We know Johnny Manziel has a drinking problem at the very least. He didn’t spend several weeks in a rehab facility over the summer for no good reason. The kid needed help to get himself under control; else he would have spent his offseason relaxing instead of working the 12 step program and talking to counselors about his issues.
Alcohol use is not the biggest problem Manziel has, however. Not when it comes to playing professional football. Johnny Football has a huge privacy problem. And maybe, just maybe he has an IQ deficit.
I think that a guy with average intelligence would have enough smarts to at least stay away from public parties that could further wreck his image. Manziel does not seem to be smart enough to avoid situations like that. J-Football has been plastered all over the net after last Friday night’s adventure at an Austin, Texas nightclub that shows #2 partying like a wannabe A&M freshman rapper.
Many fans seem baffled that Manziel is getting in trouble for drinking legal alcohol. It’s not like he’s the only one overdoing it with the bottle is their argument.
The difference is that Manziel is a starting quarterback (or was), and he has been in rehab! I’m not familiar with the 12 step program, but I’d bet my last few dollars in my DraftKings account that binge drinking with a bottle of champagne is not a proper step to get your life together.
So with the latest embarrassing video, Johnny Football has lost the starting job in Cleveland. He had been named the starter for the rest of the year. Now he has squandered that opportunity and has dropped all the way to third string. A vote of no confidence from his team.
Browns head coach Mike Pettine said the following in a team statement.
“Josh McCown will be the starting quarterback on Monday night against the Ravens,” Pettine said in a statement released by the team. “I informed the quarterbacks of that decision after I sat down and spoke with Johnny, Flip (John DeFilippo) and Kevin (O’Connell) after practice today. Johnny will be the third quarterback. I’ve spoken to Ray (Farmer) and Jimmy (Haslam) to inform them of my decision, and they are in full support.
“Everyone in this organization wants what is best for Johnny just like we do for every player in our locker room. I’m especially disappointed in his actions and behavior because he has been working very hard. The improvements from last year to this year have been tremendous, but he still has to consistently demonstrate that he has gained a good understanding of what it takes to be successful at the quarterback position on this level. It goes well beyond the field. We are going to continue to support him in every way possible, but at this point, we’ve decided it’s best to go with Josh as the starter going forward.”
I’m confident that drinking is bad for Johnny Manziel at this time. But if we’re talking strictly about his football career, then it’s his inability to keep his partying ways private that’s jacking up his NFL future.
No video of this past Friday night, no benching. It’s all about perception. One thing to hear rumors about Manziel going on a bender, quite another to see him in action with a big bottle of booze surrounded by guys at varying levels of douchery. There’s headphones dude, let’s get a selfie guy, and in need of a haircut but I’ll mash it down with a cap fella. Then there’s Manziel, an alleged professional football player that could have been the face of an organization.
All Johnny Manziel had to do for the rest of 2015 was focus on staying off TMZ’s radar. With no chance of seeing the playoffs, that’s just 42 days of not acting like an idiot, or at least not getting caught on camera acting like one!
That’s not easy with everyone having to document each second of their lives with a damn smartphone, but it’s possible. Manziel could easily have a private party with a reasonable amount of people and have security take up all phones upon entry.
There’s a business idea there that may show up on Shark Tank. Private parties for celebrities with no video or photo evidence afterward, guaranteed. I’d like 5% of the business just for the seed idea Mr. Cuban.
In my opinion, it’s over for Manziel in Cleveland. He’s shown the Browns who he is for two years. He may be done in the League as well since he’s done little on the field to make other teams think he’s worthy of a shot in a different city.
Colin Kaepernick may be through, but he will get another shot outside of San Francisco, having taken his team to the Super Bowl.
Johnny Manziel isn’t the first QB to be a bust, nor the first NFL player to let the party scene get the best of him. He is just part of a new generation of imperfect athletes that need to better control what the public sees. Not an easy task in 2015.