Browns trail Ravens 10-7 at the half
September 21, 2014Browns lose chess match to Ravens 23-21
September 21, 2014The set-up was perfect. Johnny Manziel comes in as quarterback for a play, and hands it off for little-to-no gain. Fans were left asking “that’s it?” and the (league best) Cleveland Browns offense said “oh—just wait.”
Starting quarterback Brian Hoyer comes back in with Manziel running off. The rookie and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan go toe-to-toe with dueling looks of befuddlement. Shanahan then gives Manziel a wave of the playbook, and say “go.” Manziel streaks down the left side of the field for a huge 39-yeard gain and an erupting stadium—only to have the play waved off for what was called illegal formation.
While Terrance West was flagged, the CBS rules guru stated that the Browns should have been flagged for being deceptive—or awesome. Apparently receiver shoulders have to be parallel to the line of scrimmage. Little do they know that Johnny does what Johnny wants.
It’s a shame because The Play is a once-a-season (at most) move that was obviously set up over the course of the last week or so. It caught everyone by surprise and led to a sizable gain. It may not count in the box score or record books, but there is no doubt Browns fans (and opposing defenses) have taken note. Expect to see it on highlight reels galore for the next week or so.
[Related: Where’s Johnny?]
4 Comments
(1)Didn’t count due to a penalty and (2)Was illegal but nice try. To bad on two straight possessions late this same imaginative play calling saw an offense take off less then two collective minutes.
This type of gimmicky crap needs to end. Manziel needs to become aquainted with a holding a clipboard.
damn the DB pushed him to the ground well out of bounds. Probably a nice “welcome to the NFL” shove. I like the play calling, unfortunately it didnt work. (yes I know they said it was illegal) but did the refs even know that?
Give it some time and Manziel will play Hoyer is just a game manager with avg. arm will not take anyone to the promise land.