Johnny Manziel has been making the rounds lately, rehabbing his public image as part of his effort for an NFL comeback. He'll play in something called the Spring League later this month, and has pledged to play in the Canadian Football League later this year if an NFL team doesn't pick him up.
Manziel appeared on Dan Patrick's radio show and said part of the reason he flunked out of Cleveland was that the Browns weren't prepared to handle how unprepared he was to be an NFL quarterback.
"If Cleveland did any of their homework they would have known I wasn't a guy who came in every day and watch film. I wasn't a guy who really knew the X's and O's of football." - Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) pic.twitter.com/7m2In1Z4JT
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) April 4, 2018
Manziel's answer falls somewhere between an excuse and an explanation. Where exactly the line falls depends on your perspective.
At the end of the day, it's hard to find a sympathetic character anywhere in this story. Manziel was a train wreck in Cleveland, but so was (and is) the organization at the time. Who can forget this moment from draft night in 2014?
There's a cautionary lesson in here that coaches can share with their players. What exactly that lesson is I'm not sure, but it's in there somewhere.