BEREA, Ohio -- Johnny Manziel admitted he missed the chance for some easy throws in the Cleveland Browns' Week 9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
"I think I did some good things," Manziel said Wednesday as the Browns prepared for their next game Sunday in Pittsburgh. "And I think there were some things that were there that I didn't see or I just missed a little bit."
Manziel was 15-for-33 in the 31-10 loss, with one touchdown and 168 yards. After halftime, though, he was just 4-for-15 for 40 yards. It was the fourth start of Manziel's two-year career, and after the game, he even admitted the second half was "eerily familiar," referring to his embarrassing struggles against Cincinnati in his first start as a rookie.
Coach Mike Pettine said that while the team appreciates Manziel's elusiveness, the coaches want him to take the throws that are open on early reads. Manziel said he is adapting as a quarterback as he adjusts to playing in a more structured system; his college success was based on his elusiveness and ability to make plays on the move.
"That's the way I've played a lot of my life, so I'm sure when things do tend to break down, that's kind of what I fall back onto," he said. "At the same time, you can take that with the checkdowns, continue to move the ball and take a little bit here and give a little bit there. I think that's the name of the game and what I'm searching for and trying to do."
Manziel conceded that being 5-foot-11 affects his play.
"I'm not going to be able to sit there like some of these taller quarterbacks in the league and just be able to see everything happen as the play is on," he said. "There's going to be times where I'm not going to be able to see something. I'm going to have to make a faith throw knowing, 'Hey, it's Cover 3 [coverage] and this guy is here and this guy went there with where this person is.'
"As I continue to watch film and I continue to play in these games, there's going to be times where I'm gonna not be able to see everything, like everyone else as clear as day. I think I'm getting better at it, but I'm nowhere near perfect, that's for sure."
The reason he can't see well?
"Michael Johnson is 6-7, and Carlos Dunlap is 6-8," Manziel said of the Bengals defensive ends. "I'm like 5-11½, I guess."
Manziel said he has heard nothing from the league about his driving/domestic incident Oct. 12 in suburban Cleveland. The NFL investigation continues and could lead to discipline in the form of a suspension or fine.
"It's not anything I expect," Manziel said. "But, like I said, I haven't heard anything on that front."
He also said he has "changed and adapted my lifestyle incredibly since last year," a statement that came in response to photos that surfaced on social media over the weekend of him at a party at Texas A&M.
"There's going to continue to always be a cloud over my head from everything that's happened in the past," Manziel said. "That's not going to go away. I'm sure that any time that anybody sees me in any kind of aspect or any kind of situation the way it was before, they're just going to say, 'Oh, he's back to doing the same thing over and over again.' I'm smart enough to have learned a lot over the past year and a half of my life, that's for sure."
Manziel was in College Station, Texas, to be an honorary captain for the team's game against Auburn.
"I probably took 2,000 pictures this weekend," Manziel said. "Those were the ones that happened to be blasted out on social media. I took a lot of pictures with a lot of people, and I think I made a lot of people happy. I can't really control who does what with those and what people say about them."