Johnny Manziel is proving to be who many feared he was and ultimately that could lead to the Cleveland Browns progressive downfall.
Over the last several weeks, Manziel seemingly has spent more time in party venues all across the country than studying his NFL playbook at the Browns’ training facility.
You know you’re feeling carefree and have made up your mind to let the good-times roll when the party highlight of your Memorial Day weekend isn’t even hanging out in Vegas with notorious NFL party boy Rob Gronkowski.
In Johnny’s World that unique distinction goes to his evening with hip hop star Drake several nights later when the two made the rounds and posted on the web a video of their night in Houston where Manziel boasts for all to hear and envy “I can’t hear you because there’s too much money in my fuc**** hand.”
With all that undiscipline coming on the heels of Manziel’s somewhat less than stellar recent minicamp, one where he threw three interceptions in one practice, two of them returned by teammates Donte Whitner and Joe Haden for touchdowns, and, well, you get all the raised concerns about who Manziel is and who he stands to become.
“Some people say you can work hard and play hard, but I think my biggest issue is when you’re drafted in the first round, you’re the face of the franchise,” former Browns quarterback Brady Quinn recently told reporters. “And when you’ve got a video that comes out like that, I understand he’s trying to have a good time and live his life off the field, but there’s a little kid watching that, and now he’s looking up to him as a role model.”
To much fanfare and intrigue, the Browns selected the former Texas A&M star and Heisman Trophy winner with the No. 22 pick in the most recent NFL draft and before his first official snap even some of his one-time biggest supporters are now attaching such descriptions as “disappointing, embarrassing” and “concerning” to his arrival.
If Manziel is propped to be the new face of the Browns, and maybe even the NFL, is now fair to wonder what’s the image that purports to be the message? As the draft neared, Manziel assured everyone that his days of being “Johnny Football” were over and he was ready to first and foremost assume the life of being Johnny Manziel the football player.
Now, the same questions that foretold his draft day fall are again cropping into his day-to-day existence.
“The questions about Johnny were all about his maturity and mental capacity and I feel like he’s answering those questions right now. Cleveland can’t be happy,” fellow former veteran NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels recently told reporters.
That can’t be a good thing for the Browns, or even the NFL at large.
