, this and this.
5. Johnny Football must learn to win with his arm
If you need your quarterback to shake and bake and get the hell out of there because a protection broke down, Manziel can do that. You are getting a guy with those types of resources. He ultimately needs to be a three-headed monster. He has to use his legs when he needs to, he has to use his football mind on every single snap -- eliminating the negative plays -- and then he has to lean on his right arm. He needs to learn to win with just his arm.
I do think Manziel has a good arm. He has really good deep-ball accuracy. I have seen him drive it. I have seen him get rid of it quick. I have even seen him throw it without laces quickly and accurately. There is a lot to work with there, but don't get bored with success. You don't go broke making a profit on every play. I just feel like the offense he played in at Texas A&M was a high-risk, high-reward type of offense. I think he has put himself at personal risk there taking hits. I think his durability was an issue late in his career at A&M, and I think it hurt their football team.
With Manziel, you are getting a blank canvas in some areas. He hasn't been underneath the center. He hasn't been asked to use a lot of different types of snap counts. They didn't even use a snap count on the road. So if you listen carefully, there are some things that this kid is going to have to really learn and experience for the first time. That is kind of cool, too.
I just think he is the kind of kid who is going to continue to get better, and he is going to continue to compete, and, at the end of the day, if you put him in the right system and give him the right amount of support, you are going to have a helluva quarterback.
