1-On-1 With a Texas A&M Season Ticket Holder
Exclusive interview between @shanubh and myself, talking about Johnny Manziel.
Shanubh is a season ticket holder for Texas A&M and attended every home game of Johnny Football’s career!
Question 1:
Do you think Manziel’s skill set can and will translate to the NFL? Why or why not?
–As an A&M and JFF fan, I believe in his abilities. He is a freak talent and I promise you that nobody in Cleveland has got to witness it just yet. You may have caught a glimpse of it this past weekend in Buffalo, but that was just a peek. I don’t think one can pigeonhole JFF into an offensive system. Let me explain….
Kevin Sumlin is known for his “air raid” offense, right? That said, maybe the best way to describe A&M’s offense when JFF was here is that it was more like a jailbreak. You literally never knew what was going to happen once the ball was snapped. Maybe it was a bomb to Mike Evans; or a shot in the slot to Ryan Swope or Travis Labhart; or a wild knee buckling scramble for 25 yards. Jailbreak…
Based upon his past success, JFF would thrive in a system where there is some freedom to make plays. I understand the defenses in the NFL are bigger and faster than even the best SEC defenses JFF faced. Just like with any NFL QB, he’s got to have success throwing from the pocket into tiny windows. He has the arm for it; he needs the reps to keep growing there. The difference in JFF from his first game against Florida and his last against Duke was huge; it took time for him to build his confidence and get there. Once he was there, he was like Bret Favre – gunslinger, feared nothing or nobody; yet made some mistakes, too.
Myself personally, I love the comparison to Favre. With that I mean, just the ability that he can make plays when the gameplan is breaking down, he makes mistakes, but makes the plays that wins you games. Also, shanubu talks about his growth from the first to last game. We saw this on Sunday. Manziel looked like a completely different QB against the Bills than earlier in the preseason. It’s evident that Manziel has continued to work and learn, and is now able to effectively execute the gameplan.
Go onto Question 2 to read about memorable performances!
