Jonathan Paul Manziel

Mike H

@medicineman said:
No, I say KEEP him. Worried about how he makes us look bad? We have never looked nothing but bad since we came back, and we swap coaches every other year, That makes us look bad, we change QB's 3 times a year, that makes us look bad, Give me a fucking break, ya TRADE TRADE TRADE , tell me how that would fucking fix ANYTHING?

Trading Manziel is the logical solution for people have been "against him" since draft day. (personal egotistical reasons) -- While he's an idiot off the field, he has proved he's not a bust on it.

medicineman

I agree all the way. he is not a quitter on the field and wants to win, So what he does off the field who fucking cares, Not like he got accused of rape or sexual assault.

chimpy07

@the-gipper said:

I mean, are you like Alaniss Morrisette or somebody, lecturing us on Irony?

Irony is the fact that Churchill invented the term Iron Curtain....but that it was Gorbachev and Lech Walesa that dropped that curtain. (and not Reagan as some of his supporters think)

It is irony that it was the guy that created the Steel Curtain, Chuck Noll who was the one to drop it.

The only American with a good sense of irony I've ever known is Bill Hicks, get over it

Mike H

@medicineman said:
I agree all the way. he is not a quitter on the field and wants to win, So what he does off the field who fucking cares, Not like he got accused of rape or sexual assault.

Some people care, a lot. So much so there is a Channel 19 news crew camped out in front of his house (has been ALL WEEK), trying to get him to answer questions about his whereabouts last weekend. He messed up again if he went to Vegas and missed a concussion treatment/meeting (but the story is hilarious). I'd have him on a zero tolerance policy moving forward if he was retained.

TopDawg31

All the mocks I am following have now changed our pick to Goff, some have Bosa at 1. Some are now talking teams could try to jump the Browns to get Goff. We could give Tenn Joe Thomas, Johnny and Gordon for their #1 then we have 1 and 2, get Bosa and Goff then Taylor Decker at 32.

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@topdawg31 said:
All the mocks I am following have now changed our pick to Goff, some have Bosa at 1. Some are now talking teams could try to jump the Browns to get Goff. We could give Tenn Joe Thomas, Johnny and Gordon for their #1 then we have 1 and 2, get Bosa and Goff then Taylor Decker at 32.

Why would they need Johnny?

TopDawg31

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:
Why would they need Johnny?

why get technical? hes a throw in they need Thomas sweeten the pot to make it worth a #1

Canton Mike

@tour2ma said:

lol... more if he has been, then he'd know what the site's #1 hater's (maybe #2?) position is...

I get where you are coming from, but didn't Carter's release come as a surprise? Didn't he want and expect to continue to play for Philly? That does not appear to be the case now.

And I have no idea what Carter's endorsement deals entailed or what management firm (if any) he was signed with, but from all appearances JM idolized LBJ. So if the drop already on the books is not the "cold slap in the face" JM needed, then I don't think anything the Browns might do will reach him.

I have to agree with you. My gut tells me Johnny is trying to get out of Cleveland, but the LBJ drop was TOTALLY unexpected. I think little Mr big ego just got kicked in the nuts (welcome to REAL life Johnny) & we'll see what happens.

Mike

Opal312

Not one Football writer or analyst thinks this year's Class Of QB's is worth a first round pick. I agree! Both Lynch and Goff are recommended to sit and learn. Goff is more pro ready than Lynch. If your going to take someone who needs to sit and learn why not take Cardale Jones in the 2nd round. Jones is a beast 6'5" 250. He has a cannon for an arm and is more accurate than Goff and Lynch.

I remember how Mel Kiper Jr hyped Jimmy Clausen and the Panthers took the bait. These sports "experts" must get kick backs to hype a guy like Lynch. He's terrible. His start of the season was great considering the level of competition. He was horrible against a bad Auburn team. He's a project that shouldn't be drafted until the third round.

If the Browns rush to take another loser at QB I will be surprised. Keep McCown and go after Jones.

Maybe trade For McCarron or Garapolo. Who were available but passed on. Thanks Farmer.

Opal312

He begged the Brown to draft him. Everyone knows that. Haslam's vision was clouded by the huge dollars signs he'd get selling tickets to the circus.

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@topdawg31 said:
why get technical? hes a throw in they need Thomas sweeten the pot to make it worth a #1

Can't tell if serious or joking...

hoorta

@mike-h said:

Some people care, a lot. So much so there is a Channel 19 news crew camped out in front of his house (has been ALL WEEK), trying to get him to answer questions about his whereabouts last weekend. He messed up again if he went to Vegas and missed a concussion treatment/meeting (but the story is hilarious). I'd have him on a zero tolerance policy moving forward if he was retained.

Mike, Johnnie's already been on a zero tolerance policy. How many more chances does he deserve? MHO is none, unless he does another rehab stint- starting around now.

Um, it's a different scenario than Gordon, who's already proved he can play at a high level in the league, something that can't be said about Manziel. Haven't heard a peep about Josh- and assuming the silence lasts a couple more months, we have ourselves a genuine, porcupine #1 WR.

Zombo

@mike-h said:

Some people care, a lot. So much so there is a Channel 19 news crew camped out in front of his house (has been ALL WEEK), trying to get him to answer questions about his whereabouts last weekend. He messed up again if he went to Vegas and missed a concussion treatment/meeting (but the story is hilarious). I'd have him on a zero tolerance policy moving forward if he was retained.

Glad you're on board.

Thanks for telling us all to "Shut.The.Fuck.Up" and that we are all "miserable pussies who deserve the losing" the last time we saw a red flag.

I guess maybe it was OK to be concerned after all.

Z

TexasAg1969

@tour2ma said:

So JFF was not a HS manifestation which he embraced and perpetuated?

And he was never arrested for "failing to properly identify himself to police"?*

And he never used (money)sign-language until he walked across the Radio City stage?

Feels like more revisionist history going on here than in two chapters of a Texas HS History book...

*Just realized how the recent Vegas disguise is just another step towards squaring this circle.

The best I know is that the JF stuff started when he was ripping apart the defense as the scout team QB during his true freshman year.

And what does the arrest have to do with bringing the circus to town? He was an underage kid trying to drink with a false card. Of course that never happens to anyone else at that age.

The money-sign was started by one of his teammates and they all were using it together, but once the circus was started by the media it became his.

sisky fringo

holy shit, all my Homeys! this thread just got decent...where's "i fuck dolphins" at?

today was someone's birthday, someone whom Ed Sullivan refused to film below the waist due to his hypnotizing hip gyrations. i saw a story on drunk history about him last year where Jack Black was portraying him, it was around the time he was claiming to be an 8th degree black belt in ka-raw-tay and likely had a copious supply of ludes...anyway apparenty he met this federal agent bragging about the power his badge afforded him and decided he'd like this as well. so he rolls up to the White House and somehow persuades Nixon to grant him this ability and deputize him as some federal narcotics officer hybrid--a position that not only does Nixon not have the authority to bestow, but one which doesn't even exist at all! next thing you know he has a car with sirens and a whole getup he's wearing driving around pulling people over seizing their stashes left and right. not only was he armed and above the law now he kinda became his own dealer--talk about cutting out the middle man! I just looked for a pic about it and just saw someone has actually just made a movie about it and Kevin Spacey is playing Nixon in it. unfuckingreal.

i can't help but notice some parallels between these two awesome free spirit's personalities in how they operate and decided to craft yet another spinoff sobriquet. my only issue is, which has the better ring to it: Elvis Manziel or Johnny Presley?

http://movieweb.com/elvis-nixon-movie-trailer

TexasAg1969

I kind of like Billy Presley myself.

HoundDawg

I think those who think this is about Johnny's party lifestyle are way off the mark. No one cares if he parties. The partying is more of the symptom than the underlying issue. Johnny likes to play football as recreation. It's not a job for him. While that has worked his whole life because he was always the best player on the field, it will NOT work like that in the pro's. you can't blow off film study and half ass meetings and then go and ball out on Sunday in today's NFL. It's a full time job. Johnny has never had to work for anything in his life. It won't be an easy hurdle to overcome, especially when there is always the family money to fall back on. Add in that he's still very young and his maturity has been stunted by all his celebrity and you have a recipe for disaster. He doesn't like the part where he actually has to work to earn his way. He believes it should be handed to him and he should be allowed to do it his way. Football is a team sport. Those guys can't go into battle behind a leader who hasn't done the work. It's really that simple. I do think he tried a little harder this year, but the minimum required will never get him to the level of FQB. It just won't happen that way. He said himself he doesn't like to study film. That's all you need to know about Johnny's chances of ever being a FQB. All the extra work that guys like Brady, Manning, and Palmer put in, Johnny would rather blow off. And ALL of this was known about him coming out of college. For this, I don't blame Johnny, I blame the guy who drafted him.

Imagine you are at your job, busting your ass. Are you the best in the world at it? Maybe not, but you are doing everything you can to be the best you can be. Then the boss brings in his young, punk son who never did his homework as a student, let alone was he expected to earn his own way in anything. Now you have to put in your best next to this jackass who shows up when it suits him? You gonna be ok with that? You gonna accept this guy as a member of your team? Be honest. Of course not. Resentment is going to build and before you know it, it all goes to shit because this one guy who was handed the job of leader doesn't seem to care too much about working for it.

Furious Styles

Which I would think is the mind set of the teammate who called him a 100% joke .

Unsympathetic

@sisky-fringo said:
if an offer is made absolutely take it. if not, ride it till the wheels fall off.

Regardless how you define it, the "wheels" of JFF already did fall off. If we can get even a 6th round pick from Senile Jerry Jones, take that without even waiting for any of the other Shark Tank people to offer.

If not, he should be allowed to come to camp - and then cut on first roster cut day. He's just not a good player.

Zombo

Don't know if this was already posted, but it is a good read.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14520130/how-browns-johnny-manziel-failed-last-great-audition

HE WAS THE man that day, for 20 minutes at least, and in the bowels of Arrowhead Stadium, a crowd of Kansas City workers gathered around a TV mouthing, GET HIM. Johnny Manziel slipped through tackles, dashed for 108 yards, more than any quarterback in Browns history. He drove the Cleveland Browns to Kansas City's 18-yard-line in the closing seconds, ran out of time and dropped an F-bomb as he slammed his helmet to the ground. But in two locker rooms, he was all the buzz. One of the linebackers who tried to chase him down, Dee Ford, used to play against Manziel back in college. Ford said it was like the old days of Johnny Football.

Cleveland safety Donte Whitner proclaimed, "I think we have a starting quarterback for next year."

What the Browns didn't know was that Manziel had made at least two visits to Bar Louie in the days leading up to the game, lingering one night until at least 11 p.m. Or that in a few hours, a video would surface showing him rapping while holding a flavored malt beverage called Four Loko. Or that within a week, Manziel would be ruled out for the season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a concussion. He would then show up for a meeting on Dec. 30 looking disheveled and unkempt, according to a team source. He would get a ticket for driving with expired plates. He would skip out on his team-mandated concussion treatment, around the same time rumors would begin to surface about his whereabouts, every alleged trip taking on legendary status worthy of a custom T-shirt.

But for a second, let's hold on to that hopeful day in Kansas City. Manziel was so dejected and passionate that he made people believe maybe he could handle all of this after all. Coach Mike Pettine, who would be fired at season's end, said he could see the fire in Manziel. "I think he took a step forward," he said after the game.

Just a few weeks earlier, Pettine had announced that Manziel would start the final four games of the season. Pettine didn't bill it as such, but it would be an audition for the embattled young quarterback who was placed in a timeout of sorts for lying about a party video shot in Austin, Texas, during the Browns' bye week, leading to another Austin taking his spot on the field.

But if Manziel could step up in these four weeks, showing maturity and leadership, perhaps he could assert himself as Cleveland's future. Perhaps people would stop questioning his commitment and behavior. At the very least, maybe he'd put together some film that could drum up interest from another team.

"I personally think the Browns won't keep him," one NFL source said in December, before Manziel's latest exploits. "Which should scare everybody because they know him better than anybody. They know the extent of how severe his problems are.

"They've been burned too many times to trust him."

Before he went AWOL, the plan was to follow Manziel, one of the most electrifying and flawed young players in the NFL, on his great audition. Could he prove in four weeks that he belonged as a starting quarterback in the NFL? The answers were supposed to come by watching him on the sidelines, on the field, with his team.

Instead, what emerged was a maddening picture of a 23-year-old who should've aced the test but couldn't hold it together.

All Manziel had to do during this audition was flash some of the talent that carried him to a Heisman at Texas A&M and stay out of trouble. Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images

MAYBE CLEVELAND'S POWERS that be, i.e. billionaire owner Jimmy Haslam, already knew how all of this was going to go down. The Browns' final four games featured three teams that would make the playoffs -- Seattle, Kansas City and Pittsburgh. With that schedule, and a battered supporting cast, it was unlikely Manziel was going to set the world on fire.

But there was hope in a place that could be considered the most depressing quarterback city in the NFL. Since 2002, the Browns have had 21 different starting quarterbacks. Think about that. That's the year Tom Brady started his first full season for New England. Cleveland desperately wanted to believe in Manziel. His teammates wanted to believe. When Manziel is on the field, he brings a different energy and excitement.

"You never know what he's going to do," veteran left tackle Joe Thomas says.

At the start of his four weeks, Manziel's publicist, Denise Michaels, says he won't be doing any one-on-one interviews. Manziel has kept her busy this season. In October, he was pulled over on the interstate after an argument with his girlfriend, Colleen Elizabeth Crowley, who said he'd been hitting her. (Crowley didn't press charges, and the NFL didn't punish Manziel). A month later, Manziel promised the Browns he'd behave himself in the bye week and wound up on that party video in Austin.

So no, Manziel will not be doing any soul-baring interviews. Numerous loyal people in his circle decline interviews, too. Manziel will only talk in his group sessions, Michaels says, because he wants his play to do the talking.

The great audition starts on the second weekend of December, on an unseasonably warm day in Cleveland. The Browns are on a seven-game losing streak and haven't won in more than two months. The good news is that San Francisco and its porous defense is in town; the bad news is the Browns looked atrocious the week before against Cincinnati.

Brady Quinn, another failed first-round quarterback pick back in 2007, is on the pregame broadcast. He predicts that the insertion of Manziel will boost the worn-down team. Quinn, by the way, was picked No. 22 overall in the draft, just like Manziel.

Manziel makes headlines before the game begins when a fan asks him to sign a $100 bill near the tunnel leading to the locker room. The quarterback scribbles something that appears to say, "Money Manziel," his nickname back at A&M. In various comments sections, fans immediately question his focus. Some even suggest he should be arrested for defacing money.

But Manziel is locked in. He completes passes of 8 yards, 9 yards, 23 yards to start the game. He slaps his hands together in frustration when he misfires on third-and-9. The Browns are up 10-3 in the second quarter when he's chased toward the sideline. Manziel throws across his body, is intercepted by Jaquiski Tartt and is so angry at himself that he slams a blue Microsoft Surface tablet against his head repeatedly.

It was a play the Browns had talked about during the week, and it went down exactly how they expected, minus the interception. Browns quarterbacks coach Kevin O'Connell, sensing his frustration, calls down to Manziel. "How's your head feel?" O'Connell asks.

"It hurts," Manziel replies.

O'Connell will later say that the incident was actually a sign of growth. Manziel recognized his mistake and learned from it. He throws for 270 yards, and the team seems energized. A defense that has put up only 17 sacks in the first 12 games collects nine against San Francisco, and the Browns win 24-10.

The people who work with him in the quarterbacks room, including veteran Josh McCown, a 36-year-old QB who has played on seven different NFL teams, are encouraged by the performance. McCown, who probably would have started if he wasn't out because of a broken collarbone, has been mentoring him. He says he has begun to understand his brain, at least on the field.

"He wants to win, and he's going to play hard, and he's going to lay it out there for his guys," McCown says. "You bang your head against the Surface because you put in so much time during the week. It bothers him because he cares."

After the game, Manziel puts on a white dress shirt and a dark suit. "Good game, Johnny!" a fan shouts as Manziel exits the locker room, clutching a football. "Merry Christmas!"

Manziel stops to sign every autograph before disappearing down a hallway. A few hours later, at a Marriott downtown, a group of fans sits at the bar, hesitant to get too excited. One of them says he misses Brian Hoyer, last year's starter who's now in Houston. They talk about Manziel's transgressions and wonder what's coming next. "Twenty-three years old and he's got the world by the butt," one fan says. "How sad."

Manziel threw for 270 yards in his first game back and led the Browns to a win over the 49ers. AP Photo/David Richard

NOBODY IN HIS or her right mind believes Manziel will lead his team to a victory in Week 2 of the audition. The Browns are in Seattle, possibly the loudest venue in the NFL and home to the NFC's two-time champion and a ferocious pass rush.

Manziel stuns the crowd by marching Cleveland 80 yards down the field on the opening possession. He hits six of eight passes and is poised and confident. On third-and-goal, with a wall of humanity closing in on him, Manziel escapes the pocket, and everyone is sure he's going to run. He zips a 7-yard touchdown pass to Gary Barnidge instead.

For the second straight game, Manziel looks as if he belongs as a starting quarterback in the NFL, even if the Browns eventually are routed 30-13.

All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman finds Manziel on the field after the game. Sherman tells him to keep his head up. "Don't let them affect who you are," Sherman says.

In the happy Seattle locker room, Sherman almost sounds as if he feels sorry for Manziel. He's scrutinized for his every movement, Sherman says. "It's not like he's a drug dealer and out there killing people or something crazy like that," Sherman says. "He's being young."

Sherman thinks it's a little unfair to judge him on these four weeks. For starters, he says, Manziel has played only a handful of games. Plus, the Browns are 3-11, so it's not as if his team is playing with as much motivation as it was at the beginning of the season.

"He's got a lot of expectations on him," Sherman continues. "And obviously he hasn't had the best little run in his time in the league. But I think he's coming into his own. He's starting to finally figure out who he is as a person, and once you figure that out, you'll be fine. In two games, he's played pretty good football. This one was [against] a pretty tough team in a pretty tough environment. He did enough to give his team a chance."

In the Browns' locker room, a gaggle of media is gathered around defensive back Tramon Williams. Manziel walks in and looks as if he wants to use the showers, but when he sees the scrum, he heads in the opposite direction. He's solemn in his postgame news conference. One longtime Cleveland reporter says it's the most dejected he's ever seen him.

A few days pass, and Manziel does a conference call with Kansas City media in preparation for the Chiefs game. He says he's taking his job seriously now.

"I can't really change everything I have done in the past," he says, "but I can try and change everything moving forward. I'm just trying to do the right things and stack up some good weeks and do some good things and finish out the season."

The Browns were no match for the Seahawks, but even Richard Sherman said Manziel held his own. Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, IT turns out, was Manziel's final game on film. Earlier that week, Chris Assenheimer, a writer who covers baseball for the Chronicle-Telegram in Elyria, Ohio, spotted Manziel at Bar Louie and introduced himself. Assenheimer said he was cordial and signed everything, even a plate for a server. But when his friend asked for a picture, Manziel told him he couldn't take pictures in a bar. Clearly, Manziel was aware of the ramifications of another bar photo on social media.

On the second night, when the crush of the autograph-seekers became too much, Manziel slipped out a back door.

In the grand scheme of things, the Kansas City game meant nothing for the Browns, who wound up tied for the worst record in football. But it meant everything to Manziel. Or at least it should have.

Many of his teammates, and at least one of his coaches, believed he'd turned a corner. Manziel had gone to rehab for unspecified reasons last spring and moved out of his swanky apartment downtown to a house on a golf course in the suburbs. O'Connell, the quarterbacks coach who once backed up Brady and Matt Cassel, thought McCown would be the influence Manziel needed. He instructed Manziel last spring to follow McCown around. Do what he does today, O'Connell told Manziel. Watch the film he watches. Do the work he does.

Even Joe Thomas, one of Manziel's biggest critics during his disastrous rookie season in 2014, said Manziel had made big strides in '15. He saw a different commitment and energy from him, and believed he truly wanted to be a better quarterback.

"His dedication was never questioned between the stripes on the football field," Thomas said. "But when you're in the NFL, winning doesn't just happen when you cross the white stripe coming out of the tunnel. Winning happens during the week when you're watching film, when you're studying your playbook, when you're practicing a certain way. And at times last year, he didn't show that commitment to winning and the competitiveness you see on the field, off the field. But this year he is."

His teammates saw progress, but ultimately Manziel veered back off track. Now his future is uncertain. Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

WEEK 4 IS, simply put, a buzzkill. On Wednesday, after it becomes clear Manziel isn't playing, talk-radio lines light up with angry people. They wonder why Manziel didn't report his concussion symptoms until Wednesday. At least one radio host suggests he play with the head injury.

They are disappointed Manziel isn't starting. He represented the only intriguing element in a season finale with a 3-12 team.

Thomas, who occasionally rolls his eyes over the media's fixation with Manziel, stands at his locker and reflects on Manziel's celebrity. Thomas figures some of the obsession comes from the people who watched him play in college, electrifying and cocky, flashing his money sign. Then Manziel started hanging out with Drake and Tiny Canadian Pussy Douche and various Hollywood types, elevating him to an even bigger sports celebrity.

"That's the path he's chosen and what he's going to have to live with," Thomas says.

One person familiar with his lifestyle is a guy named Gareth Kirk. He's an old buddy from Texas who lived with Manziel last year in Cleveland, worked on his marketing team and is just about the only person in Manziel's circle who'll talk. The roommates had a lot of fun together during Manziel's rookie season. Too much fun.

In a past life, Kirk was one of the guys Manziel would call to go on a quick vacation. But he didn't call this time. Kirk, like the Browns, doesn't know where Manziel was Saturday night. He says his friend is talented and smart enough to do anything if he walks the right path. Like so many others, he can't understand why a man who can be so competitive on the field is doing so many things to jeopardize his career off of it. And Manziel isn't commenting -- all interview requests were declined.

"It's a question that everybody can't figure out," Kirk says, "and it's so frustrating for all of those people who love him and care about him. I wish I had the answer, but I don't."

With No. 3 quarterback Austin Davis at the helm, the Browns lose to Pittsburgh 28-12. As the game winds down, one of the TVs in the press box shows Brian Hoyer and Houston celebrating a playoff berth.

In the Browns' locker room, Manziel's teammates aren't in the mood to talk about why he's not there. If the Vegas report is true, Thomas says, then it's something that needs to be addressed in the offseason. "I just want to know the Cleveland Browns are the most important thing in that person's life," he says.

As Thomas speaks, equipment workers in Browns hoodies and closely cropped hair begin to pack up the remains of a season they'd all like to forget. Quarterback Pat Devlin stands near Manziel's locker, taking in the scene. Devlin received a call earlier in the week after Manziel's concussion symptoms emerged. He was at his home in the Philadelphia area and got in his car and drove to Cleveland. He jumped at the chance for another week in which he could play football.

The only signs of Manziel are some shower clogs under a folding chair and a uniform dangling from a hanger in his locker. No, he didn't have to be at the stadium Sunday. But that's what quarterbacks and leaders do. They stick with their team. When McCown sat out because of a concussion earlier this season, he watched the game from a suite.

It is unclear what team Manziel will be with next year. Dallas is rumored to be an option -- owner Jerry Jones has long been fixated on Manziel, and he told 105.3 The Fan this week that he is open to taking a young quarterback who might be a risk. But there will be no decisions on Manziel's future yet, mainly because the decision-makers have been fired.

As the players scatter and try to forget this miserable season Sunday, Devlin asks an equipment employee if he can keep his jersey. He wants it as a souvenir. He doesn't know if he'll get another chance. Manziel, on the other hand, will, leaving the people closest to him to wonder: Will he wake up before the chances disappear?