Let me start out by saying that I have been a Cleveland Browns fan for over 50 years. Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, Greg Pruitt, Brian Sipe, and Bernie Kosar are all players that I followed along with Ozzie Newsome, Gary Collins, Milt Morin and Frank Ryan. The Cleveland Browns were a signature NFL franchise and that's why Art Modell's decision to move the team to Baltimore shook the very foundation of many NFL fans. If they could move the Browns, no team was safe from leaving. Their traditional uniform, despite what Jimmy Haslam thinks, was right up there with that of the Green Bay Packers. The expansion Browns have been a shadow of their original predecessors with ego-maniacs like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow Jr. Yet despite them, there were still players who understood what the Cleveland Browns were all about like D'Qwell Jackson and Joe Thomas.
The expansion Browns have been in search of quarterback since they have come back into the league. From Tim Couch through Brandon Weeden. Each quarterback I wanted to succeed. After all, the quarterback is your leader. Each of them came in with high expectations and I was willing to follow them. That ended for me with the selection of Johnny Manziel in this past draft. From a football perspective, I just don't see how Johnny Football will survive in the NFL. His schoolyard style of offense is not going to work. He has been compared to Fran Tarketon as it relates to his scrambling ability. However, there is one major difference: the defensive players that chased Tarketon were not as big or as fast as the ones who will be chasing Manziel. He is smaller than Colt McCoy and look what happened to him on that cold Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
I also think that Manziel's act will soon wear thin on many of the veterans on this team, especially if he starts and the team loses. This kid has proven absolutely nothing. He hasn't established the credibility to do whatever he feels like off the field. We have seen this act before in Winslow and Donte Stallworth. In both cases, it turned out bad and Manziel will be no different. In fact, it could be worse because once again the Browns will have reached out for a quarterback only for him to be rushed out of town.
The team had asked Manziel to tone down his extracurricular activities. So what does he do? He goes and parties with two of the biggest attention seeking out of control guys in Floyd Merriweather and Justin Bieber. What a joke. Joe Montana and Warren Moon have called into question Manziel's off season ways, two guys who have a proven track record and both are in the Hall of Fame. I had to laugh when Browns fans came down hard on Brady Quinn when Quinn stated that Manziel doesn't realize the effect he has on younger Browns fans who will look up to him. You see, Brady knows what that means because as a young boy his idol was Bernie Kosar. While Quinn's NFL career was mediocre at best, I would take him over the party hardy Johnny Football.
I hope I'm wrong, but I think this is going to be a disaster for my favorite football team. Here's hoping that some how, some way Brian Hoyer is the Browns' starting quarterback. But I'm sure that this will not be the case as many Browns fans are looking forward to the Johnny Football era. Maybe Johnny's buddy Bieber will be there on opening day to sing the National Anthem. The Browns wanted to be in the national spotlight again. Well, they sure will be now and not for be being a winning team in the AFC North.
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