NFL Draft 2014: Johnny Manziel

Strengths

• a true dual-threat, showcasing a smooth, gliding running style in the open field
• excels at understanding angles and setting up the defender with subtle, coordinated upper and lower body fakes
• Manziel is able to get rid of the ball with a defender bearing down on him because of his quicker than average throwing motion
•  Excels in the short and intermediate passing games; Consistently puts the ball on target and within his receiver’s catch radius
• A master of improvisation; Where most quarterbacks would fail, Manziel finds a way to make a play.  He has “it,” and brings a skill set that is beyond logical/traditional evaluation methods.
• Has very big hands and grips the ball well on the move
• Exceptional game-day competitor -- rises to the occasion. Has a passion for the game. Played on the biggest of stages and revels in having his back against the wall
• Reverse spins and buys time in the pocket while continuing to scan the field
• . Record-setting and award-winning two-year production
• Ball often comes out of his hand wobbly. Throws an inconsistent spiral.

Weaknesses 

•  Questionable decision-making and ability to read defenses. Forces passes and throws too many up for grabs in traffic.
•  Struggles to accurately drop the long ball in a bucket; 
• Relied heavily on Mike Evans’ rare length to bail him out at times
•  Too many negative plays, he has an inflated opinion of his play-making abilities
• Is too reckless with the ball. He needs to get the ball out quicker, even if it means throwing it away sometimes.
•  Has an unorthodox body type with marginal height, rounded shoulders, an underdeveloped body and very big feet that almost look clumsy. 
• Feels pocket ghosts and often takes off running at the second flash of coverage.
• Cannot see over the pocket easily and almost never steps up into it, creating extra difficulties for OL coaches to coordinate blocking schemes and for offensive linemen to anticipate where the pocket will be.
• Has not developed a reputation as a worker or for doing the extras.   

Draft projection: Manziel looks to be a top five pick. It's unlikely he will slip that far unless theres a major misstep before the draft.  

Best Case: Fran Tarkenton
Worst Case: Doug Flutie 

Overall: One of the most polarizing prospects in recent memory, Johnny Manziel will generate headlines wherever he lands at the next level. His most ardent supporters believe that he will take the NFL by storm, much like he did college football’s Southeastern Conference the past two seasons. Many, on the other hand, believe his reckless nature both on and off the field make him a less than ideal candidate to be an NFL franchise quarterback

Ultimately, if Johnny Manziel wants to succeed as an NFL quarterback, he will have to learn to be more consistent beating teams from the pocket.  He will have to become more consistent reading defenses, going through his progression, beating blitzes by hitting hot receivers, improve his accuracy from the pocket by setting his feet and stepping into his passes, and lastly after he does take off and run, slide to protect himself.  If he is able to do those things, he can have a ton of success in the NFL.

 


 

Vanderbilt’s Football Players Run Like Schoolchildren To Ice Cream Truck After Practice(Video)

Vanderbilt football coach James Franklin is always finding new ways to excite his players. This time around, it was as simple as calling up a local ice cream vendor.

The Commodores’ YouTube account posted a video today of the football team running like schoolchildren to an ice cream truck that was brought in after practice. It’s pretty funny to see such physical specimens getting this pumped about frozen dessert.

Cam Newton:Hypocrisy, Racism or Circumstance

By :Cory Carlton


So a lot has been made of the Cam Newton saga and to be honest I won’t say it’s much to do about nothing but its pretty close. If Auburn indeed did pay Newton 210,000 to come there to be quite honest they got a steal.

Newton will be at Auburn for two years max which equals tuition of at $40,000. Add the let’s shoot high and say $350,000(I’m sure he’s gotten some spending money along the way) and you’re looking at Auburn making a $400,000 investment. Last year without Cam Auburn finished 8-5 and went to the Outback bowl, receiving around 4 million dollars for participating. This year Auburn is slated to go to the BCS national title game in which the payout will be around 17 million dollars. That’s at the very least a 13 million dollar difference. If you ask me that’s the best investment I’ve ever heard of. I wish the stock market had ROI like that.

And for those of you playing the holier than thou card pretending to be shocked about what you are reading, let’s be honest the payroll in the SEC is much higher than the American League Central. If Cam Newton made a mistake it wasn’t taking money because it seems like he did that pretty well, the mistake was asking a school that you know couldn’t afford you for that much money. The reason Mississippi State is snitching is because they have nothing to lose. You think Cam and his daddy Creflo just asked MSU for money but just skipped that step when LSU and Oklahoma came knocking?? Of course they didn’t but Oklahoma and LSU participate in the code so they don’t want to open Pandora’s Box. This isn’t some magic revelation that college players get paid, just like people knew Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were on steroids, or people know that the NFL treats their players like crap and give them no insurance once they retire or that one and done college basketball players attend maybe one class……. All year. NO ONE CARES and when I say cares I mean people don’t have a true sense of what's wrong, at least not the ones actually watching the games. People might get self righteous and try to “protect the best interest of the game” but no one truly cares or wants to fix the issues. And I don’t think they should.

The most self-righteous of them all is the NCAA and SEC. So let me get this straight SEC you can suspend Bruce Pearl proactively but not Cam Newton. I wonder what the reason for that is. Is it integrity? Of course not it’s money. Because when it’s all said and done Auburn might have to give back a title and the wins but the SEC doesn’t have to give back that 17 mil. In basketball there are no bowl games so Tennessee becomes irrelevant. The reason they truly suspended Pearl is similar to the reason USC fired Tim Floyd. When it comes time for the “hammer” to come down you throw the basketball team under the bus because they are less profitable, it’s a business.

So in about six months or so after the bowl games and Auburn has won a title and Newton has won a Heisman and this story has died down, the NCAA will probably rule that Newton was ineligible. Then everyone will come down on Newton and tell the world that he is a bad person because he took money. If someone is making over 20 million dollars of pure profit from your services you are no amateur. How can you truly expect someone from Newton’s economic background to actually turn down the money is my real question. So why does the person become the necessary evil? Why was Reggie Bush vilified? Ultimately the first thing that comes to mind is because he is black. No matter what planet you live on it should be no surprise to you that racism still exist in America. Where are the white cases of Sean Bell or Amadou Diallo? Why do African Americans account for just 28 percent of drug usage in America yet account for 73 percent of drug related arrests. So yes racism exists but it doesn’t really here. '

Did the story come out because of racism? No if Cameron Newton was white this would have still happened. Did the story reach this high of magnitude because Newton is black? No. The only aspect that race may play a part is that if Newton was white he may get the benefit of doubt. But seeing as though he is actually guilty I’m not really sure how that is pertinent to the situation. So is Cam Newton a victim of racism? Somewhat. Is Newton a victim of hypocrisy? Absolutely, but more so Newton is a victim of circumstance. Sh*t hit the fan and someone has to take the fall and since Newton will stop making Auburn money in about three months it will have to be him. It’s not racial it’s just the way it is. And once again No one cares.