It's tough to see much when a quarterback throws for 161 yards, with 60 of those yards coming on the first drive of the game.

That was Johnny Manziel's day in Seattle -- 101 yards passing in the game's final 53 minutes as the Cleveland Browns' passing game was short-circuited by dropped passes, a lack of plays and a lack of playmakers.

ProFootballFocus gave Manziel an initial grade of minus 3.9, which almost equaled his first week grade of minus 4.0 in the disaster against the New York Jets. ESPN Stats & Info reports that when under duress (pressured or hit) Manziel was 6-for-14 for 33 yards with a rating of 20.1.

Manziel himself was reluctant to say much good, saying he missed things but pointing out these positives: He got another start against a good team, had to keep both hands on the ball against a relentless pass rush, used all his movement skills in the pocket and didn't have pre-snap penalties.

Rome clearly was not built in a day, or week, or month.

Others, though, were not reluctant to praise Manziel, with Browns receiver Marlon Moore showering it on.

"Week in and week out Johnny has been improving," Moore said. "Despite what the outside people may see, we see it in the building. He's making a real good effort to be that guy, that starting quarterback. It's going to take time. I really believe Johnny will be an elite quarterback in the NFL."

Comments from Seattle Seahawks players were like Manziel's game -- mixed. There was praise, but also the realization that the Seahawks knew they could contain and stop him.

Seahawks Pro Bowl corner Richard Sherman credited Manziel, but at the same time pointed out Seattle shouldn't have given up even one touchdown.

"He's crafty; you've got to give the young kid credit," Sherman said. "He's elusive, he was able to get out of the pocket a few times. We were able to contain him. Unfortunately we gave up that one touchdown on third down, something we could have cleaned up easily."

Linebacker Bruce Irvin said that "Manziel was making us work back there, scrambling and making throws on the run." 


Then he added, "But for the most part, we did a really good job of containing and trying to keep him from scrambling for those big plays."

Defensive end Cliff Avril pointed out the Seahawks needed that first drive to get a feel for how Manziel and the Browns would play. Once they did, they took care of business.

"You kind of get a feel of what they're going to do for the rest of the game and you just adjust from that point on and make the plays you're supposed to make," Avril said. "Like I said, early on they tried to draw up screens, I guess to get him going. After that, we got settled in and we started making plays."