"If the club had faith in me, I feel like I'd be the guy after I came back from the concussion," QB says. "That hasn't happened."
Perhaps the problem is the Alouettes, in the words of Johnny Manziel, “traded half of an organization” to secure his services. Put that on general manager Kavis Reed.
This organization has been sending mixed signals to Manziel, the former Heisman Trophy winner and first-round NFL draft choice, since he arrived on July 23. He thought he was the guy and, given the carousel of quarterbacks this franchise has gone through since Anthony Calvillo’s retirement in 2013, Manziel should have been the guy.
Instead, he’s been a victim of circumstance.
He played before he was ready — even his agent said as much — was thrown to the wolves in a marketing ploy to sell tickets and was intercepted four times by Hamilton, the team that traded him to Montreal. The Als lost by 39 points. Then they lost again the next week at Ottawa, but Manziel passed for 168 yards and wasn’t intercepted. The bar has been set so low with this team it seemed like a moral victory.
But Manziel was concussed in that game which, it has turned out, was the worst thing that could have transpired. He missed two games and was replaced by Antonio Pipkin. The Als lost his first game at Edmonton, but Pipkin passed for 217 yards. Then he beat Toronto, throwing for 303 yards and scoring two short-yardage touchdowns.
Pipkin wasn’t supposed to be this good, and he wasn’t throughout training camp. That’s why the team released him in late June, only to repatriate the 23-year-old in early August due to injuries.
Manziel was available to play Aug. 31 at Ottawa, and dressed, but remained on the bench. There was no reason to make a change at quarterback going into the game and, after Pipkin passed for 242 yards and Montreal won a second consecutive match, there still remains no justifiable reason.
Manziel, 25, acknowledges this. But on Thursday, when he returned to practice after missing three days with a stomach flu, he complained about his lack of playing time.
Manziel has every right to be frustrated, given the mixed messages he’s received. But he’s not Calvillo. Nor is he Jeremiah Masoli, the quarterback he failed to dislodge in Hamilton. Manziel hasn’t accumulated any cachet and hasn’t earned the right to declare the starter doesn’t lose his job through injury.
And Sherman isn’t Don Matthews, either. Or Wally Buono. He has to be more concerned about winning games, and if someone’s ego gets bruised in the process, that’s the price that must be extracted.
“I hope this organization and the people here haven’t lost faith in my ability to play,” Manziel said Thursday. “I felt there was a lot of hope and faith in me being the guy here. How quickly that’s changed in two weeks. It’s tough.
Manziel said he’s struggling to ascertain his role. He’s not a third-down, short-yardage quarterback. That position’s held by Pipkin. Manziel can’t even become the holder on field goals and converts, because that responsibility is assumed by Matt Shiltz, one of three healthy pivots on the roster. Manziel said he doesn’t have a significant role in the game plan and is struggling mentally due to that circumstance.
But here’s the reality. Pipkin has played well, but it has been only three games. He remains inexperienced. He doesn’t walk on water. He will run into a defence that has prepared for his skill set and will struggle, eventually. That’s inevitable. And this is the Canadian Football League. Only Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell, Edmonton’s Mike Reilly and Masoli have avoided injuries this season.
Manziel’s one hit away from becoming the Als’ starting quarterback. Again. His ill-timed outburst, on the eve of Friday’s home game against British Columbia (7:30 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN Radio 690), was the last thing this team needed.
Reed talks to Manziel virtually daily, and undoubtedly will again — he must after Thursday’s outburst.
“I’m happy he wants to play,” Reed said. “We’ve not lost confidence in Johnny. We’ve been long suffering in terms of finding a quarterback. It’s important not to just have one option. We don’t know where this will take us … whether Antonio will continue having success.
Reed, incidentally, knows there always will be whispers when Manziel’s absent, given his off-field history. But Reed said he took Manziel to a doctor on Wednesday, saw him eat some toast and banana, and vowed he has been suffering from the flu. And yet, somehow, you get the feeling this isn’t going to end well.