Manziel starting to look like his old self

The numbers don’t tell the whole story, but Johnny Manziel took a huge leap forward Saturday night at TD Place.

While Montreal lost 24-17 to the Ottawa Redblacks, the quarterback they call Johnny Football, in his second start for the Alouettes, showed glimpses of what he can become in the CFL.

A week ago in his debut against Hamilton, Manziel, a former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL firstround draft choice, tossed four first-half interceptions.

An extra week of practice and preparation showed in Ottawa.

“It sucks to lose the game. I’m not sitting here saying I’m happy with the outcome, but as far as improvement, we’re close,” said Manziel.

“We’re a lot closer than we were a week ago, and if we continue to make those strides, we’ll be OK. It’s a very efficient league and that’s the thing I’m continuing to learn.

“You can’t miss, especially when you’re throwing the ball. If you run the ball on first down for a short gain, second down is like the third down (in the NFL) I’m used to.”

Manziel completed 16 of 26 passes for 168 yards, but there were a couple of drops.

He also ran three times for 36 yards, though one time he was rocked by a huge hit from Ottawa’s Jonathan Rose just outside the end zone. Manziel’s fumble was recovered by teammate Kristian Matte for the touchdown.

“I want to be fighting with these guys. I want to be their quarterback,” said Manziel.

“I’ve been sitting out for a long time and waiting for another opportunity. I take pride in this.

“It’s hard when you don’t see results. But at the end of the day when you have faith in the guy to the left or right of you — your brothers on this team. We’ll be OK.”