After the ESPN story broke on Johnny Manziel (co-written by Jeremy Fowler and Pat McManamon), I decided to look back at some things that transpired prior to the 2014 NFL draft and take it to where we are today. There was story that broke August 6, 2013 stating that Johnny sold autographed various sports memorabilia items to a collector/dealer while attending Texas A&M University – which was a direct violation of NCAA regulations. And while we can go round and round at infinitum over whether or not the NCAA regulations are outdated, the fact still remains that Johnny showed a blatant disregard for authority by not adhering to the regulations. There were also multiple reports of Johnny being spotted at various major sporting events, which indicated that he loved the spotlight. Johnny Manziel was brought up in a family of big money and privilege – which in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just as long as you’re taught self-discipline from an early age. Unfortunately, it appears that Johnny never had anyone in his life make him stop and check himself.

LOOKING BACK ON DRAFT DAY:

Shortly before draft day, I released my final mock draft – courtesy of the website I previously wrote for (no names please). In it I listed Johnny as the first round pick of the Arizona Cardinals at twentieth overall. The reasoning behind it was manifold . . . (1) I know that it only takes one NFL team to fall in love with any particular player – regardless of where the draft “pundits” claim he should be selected – and subsequently select said player. (2) I knew in my heart of hearts that some NFL team would take a chance on Johnny in the first round, simply because of all the pre-draft hype surrounding him. I was hoping beyond hope that it wouldn’t be the Browns. (3) With Carson Palmer as his mentor, I thought that Arizona would’ve been the best opportunity for Johnny to learn the NFL game, its speed and the terminology over a period of two years then compete for a starting job in year three. (4) Arizona  is not Cleveland, and (as a Browns fan) I wanted absolutely no part of the learning curve that Johnny was going to require or the pressure from forces inside and outside of Berea to play him prematurely. My concerns for any team that would draft Johnny included (but were not limited to) his lack of height, his frame’s inability to add significant muscle mass, the overly simplistic offensive system run at A&M and what I perceived as a blatant lack of maturity and respect for authority. The latter being my greatest concern.

I then did something I had never done before. I took another look at my big board to look at the top quarterbacks because I sensed that something just wasn’t quite right. After reviewing more game footage, I came up with the following list with their overall player rankings. . .

10 – Blake Bortles: UCF

11 – Teddy Bridgewater: Louisville

25 – Derek Carr – Fresno State

34 – Jimmy Garoppolo : Eastern Illinois

42 – Johnny Manziel: Texas A&M

As the draft started, my early hopes were dashed as Blake Bortles was taken off the board to Jacksonville with the third overall pick – right ahead of Cleveland. Then Cleveland manipulated the first trade of the draft by sending their pick to Buffalo in exchange for their first round picks in 2014 and 2015. Subsequently the Browns traded back up to select Justin Gilbert, who ended up seeing limited playing time due to his own lack of readiness on a weekly basis. Then comes the trade with Philadelphia, where I was certain that the Browns had moved up to take eitherTeddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr  to be the franchise’s quarterback of the future. Then the Commissioner walked up to the podium and announced the Browns selection of Johnny Manziel. I was in both shock and disbelief as a certain Cleveland radio sports talk show co-host (no names please) frantically cheers the selection in vividly orgasmic ecstasy. “What just happened?”, I asked myself again and again, “No, NO, NOOOOOOO . . . this cannot be happening.” But it was and it did. My worst nightmare as a Browns fan had just begun.

The few days that followed revealed that Johnny’s jersey had led the entire league in sales since night one of the draft. All was apparently well in Cleveland . . . or was it? A quarterback controversy had already begun in Cleveland (whether the team wanted it to or not) before the first round of the draft was even finished, and news had quickly spread that star receiver Josh Gordon had again violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy by testing positive for marijuana.

THE 2014 PRE-SEASON, REGULAR SEASON AND POSTSEASON:

Johnny’s off-the-field conduct soon became a PR nightmare for the front office in Berea. Pictures of him on an inflatable swan drunk off his butt and the infamous “money phone” video where Johnny was – again – drunk out of his gourd were just two examples of Johnny’s stellar video highlights. Then he got caught flipping the bird to the Washington Redskins bench and was subsequently fined for that episode. Finally you’ve got all the details of incident after incident revealed in the ESPN article. In short, 2014 was a lost season for the Cleveland Browns in terms of drafting and developing their quarterback of the future – unless Connor Shaw (who-by the way – was an undrafted rookie free agent) somehow quickly develops into a legitimate NFL starter. The Browns have yet another offensive coordinator and will eventually hire a new quarterbacks coach. From top to bottom, the organization has no clue as to who this team’s starting quarterback will be for 2015 – much less beyond. Odds are that, if Brian Hoyer doesn’t return, then the Browns will have to go outside the organization (again) to fill the position. Fortunately for the Browns, Hoyer is open to returning to his home town; and the system to be installed by John DeFilippo is far better suited for Hoyer’s skill set because it’s more of a West Coast system.

SO . . . WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

For now, Johnny Manziel is on an extremely short leash, the Browns are in contract talks with Brian Hoyer and Connor Shaw is on the mend for the first portion of the off-season (trying to heal from a dislocated finger on his left hand and a rib injury that had him passing blood after the Baltimore game). Barring a blockbuster trade, the Browns likely won’t draft a quarterback this year (much less early) and Johnny will have the opportunity to prove that he’s made a change and is finally committed to the Cleveland Browns – albeit a year too late. If he doesn’t, then it’s only a matter of time before he’s given his outright release and the Browns will have fallen even farther behind the eight ball – not knowing who their starting quarterback will be for the second consecutive season with no hope in sight for the future. Can Johnny Manziel make the change? Sure, anything’s possible, but it certainly won’t be easy for him to he in a constant state of self denial for the better cause. Quite frankly, I just don’t see it happening because the change would need to be too drastic for Johnny. People are creatures of habit, and his habits seem too deeply rooted for that drastic a change. Maybe it would be in the best interest of all parties involved for the Browns to give Johnny his immediate outright release, admit to the public that they made a horrendous mistake in drafting Johnny, pick up the pieces and move on.