Don’t Do it, Jerry

I’m an Aggie; a very proud one, as most of my friends will tell you. I bleed maroon and white.

Whether you root for my team or not is inconsequential to this column. That’s not the point.

I was one of thousands of proud Aggies when Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy in 2012, shredding the SEC record books in our first year in the league. I stuck by him during the autograph scandal in 2013 and didn’t think too much of his penchant to party while at Aggieland. Hey, it’s college. Many students at the university have a good time on the weekends.

- Advertisement -

Not to mention that Manziel continued to rip up the league (with the help of still underrated wideout Mike Evans). Chick-Fil-A Bowl champs in his final game! Woo hoo. Gig ‘em!

I even wrote in early 2014 that the Houston Texans should take Johnny with the No. 1 overall pick, even being enough of a dope to compare not selecting him to the Trail Blazers passing on Michael Jordan for Sam Bowie.

Um, yeah. My bad. (That’s the point).

I believed in him that much, simply because I had never seen him fail (and I was wearing maroon-colored glasses, but he’s still the best college player I have ever seen). He never lost the game for his team and rescued them on many occasions. I was blinded by the mere fact that he could literally run circles around the competition in the best conference in college football.

There’s a key word there, though – college.

What I failed to comprehend and understand is that the NFL is a different beast, where EVERY player can run like a deer with the potential to crush an opposing player with one hit. Oh, and they’re smart and well-coached. And they work at their craft; at least the good ones do.

Being a quarterback in the NFL takes more than mere talent. Johnny could get away with not watching film at A&M. He could skate by with limited preparation when facing Auburn or Missouri. Not so much against the Bengals – an entirely different type of Tiger.

I’m embarrassed, mostly for him. I’ll still root for this fellow Aggie to turn things around, but let’s face it – he’s a spoiled brat who’s never had to be accountable for anything (until now).

You’re a pro now, Johnny. Start acting like one.

Which brings us to the Jerry Jones man-crush that he seems to still have on Johnny Manziel. Many seem to think that Johnny’s next stop is Dallas after Cleveland cuts him on March 9. Stephen Jones and other influential Cowboys staff talked Jerry out of adding Johnny once. Can they do it again?

Cowboy fans better hope Jones can be swayed to either draft a quarterback or bring in a different veteran like Robert Griffin III. Maybe Johnny will one day grow up and see the light. I’ve seen enough though; until he shows he prefers to spend more spare time watching game film than in Vegas, I’m not buying.

He’s still young, yes. Manziel should have just finished his senior year at A&M. Time to grow up; but please, Jerry, somewhere else but Dallas.

Yes, I actually compared Houston passing on Manziel to Portland missing out on the best NBA player of all time. Two years later, I think I would have more faith in Sam Bowie as the Cowboys’ back-up quarterback next year than young Mr. Football.