a 51-yarder to give Houston a 17-14 lead just before halftime. Gr

(SportsNetwork.com) - The harshest of Johnny Manziels critics didnt think it would be this bad. The lightning rod that is Johnny Football was an abject mess in his first NFL start, completing 10-of-18 for 80 yards with two first-half interceptions as Clevelands playoff hopes nosedived in a similar trajectory to Manziels stock with a 30-0 setback to the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals. There were flashes but they were brief, Browns coach Mike Pettine said in a laughably kind review of Manziels performance. Seemingly every Bengals defender got a chance to flash the former Heisman Trophy winners signature money-sign celebration to the FirstEnergy Stadium crowd, essentially mocking Manziel for his inability to get anything done offensively. Of course, he kind of brought that on himself, Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry quipped. The Browns made the switch from the limited Brian Hoyer to Manziel to provide a spark in an effort to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. However, that spark was never fanned. In his first 30 minutes, Manziel was 4-for-9 for 22 yards and a 12.0 passer rating and things never really turned around as Cleveland, which has lost three in a row, totaled 107 yards of total offense and had six three-and-outs. I saw the field fine today, but when it came down to it, I just need to throw the ball and let it rip, and I didnt do a very good job of that, Manziel understated. About the only positive you could take from Manziels performance was the fact he didnt make any excuses. Nobody wants to win (in the locker room) more than I do, and its tough to come out there and lay an egg like that, Manziel said. Im not using the rookie excuse. I needed to play better. Taking accountability was a first step but anyone who was surprised this happened to Manziel wasnt paying attention in the offseason. The disastrous debut already took place in the summer months, and this was just the next logical step in what has been a terrible rookie season for him. If you really want to know just how bad Manziels first few months as a pro went consider this, at least two organizations trying to pump up their own young quarterbacks coined the term anti-Manziel to describe them. Sources close to both the Eagles and Vikings used it to trumpet Nick Foles understated leadership style, as well as Teddy Bridgewaters willingness to work before the campaign began. The Browns, meanwhile, watched as their young QB jetted off to Hollywood, Sin City or the Lone Star State every time he had a free moment. The knock on Johnny from those close to Texas A&M was always his work ethic, with far too many whispering that he showed up on Saturdays content to let his athletic ability spell the difference. And too often it did. A lot of observers harp on Manziels perceived sense of entitlement, and its an issue but not for the reason you may think. The fact that Manziels family is well off is inconsequential, the entitlement that hurts the rookie is his previous success with the Aggies. Manziel assumed the NFL was going to be just as easy as college and no matter how many people got in his ear, he laughed it off. After all, he had heard the same narrative at Texas A&M and it wasnt true. The wake-up call came Sunday. Alabama may be a big deal, but its not the Cincinnati Bengals. All week everybody wanted to make the game about (Manziel), Gilberry said. We just took that out and focused on what we do. We were able to come out and put on a pretty good show. Everything was about Manziel all week, linebacker Rey Maualuga, who was penalized for taunting Manziel at one point, added. We just focused on us. We focused on what we needed to do to stop the kid and stop their offense. Manziel was inaccurate, looked painfully slow against NFL defenders, and his mechanics were as sloppy as advertised. He didnt play well. He looked like a rookie, played like a rookie, Pettine admitted. I know a lot of it was we didnt play well around him, but he made some obvious mistakes that typically a veteran quarterback wont make. I never felt overwhelmed out there, Manziel countered. It was never too difficult. Unless Manziel accepts its going to be difficult moving forward, hes in deep trouble. This is the tip of the iceberg, Manziel claimed. This organization drafted me, and I think going into it I even knew one bad start, Im not going to be written off forever. BC-ABN;MCMULLEN-COLUMN-CLE-CIN === Extra Points: Manziel fails first test === By John McMullen, NFL Editor (SportsNetwork.com) - The harshest of Johnny Manziels critics didnt think it would be this bad. The lightning rod that is Johnny Football was an abject mess in his first NFL start, completing 10-of-18 for 80 yards with two first-half interceptions as Clevelands playoff hopes nosedived in a similar trajectory to Manziels stock with a 30-0 setback to the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals. There were flashes but they were brief, Browns coach Mike Pettine said in a laughably kind review of Manziels performance. Seemingly every Bengals defender got a chance to flash the former Heisman Trophy winners signature money-sign celebration to the FirstEnergy Stadium crowd, essentially mocking Manziel for his inability to get anything done offensively. Of course, he kind of brought that on himself, Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry quipped. The Browns made the switch from the limited Brian Hoyer to Manziel to provide a spark in an effort to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. However, that spark was never fanned. In his first 30 minutes, Manziel was 4-for-9 for 22 yards and a 12.0 passer rating and things never really turned around as Cleveland, which has lost three in a row, totaled 107 yards of total offense and had six three-and-outs. I saw the field fine today, but when it came down to it, I just need to throw the ball and let it rip, and I didnt do a very good job of that, Manziel understated. About the only positive you could take from Manziels performance was the fact he didnt make any excuses. Nobody wants to win (in the locker room) more than I do, and its tough to come out there and lay an egg like that, Manziel said. Im not using the rookie excuse. I needed to play better. Taking accountability was a first step but anyone who was surprised this happened to Manziel wasnt paying attention in the offseason. The disastrous debut already took place in the summer months, and this was just the next logical step in what has been a terrible rookie season for him. If you really want to know just how bad Manziels first few months as a pro went consider this, at least two organizations trying to pump up their own young quarterbacks coined the term anti-Manziel to describe them. Sources close to both the Eagles and Vikings used it to trumpet Nick Foles understated leadership style, as well as Teddy Bridgewaters willingness to work before the campaign began. The Browns, meanwhile, watched as their young QB jetted off to Hollywood, Sin City or the Lone Star State every time he had a free moment. The knock on Johnny from those close to Texas A&M was always his work ethic, with far too many whispering that he showed up on Saturdays content to let his athletic ability spell the difference. And too often it did. A lot of observers harp on Manziels perceived sense of entitlement, and its an issue but not for the reason you may think. The fact that Manziels family is well off is inconsequential, the entitlement that hurts the rookie is his previous success with the Aggies. Manziel assumed the NFL was going to be just as easy as college and no matter how many people got in his ear, he laughed it off. After all, he had heard the same narrative at Texas A&M and it wasnt true. The wake-up call came Sunday. Alabama may be a big deal, but its not the Cincinnati Bengals. All week everybody wanted to make the game about (Manziel), Gilberry said. We just took that out and focused on what we do. We were able to come out and put on a pretty good show. Everything was about Manziel all week, linebacker Rey Maualuga, who was penalized for taunting Manziel at one point, added. We just focused on us. We focused on what we needed to do to stop the kid and stop their offense. Manziel was inaccurate, looked painfully slow against NFL defenders, and his mec He didnt play well. He looked like a rookie, played like a rookie, Pettine admitted. I know a lot of it was we didnt play well around him, but he made some obvious mistakes that typically a veteran quarterback wont make. I never felt overwhelmed out there, Manziel countered. It was never too difficult. Unless Manziel accepts its going to be difficult moving forward, hes in deep trouble. This is the tip of the iceberg, Manziel claimed. This organization drafted me, and I think going into it I even knew one bad start, Im not going to be written off forever. Buy Air Max 270 Uk .com) - On a night the Bulls played without Derrick Rose, it was time for Pau Gasol to take charge. Nike Air Max 270 Best Price . - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin is now a free agent. http://www.wholesaleairmax270uk.com/ . "I dont know where we would be without him," McClendon said. "Hes done a tremendous job for us and (Wednesday) was no different." Logan Morrison drove in two runs in Seattles big sixth inning, Young pitched seven strong innings and the Mariners beat the Houston Astros 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Air Max 270 Wholesale . You can see all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Chicago won two of three games during its stay at the United Center. The club began the homestand with a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 1 and fell to Colorado on Tuesday before posting another blowout win in Thursdays tilt against Columbus. Nike Air Max 270 Uk Release . Blatter, a 75-year-old Swiss executive who has been in office since 1998, was handed a final four-year term as head of footballs governing body in a vote at FIFAs congress. He won 186 votes out of 203 ballots. HOUSTON -- Oakland rookie Matt McGloin was so good in a victory over the Houston Texans that it raised questions about whether Terrelle Pryor will get his job back when hes healthy. The undrafted free agent threw three touchdown passes in his first NFL start and the Raiders extended Houstons franchise-record skid to eight games with a 28-23 victory on Sunday in coach Gary Kubiaks return from a mini-stroke. Oakland coach Dennis Allen evaded the question when asked if McGloin would remain the starter when Pryor has recovered from a knee injury. "Listen, heres what Im going to do -- Im going to enjoy this win, all right," Allen said. "Were going to go back and well evaluate. But he definitely did a very good job today." McGloin was 18 of 32 for 197 yards. Houstons Case Keenum, also an undrafted free agent, was benched after Houstons offence stalled in the third quarter. McGloin threw touchdown passes of 5, 16 and 26 yards to help the Raiders score their most points of the season. "There is always more to prove and more to do," McGloin said. "I think I got off to a good start, but we will see." Kubiak wasnt on the sidelines, instead coaching upstairs from the booth on doctors orders two weeks after collapsing at halftime of Houstons game against Indianapolis. He benched Keenum for Matt Schaub with Houston trailing by 11 points. Houston cut the lead with two field goals in the fourth quarter and had a chance to take the lead late. But Schaubs pass to Andre Johnson on fourth down from the 8 was broken up in the end zone. Johnson and Schaub were yelling at each other on the field after the play and the screaming match continued on the sidelines, a clear indication of the frustration on a disappointing team that was supposed to contend for a Super Bowl. Johnson said the argument came because the receiver "messed up" and didnt finish the play. "We just exchanged some words," he said. "Its just heat of the moment. Once we came in the locker room, we talked about it, left it alone so Im not worried about that. Me and Matt have played a lot of football together." Schaub also brushed off their disagreement. "Its just emotions, emotions of the game, a culmination of a lot of things, but stuff well keep between us," Schaub said. Kubiak replaced Keenum with Schaub after Houstons first three drives of the second half all ended in punts. Schaub was terrible early this season and hadnt played since Oct.dddddddddddd 13, after he was benched following an injury. Keenum threw for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Schaub had 155 yards passing. Kubiak wouldnt say who would start next week. Houston punted on Schaubs first drive before settling for a 26-yard field goal on the second when the offence stalled after getting a first down at the 10. A 30-yard field goal cut the lead to 28-23 with about eight minutes remaining. Rashad Jennings, who was filling in for the injured Darren McFadden, extended Oaklands lead to 28-17 when he plowed over D.J. Swearinger and rumbled 80 yards for a touchdown with 2:26 left in the third quarter. It was the longest run of his career and he finished with 150 yards rushing. The Raiders regained the lead when Mychal Rivera grabbed a 26-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-17 in the third quarter. Keenum scrambled to escape the grasp of Lamarr Houston and launched a 42-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Graham to cut the lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter. Houston tied it at 14 when Keshawn Martin let a punt bounce off the grass and his chest before scooping it up and dashing 87 yards for a touchdown about three minutes before halftime. It was the longest punt return for a score in franchise history. Randy Bullock made his first field goal of 50 or more yards with a 51-yarder to give Houston a 17-14 lead just before halftime. Graham had the ball stripped by Charles Woodson and fumbled after a catch on Houstons first drive. Phillip Adams recovered it and 26 yards. McGloins first career touchdown came when he hit Denarius Moore on a 5-yard slant to put Oakland up 7-0. Houstons second miscue came when Keenum threw his first career interception as he was being hit by Stacy McGee. It broke a streak of 105 pass attempts without an interception for Keenum. The Raiders immediately took advantage of the error when McGloin connected with Rod Streater for a 16-yard touchdown on the next play to make it 14-0. NOTES: Former Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush were on the field before the game and the younger Bush did the coin flip. ... McGloin is the 17th quarterback to start for the Raiders since the start of the 2003 season. ... Oakland defensive tackle Daniel Muir and right guard Mike Brisiel both sustained knee injuries and Allen said hell know more after they have MRIs. ' ' '