Johnny Victim: Manziel's Performance Drawing Far Too Much Criticism

By now the less-than-impressive performance that Johnny Manziel put on this past Sunday is playing second fiddle to the Chicago Bears' decision to bench Jay Cutler against Detroit this week. Yet amidst the news of Jimmy Clausen getting the start for the Bears this Sunday there has still been plenty of talk about Manziel's future both in the coming week and the seasons ahead. Sure the Browns took a ruthless beating from the Cincinnati Bengals, but is it really worth all of the emotion and analysis?

Hoyer's performance quickly fell off after week 10

Going back to Manziel's days at Texas A&M, I found it hard to be a fan of him. I loved his game, but his antics off the field really dissuaded me from supporting him. He was exciting to watch and gave the college football world a very special and unique talent, but the constant media attention to every little thing he did while at A&M got annoying real quick.

When he was finally drafted late in the first round this past April, the quarterback competition began immediately in Cleveland. It was believed by some that Manziel would be named the starter to begin the season yet Mike Pettine chose to go with Brian Hoyer as the first-string quarterback. Though Manziel still managed to find his way into headlines throughout the first half of the season, he had begun to fade into the background as Hoyer had the Browns in playoff position. Through the first nine games, Hoyer led Cleveland to a 6-3 record while completing ten touchdown passes in comparison to just four interceptions.

However, it was in week 11 when Hoyer's season started unraveling. After the 6-3 start, the Browns dropped three of their next four behind very poor performances from their starting quarterback. In those four games, Hoyer threw for only one touchdown while tossing eight interceptions. With the Browns playoff hopes dwindling, Pettine decided to go with Johnny Manziel in week 15, which brings us now to this past week of embarrassing commotion.

Most everybody knows how Johnny Football's debut went. No touchdowns, two interceptions, 10-18 passing, and 13 yards rushing on 5 attempts. Not exactly your Hall of Fame statistics by any means. However, the debut of Johnny Manziel was so hyped, so over-analyzed, and so highly-anticipated that the only way Manziel could have lived up to it all was to have a Manning or Brady-like performance. Instead, the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals chewed Manziel up and spit him out. They taunted him. They crushed him. They flat-out embarrassed him. Yet I find it incredibly unfair and wrong that the news networks, specifically ESPN, have gone to the extent of questioning whether or not Johnny Manziel belongs in the league.

The Bengals smothered Manziel this past Sunday

You'll be very hard pressed to win games if your quarterback doesn't perform well. That's the nature of the sport. But at the end of the day it was Manziel's first career start. You don't think that playing a playoff team in front of your home crowd with the playoffs on the line would cause a hint of nerves? It was obvious Manziel wasn't used to the speed of the NFL game. Passing windows close up much quicker, your decision-making has to be quicker, etc. It's not a situation most quarterbacks can just walk into and immediately succeed in, especially a game as pivotal as this one. Why are "analysts" now questioning whether or not Manziel has what it takes to play in the NFL?

It was almost comical to watch some of the guys on ESPN talk about Manziel's performance. Merril Hoge had the quote of the week when he said that Johnny Manziel "has first-round hype with sixth round talent." You're going to say that after ONE GAME? Take a look at the quarterbacks in the past who had poor debuts: Joe Montana was 5-12 passing for 53 yards and no touchdowns, John Elway was 1-8 passing for 14 yards and an interception, and Peyton Manning threw one touchdown, three interceptions, and was sacked four times. In no way is Johnny Manziel comparable to these three Hall of Famers, but if you want to base a young player's forthcoming career off of his professional debut then you don't belong in the business. That quote from Hoge had more immature emotion in it than a 13 year old girl that didn't get asked to a junior high dance. Give me a break. There's no reason to be that extreme.

I'm still not Manziel's biggest fan. However, I can't help but feel bad for the guy for all the skepticism he's currently experiencing. Did he bring some of the expectations on himself? Absolutely. He's got a bit of an ego and at the end of the day he's a Heisman Trophy winner. His personality alone has brought on these sky-high expectations but to expect him to live up to them in his first game? That's the society we live in; there's no patience whatsoever and there is constant criticism whether it's warranted or not. It's not a mistake that Johnny Manziel is in this position. He's going to adjust to the NFL game and he's got the talent to excel professionally. It takes time. Everybody needs to stop freaking out and allow Manziel's career to unfold. He'll have another chance to prove himself this Sunday against Carolina.

Jay Bilas Makes the Protest of the Year

Manziel could be suspended for profiting off his own name

Let's all give Jay Bilas a hand. Seriously, how awesome has he been today? In light of the Johnny Manziel controversy that the Texas A&M quarterback profited off of autographs he signed for brokers, Bilas took to Twitter to expose the NCAA Shop for profiting off of players' names.

As he pointed out 14 times on his account, by searching a player's name in the search bar (i.e.-Manziel, Zeller, Muhammad) shopNCAAsports.com will turn back results with all of their jerseys. This hardly seems fair. In fact, it's not fair one bit. There's a possibility that Manziel could be suspended for the season because of this. It's about time these athletes get paid for the NCAA using their name for profit.

This is nothing new in the world of college athletics. The debate on the NCAA using players' likeness has raged on for years (see "Fab 5 Michigan"), but it has heated up recently and the Manziel story comes at the perfect time. Find a way to explain how it's fair that someone can search "Johnny Manziel" on a NCAA website and get back results with any kind of Texas A&M #2 jersey? The NCAA sees all of that money, but Manziel won't see a dime.

So, just to make sure we're clear here, Manziel doesn't own his own name. The NCAA owns his name for the time that he spends in college. Johnny Football can win the Heisman and be apart of dozens of functions that make the NCAA money, but Johnny Manziel can't make any money off his own performance. So, what it really comes down to, is that the NCAA encourages/wants Johnny Manziel to be as big of a business as he can, but if that business includes himself then it's the wrong kind in the NCAA's eyes.

What a shame because Texas A&M is rolling in the dough due to Manziel's celebrity. How many millions of dollars has the school made because of television revenue and bowl game payoffs that was mostly generated my Manziel? Too many too count, but the quarterback won't see any of it. Sure, they will thank him after this year is over, pat him on the back and hope the door doesn't hit him on the way out. Then they will wait for the next Johnny Manziel to come along and get the Benjamins flowing again because that's the way college athletics works.

It's a flawed and corrupt business. The ones who are making the money for the NCAA aren't seeing any of it and it's about time that changed. Props to Jay Bilas for exposing part of the corrupt nature of the NCAA and, in fact, he exposed them so badly that they disabled the search bar halfway through the day.

Problem is, their next move will most likely be to disable Manziel's attempt at a Heisman repeat and national championship run. Just because the guy thought he owned his own name. Silly him right?

Jay Bilas' Twitter account: https://twitter.com/JayBilas

Johnny Manziel Has Some Growing Up To Do

Johnny Manziel may be the biggest star in the history of college sports. That sounds crazy to say, but it might be true. Tim Tebow was pretty big during his time at Florida, but Johnny Football completely took over the college football universe during his Heisman Trophy-winning freshman season. Since delivering his acceptance speech he has done anything, but fade away from the national spotlight. He has basked in it and become the center of it -- and not always for the right reasons. Once again, Manziel finds himself in the middle of controversy this week and it begs the question: is Johnny Football's star too bright for the college ranks?

Manziel is a 20-year-old sophomore at Texas A&M and burst on to the national scene after a November 10th upset of No. 1 Alabama. Johnny Football carved up the Tide, completing 24 of 31 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 92 yards. The Aggies jumped on 'Bama early, leading 20-0 after the first quarter and then holding off a rally at the end, winning 29-24. The legend was born on the night and Manziel would go on to be the first freshman to hoist the Heisman in New York City.

After winning the award Manziel and the Aggies still had business to take care of against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. No problem. Manziel looked like he was on another planet, setting a Cotton Bowl record with 516 total yards and leading A&M to a 41-13 pounding over the Sooners. Manziel didn't just score four touchdowns (two in the air, two on the ground), he showboated his way to all four. With every score the taunting grew and this was a kid who couldn't be stopped.

He also can't be stopped off the field. It's a problem. After winning the Heisman, Manziel appeared at several NBA games courtside and in the locker room with stars like LeBron James and James Harden after the games. There may actually be nothing wrong with that, but it seems highly suspicious. Manziel can't accept any gifts or benefits so, in order to go to those games, his family would have to buy the tickets. That may have happened, but who knows. It's controversy that Texas A&M doesn't want or need.

He also has a June 2012 arrest on his record and has countless photos of his partying stacked up against him. He's a 20-year-old college student. I get that. 20-year-old college students go out and party. However, Manziel is not your typical 20-year-old college student. He's different and he needs to hold himself to a higher standard. That might mean cutting out the partying and avoiding controversy at all costs.

Avoiding controversy for Manziel is no small task though. Earlier this summer he caused a stir by tweeting, "Bulls--t like tonight is the reason why I can't wait to leave College Station... Whenever it may be." The tweet was deleted not long after it was sent, but sources later said it was influenced by a parking violation he received. This past week Manziel was back in the headlines after he left Manning Camp early. Several media outlets reported that he was hungover and had been partying, but the Manning family denied those reports saying he was ill and dehydrated. Manziel has since apologized to Texas A&M for his early departure and was reportedly upset that he had to leave. Again, maybe he really was sick, but it seems highly suspicious. And the only reason it seems suspicious is because Manziel has created his own reputation.

Life is going to change very soon for Johnny Manziel. He wants out of College Station and guess what -- that's potentially just a year away. Then he can go to the NFL, make millions of dollars and either be a star like he should be or fade into obscurity and continue being a clown. A year may seem like a long time, but it's really not when you have as much maturing to do as Manziel does. He's like the real-life Peter Pan -- The Boy Who Never Grew Up.

Let's not give the kid a pass and say, "Well he's just 20 years old. Of course he's not mature yet." How long are we going to make that excuse for him? For his sake when is someone going to sit him down and tell him exactly what he needs to hear? He's not a kid anymore and that's just the way it is. If he doesn't like the spotlight and attention then stop playing football, but as long as he is in the spotlight he needs to grow up and carry himself in a more positive manner.

One of the best parts about Manziel's football game is his ability to scramble out of trouble. It also seems to be a skill he has adapted to his life. Time and again, he scrambles out of trouble, but that isn't going to happen much longer. And when he can no longer scramble out of the mess he's made for himself it could cause him to lose millions of dollars and years of fame and then he will really find out how bright the spotlight can be. It's time to grow up Johnny.