Troy Aikman assessing the draft value of Johnny Manziel

michael89156 · 2014-01-10T07:44:47Z

Troy Aikman: NFL pounding could take toll on Johnny Manziel By Chase Goodbread College Football 24/7 writer NFL.comPublished: Jan. 9, 2014 at 08:44 p.m. NFL Photos/Associated Press Troy Aikman won three Super Bowls as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. Durability and maturity are the primary factors NFL general managers must evaluate in assessing the draft value of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, former Dallas Cowboys star quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman said Thursday. Speaking on KTCK-AM in Dallas, Aikman specifically questioned whether Manziel's smaller body could withstand the punishment NFL defenses will deliver, and whether the Aggies' third-year sophomore and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner will be the sort of quarterback clubs will want as a public representative. I think he'll be pretty good," Aikman said, according to The Dallas Morning News. "The concerns that I have would first of all, be his size. Can he take the pounding? I've never met him, so I'm not sure what his stature is, but he just seems like he's a pretty small guy, and maybe, I don't want to say fragile, but the punishment in the NFL could take a toll on him. So that would be concern No. 1." Manziel is listed at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, and suffered a few minor injuries as a sophomore after navigating his freshman season injury-free in 2012. If NFL clubs determine Manziel's career is at risk to be hampered or shortened by injury, that could have an adverse effect on his draft value. Aikman also brought up Manziel's maturity level. The No. 2 would be, not having sat and visited with him, how well can he be the face of a franchise? Is he mature enough to handle that responsibility? Is he going to commit himself to being a great NFL quarterback or are other things more important to him?" Aikman said. "If you can come out of those questions and say, 'Yeah, I believe he's big enough to withstand the punishment and I believe he is committed and he is going to do the right things because we're going to be paying him a lot of money,' then I think he's a first-round talent. I really do." Manziel has been projected as a first-round draft pick, and at least half of the teams picking in the draft's top 10 choices have a need at quarterback, according to NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah. More athletic quarterbacks are trending in the NFL recently, although not all have achieved success. Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks is the best young example of a skillful runner making his way in the league as a quarterback. Former first-round draft pick Tim Tebow, by contrast, could not find his way to a roster in 2013. Aikman's evaluation of Tebow coming out of the University of Florida was a glowing one, according to the Tampa Bay Times."He can do it all," Aikman said in December 2009 prior to Tebow being drafted by the Denver Broncos No. 25 overall in 2010. "He's been doing the whole wildcat before it even became in vogue in the NFL. I don't know exactly where he's going to go or high he might be. But I'll tell you this. He's a guy I'd like to have on my team. And I think with his leadership ability and his athletic skills, a team can find a place to play him where he can make a real impact for an NFL club." Tebow recently took a job as a college football analyst with the SEC Network but is maintaining efforts to make a comeback in the NFL, working with private instructors to reinvent the slower delivery that scouts marked as one of his drawbacks. Manziel, for his part, hasn't had his delivery scrutinized as much as his reckless style of play, and unwillingness to take a sack or throw the ball out of bounds on broken plays. Nevertheless, Manziel was much improved as a passer between 2012 and 2013, increasing his touchdown passes from 26 to 37, completing a higher percentage of his passes (68 to 70 percent) and taking fewer sacks (22 to 19). Aikman saw that progress, and was especially impressed with Manziel's play against then-No. 1-ranked Alabama on Sept. 14."From what I've seen, he's a playmaker," Aikman added. "The criticisms I know coming into this year were that he didn't throw the ball as effectively as he needed to. I haven't seen him play a lot, but I saw him play against Alabama, I saw him play a couple of other times and he made throws that -- they weren't these schoolyard throws. They were in the pocket, getting the ball out, reading the defense. And I was impressed."So, with those questions, and the biggest one being the intangibles, I think he's got the chance to have a really big career." Manziel threw five touchdown passes against the Crimson Tide in a 49-42 loss, and all five of them illustrated Aikman's point, being thrown from the pocket on different types of routes and in some cases, off multiple reads.

Page 3 / 3 Prev

The Red Board

Last Post by Anonymous 11 years ago

40 Posts

25 Users

0 Reactions

562 Views

RSS

Anonymous

(@Anonymous)

Posts: 0

Cabin Boy Guest

There aren't a lot of great under 6'0 QBS...there's been like one in our lifetimes. Russell Wilson.... Good chance.FlutieTroy SmithMike VickBrees

Fixed

Posted : Jan. 10, 2014 11:42 pm

Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest That's slightly bias though. No one wants to account for under 6ft qb's going to crappy teams?I'm not going to do the homework on that one, just saying. It may be an issue manziel will have to deal with. Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 2:50 am Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest Lots of good posts on both sides. I worry that you can't bring a first round qb around slowly. How long does it take him to give up the party life? Will an nfl team follow an immature qb? Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 7:39 am Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest Brees and Vick aren't under 6'0 ....Russell Wilson is the one guy I was talking about.The rest of those guys are not great. Troy Smith and Flutie great ? Bwahahaha. Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 9:19 am Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest Hopefully he'll go early and we won't need to dwell on his lame azz........He's a freakin' disease...a kid with a big head and an attitude...... Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 11:13 am Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest Here's Samantha Ponder wearing heels... and her 6'2" husband, Christian. Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 12:26 pm Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest Hopefully he'll go early and we won't need to dwell on his lame azz........He's a freakin' disease...a kid with a big head and an attitude...... I hope he goes to the Browns. Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 12:38 pm Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest He demolished top competition on the regular. Guys that are NFL talent were whipped by Manziel. I fail to see why he won't be able to ascend the ranks of the NFL elite, given the way he played ball! He was amazing. Flat out ridiculous, absurdculous, whatever you want to call it. He can fling it, he can take off, he can stand in the pocket (over 70%^ comp in the pocket, over 25 TDs, over 10 YPA), he will sell tickets, he is a fiery presence that could define the Bucs for years. Hell, we drafted a safety in the top 10...I think it is a good roll of the dice to gamble on a QB that ripped the SEC a new one. Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 1:16 pm Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest I think Manziel's career path could potentially mirror a young Brett Favre's. It's the second team that gets him who will probably benefit most......if he lasts that long. Favre had maturity issues, injury issues, drug and alcohol issues early in his career but when he finally got it all together, he represented everything exciting about old-school NFL football. One of the best gunslingers of all time. Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 3:38 pm Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest I'd be cautiously optimistic if we took him 7th overall, but if we trade up I simply can't agree. The cost to move up at this point in the draft is huge, and the risk involved with Manziel is huge as well. If it was JUST his size or JUST the attitude, fine. But there are a ton of question marks with him...height, size, tendency to "just wing it", iffy mechanics, immaturity, party animal, came from a very college friendly system, etc. At 7 I'd still prefer Mack but would certainly understand the Manziel pick as his potential is through the roof. But if we have to give up an RG3 like package? No way. This team still has too many holes to mortgage the future like that. Posted : Jan. 11, 2014 4:06 pm

Page 3 / 3 Prev Forum Jump: Previous Topic Next Topic

Share: Forum Information Recent Posts Unread Posts Tags 8 Forums 37.4 K Topics 204.6 K Posts 5 Online 25.8 K Members Our newest member: Roguewarlord Latest Post: Have the Bucs Done Enough to be top 5 in the NFC? Forum Icons: Forum contains no unread posts Forum contains unread posts Topic Icons: Not Replied Replied Active Hot Sticky Unapproved Solved Private Closed

Troy Aikman assessing the draft value of Johnny Manziel

Follow Pewter Report