Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

[RaychelSnr]

Mobile quarterbacks are a commodity that garner mixed reception when they make the jump from the college game to the NFL. Johnny Manziel is the latest to fit that mold and will no doubt be one of the most hotly debated players heading into this year's NFL draft.

Manziel's style as an agile gun-slinger has pushed some to compare the former Heisman winner to Brett Favre. Meanwhile, celebs like LeBron James claim to be tied to his inner circle of support (or maybe it's the other way around) so get ready for the next Tebow-like circus in the NFL.

The read option has faded into a mere tool in the arsenal of NFL offenses and not a devastating weapon that can't be stopped. Manziel, however, is a different breed of mobile QB. He's a never-shy acutely aware signal-caller with the ability to escape nearly any situation and turn it into positive yards.

Do you see Johnny Manziel succeeding as a quarterback in the NFL?

Sports Headlines for January 10, 2014

• It appears the NFL is trying to hold players accountable for following concussion protocol. Could suspension or fines be in the near future?
• James Franklin has accepted Penn State's offer to be the new head coach in Happy Valley, but not before he's approved by a "panel" at the school.
• Arizona stayed perfect to justify their No. 1 ranking by dropping PAC-12 rival UCLA.
• Does Jimbo Fisher deserve credit for resurrecting Florida State in the title game with his gutsy fake punt call?
• A state champion football coach has been fired after going 12-0 during which he allegedly ran up the score on opponents.

[cmehustle]

Lol! This happens every couple of years. Will such and such be successful in the NFL. Smh I wish that people actually kept up with these claims. Let me go down a list of successful recent college QBs who people said would be good in the NFL. Tebow, Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Colt Mccoy, Colin Klein, Sam Bradford, Dennis Dixon, Jason White, Troy Smith, Jimmy Clausen, Eric Crouch, Pat White, Colt Brennan, Chris Weinke, etc. Idk if Manziel will even be around 5 years from now in football, Im doubting it right now but hey we'll see. But Im pretty sure everyone who comments that he will dominate the NFL probably said the same thing about 75% of that list. So I am sure that you guys have no clue what your talking about. Ill listen to what Greg Cosell has to say.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Once he gets hit by a NFL linebacker, he will turn into Jake Locker or even worst, Andy Dalton or Chris Ponder. On the high end, he might be just as good as Russell Wilson. Just all depends on what team he plays for.

[erich20012001]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

Once he gets hit by a NFL linebacker, he will turn into Jake Locker or even worst, Andy Dalton or Chris Ponder. On the high end, he might be just as good as Russell Wilson. Just all depends on what team he plays for.

This is my thought process as well, unless he gets much better at protecting himself, some of the hits he took in college will turn out much worse in the NFL.

[khaliib]

Vick was twice as fast/quick and after a couple of hits and being driven into the ground, that aspect of his game dwindled rapidly, then he had to be a drop-back QB, something that was never in his skill set.

JM is falls into the same category, his athletic ability will be exciting to see until it rapidly starts to decrease after a couple of hits (if you've ever had a 300 lb guy land on top of you, you know what I mean)

With most of his college passing plays, it was the WR's that had to adjust to catch the ball.
You can't just loft up balls in the NFL like in college.

The other big issue, which the combine will reveal, is his arm strength as it pertains to the NFL standards.

After what has happened to Vick, RGlll, Pryor and other QB's that rely so much on their athletic ability and have that taken away/dwindled after hits, I see teams staying away because of the impact they have on the franchise after they go down with an injury.

And please, please stop making a comparison with Russell Wilson because JM does not spend the film time that RW spends to perfect his craft.
He's said to "Study the Game" like Payton Manning and has admitted that his 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th choice is to pass so he doesn't have to take hits (his words)

Some horrible team that needs a marketing theme to put butts in the seats will draft him, but that's all it will be for.
Not because he's a franchise QB.
As cmehustle noted, many on the list were suppose to be the answer because of what they did in college.

Lastly, JM said he will not change who he is for anyone (that includes on the field as well as off the field).
We've seen what happens to QB's that love to party (J. Plummer, R. Leaf to name a few).
It's the one NFL position were you have to make a choice because it's proven you can't do both.

We will see though, it may finally click in his head to take advantage of the opportunity that's set before him.

[elgreazy1]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

I think he has the ability to be adequate right away, but honestly, he is a maximum bust or boom case. He could go up top for his potential or luck out by falling in the draft to land on a pretty decent roster.

There are many knocks on him, but people forget how accurate of a passer he is and how he can fit the ball in such tight windows or in great placement. Understandably, many of his big plays came from WR's going up for a catch, but those plays would also not have occurred Manziel's elusiveness and quickness. He doesn't have to be Mike Vick fast, he has to be Steve Young or Drew Brees nimble. Neither of those guys were big, strong, fast, but they were all elusive, accurate and had a way of directing players on the field.

I for one hope he helps a lowly franchise succeed. I'm tired of seeing the Jacksonville's and Brown's of the NFL sit rock bottom for so long.

[cmehustle]

I think he has the ability to be adequate right away, but honestly, he is a maximum bust or boom case. He could go up top for his potential or luck out by falling in the draft to land on a pretty decent roster.

There are many knocks on him, but people forget how accurate of a passer he is and how he can fit the ball in such tight windows or in great placement. Understandably, many of his big plays came from WR's going up for a catch, but those plays would also not have occurred Manziel's elusiveness and quickness. He doesn't have to be Mike Vick fast, he has to be Steve Young or Drew Brees nimble. Neither of those guys were big, strong, fast, but they were all elusive, accurate and had a way of directing players on the field.

I for one hope he helps a lowly franchise succeed. I'm tired of seeing the Jacksonville's and Brown's of the NFL sit rock bottom for so long.

Na, he wont have those same windows in the NFL. I do think that he has great NFL caliber recievers right now, that can make you look a lot better than you are. Also his line has at least two pros, maybe three. Thats the reason a lot of your bigger schools dont have QBs who make it in the NFL. More smaller school QBs make it because theyre used to having to carry a team.

[KingV2k3]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

Answer: Yes

Caveat: In Canada (CFL)

[champious23]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

He's going to be fun to watch against the bengals, raven and steelers. he is flutie 2.0 and he'll have a more slitly better career than flutie.

[Jasong7777]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

He'll likely end up in Cleveland meaning he will fail. He'll end up in some sort of rehab and be out of football in 5 years.

[NowAndLaterCARZ]

Lol! This happens every couple of years. Will such and such be successful in the NFL. Smh I wish that people actually kept up with these claims. Let me go down a list of successful recent college QBs who people said would be good in the NFL. Tebow, Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Colt Mccoy, Colin Klein, Sam Bradford, Dennis Dixon, Jason White, Troy Smith, Jimmy Clausen, Eric Crouch, Pat White, Colt Brennan, Chris Weinke, etc. Idk if Manziel will even be around 5 years from now in football, Im doubting it right now but hey we'll see. But Im pretty sure everyone who comments that he will dominate the NFL probably said the same thing about 75% of that list. So I am sure that you guys have no clue what your talking about. Ill listen to what Greg Cosell has to say.

1st off, whoever told you Colin Klein would make a good pro knew nothing about football. But on to johnny, I dont think he'll have an immediate impact as a Russell Wilson. But Manziel has a strong and accurate arm that many people dont credit him for. Does he have a better arm than Bridgewater? No. But he has a good enough arm for a mid to late 1st round pick. Yes he had NFL talent on his team (2 OL and WR), but Texas A&M's defense was horrible if not the worst in CFB. I give the guy credit for carrying his team by having to score 40+ just to avoid getting blown out. His worst game came against LSU, that game was probably the closest he came to facing an NFL defense. But the guy beat Alabama last year, and looked impressive this year against Bama again. As we all know Alabama has had a pretty impressive defense the past few years with a lot of NFL talent. But I think he can be a decent pro if he ends up on the right team with good O-linemen. He potentially could translate his game to a 6ft1-2 Colin Kaepernick only if he ends on the right team.

[kehlis]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

Lastly, JM said he will not change who he is for anyone (that includes on the field as well as off the field).
We've seen what happens to QB's that love to party (J. Plummer, R. Leaf to name a few).
It's the one NFL position were you have to make a choice because it's proven you can't do both.

We will see though, it may finally click in his head to take advantage of the opportunity that's set before him.

Jake Plummer????

[AntiBandwagoner]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

IMO, no, he will not be a fantastic QB in the pros by any stretch of imagination. He's had a great college career but his NFL future has a Tim Tebow-esque gloom to me.

Minus the personality, that is.

[slickdtc]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

I'd take a flyer on him but I'm not drafting him as high as he'll go to a team desperate for a QB.

elgreazy is right, he's maximum boom or bust. I'm leaning towards bust, because he's going to be counted on to do and be everything and I don't believe he's ready physically or mentally to be the leader he has to be.

If he comes in and makes plays, takes the hits, and has some success it could catapult him. It's such a toss up for me. I think more then ever, it's going to depend on what team he lands on, his supporting cast, his coach, the GM.

[Kaiser Wilhelm]

Re: Sports Daily: Will Manziel be a Successful Pro QB?

He had the potential for success. He has the physical tools needed to succeed. He has decent mechanics to work with as well. Decision making is too bad either. The question is he willing to put in the time to study the game, can he be coached on his mechanics, when to run, when not to run, and to make better decisions.

There are also certain types of throws he will need to learn to make more consistently. I'd give Manziel an A potential but I see him struggling. He won't be Luck or Wilson, or Brady. I see him struggling early in his career. Not to the point of being terrible, but going through typical rookie growing pains, if not more than we are accustomed to seeing. It will be in his fourth or fifth year as a starter whether he will take off or sink like a rock.

Manziel gets a longer leash than Tebow because he actually has mechanics to build on. I like Tim, and I root for him, but man, I wish at some point somebody had taught him footwork, or throwing mechanics.