Manziel’s NFL Projection

Johnny Manziel is one of College Football’s premier players and is making a strong case for his second Heisman Trophy in a row. It’s indisputable that he is a great college quarterback-the question is whether or not that will translate to the pros. Many NFL scouts are projecting him to go in the second to third round. A good day at the NFL Combine could launch his draft stock into the first round. Of course, this is all assuming that he decides to declare for the NFL Draft after his sophmore season.

Manziel’s supporters point out the fact that he was the first true freshman to win the Heisman in a breakout year and Texas A&M that included a victory over eventual nation champion Alabama. Manziel’s speed, quick release, and accuracy are all factors that work in his favor. His deep ball has improved quite a bit in his sophomore season. At 6’2, size is not a pressing concern. He is a proven winner and has performed well in the clutch in the past.

However, Manziel’s detractors point out quite a few flaws and raise compelling questions. Manziel frequently gains huge yards on broken plays. He’ll run around behind the line of scrimmage for 10 seconds before finding a broken coverage and zip it to his suddenly wide open wide receiver. NFL defensive backs are too smart and fast for this to happen, no to mention the fact that he won’t be able to elude NFL defensive linemen so easily. There are also questions about how Manziel will fare in the NFL without his big possession receiver, Mike Evans. Manziel relies heavily upon him, and if he ends up on a rebuilding team, Manziel will have little in the means of open receivers. Manziel also needs to learn to slide more and play smarter, if he continues to play recklessly he will get injured often and may end up having a tough season like the one RG3 is currently enduring. Some scouts also point to Manziel’s perceived arrogance, indicating that he might not want to play for a rebuilding team or ride the bench.

Manziel is not a complete quarterback prospect, nor a guy who can start for you day 1. He will need some time to learn the ins and outs of the pro game, and he will need to make big strides in his decision making if he wants to last in the NFL. That being said, Manziel is a solid draft choice for a few teams.

Best Teams: Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears.

In Arizona, Manziel would have his possession receiver in the ever reliable Larry Fitzgerald and a solid second option in the exciting Michael Floyd. Arizona’s run game looks promising and the defense can turn in dominant performances. Offensive minded Head Coach Bruce Arians would be extremely helpful in Manziel’s development and the team can always turn to veteran Carson Palmer if Manziel struggles. He could potentially be their franchise quarterback with the proper coaching. If he’s available in the second round, they should pull the trigger. The offensive line should be addressed in the first round for Arizona.

The Bears have a plethora of offensive weapons in Ashlon Jeffrey, Brandon Marshall, and Matt Forte. With a Jay Cutler contract situation looming, Manziel could sit behind Cutler in 2014 and take over the reins in the following year. Marc Trestmen has done a fantastic job in revitalizing Chicago’s offense, and he seems to be a good fit to mold Manziel into a pro ready quarterback. Manziel is in optimal position to succeed with either of these two teams.

Worst Teams: New York Jets, Houston Texans

The media, especially ESPN, loves to hate the Jets, and loves to hate Manziel. Manziel on the Jets? Oh boy. In an already tumultuous quarterback situation involving Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith, Manziel might have to see the field before he is ready. Also, what would it say about the franchise’s faith in Smith, their proposed franchise QB? The New York Media would eat Manziel alive, labeling him a bust after one bad game. Rex Ryan is a good head coach, but he is naturally a more defensive minded coach. The Jets offensive has sputtered lately, and it would be tough for any quarterback to succeed with the Jets’ depleted offensive weapons.

The University of Houston and Texas A&M have a major rivalry. With Manziel’s first mistakes the fan base would be calling for hometown hero and college legend Case Keenum. The fans allow their quarterbacks a short leash, turning on Matt Schuab after a few bad games, forgetting everything he has done for the franchise, where the real blame lies with Head Coach Gary Kubiak for not allowing him to audible. With the fans predisposed to dislike him and competition with Case Keenum, I can’t see it ending well for Manziel in Houston.

First Impressions: 2013 Niners Training Camp

It’s almost football season again, and I’m excited seeing as the other team in San Francisco hasn’t been playing quite as well (looking at you, Giants). The Niners have looked sharp in training camp as they prepare for a season in which they hope to raise the Lombardi trophy. It’s definitely possible.

QB: Colin Kaepernick was electrifying last year, lighting up defenses on the ground and in the air, and he has looked good in training camp despite some offseason drama. Kaepernick is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league, but don’t be surprised if he hits a sophomore slump in his second year of starting. A true measure of his value is how he copes with and overcomes those possible struggles. Still, Kaepernick has all the tools to turn in an All-Pro season, so he could easily dominate again and prove me wrong. Behind him are Colt McCoy and Scott Tolzien, but they won’t see the field much unless Kaepernick gets hurt. As a rushing quarterback, there is always more chances to get smeared by a linebacker in the open field. Kaepernick was one of the best in the league last year at avoiding hard contact, and he needs to keep that up to keep him fresh and injury free. Kaepernick is good at running to the sidelines and his timing on slides has been good as well. He is poised for another excellent season as San Francisco’s signal caller.

RB: Frank Gore had another productive year last year, but as he ages the Niners will want to limit his carries to keep him fresh for the playoffs. He’s on the wrong side of 30 for NFL running backs, but the Niners all-time rushing leader should stick around for a couple more years. A strong supporting cast of speedy young running backs like Kendall Hunter, LaMicheal James, and Marcus Lattimore should help ease the load on Gore so that he’s ready to plow through defenses late in the 4th quarter. Hunter was a pleasant surprise as a 4th round pick backing up Gore in the 2011 season before an Achilles’ tendon injury shortened his 2012 season. James electrified the NCAA for 3 years with a couple of Heisman runner ups with his blinding speed up in Eugene while playing for the Oregon Ducks. Concerns about his injury history and size had him slip to round 2 of the 2012 draft, where the 49ers were more than happy to select him. His speed will play a major factor on special teams and late in games if the 49ers hope to play deep into the postseason again. The 3rd running back selected by the Niners in recent years is Marcus Lattimore out of South Carolina. Lattimore projected to be 1st round pick and an NFL star before 2 severe knee injuries sidelined him in his last 2 years at South Carolina. If he can stay healthy, he may be San Francisco’s running back of the future.

WR: Signing Anquan Boldin may have been the best move GM Trent Baalke’s best offseason move, and it looks even better now that last year’s top receiver, Michael Crabtree, is out for most of the year with an Achilles heel injury that occurred in March. The rest of the cast of WR’s looks banged up, with Kyle Williams, Kassim Osgood, and others dealing with minor injuries. San Francisco signed free agent Austin Collie after Training Camp. Collie, a once promising young receiver, had his career derailed by concussions. If he can avoid getting injured, he could be a major piece in the offense.

Defense: Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman are the best in the game at inside linebacker. The consistency and dominance of the tandem is unmatched in the NFL. The secondary lost No. 3 cornerback Chris Culliver to an ACL tear yesterday, but hopefully former Raiders star Nmadi Asoumgha can reclaim his form from his pre-philedalphia and step up to man that spot behind starters Carlos Rodgers and Tarell Brown. Competing with Asoumgha will be 24 year old Tramaine Brock, a hard hitting corner who showed flashes of potential last year. The safeties are returning veteran Donte Whitner and rookie Eric Reid, who replaces All-Pro Dashon Goldson. Reid, a 2013 first round pick out of LSU, has the tools and work ethic to succeed as a starter in his first season.

Special Teams: Andy Lee may be the best punter in the league, no issues there. Phil Dawson is the new kicker, replacing David Akers who was excellent his first year as a Niner but was inconsistent last year. Dawson looks to be a suitable replacement. Kendall Hunter and Kyle Williams will most likely return kicks, and the unit looks to be strong again.

The New New York Yankees

Well, the Opening Day lineup for the Bronx Bombers doesn’t exactly recall memories of Murderers Row. Most of their lineup consists of old, washed up players of yesterday. Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, Ichiro. Not to mention the injuries. Texeira, Curtis Granderson, Jeter, and A-Rod are all out for a significant amount of time. If you took the current Yankees and dialed the clock back to 2006, they would be the most stacked team in the MLB. Travis Hafner, Wells, Ichiro, A-Rod, Mariano, that was their prime. But the Yankees aren’t recognizing that the best days are behind most of those guys. Mariano Rivera might have one last season left in him, and Jeter proved he’s not done yet last year. But how long before the whole team collapses in front of their eyes? They brought in superstars like Granderson and Texeira, but not only are those guys injured, they won’t play forever. In 3 short years they could find themselves playing for a cellar dweller and want out. There is a Cycle to the Yankee Dynasty, a few glorious years of riding the wave of the best team in baseball by outspending all the other teams, but eventually they come back down. There were the classic Yanks, of Babe Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio. Then Mantle came in and played the hero. But after that there was a dry spell of few championships, and the Yankee Empire didn’t really reemerge until the 70’s, with Reggie Jackson and Ron Guidry. They went to the World Series and lost in ’81, and didn’t return until 1996, and beat the Braves, where the Dynasty reemerged. They’ve won 5 championships in 7 appearances since then, dominating the American League. After their 2004 3-0 NLCS collapse, many people thought they were fading, but they went out and spent big on Texiera, Granderson, Sabbathis, and hired Joe Girardi, and took the 2009 World Series from the Phillies. It’s been all downhill from there. They need young talent, but they traded away their best prospect, Jesus Montero, for Micheal Pineda who needed Tommy John sugery and missed all of last year. Jeter’s not getting any younger, as evidenced by his ankle in last years playoffs. The Yankees will fall again and rise again, as always, but to ease their fall from grace, they need to act now. If they don’t make the playoffs this year, they need to shed some big contracts and do something I’m sure is akin to a profanity in the Steinbrenner household: rebuild. The Yankees have never had to do this in my lifetime, but if they want to stay a force in the ever competitive AL East, they need to do a complete makeover of the team at the end of the season. If they do this, the period between being Elite and climbing back into contention where the team struggles will be shortened. I’m not saying they need to get rid of anybody straightaway if there is no problem or dump loyal veterans like Rule 5 draft picks, but they need to start preparing for the eventual spiral that comes with aging players. Draft someone to be ready when Jeter finally decides to hang ’em up so you don’t end up with a hole at shortstop for the first time in 20 years. Get some young starting pitching. Andy Petitte had to come out of retirement, so you know their hurting in depth in that department. Also, who will close things out when Mo’s gone? Brian Cashman needs to look down the road a few years instead of only thinking of the “now” and spending big. They need to cut costs and groom some young talent. There is still probably a market for A-Rod as a DH and they could get some solid prospects out of a deal like that and free up some cap space if they shipped his egregious contract. The Yankees have always been built for today, but for the first time they have to think of tomorrow if they want to survive in the hurricane that is the AL East.

Super Bowl Bound!

Well, my Niners are in the Super Bowl! For the first time since the Steve Young days, the 49ers are playing in the biggest single sports game in the nation. They survived a shootout with Matt Ryan and the Falcons with more than a few mind blowing mistakes by San Francisco that could have priced costly. David Akers’ inexplicable miss, Michael Crabtree’s goal line fumble, and the crumbling first half defense pointed to an Atlanta victory. But behind the workhorse legs of Frank Gore that wore down the Atlanta defense until the final whistle. Behind the dynamic speed-arm combo Colin Kaepernick, plow horse Frank Gore, and a ferocious defense led by Pro Bowlers Patrick Willis, Dashon Goldson, and NaVarro Bowman, the Niners are all set for a trip to Louisiana.