Johnny Manziel got his first professional start Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals and performed horribly, but the Cleveland Browns Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan is still being supportive of the rookie.

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On Thursday, Cleveland reported Shanahan spoke with reporters about Manziel.

Shanahan is still expressing confidence in the rookie despite the major debacle that occurred Sunday, which led to the Bengals shutting out the Browns with a final score of 30-0.

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"Johnny is a real impressive guy," Shanahan said. "I don't think everybody knows what Johnny is about and Johnny is very humble. Johnny's a real dude. He's not going to sit there and 'BS' me or anything."

He went on to say they were all embarrassed by Sunday's game against the Bengals. "Anytime you don't put up points - it's not just Johnny - I mean all of us are extremely embarrassed about that," he shared.

Shanahan feels sympathy toward Manziel. "I know he had a lot of pressure on him. And anytime someone has that pressure on them, they want to go out and perform and he definitely didn't play his best, but I don't think we helped him either. He didn't get many opportunities at all. And the times that I thought he did make some plays we were all hoping to see, we dropped the ball and we didn't get to capitalize on them."

Shanahan concluded "there's a lot of highs and lows in football, but it's what you do over the course of time and how you're judged; all of us, coaches and players."

Manziel, according to Shanahan, does look at it that way. "He knows he has a ways to go, but I think he will keep working to do it," the offensive coordinator stated.

Manziel is set to start in this upcoming Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers.

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