Photo Credit: AP
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Will Johnny be good, good enough to win the hearts of the football-crazed and playoff-starved Cleveland Browns’ fans who have seen 20 quarterbacks come and go since 1999?
With the Browns picking Texas A & M sensation Johnny Manziel with the no. 22 pick in the first round, Browns’ fans from coast-to-coast have had their spirits raised to new heights. Not since the 18 year-old Akron native, Lebron James, was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft, has so much excitement together with reinvigorated expectations reached the shores of Lake Erie.
The Cavaliers registered the worst league attendance in 2002. As soon as Lebron was plucked in June, 2003, the team witnessed what was described by The New York Times as an ``astronomical increase in ticket sales.’’
Now it’s the Browns turn. Since Friday, a day after Manziel was selected, the Browns sold more than 2,000 season tickets, while team shops are reportedly struggling to keep up with the high demand for Manziel’s jersey, No. 2.
Manzielmania is in full bloom; but the jury is still deliberating whether this national marvel is indeed a stud or represents just another long list of Cleveland Browns draft pick duds.
His strengths appear to be that he’s light on his feet; exhibits a mystifying ability to extend plays just when you think he’s toast, throws accurately across his body; and is a born field general with a natural gift for rallying his troops in the trenches. Manziel detractors argue his height (just a shade under 6 feet) will prevent him for remaining stationary in the pocket, unable to see what’s developing downfield; and weighting just 207 pounds, additional questions are raised whether the wear and tear of scrambling and fending off defenders twice his size will eventually lead to diminished skills and an injury-plagued career?
If you believe in superstitions; or believe like Abraham Lincoln did ``that we cannot escape history,’’ then more red flags are raised about Johnny Football’s future in a Browns uniform.
Manziel is the fourth quarterback the Browns have been taken in the first round since they came back into the NFL in 1999, including Tim Couch, who also wore No. 2, another Browns’ bust who flipped and flopped his way out of the NFL.
Ready for another ominous foreshadowing? Manziel was the Browns no. 22 pick, same as Brady Quinn (2007) and Brandon Weeden (2012); both were abysmal busts, sparking heaps of criticism why the Browns drafted these not ready for prime time players.
Off the field, Manziel’s ``rock star’’ status appears secure: he likes to hang out with rappers, prefers courtside seats at NBA games; and on draft night was seen partying to the wee hours of the morning with a flock of attractive women at Avenue nightclub in Chelsea in New York City, while downing a generous amount of a 6-liter Methuselah of Perrier-Jouët Champagne.
But what most interests Browns’ fans is Manziel’s on-field performance, away from the flood of paparazzi that will undoubtedly be watching his every move off the field.
Despite his fair share of critics, Johnny Football’s brief career in the Southeastern Conference, arguably the toughest league in college football, was mighty impressive. It includes being the first freshman in NCAA history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season, while rushing for 30 touchdowns in his two collegiate seasons, with 7,820 college passing yards, 63 TD and passes, 2,169 rushing yards, and becoming the first freshman to win a Heisman Trophy.
Only time will tell whether this Tyler Texas native at the tender age of 21 lives up to all the hype.
Since there appears to be such a sharp difference of opinion over whether the Browns made the right call in drafting Manziel, I reached out to some NFL beat writers and columnists in order to get their take whether this former Aggie will be a boon or a bust for the Cleveland Browns.
What follows are some responses which came back.
- ``I think Manziel will become a good NFL player, with some comparison to Drew Brees or Steve Young, although that's certainly saying a lot. He's got an "it" factor for sure, and his talent and athleticism are pretty undeniable. You wonder if he doesn't end up being a total knucklehead, but if he stays out of trouble, I think absolutely he'll be a star in the league. That being said, if Browns really wanted an immediate NFL-ready QB, they probably should've taken [Teddy] Bridgewater. But it sounds like Cleveland wanted a marketing face, and already Manziel's jersey sales bear that out.''
-Zach Schonbrun, contributing sportswriter for The New York Times.
- ``I think he'll be the biggest bust of the first round. ''
-David Haugh, Chicago Tribune sports columnist.
- ``I asked 20 scouts. Eight said his career would be a hit, 12 said it would be a miss.''
-Bob McGinn, Green Bay Packers beat writer for the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
- ``I have big questions about whether he'll succeed in the NFL. ''
-Rick Morrissey, sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times.
- ``If you don't have a QB, you don't have a chance. Manziel gives them a chance. But he'd better learn to throw from the pocket or he'll have a short career.''
-Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News sports columnist.
- ``Pretty good pick if they can keep him in one piece. Frankly I thought [Derek] Carr was the best pure QB in the draft but Manziel is exciting, brave and has a hell of an arm.''
-Ron Borges, sports columnist for the Boston Herald.
- ``I think the Cleveland Browns ABSOLUTELY had to take him. If anyone can make one of the great (and misguided) franchises in American sports relevant again, it's him.''
-Mike Vaccaro, lead sports columnist for the New York Post.
- ``I like the pick at 22, but I have questions about him as a franchise QB.''
-Jerry Sullivan, senior sports columnist for the Buffalo News.
- `` I think Johnny Football is going to be a star on and off the field. I think the Browns made a terrific pick. ''
-Tom Jones, writer and editor for Page Two of the Tampa Bay Times' Sports section.
-Bill Lucey
May 11, 2014
MANZIEL IS A GREAT STORY BUT HE'S THE WRONG STORY. BRIAN HOYER IS THE BROWNS' QUARTERBACK. IF MANZIEL PLAYS, IT WILL BECAUSE OF AN INJURY TO HOYER AND HE BETTER BE ABLE TO SEAMLESSLY TAKE OVER THE OFFENSE, WHICH DOES NOT APPEAR LIKELY. MANZIEL PLAYS HIS STYLE AND EVERYBODY ELSE BETTER ADAPT TO IT, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. NOT THE WAY It's usually done.
Posted by: Dan Coughlin | 05/12/2014 at 04:16 PM