Commanders have their QB and he’s not Johnny Football.
Woodside’s leadership means S.A. should pass on Manziel
Johnny Manziel shouldn’t come to San Antonio.
It’s just best for everyone involved.
The Commanders don’t need him — or the media circus that will inevitably come with him. Sure, they could use his name recognition. The entire Alliance of American Football could use a bit of swagger from one of its starting quarterbacks.
But between the hash marks? After last week’s performance, it’s clear the Commanders have their guy — even if he isn’t the one anyone was expecting or wanting.
Logan Woodside completed 21 of 27 passes for 290 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while leading the Commanders to a 29-25 win over the Arizona Hotshots on Sunday.
“I think Logan saw things well and was decisive,” Commanders coach Mike Riley said. “Perhaps it was just getting more used to the offense.”
Still, some fans will long for Johnny Football.
He is a name they know — a guy from just around the corner in Kerrville. And he is a Heisman Trophy winner out of Texas A&M. But, Manziel, who has had more than his fair share of problems since being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2014, wasn’t even that good in the CFL.
Sure, he completed 64 percent of his passes, but his five touchdown passes were bogged down by seven interceptions.
Woodside has put up similar numbers — four touchdowns against six interceptions — for the Commanders, but last week against the Hot-
shots showed why Riley inserted him as his starting quarterback after training camp.
In the first half against Arizona — where the Commanders took a 26-0 lead — Woodside completed 12 of his first 13 pass attempts for 192 yards with two touchdowns. Woodside was even named the AAF’s offensive player of the week Tuesday.
“I am always a confident guy no matter what, but I want to build on what I did well,” Woodside said. “With Coach Riley and the offense, … it is similar to what I did in college. The terminology is different, but it is something I feel comfortable in, and I think we have some of the best playmakers in the league, and that makes it easy for me.”
Woodside isn’t concerned about Manziel, either.
“I don’t listen to any media or reports on things like that. I am just here to win. I go to work every day just like this whole team does,” Woodside said, blowing off the Manziel question from the Arizona Republic at the Commanders’ postgame press conference.
The goal going forward is to replicate Woodside’s outstanding half of quarterback play — and so far, that has not been easy in the AAF. Only two quarterbacks with more than 100 pass attempts have more touchdown passes than interceptions (Orlando’s Garrett Gilbert and the Hotshots’ John Wolford).
“There will be things that surface that are difference-makers, and quarterbacking is going to be one of those,” Riley said. “… I think that is the same for every player and every team, but at that position it is critical.”
The NFL wouldn’t be the same without Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and, now, Patrick Mahomes II. It’s no different in the AAF. The only difference is you probably don’t know who half these guys are. OK, let’s be honest. You don’t know who any of these guys are. Woodside came from Toledo. His backups Dustin Vaughn (West Texas A&M) and Marquise Williams (North Carolina) don’t exactly hold any cache with the common fan, either.
Even the quarterbacks who were big names while in college never had any sustained success in the NFL. Aaron Murray, who has taken the reins for the AAF’s Atlanta Legends, started all four years for the University of Georgia and threw 121 touchdown passes. In the NFL? He has played for four teams without making it past the practice squad.
The same goes for the guy who will probably be the MVP of the Alliance, Garrett Gilbert. He flamed out not just in the NFL — where he has played for five teams in four years and thrown three career passes — but at Texas before landing at SMU and having a decent but unspectacular run.
Memphis’ Zach Mettenberger has the most NFL experience in the league, having started 10 games for the Tennessee Titans from 2014-15. He started the season on the Express’ bench, but has broken out of late, throwing for 475 yards and three touchdowns in the last 2½ games.
Woodside was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round (249th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was cut on Sept. 1 and signed by the Titans two days later.
Three weeks after that, he was cut again.
Now, six months later, he has a home. It may not be the one he initially wanted, or where he dreamed of playing as a child growing up in Kentucky.
And he may not be the guy Commander fans dreamed of when all of this started.
But, today, he is the guy they need.
“I don’t listen to any media or reports on things like that. I am just here to win.” Commanders quarterback Logan Woodside dismissing a question about Johnny Manziel