Attraction is an amazing thing, isn’t it? We all want the hottest new cell phone, we’re all dying to see the best new movie in theatres, and we’re all enticed by the enigmatic figure that is Johnny Manziel. What do all three have in common? The iPhone 5, The Great Gatsby, and Johnny Manziel are all intriguing, but none of them are guaranteed successes. They’re all a work in progress, but are brought into the limelight because of supply and demand.
As football fans, we were supplied with Johnny Manziel during the 2012 college football season, and due to the success he was having with Texas A&M, we demanded more, and rightfully so. He’s a box office hit, he was The Great Gatsby. The movie will likely do very well at the box office, why not? it’s a great story that’ll now be produced for the silver screen, something we all love. However, will we likely remember it this time next year? chances are that we won’t. There’s only a handful of movies over the last decade that we truly remember and hang onto, the other movies we can do without, but those four or five movies are the ones we cling to with dear life, because they’re that good.
Johnny Manziel was that good in 2012, but Johnny Manziel isn’t Scarface. Johnny Manziel isn’t The Godfather. He is a one-year wonder.
Before we dive into Manziel’s 2012 season, let me help enlighten you on what we were gifted during the 2012 NFL season. Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, took the league by storm and led them to within three yards of a Super Bowl victory. The Seattle Seahawks struck gold in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft with quarterback Russell Wilson, who led the team to the playoffs, and challenged Robert Griffin III for Offensive Rookie of The Year.
Why am I mentioning these quarterbacks in an article that’s meant to detail the type of NFL prospect Johnny Manziel can be? Simple, they’re capable of running the read-option offense, which is what will help Manziel’s stock in the draft process next year.
Let me help break something down for everyone. Johnny Manziel on his best day is not Colin Kaepernick. San Francisco's quarterback is 6’4’’ 230 lbs. has elite arm strength, and runs like a fullback. Russell Wilson spends more time watching film and lifting weights than he does with his wife and family. Robert Griffin III has olympic-level talent as a sprinter, who has one of the best deep balls in the entire National Football League. Manziel? He is barely 6’0’’ and weighs 210 lbs. soaking wet. Manziel has above average arm strength at best, and would lose a foot race to every single quarterback I’ve listed. So, you still think the Texas A&M quarterback is a top quarterback prospect? If so, I’ll keep going.
I decided to compare Manziel’s Heisman Trophy Winning season to another former dual-threat college quarterback that took the nation by storm, Tim Tebow. During Tebow’s 2007 Heisman campaign, he passed for 3,286 yards, completing 66.9% of his passes. Manziel threw for 3,706 yards, completing 68.0% of his passes. However, Manziel threw the ball 84 more times than Tebow, giving him a better chance to complete more passes. Tebow threw for 32 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. Manziel threw for 29 touchdowns, with nine interceptions. So, Tebow did more with less than Manziel. Now, Tebow ran for 895 yards and 23 touchdowns, while Manziel ran for 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns. Manziel ran the ball 201 times, while Tebow ran the ball 210. So, in that case, Manziel did more. The point here is to show how nearly identical these two quarterbacks played against the same level of competition, both hailing from the SEC.
I won’t sit here for one second and pretend that Johnny Manziel is Tim Tebow, he’s not, but don’t for one second sit here and try to tell me that Johnny Manziel is the next Colin Kaepernick, Russel Wilson, or RGIII, he’s not. When you look at Johnny Manziel, think of an smaller Kordell Stewart, or even Eric Crouch. Now, I’d like to know how well those two players fared as full-time NFL quarterbacks. If memory serves me right, Kordell Stewart was an above-average at best starting quarterback in the NFL who ended his career as a punter. Eric Crouch? he was drafted as a defensive back who saw his career end in the now defunct NFL Europe.
Look, I get it. We all want to attach ourselves to what’s hot. Hell, I waited in a line or five hours for the iPhone 4s. Did that phone change my world? Nope. Johnny Manziel, won’t either. I don’t mind that you like him as a college football player, he’s great for the game. Johnny Manziel is never going to change the game at the next level, that is what you should start attracting yourself to.