Texas A&M Spring Football Game

In his first official start, Johnny Manziel didn’t quite have the debut game he anticipated. In a recent interview, he discussed yesterday’s game and how it impacted him. Hit the jump for details.

Via NBC Sports:

Going through yesterday’s disastrous debut was bad enough. Coming in this morning and watching the film was hard for Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel to swallow.

There wasn’t much Manziel could add after taking a 30-0 beating and throwing for two picks and leading an offense to 80 passing yards against the Bengals.

“Absolutely. Very humbling,” Manziel said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “This game, obviously it has its ups and downs and yesterday was one of those days for us that didn’t go our way. It’s very humbling. I feel like they had good scheme and came out very aggressive and very ready for that game and we didn’t come out that way and match that intensity early.

“When you get down a little bit, it’s hard to claw your way back in and we just didn’t ever bring that intensity from the get-go.”

Manziel was never shut out in college, and rarely lost (20-6), so it was hard for him to have context for what happened to him the day before.

“I’ve never – it’s the first game I’ve ever not scored a point in and been shut out,” he said. “I’ve played in a lot of games I feel like from high school through college and that one and never been shut out until then, so it was definitely tough.”

How he responds to the beating might say as much about him as any mechanical criticism could. For a guy who came in with a big personality and a gleaming record, that first taste of defeat will linger, at least until he replaces it.

Click above gallery for pictures.

Tavia HartleyIFWT