Last week I advised you to take Teddy Bridgewater, but now I think maybe you should reconsider Manziel.
I know that until now I've told you to skip this guy, so no doubt you haven't checked him out for yourself. I'm really sorry about that, but you still have time.
Anyway, first I heard that he outscored the whole draft class in the Wonderlick. Then, I saw him with John Gruden (who of course loved him. And Teddy. And Derrick. And Blake...)
He seemed very sober, mature, and articulate. The way he speaks, unrehearsed, is devoid of "uh"'s, "I mean"'s (Note to football players: Don't start paragraphs with "I mean", okay? I mean, you're just killing me, man!)
I mean, his mind seems ordered and quick. There is no pretense about him. Nothing intimidates him, yet he's not arrogant.
Most recently, Matt Cloud on Browns Front Page did his own film evaluations of Bridgewater and Manziel, and opened my eyes further.
Matt points out that Evans didn't make him look good, as FOUR of Manziel's recievers caught over fifty passes. He's had better success with deeper passes than Teddy, and in Matt's opinion:
Manziel is more accurate than Bridgewater.
Matt says that Manziel will need to get rid of the ball quicker and more often in the NFL--he's too stubborn. He also needs better touch on fade routes. Matt believes he puts too much air under them, giving defenders a chance to recover.
This is easy to fix, especially for a guy as smart as Johnny. What would be worse would be if his tendency was to always throw low and hard.
What hit me hardest about Matt's evaluation of Manziel was his phenominal ACCURACY between 11-20 yards, where all NFL quarterbacks, regardless of system, make their money--or don't.
Manziel's short and intermediate accuracy play well to Shanahan's semi-West Coast system. Per Matt, he anticipates well.
Matt did grade Manziel lower than Bridgewater, but picked on him mainly over correctable things. Manziel is only 21, and much less experienced than Teddy.
Your potential problem could be WHEN Hoyer, as you know, earns back his starting job over the rookie. Will Johnny accept it?
After seeing him with Gruden, I feel better about it. He seems like a kid who indeed believes he's better than any other quarterback (a good thing!), but can accept results:
Results as in Hoyer got more first downs, TD's, fewer picks etc. in camp, so he won, period.
I didn't see an egomaniac or insecurity (usually the same thing, believe it or not). He seems grounded in reality.
I just know that there's no quit in him. I don't believe he's capable of "losing it"; not emotionally fragile at all. He can throw an interception, and will come right back and not hesitate. He'll remember what he did wrong, and try not to repeat it--but you won't see him--well--looking like Weeden, you know?
Before, I said comparisons between him and Brees or Wilson were rediculous, but that was before I saw that Wonderlick thing, and saw him with Gruden.
He's not like that right now, but could well become that in a year or two.
In conclusion, Ray, forget what I said about Manziel before--it's okay for you to draft him if you think he won't get busted up.
Signing Chris Pressley was a smart no-risk move. I wish he could catch better, but he sure can block! Kinda like a big bowling ball rolling through the hole.
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