Johnny Manziel Set To Face Cincinnati Bengals, And It Could Be A Sack-Heavy Game

Johnny Manziel knows that he will go into Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a huge target on his back.

Manziel has been a divisive figure all season long, with many football fans loathing the two-time Heisman Trophy winner. “Johnny Football” has all of the hype, but hasn’t really had an opportunity to fully live up to it.

It could be that Manziel will finally have the chance to begin justifying all the acclaim when he starts for the Cleveland Browns this weekend. However, in order to do that, Johnny Manziel will have to survive a very enthustiastic Bengals team.

The taunts have already started.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis took the low road during a recent radio interview, referring to starting quarter back as “a midget.” Although, Marvin Lewis has since apologized for his derogatory remarks, Johnny Manziel doesn’t seem to be bothered by what was said.

“It didn’t really get to me. [I]t’s absolutely funny. I’m not going to sprout five inches over the course of the week. My height is my height. And I need to overcome it with other pieces of my game.”

Manziel seems to be taking this a bit better than he did the taunting of the Washington Redskins.

.@JManziel2’s middle finger costs him $12K http://t.co/Sx44dk2K9M #johnnybench #johnnycleveland @Browns #CLE pic.twitter.com/0n1y9MRDZI

— KBTX News (@KBTXNews) August 23, 2014

Johnny made an inappropriate gesture on national television, and earned himself a $12,000 fine. But impulsive behavior will likely be the least of Manziel’s concerns this weekend. The Cincinnati Bengals defense will no doubt be looking to take Johnny Manziel down, a reality already acknowledged by Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer.

“We want to make sure that everybody elevates their play so that everybody is playing well around [Johnny Manziel], so that we minimize the number of plays the quarterback has to make.”

The Browns offense will need to play their very best if Johnny Manziel is to be at all protected from a ruthless defensive effort.

Despite the concerns, Schottenheimer sees a great deal of potential in Manziel.

“I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t excited about seeing him play,” said Marty. “I’ve seen him practice. And we got a small taste of it in Buffalo.”

Indeed, Manziel’s weakness is not tied to his height and certainly not the divisive opinions about him. According to his coach, the main question is how to “defend a shorter, mobile quarterback.”