Purplemania wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_tdCDj4dNY
0:47 should've stepped up into a perfect pocket, instead runs outside
0:56 what the heck is that???? tell me that isn't happy feet. The guy is panicking with no defenders within 3 yards! He decides to take off, defender steps up, and he luckily found a guy.
2:20 no need to explain the Doug Flutieness of this one.
2:42 once again, a nice pocket to throw from, but as soon as Manziel steps back, his feet can't stay still, decides to run.
0:47 - see's his guy coming open and shifts too the right for a better throwing lane. It's a good idea so the DL men in front of him can't try and jump to bat the pass down = touchdown.
0:56 - No happy feet there, it's called shifting around in the pocket, no one's open, he buys time, eventually pressure DOES get near him and he escapes it while keeping his eyes' down field = touch down.
These 2 plays alone tell me right now that he see's the field about a million times better than Ponder does. When he's shifting and sliding around that's just him using his foot work, it's not happy feet in the sense that it's destroying his throwing mechanics or he's decided to run and he's keeping his eye's down field the whole time that he does it, that's how he completes the passing TD! Ponder in similar situations for example would ALWAYS be looking to run in those situations, Manziel just threw 2 touch downs out of it, pretty impressive.
2:20 - Agreed, it's a play that could end badly in the NFL and people like to FOCUS on these types of plays but honestly they seem pretty rare to me.
2:42 - Looks like he's looking down field the whole time again and my guess is the WR's in the middle of the field were covered, he doesn't see the WR at the top of the screen and doesn't want to take the check down for 2 yards, instead picks up more on the ground. This isn't a problem imo, Manziel isn't a run first QB, but his legs are dangerous enough as a scrambling QB that when his WR's are covered the play isn't just dead and he has to throw it away, he can still make something out of it.
Now some plays I want to bring attention too
0:23 - His hot read and the design of the play is the quick throw to #23 but he sees the DB at the 25 yard line already breaking on it, instead he pulls it back down, goes to read #2 and completes it to Evans. Once again his ability to see the field is uncanny on this play, what could be a minimal gain at best or a pick 6 at worst becomes a TD when he finds a better option.
1:58 - Here's that speed I like to see, the DE isn't blocked but he just beats him anyway. You can argue an NFL DE might catch him but I doubt it. It's not about top end speed here, it's the acceleration that a 275 pound lineman won't have. We see athletic QB's in the NFL run away from lineman all the time.
2:04 - aside from bumping into the back (not sure who's at fault there) looks pretty solid out of play action on the goal line, with AD that's almost automatic. I love how accurate he is on the move.
3:28 - Nice pocket forms, but watch his helmet, you'll see he's looking right, goes to his next read on the left, comes back to the right, looks left again, and finally fires to the WR streaking over the middle. He's scanning the field and going through his reads, too me, when it comes to the mental side of the game, this is the most important thing and he's got it.
3:41 - Right away reads the defense and finds the break down in coverage, his man comes wide open and he gets the ball to him quickly.
I hope we get Manziel bad, to me he's a rich man's Russel Wilson. Yes there will be times where (like Favre) you go "what the hell was that!" but at the same time, he'll make WAY MORE plays than mistakes. He has the "it" factor, he has the talent, the tools and the football brain to read the field and defenses. You talk about his happy feet but to me I LOVE his style of awareness. It's good to have an internal clock that says "we're 3 seconds into the play, I gotta make something good happen" so maybe he leaves the pocket when he could have stayed for 1 more second, but to me it's better to be safe than sorry. If he see's an opening with his legs and can pick up a first down, I'm fine with that. Better than waiting for someone to come open and a DE finally loops all the way around and strip sacks him.
If Manziel is there at #8 I want him, if he's not, avoid QB cause the rest of them are all trash including Bortles. They're all the same guy basically, a whole bunch of Gabbert and Ponders.
Many experts are now projecting him to be the second QB off of the board (a top 5 pick).