Johnny Manziel spectacularly failed in the NFL for various reasons. Here’s one of them.
Manziel did not put in the work.
The new Untold: Johnny Football documentary on Netflix addresses Manziel’s legendary failure to study film.
Via SI.com, Manziel’s former agent, Erik Burkhardt, explains that he was hearing from other General Managers that Manziel “doesn’t watch tape.”
“Well, he’s gotta watch some tape,” Burkhardt replied. The response: “His iPad hours is zero point zero, zero.”
The documentary then cuts to Manziel, who admits it himself. “Zero.”
It’s not a surprise. When former Browns coach Mike Pettine was considering in December 2014 the possibility of starting Manziel over Brian Hoyer, Manziel opted to go to a Cavaliers game in lieu of commence earnest preparations for what would have been his first NFL opportunity. The decision apparently confirmed the team’s decision that Manziel simply wasn’t ready.
He never really was. It’s one of the things that isn’t truly known until a player comes to the NFL. Some will do everything in their power to be great. Some won’t, or perhaps can’t.
Manziel arrived in Cleveland with great potential, but without the ability or the will to dedicate himself to getting the most out of his skills and competing effectively at the highest level of the sport. It’s further proof of the simple reality that, for all the time and money and effort devoted by NFL teams to scout potential NFL players, there’s no way to know how they will fare at the NFL level until they come to the NFL level.