Johnny Manziel is attracting more attention than anyone can shake a stick at. Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn criticized Manziel for his partying. He said Manziel is not a role model for kids.
During an interview which aired on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Quinn said, “I think my biggest issue with it is when you are drafted in the first round, you are the face of the franchise.” He continued, “I understand he’s trying to have a good time and live his life off the field, but there’s a little kid watching that and now he’s looking up to him as a role model.”
It is hard to disagree with Quinn’s assessment. However, should Quinn be the one to criticize him? Quinn hasn’t accomplished much in his career that started in 2007. Quinn played in 24 games, threw for 3,043 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Is Quinn merely giving advice to the new kid on the block sort of speak or is Quinn taking this out of proportion? Yes, Quinn was Notre Dame’s quarterback, a University that prides itself on rigorous standards off the field regardless of whether or not those standards are met. However, criticism of Manziel should come from Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. They are Super Bowl winners. They have more influence than Quinn and know what it takes to win. If these quarterbacks are keeping silent, that is a hint that Manziel’s behavior hasn’t reached an alarming stage just yet.
If Manziel gets in trouble for drugs, assault or anything more serious, then Quinn should feel free to criticize him heavily.
It isn’t so much that Quinn has no idea how to be successful or what it takes to win the Super Bowl. Quinn may know a whole lot about how to accomplish this remarkable feat. It’s just that he hasn’t tasted that victory.
Perhaps Quinn is presenting the bigger picture. Quinn’s philosophy may could be that off the field maturity is equally as important as being recognized as a Super Bowl winning quarterback.
Still, it’s obvious that Manziel’s behavior is being drawn out of proportion. Yes, it would be nice to see Manziel calm down over time and he likely will. Manziel is a hard worker, he even tweets photos of him with a playbook. Who tweets photos of their wild partying then turns around and tweets photos of the cover of the playbook? Now, if Manziel did not tweet photos of the playbook or give any indication that he is studying the plays, it would be a notable cause for concern.
If Quinn was truly concerned about Manziel’s ability to be a role model then he probably could have had this conversation in private first….as to what Quinn himself has accomplished I think we can all agree not very much….but then neither has Manziel at this level yet