Who says Johnny Manziel isn’t worth risking a high draft choice for?
“Draft experts” ranging from sportswriters to seamstresses, that’s who. But “experts” from sportswriters to Sunday school teachers also say he is worth the gamble.
Here’s the point: there’s no sure draft prospect. Never has been. Quarterbacks who became Super Bowl champions had doubters going into the draft and later. Roger Staubach, a 10th round pick, had to shake off the rust of a U.S. Navy stint before joining the Cowboys. John Elway, it was said, couldn’t put enough finesse on his passes but he sure made the Broncos a champion. Tom Brady played in the shadows at Michigan and was a sixth round draft choice before helping the Patriots become an NFL power.
Manziel, at 6-foot (maybe), is too short to play in the NFL. He’s more interested in being a celebrity than a winning quarterback. He’s not worth the risk to a team like the Vikings who have the No. 8 pick in the May 8 NFL Draft.
That’s the kind of stuff you hear. Maybe you endorse the chatter. Everybody has an opinion about Johnny Football who combines a strong and accurate arm with the athleticism and vision to dart around the field as if Fran Tarkenton stepped out of a time machine.
“Nobody really played like I played. This kid plays like I did more than anybody else,” Tarkenton told Jim Corbett in a March 11 Usatoday.com story. Tarkenton also said he would like to know more about Manziel’s off-field activities like leaving the Manning Passing Academy early.
Now everybody, please admit this much: Manziel has made the build-up to the 2014 draft more interesting than the usual prelude.
Some mock drafts have had Manziel being drafted by the Vikings, potentially adding a quarterback who will improvise on plays and perhaps stir memories of Sir Francis. The opinion here is the Vikings would be fortunate to find him still available after seven other teams drafted. It’s no cinch the Texans, with the No. 1 pick, will take South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. That franchise needs a quarterback and maybe it will be fate that Manziel, a Texas native who captured the nation’s attention at Texas A&M, ends up playing in Houston.
The Vikings probably will have to move up in the draft to secure Manziel who could be the first quarterback taken or the second after Central Florida’s Blake Bortles. Both have impressed in workouts for NFL scouts.
But do the Vikings, also quarterback hungry, really want Manziel? New head coach Mike Zimmer reportedly values character in his players. In a March 31 Nfl.si.com story by Josh Sanchez, the Vikings coach talked about the importance of a quarterback’s work ethic and leadership.
“We asked him all kinds of questions. …There are some flags that come up,” Zimmer said of Manziel.
Were those the words of a coach throwing up a smoke screen? Or was it a pronouncement the Vikings don’t want the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner who found himself answering to the NCAA about an autograph controversy after that season?
Manziel is a brash self-promoter and this off-season made a cameo with LeBron James in a McDonald’s commercial. But lots of athletes have run their mouths and lined their pocketbooks while winning championships.
Manziel supporters will argue he is all about the team. He was often the hero at A&M, delivering big plays in close games. After an A&M turnover, he even chased down a Louisiana Tech defensive player who was running toward the end zone.
Staubach knows a lot about doubters and character. He served in the Navy for five years before joining the Cowboys. He ended up a Hall of Fame quarterback. Appearing on the NFL Network’s “NFL AM” program on April 9, Staubach said he would take Manziel over Clowney as the No.1 pick. “I just think there’s something about this kid,” he said.
Staubach compared Manziel with Russell Wilson, another short-statured quarterback who the Seahawks chose in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Wilson is the starting quarterback now for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
Former Gophers quarterback Adam Weber has been in NFL camps trying to make a career in pro football. His experiences include time on the Broncos’ practice team. Weber talked about the adjustment Manziel and his NFL team will need to make.
“His size (about 6-feet, 205) and the way he plays can get him exposed,” Weber said. “As a quarterback in the NFL, your job is to stay healthy and stay on the field. …Whoever takes Johnny is going to get a very talented quarterback—kind of a lightning-in-a-bottle type, but I think they’re gonna have to learn to kind of bring (rein) him in a little bit and keep him from exposing his body to big hits because the guys are a little bit bigger and faster in the NFL than they are in college.”
Weber, though, believes Manziel is worthy of a team’s high draft choice. “He goes out there on his pro day when everyone is watching him, and he puts together one of the best pro days that any quarterback had this year. I don’t know what else you would want.
“The only thing I see is questionable is his size,” said Weber who mentioned smaller quarterbacks like Drew Brees have been effective. “… I would take him.”
Maybe Manziel will end up in Houston. But Internet stories this month have Manziel applying for a trademark to protect the phrase, “The House That Johnny Built.” While the slogan is reportedly a tie-in with the renovation of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, it’s a match with the Vikings’ new stadium opening in 2016.
And there you have it about the most polarizing quarterback prospect in the 2014 draft. There’s even controversy about how best to market the slogan “The House That Johnny Built.”
Twins Notes
Stats and impressions about the Twins after almost three weeks of regular season play:
Minnesota is 8-7 after yesterday’s doubleheader wins against the Blue Jays. The Twins have been swept by only the A’s this season. Minnesota swept the Royals, won two of three games from the Indians and Blue Jays, and won a single game in the season opening series against the White Sox.
The team’s run production has been a pleasant surprise, including scoring runs with not a lot of hits in some games. Off-season and spring training personnel decisions appear to have improved the sputtering offense from last year. Management and coaches can feel good about adding the bats of catcher Josmil Pinto, and outfielders Chris Colabello and Jason Kubel. Also, the club’s long time patience with second baseman Brian Dozier and third baseman Trevor Plouffe seems to be paying off.
Kubel is hitting .340 while Colabello is the American League RBI leader with 19. Pinto, with a designated hitter role, is second on the Twins in home runs with three while Dozier, the team’s leadoff hitter, leads the club with five—tied for second in the majors. Plouffe is hitting .309 with 11 RBI—second best on the team.
Personnel decision makers reshuffled the starting pitching rotation in the offseason. Results have been disappointing, although rookie Kyle Gibson has been impressive with a 3-0 record and flashy 0.93 ERA. The bullpen has been more reliable than the starters with Glen Perkins ranking with the league’s best closers.
The Twins appear to be a better club than the team that was 66-96 last year. The guess here is they can win 10 more games than in 2013, perhaps more.
What would it take to push the record closer to .500 or even above? The starting pitching has to improve a lot and the anemic offensive production from shortstop Pedro Florimon and center fielder Aaron Hicks is problematic, although both are superb in the field.
Among the franchise goals entering the season was eliminating last year’s habit of being out of one-sided games by the middle innings. The 2014 Twins have been almost perfect in avoiding early blowout losses. That represents progress and puts some air into their hopes.
Former Twins pitcher LaTroy Hawkins is pitching for the Rockies and has a 1.59 ERA with four saves as a reliever. The 41-year-old Hawkins has been in 949 MLB career games. “My goals this year are to reach 1,000 career appearances…and to win my first World Series,” Hawkins wrote as a guest columnist in the March 31 issue of Sports Illustrated.
His Rockies teammates include ex-Twins Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau who have .317 and .346 batting averages.