Do you want Johnny Manziel at #8?

[Mothman]

There goes my booming business of picking up a buck every time the "Evans bailed out JFB" card got played! DP you just sent stock prices diving in my company!

LOL! Do you really think that well-presented argument dead_poet made will change any minds? You're still in business, my friend.

Also: stay thirsty, my friend.

[dead_poet]

Whether he has pocket presence or not, his problem is he prefers to be outside the pocket.

I think he prefers to make plays while not getting sacked. I'll agree that he'll have to get more comfortable from the pocket. But he's shown improvement from year to year.

I'll take the middle. Ponder is too conservative and Manziel is too Favre-like.

That's fair. Maybe like an Aaron Rodgers? Unfortunately the perfect QB rarely falls into your lap. You have to find one you trust has what it takes and have the coaching to match.

Roethlisberger is a lot bigger though and can shrug off defenders, whereas Manziel is just quick elusive.

That's fine. There's more than one way to skin a cat. One could've said that there are bigger/faster defenders in the NFL and Big Ben's game wouldn't have translated either. Frankly, I don't care how they do it. I like my QB to be able to avoid pressure, make plays with his legs (IF he has to) and extend plays.

There were times Manziel would leave the pocket for no reason, so a solid OL might not matter. He had Luke Joeckel and then Jake Matthews in college.

That's true. And he'll have to improve on that. But all QBs benefit from ample protection. Well, Joeckel has been awful to date and the jury is out on Matthews. Plus, one "good" LT does not a solid offensive line make (not intending for that to sound like Yoda). There's also something to be said about Manziel also making these linemen appear better than they are as well. We all know how good Peyton Manning makes his linemen.

It doesn't matter what his stats were. He took a beating in than game. Did he still have a good game? Sure, but you can only get hit like that for so long before it starts to catch up to you.

I suppose that's fair. However the other side of the coin is it shows just how tough a competitor he really is. Favre absorbed a ton of sacks over his career and was an "iron man." I guess I'd also take 10 years of dominance over 15 years of OK, just playing it safe. I'll agree he's putting himself at more of a risk with the way he plays, but this is football and a "pocket passer" isn't immune from a career-ending injury either.

[mansquatch]

I love his intangibles. The question I have is unanswerable, but how is he going to readjust to NFL quality defenive units? Will his desire to be the best be enough to drive him to improve? The fact he loves to win is a very strong driver IMO.

It would be interesting to see him on the VIkings, I wouldn't cry if the took him at #8.

I just think they'll take someone else and get Garoppolo or Mccarron in the 2nd, but I could be on queludes, so who knows?

[Texas Vike]

LOL! Do you really think that well-presented argument dead_poet made will change any minds? You're still in business, my friend.

Also: stay thirsty, my friend.

On second thought, you're right! I'm guessing I'll still make a good amount from now until May!

[PurpleKoolaid]

would rather be told I have gonorrhea then that the Vikings picked JFB. Really. Wasting 3 more years would kill me. I do hope he lands in our division though.

[Texas Vike]

would rather be told I have gonorrhea then that the Vikings picked JFB. Really. Wasting 3 more years would kill me. I do hope he lands in our division though.

[Funkytown]

would rather be told I have gonorrhea then that the Vikings picked JFB. Really. Wasting 3 more years would kill me. I do hope he lands in our division though.

Ha. When you put it that way...yep, I want Manziel!

[Raptorman]

would rather be told I have gonorrhea then that the Vikings picked JFB. Really. Wasting 3 more years would kill me. I do hope he lands in our division though.

Well then, we won't tell you. Just let you suffer.

[tradster]

I posted earlier last year after the Vikings poor start that I would be willing to see them go 0-16 to draft Manziel at #1. Will say again he was someone I wanted to see fall on his face this year but that didn't happen. Think he would make the next few years exciting enough to care about a rebuilding team, and paying a hefty price at a new stadium to see. I would be willing to trade up to get him even if it took Washington's price for RG3.

[Loki]

I love Manziel but no team should ever pay the price washingtons payed for Griffin. Its absurdly too much even for a franchise QB.

[Demi]

I'll take JFB over anyone not named Bridgewater.

And forget his "game manager" nonsense. You need to build a solid team, and get a QB who can make plays. Dinking and dunking isn't going to get it done. Eli is the perfect example. He might look like a bum one day, and a Hall of Famer the next. But in the playoffs you need to make a big play now and then. After the rule changes and ref emphasis, you can't play like you could 15 years ago and be successful when you're playing teams with a similar level of talent in the playoffs.

[losperros]

I agree. No more "game manager" QBs, please!

The Vikings need QBs that can make plays.

[Purpnation]

I love Manziel but no team should ever pay the price washingtons payed for Griffin. Its absurdly too much even for a franchise QB.

Nothing is ever to much for a franchise QB, I know this isn't what Washington got by trading up, but your telling me, in hindsight, you wouldn't give up an entire draft for a guy like Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees?

[King James]

Enough of this. Evans had exactly 2,499 receiving yards over the last two seasons. For the sake of argument, we'll say that Manziel threw all of them. This represents only 32% of all of Manziel's total passing yardage. This means that he accumulated 68% of his passing yards throwing to other receivers. Now, let's talk about touchdowns. Evans caught 17 in his two-year career. Manziel has thrown 63 touchdowns, meaning Evans accounted for less than 23% of all of Manziel's passing touchdowns. Let's also not forget that Evans wouldn't have had the career he did with just any QB. Yes, Manziel threw a lot of passes to Evans when he was covered, because Evans proved he could win those contested situations and Manziel had enough guts and trust that he would. That's what good quarterbacks and receivers do. I'm guessing if he didn't have Evans, he wouldn't have taken quite as many chances. I could be wrong. But we'll never know. Evans made Manziel a better QB, yes, but just like Manziel made Evans a better receiver. They worked off each other and it worked very, very well. This "bailed him out" garbage is the talk of the uninformed and unobservant. Did Manziel throw unadvised passes? Yes. Most QBs do. Maybe he threw more than his fair share. But he also completed more than his fair share, too. I don't know why you stop what's clearly working. It's like if Adrian Peterson stopped running so violently or decided to slow down and be more careful. Does his style get him in trouble? Yes. But it also is part of what makes him great.

Yes, I forgot. When he's not throw passes to Mike Evans, he's making crap passes such as the one in the video above, but still gets in completed by some miracle. This play alone describes what Manziel is all about. Sick play but I doubt he will do crap like this in the NFL level.

[dead_poet]

Yes, I forgot. When he's not throw passes to Mike Evans, he's making crap passes such as the one in the video above, but still gets in completed by some miracle.

I love how people who do not like Manziel point to this play specifically as a reason why they believe he's overrated and will be unsuccessful and justify it like this is the only pass he ever throws. It's like if I posted this video every time and use it as evidence every Manziel pass will be a deep, perfectly-placed 95-yard touchdown bomb (thrown from the pocket).