Can Manziel Party and Play Football at the Same Time?

   Joe Namath did it.  Ken Stabler did it.   But can Johnny Manziel do it?  Namely, can Johnny combine a party boy lifestyle with the demands of being an NFL quarterback? A normal guy should be able to handle some partying.  But Johnny may not be all that normal as evidenced by a 10 week stint in rehab. My guess is that ultimately Manziel will find out that he can not play quarterback effectively while also playing party animal.

    Reportedly, Johnny was back at Texas A&M over the weekend, and seems to have had some fun with the ladies, and seems to have been photographed with a beer in his hand.  Nothing noteworthy about that, of course, except that it is surprising that completing rehab in the off-season, Manziel is still apparently allowed to consume alcohol.  I'm not an expert, but within my narrow experience, rehabilitation specialists do not recommend recovering substance abusers to consume alcoholic beverages. 

     Famous last words are, "But I'll be different!"  Let's hope so Johnny.  

     To me this return to partying lifestyle shows he may not have the all-consuming drive to play football that's necessary to succeed at the highest level.   It's just one's person opinion, but I would rather he stay clear of alcohol.  Bad things seem to happen to him when he drinks.  From a purely football viewpoint, Manziel had an excellent start while not drinking, but his more recent start, after an alcohol-related incident with his girlfriend, did not go well.  Not enough data for a trend, certainly, but I've seen enough to doubt whether Drunk Johnny can play at the same level as Sober Johnny.  

     For every Namath or Stabler, there is a huge list of athletes that flopped while living a hard partying lifestyle.   There's the ultimate fiasco, Ryan Leaf, and then guys like Jamarcus Russell, Todd Marinovich, Art Schlichter and many many others.  I still say that Jefferson Joe Gilliam was one of the most talented quarterbacks I've ever seen, and I've heard Terry Bradshaw say the same thing. This is a very rough road that Manziel seems intent upon trodding.  

Hanging out with the ladies is fine, just find some ladies that are not party animals.  

    Say, Bengals backup QB A. J. McCarron did ok with the former Miss Alabama, Kathryn Webb.  Johnny, why don't you give A. J. and Kathryn a call, maybe they'll set you up with someone nice? 

    Until he straightens up, I think the Browns have to continue to look at Josh McCown as well as third stringer Austin Davis.   But we'll see.