Better days ahead, QB Manziel insists
Quarterback determined to end season with wins
TORONTO Johnny Manziel wants the world — or at least the small portion that follows the Alouettes — to know there are brighter days ahead for the struggling team, as early as next season.
Manziel denies he’s frustrated with the amount of times he’s getting hit and sacked, while claiming not to be bothered by his 0-5 record as the starting quarterback.
“The last three games, we’ve been right in the mix,” Manziel said. “Any frustration comes (from) an offence as a whole, not one area. I feel there’s times we do a good job blocking and you might miss the throw or have a drop. It’s frustrating not seeing the continuity and progress we see (at practice) and in the meeting room.”
Manziel passed for a season-high 250 yards in the Als’ last game against Calgary on Oct. 8. But he also was intercepted once and failed to direct the team to a touchdown as Montreal lost its fourth consecutive game, 12-6, officially eliminating the club from the Canadian Football League playoffs a fourth consecutive season.
The Als will be playing for nothing more than pride Saturday afternoon (4 p.m., TSN, RDS, CJAD Radio 800), when they meet the Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field. Toronto, like Montreal, has a 3-12 record and has been eliminated from playoff contention.
“These are our last three opportunities this year to be able to go out and play football. For me, that means something, especially in a rookie year where each play and each snap means something,” said Manziel, acquired by Montreal in a trade from Hamilton in late July.
“Hopefully we can come through and win these last three games,” he added. “Then you sit there at 3-5. That doesn’t sound as bad as 0-5 or 1-6.”
The Als have scored a leaguelow 253 points while surrendering a league-high 59 quarterback sacks. With leading receiver B.J. Cunningham sidelined the remainder of 2018 with a knee injury, no Montreal player will produce a 1,000-yard season. Indeed, the Als have failed to score as many as 30 points in a game. Their seasonhigh of 29 came during a loss to Saskatchewan.
Nonetheless, Manziel claimed to be being bullish over the future.
“There’s pieces here. I can see the pieces we have here moving forward, staples for this team,” he said. “I’m excited. It’s hard fighting through this right now, but we’re in games. We just need to continue to execute better.”
Manziel is under contract to the Als next season and vowed he’ll return to the team, saying he knew there would be a two-year commitment when he originally signed with the Tiger-Cats.
What transpires in 2020, he added, remains to be determined. But for now, Manziel hopes he and any returning receivers can reunite over the winter — in Los Angeles, his off-season home, Texas, where he played collegiately, or even Montreal — to continue working on their chemistry while providing the impetus for, and transition into, next season.
“I want to make sure this doesn’t go dormant from the time we leave here. I don’t feel that’s a winning, championship recipe. You can’t just go and make it happen like that,” Manziel said. “I’m looking forward to the future and the opportunities that are coming. I think it’s going to be good.
“I see what (head coach Mike) Sherman is doing ... how (general manager) Kavis Reed is trying to get guys in that fit the mould of what we want to be. Have faith. I’m looking forward to the future and the opportunities that are coming. I think it’s going to be good.
“I hope we can get every single piece of what we need to be able to get to where we want to be.”
The Als set a franchise record for futility last season, slumping to 3-15 while ending the year on an 11-game losing streak. With three games remaining, including backto-back matches against the Argos, Sherman hopes to enter the winter with some momentum and a sense of optimism — not to mention more victories than last year’s team.
It wouldn’t be much of a rallying cry, but it might be something on which to build.
“I want to go into the off-season on a positive note,” Sherman said. “Winning can help that. It’s still very important that we put the right foot forward.”
Sherman said he’ll use the final three games as a prelude to training camp, potentially evaluating some new players to assess their talent level. But it doesn’t sound as though Sherman has any intention of benching Manziel in favour of Antonio Pipkin, who went 2-2 as Montreal’s starter.
“I don’t want to compromise our ability to win in any shape or form,” Sherman said. “We haven’t gone that far to discuss the quarterback position. We want to see the development of Manziel, first and foremost.”