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NFL/Media/Johnny/Cam/RG III/ process Rant

LUUUUUKE

By LUUUUUKE,
in Carolina Panthers

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LUUUUUKE Rookie

LUUUUUKE

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Posted

*** Warning, this a long rant with a lot of knowledge sprinkled in, if you don't like reading long posts then click the little red x in the top right hand corner of your browser or click back. If you do like reading these posts then just stay with it and it will hopefully bring up many discussion points that we can cover from now until camp begins. ***

Johnny Manziel is already a better QB than RG III. There, I said it. Sure, he's got to prove it on the field at the NFL level, but I feel as though he just needs that opportunity to prove it, and that will come in time. There are a few questions remaining though, like l he be accepted as a media darling like RG was or will he be persona non grata like Cam? Will he start week one? Or will he come off the bench a few games later?

I compare Johnny a lot to Cam, and obviously it's not his size. I think they have a lot in common actually. Besides the obvious similarities in playing style, they are both Heisman winners, and both came into the League under tremendous scrutiny. They are both very marketable and have that super star quality to them with similar mind sets both from a business perspective and they're both comfortable in their own skin. I think that it rubs "old school" media heads the wrong way when young stars aren't "as humble" as they should be. Those same morons seem to forget that they're just kids. Not only that, but then you surround them with instant over night fame where they are the subjects of numerous ESPN specials so that these major networks profit over these kids because "that's what sells" and ratings is what gets these networks paid. Then these same outlets question their maturity. These guys are elite college athletes that already get their share of special treatment prior to the round the clock specials. Then the media creates the perception that they're irresponsible because they drink underage (although Cam doesn't) but most do, and girls throw themselves at them. Take any 18 yr old kid, give them instant overnight fame, and have girls begging you to go home with them, and every single kid is going to act the same way. The only exception to this rule would be The Golden Calf of Bristol. None the less you get the point.

The draft pundits. These guys are not fortune tellers, and granted they more know more than most die hard fans, but I would argue that the only reason I'd even give them that, is because they have more resources than we do. They have teams of guys that chop up tape for them at a whim. I'd consider myself a "draft expert" if I had those resources too. My point here is that, these guys don't always get it right, and I'd be shocked if they didn't get "cuts" of the first several picks' initial contracts. After all, they themselves can either proclaim greatness or ruin any single recruit with one rumor at the most inopportune moment. That's probably a little far fetched, but think about it. They can single handedly make or break a prospect. Just ask Teddy Bridgewater for his take. They proclaimed him to be the most draft ready QB at the onset of last years college season. Then he goes out there and gives them ammo to ruin him by having a bad pro day. This is a little bit different because he inflicted it upon himself, but then you see a top 10 pick slide all the way down. Johnny was also supposed to be a top 10 pick, but then suddenly their are maturity concerns as well as a sudden "size and durability" issue. This I found comical as if they hadn't known anything about his size all year. Suddenly this was the storyline surrounding Johnny Football just a few days before the draft. Then there's the whole "unnamed high official like a GM" that says something anonymously and then that takes the story line. Granted, teams and GMs don't have to listen to any of this and can act on their own, but then they get blasted in the media. I mean look at Michael Sam for God sakes. The dude was a SEC defensive player of the year in the most talent filled conference in college football. If he doesn't come out of the closet he's likely a top 15 draft pick, but that's a whole nother argument for a different time. The thing is, nobody wanted that distraction, or the stigma with having the first known gay player being drafted. Just because society as a whole has become more accepting of homosexuality as a whole doesn't mean that these old school owners and GMs are. They come from an era where it's simply not accepted at all. I digress on that whole issue, but it just goes to show you that the media does have a lot of power. Let me get back on track though.

Many people will compare Johnny to RG III and it's due to his size, but Johnny is smarter than any other prospect that has ever come out of college. I mean he patented "Johnny Football" his brand, a whole year before he was even drafted. Do you think that he's going to be dumb enough to make the same mistakes that RG did? Do you think that he's going to sacrifice himself like RG did? While we're on the subject, let's be honest about something. RG is deathly scared of his back up, Kirk Cousins. What's more, he should be. That kid is a great QB. He may not be known to take off, but when he wants to, he's just as effective as any other scrambling QB across the league. Because he's white and he stereotype is that white QBs don't run, he's not considered a threat as much as RG is though. Not racist, just true. Brett Favre, Steve Young, Andrew Luck and even Aaron Rodgers fit that same bill. White QBs that can run, but aren't considered "scrambling" QBs. My point here is that even with the recent revelation of Cleveland's GM publicly stating that Manziel was far behind Hoyer or something to that effect, it's just lip service. Johnny is not nor will he ever be scared of Hoyer nor should he be. I'd personally be shocked if Johnny isn't the week 1 starter. I could also see them trying to save Johnny from himself too though. Why do I say that? Well let's look at some history right here at home in Carolina.

Let's look at the year we drafted Cam as an example. And here's why I compare Johnny to Cam. Cam came into the League under tremendous scrutiny, and was expected to come out right away and perform at that first rnd first draft pick caliber right out of the gate. Let's say we weren't sold on Cam for a second? How far does he tumble with all of his character concerns? Funny right? What if Clowney wasn't there in this draft and Houston was in love with Johnny, do they pull the trigger? Lots of questions we don't know any of the answers to and we never will. Here's what we do know though. We had Jimmy Clausen, the guy that was supposed to come in here and save the franchise after Delhomme imploded at the worst possible time. What was the result of that Mr Kiper and Mr McShay? Clausen was supposed to be the best QB in that class period coming from a pro style offense and a highly touted former NFL coach in Charlie Weis. Sam Bradford was the media darling that year, and Jimmy fell into the 2nd rnd due to being considered arrogant. Well we all know how that played out, even The Golden Calf of Bristol had a more successful career than the pickles, and Timwas drafted ahead of Jimmy. Anyhow, let's fast forward. We draft Cam the next year at #1 overall during the lockout no less.

He comes in after getting the play book and the lockout continues. Cam didn't have he luxury of a full offseason to even properly prepare to become a pro. The media chews him up for being inconsistent throughout the entire pre season. People all over the Internet were screaming bust. Carolina fans were up in arms that we didn't select Marcel Darius. It was looking as though we had blown another pick in the draft and everyone in Carolina pretty much lost hope. Cam was already a bust by his own fans before he took one regular season snap. There was absolutely no reason to ever think that Cam would even start week one, after all he'd shown nothing during the pre season to warrant him starting ahead of Jimmy Clausen. Well hells bells if he didn't start week one against Arizona and shatter everyone's pre conceptions and numerous records during his rookie debut. He went out there and threw for 400+ yds in his first NFL game. Why is that? How did he do that? Where did it come from?

I ask all of those questions to remind everyone here that much like Cam, Johnny is a gamer. Yet no one will be so bold in the media to even compare the two. Most likely because you have a freak athlete that's black on one hand, and a white version of RG III as far as everyone is really concerned. The fact of the matter is that like Cam, when the lights are on, he's going to impress. All of the story lines coming out here about Johnny recently are fodder until TC. He's not impressing at camp blah blah blah. The media will make or break him. The biggest question concerning Johnny is this. Will the Cleveland FO take a chance and recognize what we did with Cam, or will they play it conservatively and coddle him along until the fans demand that he play, because that time will come I can assure you. I think that Johnny will be a great QB in this league. Could I be wrong? Absolutely I could be. Am I a pro analyst? No I'm not. What I do know is that once upon a time ago, there was a small white quarterback that was "too small" and had an unorthodox throwing motion. His name was Doug Flutie. Some of you might have heard of him. If Flutie could be successful in this League, then I think that Johnny can be too is all I'm saying. I think that he learned from watching RG when to get down so that he doesn't make the same mistake as him. I think that Johnny has the swag and the game to do so something similar to what Cam, Andrew, and RG did during their rookie campaigns. As I've stated over and over though, it matters not what we think, it matters what Cleveland thinks he can do. That's what will make or break Johnny Football in my opinion.

Feel free to discuss anything in this thread. Not much to talk about here lately, and while Johnny has dominated some other threads on this forum I think that this one is very different in obvious ways.

End of rant

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LUUUUUKE Rookie

LUUUUUKE

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Not an RG3 fan myself.

I kind of like Johnny Football.

That being said, "Manziel is already a better QB than RG3" is a ridiculous statement.

Perhaps it is, but collegiately I would say that Johhny was more accurate and proved on multiple occasions that he was even more accurate on the run and off balanced than anybody I've seen ever. I' do agree that Johnny has to prove it on the field, but I think the only thing RG has on Johnny is time in the league. I could be very wrong, but it's just my opinion. Some will agree while others won't. Such is life

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edromeo Newbie

edromeo

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A few things.

 

(1)

 

You're over selling Johnny FB alot. Lets not forget that like Cam, Griffin won the Heisman trophy AND NFL rookie of the year. So if  you're saying Johnny is already better then Griffin you're setting the bar ridiculousy high  we're talking NFL rookie of the year high.

But lets put NFL accomplishment aside for a second. Griffin was hands down the better college prospect then Manziel.

Better arm, better accuracy, bigger, faster, stronger. You name it. On the field or off the field.

 

Look it I like Johnny Manziel a lot too. I'm partial towards playmaking QBs.

But he's not already better then Griffin. That's absurd.

 

(2)

 

Lol, draft pundits DO NOT reflect the way the NFL team's actually grade the prospects. Draft pundits give their opinions mixed with whatever misinformation team officials give them. And the information team officials give the media is always for their own purposes so the truth of their information is suspect AT BEST. Point being is that pundits don't know they're guessing. So when a prospect 'falls' they're not really 'falling' their experiencing the difference between how the NFL team's feel about that prospect vs the way draft pundits feel about said prospect.

 

(3) Lol, what 'dumb' mistakes did Griffin make? You know what? Nevermind, don't want to know.

 And LOL that you think Griffin is deathly scared of the 'great' Kirk Cousins; the QB we couldn't get more then a 4th round pick for.

 

(4) People don't compare Cam and Johnny because people usually compare QB based off measurables.

You know how I said Griffin is bigger, faster stronger? Well x2 for Cam. Cam can throw and run it through a brick wall.

Johnny has adequate arm strength.

 

(5) Johnny's biggest hurdle will be with the Browns rookie front office to include owner and with Kyle Shanahan.

Kyle's offense and Johnny's skillset are perfect for one another but make no mistake as Redskin's fan I can tell without prejudice that Kyle is brilliant but he's also a prick of the highest order.

 

Cheers.

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RelaxImaPro Contributor

RelaxImaPro

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I'm not high on RG3, but it's ridiculous to say Manziel is already better than him. I also have no idea how you consider Manziel the smartest college player ever... lol what?

 

Sorry, the post is way too long, and just seeing those two points made me immediately not even want to read the rest of it.

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