Johnny Manziel reportedly threw a party Friday, December 26, night in which he invited a number of his Cleveland Brown teammates and in which resulted in many of them being disciplined by the team. Manziel and Josh Gordon both missed Saturday practice walk-through and were both disciplined.
Manziel addressed the media Monday, December 30, and called the reports of him throwing a party in Cleveland Friday night and claimed he simply went out with three friends from back home and was not with star wide receiver Josh Gordon. Manziel was placed on the IR but was still required to show up for treatment which he failed to do so and the Browns were forced into a a scavenger hunt in order to locate their first-round draft pick.
Manziel made a public apology Monday about his actions and stated his desire to be "the guy" in Cleveland. But the reality is that this so called statement is starting to fall on deaf ears. Manziel on Tuesday, December 23, publicly stated his case for the Browns' job and his plans to be "the guy" for Cleveland, and four days later team security was driving to his house after he hadn't shown up to the facility. As coach Mike Pettine said Monday, December 29, about his rookie quarterback, "at some point the talk is cheap."
Coach Pettine said it best, talk is cheap. Manziel has gotten used to saying the rights things when confronted, but he hasn't shown it through his actions. If Manziel is to claim the Brown's starting quarterback position next season he's going to have to show he's earned it through his actions in the off-season. He's going to have to stay out of the news with his partying antics and spend more time perfecting his craft. The most important thing Manziel can accomplish this off-season is gaining the trust of his teammates and coaches by growing into the leader they need him to become.
People always use Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the role model standard for other quarterbacks to follow because of the way they handle their lives off the field and go about perfecting their games as much as possible. Peyton Manning practices relentlessly with his wide receivers in the summer and before any game to perfect their timing. Now no one is saying Manziel needs to be Peyton Manning, but whether he likes it or not he's under a microscope and he himself is largely responsible for that.
This author was one of Manziel's biggest supporters but Manziel has called too much negative attention to himself through his negative antics. Yes he hasn't broken any laws or anything of that magnitude but his actions haven't been that of what an NFL franchise quarterback should be. The quarterback is the most important position in the NFL and they are under the microscope 24/7 and Manziel is no exception. It's one thing if Manziel played magnificently in his two starts this season, but he didn't, and when that happens critics look at your preparation and mindset heading into those matchups. Rob Gronkowski is known for his party antics but those conversations are never brought up in season, why? Maybe it's because Gronkowski works hard at his craft and is the best tight end in the league and helps the Patriots win games. Manziel's talent isn't enough to carry him in the NFL, he has to work at it.
Johnny Manziel's rookie season was unimpressive to say the least as he wasn't able to adapt to the speed of the game and perhaps underestimated the speed and agility of opposing defensive ends and linebackers on blitz packages. Manziel admitted he needs to take his job more seriously and his college ways will no longer work on the NFL level. That's scary to hear if you're Coach Pettine but for the first time in Manziel's football career his talent alone was not enough for success. Manziel may finally understand that he has to put in the work off the field if he's to have a successful NFL career but it's not about words anymore it's about action.
"It's about action," said Manziel, clearly frustrated with the situation. "It's about being accountable and doing what I'm gonna say instead of looking like a jackass. It sucks because of the perception I've based around myself -- I've done this to myself -- that that was allowed to be reported and people are just allowed to nod their head and act like that went on. Either I'm going to learn or I'm going to be finding something else to do."
Whether the party reports are false or true Manziel will have to do a lot of maturing and developing into a leader if he's to be the Browns' starting quarterback coming into training camp. He must re-establish Pettine's trust and confidence in him and if he does that we may see a new Johnny "Football."
