Person of Interest: Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel
Dec 17, 2015, 3:23 PM | Updated: 3:28 pm
Johnny Manziel has six touchdown passes compared to three interceptions in four starts this season. (AP)
(AP)
BY
Former Seattle Sports Host
Vitals
Position: Heisman-winning college party boy, job-losing NFL party boy
Height: 6-0
Weight: 210
Age: 23
Experience: Second season
The storyline
He is football famous without having much in the way of NFL success. He won a Heisman as a freshman at Texas A&M, was investigated for amateurism violations as a sophomore and entered the NFL with flagpole full of red flags from everything over his maturity to his anger management.
He checked into a rehab clinic before he won his first NFL start and lost his starting job on the bye week this year after footage was seen of him drinking out of a champagne bottle alongside several DJs at a club in Texas.
In other words, things have gone fairly predictably in the NFL for a guy who was known for playmaking and fast living when he was in college. He would show up courtside at NBA games in Canada. He would hang out with rappers like Drake. He also beat Alabama on the road as a freshman with a one-man improv act.
The statement
He’s an exciting player. He’s also charismatic. He’s got the arm strength to play in the league. He’s got the mobility, too. And because he’s 6 feet tall, barely, there have been plenty of comparisons to Russell Wilson.
But the truth is that Manziel doesn’t have as much of a greenlight to scramble in Cleveland as Wilson does for the Seahawks.
“He’s trying to stand in there and deliver the ball,” Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said. “When things break down, he tries to get out, but he’s trying his best to be discipline in the pocket.”
Manziel has been picked off in each of his last two starts, but has six touchdown passes compared to three interceptions in four starts this season. His career record is 2-4 as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
