Failure is an option
Stampeders quarterback Levi Mitchell thinks it would be good for the CFL to see Johnny Football struggle
CALGARY — As good as Johnny Manziel is for the CFL, Bo Levi Mitchell thinks what’s best for the league is a Johnny Football face-plant.
It sounds harsh, perhaps even petty from the mouth of the Calgary Stampeders quarterback.
But listen to ol’ Bo’s rationale before judging.
“What’s better for the CFL on the whole is for him to come out here and struggle, just to show this is not a joke of a league — these are real defenders, and this is real football,” said the alwaysengaging veteran on the eve of his club’s season-opener against Manziel’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium on Saturday.
“I wish him all the best
— I hope he does succeed, obviously not against us. But it wouldn’t a bad thing for him to struggle in this league a little bit.”
After all, of all the hot-shot college quarterbacks or NFL retreads who come to the
CFL, only a small fraction of them gain any traction north of the border, let alone excel.
With that in mind, you can understand how hard it might be for some to stomach the barrels of ink being spilled over the controversial NFL bad boy who was never able to translate a Heisman Trophy into a steady NFL gig outside of two tumultuous years with the Cleveland Browns.
“Any guy in the league that has already earned that respect is probably tired of hearing about him,” said Mitchell of the 25-year-old former NCAA Texas A&M Aggies star who was taken 22nd overall in the NFL’s
2014 Draft. “That’s just truthful. In the same sense, I don’t blame Johnny. He’s done what he’s done in his career, and he deserves the media that’s followed him, in good ways and bad.”
“I don’t blame him for having Johnny Football tags and everything he gets talked about on TSN. It’s not his fault. People want to hear about him and watch him, and ultimately, it does bring eyes to the CFL.”
Case in point, few could name the Tiger-Cats’ opening day starter at QB (Jeremiah Masoli), but many in Calgary heading to Saturday’s game know Manziel is the backup.
Fact is, given Manziel’s talent and the Ticats’ string of tough opponents to open the season, few doubt the highly mobile pivot will get a chance early on to strut his stuff.
“He is a hell of an athlete, a hell of a quarterback ... and at some point, he’ll figure this out because his game is built for this league,” said Mitchell, the league’s most outstanding player two seasons ago.
“Think about this — coming into this league, nobody was saying this about me, about (Edmonton Eskimos quarterback and reigning Most Outstanding Player) Mike (Reilly), about (Ottawa Redblacks quarterback) Trevor (Harris) because we come from smaller schools. It’s ‘are you a football player?’
“I might not be 6-foot-5 and have 10-inch hands, but put a rock in my hand, and I can sling it. That’s what matters when it comes to football.”
And that’s what CFL fans are hoping to get a glimpse of early on from Manziel.
What they haven’t seen since he arrived in Canada are any of the transgressions that stalled his career the last few years.
Starting with an arrest following a late-night fight at age 19 that came before he even played his first college game, his career has been plagued by excessive partying, substance abuse and erratic behaviour off the field.
Even his father appeared to give up on him at one point.
“It’s not a secret that’s he’s a druggie,” his father, Paul, told ESPN, when Manziel was suspended four games by the NFL for violating its substance-abuse policy in
What’s better for the CFL on the whole is for him to come out here and struggle, just to show this is not a joke of a league — these are real defenders, and this is real football. Bo Levi Mitchell
2016. “Hopefully he doesn’t die before he comes to his senses. I mean ... I hate to say it, but I hope he goes to jail. I mean ... that would be the best place for him.”
In 2015, Manziel entered a treatment program for unspecified reasons.
He later drew even more headlines after being pulled over by police for fighting with his girlfriend in the vehicle after drinking.
She’d later speak of another incident in 2016 of Manziel forcing her into his car, pulling her by the hair and threatening to kill both her and himself. He was indicted for misdemeanour assault charges.
Two agents, Nike and his marketing agency, have dropped him, as did the Browns, prompting a twoyear hiatus from football until the CFL agreed to allow his signing by the Ticats under certain conditions.
Now married, he is pledging to make good on what is certainly his last chance in pro football.
The jury is out on whether he deserves that chance, which is why so many people are curious to see if he’ll be able to follow up a CFL stint during which he’s said and done everything right (so far) with a return to his on-field college brilliance.
There’s little doubt
Mitchell is going to take heat for his frank assessment of the CFL’s shiniest new object.
That’s part of Bo’s beauty. However, as history has shown, he’s the wrong one of the two quarterbacks whose conduct deserves to be questioned.