Friday, August 24, 2018
Johnny Be Good!!
Johnny Manziel
You might
recognize that as an old rock and roll song from Chuck Berry. In the
summer of 2018, the phrase applies to the Canadian Football League,
and more specifically to the Montreal Alouettes.
About a
month ago, the Alouettes acquired Johnny Manziel in a trade with the
Hamilton Tiger Cats. Manziel had signed with the Cats on May 19th,
but had seen very little action. Manziel is an athlete, and he wanted
to play the game he loves. He jumped at the chance to move to
Montreal. He was encouraged to do so because Montreal Head Coach Mike
Sherman was Manziel's coach in Texas, when Johnny began playing his
college ball.
Of course
this is a human experiment. But it is not without precedent. CFL
observers can tell you a young man named Doug Flutie came north to
play a little football, Canadian-style. Flutie was also a slightly
undersized quarterback, with great athletic skills. He also had a
dismal start in the league, when he threw more interceptions than
touchdowns. Manziel threw four interceptions in his first game at the
helm for the Alouettes, before he was replaced.
He was most
contrite after the game, taking full responsibility for the loss. But
this is a team game, and it certainly was not entirely his fault.
Receivers dropped passes, balls were tipped into the hands of hungry
defenders. Motivated linemen blitzed with enthusiasm when the saw
Johnny lining up to pass.
Manziel was
only given a few days to get ready for his first game. He is in the
process of learning all of the quirky things about our game: the
field is much longer, and wider; there is one extra player on the
field; replays take place on pass interference calls; players in the
backfield are entitled to move long before the ball is snapped. Once
he gets a better vision of all of these things, and many more, he
will put up big numbers in the CFL.
Essentially,
he has big shoes to fill in Montreal. It has been a few years since
Anthony Calvillo quarterbacked the Alouettes. No one has been able to
step up to the plate since he retired. He virtually mastered the
Canadian game, directing the team to several Grey Cup games during
his career. He now coaches quarterbacks in the CFL, but in Hamilton.
It appeared to me that Manziel might have been a great fit there when
they signed him. For some reason, that just did not work out.
To say that
Johnny has had his demons over the years is almost an understatement.
He was a rich kid who was adored as an athlete from the time that he
was in grade school. He could play all games. (He was even drafted by
the San Diego Padres.) He was drafted in the first round by the
Cleveland Browns long before he would have finished his university
career. He loved to party. He had anger-management issues. He was
young and was constantly pushed to the higher levels in the game. He
was not ready for the prime time in the NFL.
He was
married in the spring of this year, he has been diagnosed with mood
disorders, and is taking medication for that. He enjoys listening to
Drake! All good.
No matter
where he plays the rest of this CFL season, he will put bums in the
seats. He plays in Edmonton this week, and the Eskimos sit at 5-3 so
far this year. The Alouettes have won one game in nine tries. It is
tough for any Eastern team to win in the west. But we know that the
season is but half over, and this is the CFL, and anything can, and
does happen.
Johnny will
revive interest in Montreal. It is imperative that he stay healthy
the rest of the year. Go Johnny Go!
James Hurst
August 14,
2014.
Note: Johnny had his bell rung attempting to score...and sat out the next game.
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:55 AM 
