Mike Evans Talks Up Johnny Football
February 23rd, 2014
Texas A&M WR Mike Evans told Joe he would “go to war” with Johnny Football.
It doesn’t seem to stop and Joe has no idea why. Just again, this morning, Joe read an article that paints Johnny Football as an irresponsible lush. God forbid a college kid and stud quarterback likes women with big breasts and has a few beers now and then.
The humanity!
So as long as Joe reads such nonsense inventing fairy tales trying to slander one of the best quarterback to ever take a snap in college football, one who could end up a Buccaneer, Joe will bring real news from real sources who would know better.
Already Joe has gotten Texas A&M running back Ben Molina and offensive tackle Jake Matthews on the record talking about what kind of teammate Johnny Football is and they both rave about him.
Add Mike Evans to the list. The Vincent Jackson clone (with blazing speed) of the Aggies is thought to be a first round pick. Yesterday, Joe asked Evans point blank about Johnny Football (as did a few other reporters) during his media session at the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Below is what Evans had to say about Johnny:
“Great teammate, always willing to work,” Evans said of Johnny Manziel. “I would go to war with him on any day. [Playing with Manziel] was a great experience. He’s a great playmaker. It was real fun, being part of his success. I just love him to death.”
And Johnny as a leader? It was Manziel who basically saved Evans from completely wigging out against Duke and getting tossed. Evans was flagged twice for offensive interference and he went all Jim Boeheim freaking out on the officials thinking they were in Duke’s pocket.
“Yeah, going into it, thinking it’s my last game, overly emotional, trying to get a pass interference call, a bonehead play by me,” Evans said. “Second personal foul, I was upset, didn’t know why I got that one. Johnny came to the sideline, him being a leader, myself being a leader, we talked it over, and then he told me he needed me to win the game. Came to me in the second half and ended a great career.”
Evans who told Joe the Bucs had not yet interviewed him (which may have changed since), explained how Manziel made him a better receiver.
“He throws great balls all the time,” Evans said. “He throws it away from the defender, where only I can get it. So, he’s a great passer and a great quarterback.”
Again, if the anti-Johnny crowd has issues with Johnny Football being too small to play in the NFL, having not-good-enough arm, running around too much, playing in a gimmick college offense, OK. Those are legitimate concerns. But to suggest Johnny is some cancer and is a rotten teammate who doesn’t work, those are flat out fairy tales meant to slander him.
That’s just way out of line.
February 23rd, 2014 at 4:49 pm
I saw that Johnny measured in at 5’11”, even though A&M had said 6’1″. Just like all the women he has “pulled” admitted – he’s a few inches shorter than advertised!
February 23rd, 2014 at 4:52 pm
Good one LightningBuc!
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:00 pm
Then again why should his teammate talk bad about him anyway,not saying he is lying or anything just saying that we shouldnt take his word for it.
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:05 pm
I bet if you ask all his teammates at the combine they will all love him.. I mean c’mon, it’s not like they’re going to throw him under the bus.
I hope your questioning was leading too.. lol
like:
Hey Mike, “How awesome is Johnny Football?” ..or
“Wouldn’t you say in your own words that Johnny was a great teammate?”
Joe sure is infatuated with Johnny because he actually probably pulled Rachel Watson. 🙂
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:08 pm
DO you even lift, Bro?
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Lightningbuc: college list their players as taller and heavier all the time. Manuel is hardly the first.
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:19 pm
just get it done. i don’t care what it takes move up and draft this manchild and let it play out he is the same size as wilson i think couple pounds heavier and the boy can play! just do it damnitt
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:26 pm
Giving up all those picks for RG3 turned out to bite the skins in the ass. Bucs do not need to make same mistake.
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:28 pm
snook,
I’m well aware of that. Just took it as an opportunity to have a little fun with Joe(s). They know what I’m getting at.
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:47 pm
Not losing an extra game will keep us from getting our franchise quarterback.
February 23rd, 2014 at 5:57 pm
Love this guy- we have sooooo many needs on offense and we have no 3rd round pick- funny Greg couldn’t even lose right we will still get a good player @7 but….- I still wish we would have not traded for revis- we blew out cap out could have had grimes for 3 million and had the two picks. Love revis but we just aren’t one player Away
February 23rd, 2014 at 6:25 pm
Johnny football not thank you. I believe the hype is way more than his abilities. What teammate wouldn’t talk up another teammate. I’m not talking about the off field stuff, he’s young he should have a good time. I just can’t see him transforming into an NFL QB.
February 23rd, 2014 at 6:28 pm
I have this vision “Johnny bringing his chicks over to MW19s place….they are dancing on MW19s stripper pole and Joe shows up with Rachel Watson”…..Joe’s dream night….he gets drunk and sleeps on one of MW19s mattresses (alone) in MW19s front yard….fun was had by all…but Joe didn’t remember.
February 23rd, 2014 at 6:50 pm
Manziel =Bust in waiting . Stop the hype
February 23rd, 2014 at 6:54 pm
If we knew for a fact that Johnny Football will be great in the NFL, then I would try to move up to secure him but it is so risky especially when we have other needs. QB is one position worthy of such a risk though for all of the obvious reasons. If he doesn’t become a star at the pro level then that would cost the GM his job. I wish we had a crystal ball. If he is still there at the 4th pick then we might be able to make it happen. It is going to be fun to see how it plays out.
February 23rd, 2014 at 6:56 pm
AJ Mccarron will be a better pro
February 23rd, 2014 at 6:59 pm
The Bucs just don’t have a good track record with drafting 1st round QB’s though. Some have been drafted by us and gone on to have successful careers elsewhere but we need to hit a home run this time.
February 23rd, 2014 at 7:20 pm
rayjay1122 Says:
February 23rd, 2014 at 6:54 pm
If he is still there at the 4th pick then we might be able to make it happen.
__________________________________________________
I actually agree with this statement. If Manziel falls to #4, he would be more obtainable. The question is, are Lovie and Licht as enamored by The Manchild as The Joes? Would they be willing to trade up? Personally, I think unless the Bucs can get to pick #4 with a song and a dance they wouldn’t use limited future picks on chance. To Risky
This year, they already have a legitimate excuse to wait, and that is Mike Glennon. If Glennon does poorly then Lovie and company will just claim that he really wasn’t their guy and that their choices were limited and they felt tied to him, and we had such few draft picks and the FA QB market was flat. etc… …and draft a QB next year.
But at the cost of a song and a dance then they could pull the trigger.
February 23rd, 2014 at 8:31 pm
A couple of things, first of all Johnny’s behavior OFF the field has be “way out of line.” I dont know about anybody else, but I expect more out of someone who is looking to be a franchise QB. We just had a QB that was accused of partying to much and ended up ruining his career because of it, so why shouldn’t we have the same concerns about Manziel? Now, he says he’s changed, and that’s fine I can accept that, but he has to prove it first.
Secondly Joe, He might be “one of the best quarterback to ever take a snap in college football, ” but I also remember them saying the same thing about Tim Tebow, and we all know how that one turned out. This is obvious, but his success in college doesn’t not guarantee him any success in the pros.
Plus, for a scrambling QB, he ran an unimpressive 4.68 in the 40 yard dash at the combine. Everybody has different opinions about him, mine would be to say no to drafting him.
February 23rd, 2014 at 8:38 pm
Some Bears fan on NFL.com said he would be absolutely shocked if Lovie does not draft defense with the 7th pick.
I kind of believe him.
February 23rd, 2014 at 8:42 pm
Instead of asking his teammates what they think about him, who are obviously going to stick up for him, I think it would be better to ask other NFL GMs what they think about him. Now that would be interesting.
February 23rd, 2014 at 8:44 pm
1) Half the time his mechanics look great, but the other half he just forgets about them.
2) In the NFL his deep ball throws will get picked off like crazy.
3) He’s 5′ 11″. Sorry.
4) Michael Vick was a fantastic scrambler too, but was that able to beat top defenses? no. And reality check: Vick ran a 4.25, Manziel 4.68 officially.
I just don’t see him as an NFL success, sorry. All I see is gambler-type fever for a longshot horse or a hot stock tip.
February 23rd, 2014 at 8:55 pm
I know A&M fans that aren’t nearly as stimulated by Johnny Boy than Joe is. And I just dont see the Johnny articles and references ending after he is drafted by some other team lol. But the Bucs are going to get somebody. Whether it’s Johnny Boy, Vick, Bortles, Garropollo, Murray, etc.
February 23rd, 2014 at 8:57 pm
I think he will be drafted high and he will have one good season where he makes you say WOW. After that, defenses will catch up to him and it will be all down hill from there.
February 23rd, 2014 at 9:04 pm
Would love to have mike Evans
February 23rd, 2014 at 9:17 pm
Ill give him credit. He knows his reputation and he knows he earned it. And he is (in my eyes) legitimately trying to fix it. Admitting you have a problem is the first step. I give him kudos for that at least.
Some dudes it works for, and some dudes it doesn’t.
February 23rd, 2014 at 9:23 pm
Joe likes your vivid imagination. 🙂
February 23rd, 2014 at 9:26 pm
Gentlemen:
Johnny is gone from College Station. He has zero connection any longer with the school. Yet where are the guys still there who have nothing to lose by them coming out and blasting him?
What do you hear instead? Crickets.
February 23rd, 2014 at 9:27 pm
TBBF…that vision? It’s called dementia. You might want to get that checked out.
February 23rd, 2014 at 9:30 pm
Joe I seriously don’t think he was any more of a party animal than the average college kid. He being who he is, makes it seem like it’s much worse and it gets blown out of proportion.
February 23rd, 2014 at 9:43 pm
His 40 time was good, just behind what Kaepernick did. Much faster than Bortles.
Good athlete.
I think Lovie mentioned he wants athletes. He would be the perfect pick to turn this thing around. Everyone who played with the guy or against the guy all say the same thing. Great leader and player.
Ginormous upgrade over Glennon.
February 23rd, 2014 at 11:12 pm
Thank you!
February 23rd, 2014 at 11:36 pm
Ok… did Freeman party more than the average college kid? because by all counts we know he liked to party, but it probably wasn’t more than the average college kid either. When you have the responsibility of being a franchise QB and your carrying the entire franchise, you probably shouldn’t party at all, sucks I know but with the time it takes to be the best QB ever (which is what every QB should strive for) there probably is no time to party. Not sticking up for Glennon or anything, but thats at least something we know he gets. Now I’m not stupid, millionaire football players are going to party, hell we all like to party, but how much time is that partying take out of the time that he could be using to get better? If its even 1 hour, then thats 1 hour to much. Thats just my honest opinion. This is not college anymore, you got the weight of a billion dollar NFL franchise on your shoulders.
February 23rd, 2014 at 11:47 pm
Heard Greg Cosell say Manziel measured 5′ 11 7/8 (practically 6 ft). I see where a few people on here are trying to knock almost an inch off, call him 5″ 11, I suppose in an effort to make him look even worse.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:04 am
Andrew 1…he partied in college and won a Heisman while doing so. How much better could have been without the partying? I don’t know, but it sure seems as though it did not effect his “college” play.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:05 am
Where did Freeman get this “party-boy” moniker? Call him Sleepy, leaky Rip Van Freeman all you want but don’t make stuff up. He never got thrown out of a Longhorns frat party or put a stripper pole in his living room or spun discs in Cali instead of attending OTA’s. And besides he’s GONE.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:11 am
@ Buc1987
True, but wouldnt you agree that the pros are much tougher than the NFL? As Joe likes to put it, In college your playing against future mechanics and etc. In the NFL it is and should be a 24/7 job. And I hold the QB position in a higher esteem than any other position I might add.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:19 am
@ WalkdaPlank
Just to prove I wasnt pulling that out of my a$s, if you search Joebucsfan’s archive you will see a story were Boomer Esaison says that Freeman “likes to party to much.” Unless you think Boomer is lying, then I’m not making stuff up. This is coming from a huge former Freeman supporter btw.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:39 am
Yes I remember Esiason being an anti-Freemanite very much. But just to hear you out I searched the Archives and found the article. Esiason’s comments were without sources and did not give any significant answers when challenged by Gary Shelton for his comments. Im not trying to single you out, many others have made comments saying stuff like “we already had a party boy with JFro, no to Manziel” and stuff like that. Freeman was known for having a good work ethic and even organized workouts during the NFL Lockout. By all means he flopped in 2013 by missing meetings and oversleeping. But that’s laziness, not partying and it did not occur before then. Again, you never saw a story in the paper or JBF about Freeman getting thrown out of frat parties, having a stripper pole in his living room, or skipping practice to be a wannabe DJ.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:43 am
Andrew…I really don’t think the “college” partying is what is going to hold teams back from wanting to draft him though.
I also don’t think he’s going to be as good in the pros as much as Joe hypes him up.
Remember past drafts when there was highly rated QB’s coming out and everyone and their mom knew what teams were going to draft them and when the time came, the bell rung true to the predictions.
That’s not happening so far this year. No one can without a doubt say where Teddy or Johnny will go. It’s a mystery and it shouldn’t be, but there are question marks that’s why.
Joe is holding onto the those question marks for dear life.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:47 am
As long as the guy shows up to practice, teem meetings, and to play on Sunday teams won’t care much. I’d be more worried about how his game translates to the NFL.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:00 am
Still no evidence that was happening. If Freeman was that much of a partier, someone would have video/photos and sold them to TMZ for a couple grand.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:11 am
@ WalkdaPlank
Yes, but how many times have you heard someone make an outlandish comment like that with an unnamed source? does that also make it any more valid? Where do we draw the line? I’m asking that in all seriousness because even Joe relies on unnamed sources from time to time. is not having a source make it any more true then having an unnamed source? if not then we should dismiss a lot of what we read and hear in sports. At any rate Im more inclined to believe Boomer, but I still wish Freeman the best. I am a former Freemanite after all.
@ Buc1987
I cant say whether or not GM’s are going to hold his partying lifestyle against him because I have no idea what question they are asking him at the combine. Maybe Joe can answer that better seeing is how he is there. I DO know that that certainly cant help him. It’s a huge commitment for teams not to at least question it.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:20 am
@ Joe’
Really?!?! I swear to God my sister has a picture of him at a club. I’m not basing everything solely on that, and that’s not to say he parties all the time, but it looks like she just missed out on a couple of grand.
February 24th, 2014 at 2:23 am
I stand by what I said, Manziel’s “past” partying lifestyle makes me question him and gives me a lack of trust in him. People might not agree with me, but its not going to change the I feel about drafting him.
February 24th, 2014 at 2:38 am
Joe, since when did it matter how tall or pious a QB is more than how he can throw and think. Is he a winner or not, that is the question, of course my one question to him that would make the difference is “does he prefer bolt ons to natural, that is the deciding factor to me.
February 24th, 2014 at 8:09 am
The Bucs should do everything possible to put themselves in position to draft Johnny Football including trading up to the Texans or Rams spot.
February 24th, 2014 at 8:58 am
Injury prone, transition to NFL questioned, locker room cancer. Pass.
February 24th, 2014 at 11:14 am
Joe I just want to point out that you do not bolster your case for Johnny Manziel by quoting some “stock football press question answers” from one of Manziel’s teammates at A&M.
Most of Mike Evans’ quotations about Manziel could be attributed to any player at any level talking about a current or former teammate. About the only one of substance is Evans relating Manziel’s efforts to “calm him (Evans) down” during the Duke game to avoid Evans getting tossed. Clearly, that does demonstrate some leadership qualities on Manziel’s part.
Unfortunately, Joe, yManziel has made his bed, whether deserved or not, and he’s just going to have lie in it and wait for the jury to come back with verdict.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:24 pm
It’s a known that every one of this year’s “1st round” QBs all have a “yeah, but..” problem, either they are too short, have small hands, are too skinny, etc. etc. As much as I would like to see the Bucs pick up their franchise QB in the first round, most likely the top 3 if not 4 will be gone by the 7th pick and the Bucs will take a WR (Watkins or Evans) or a DE (Clowney’s dropping?) instead. More likely a 2nd round QB pick (or later) will be added making him the competition rather than the franchise QB. And with Glennon’s limited experience and with him already in the building working out everyday, he will be naturally be ahead of any rookie competition-QB and no doubt will win the starting job. Only way he doesn’t is if they get a first round franchise QB or a veteran free agent to move him out of the huddle.
February 25th, 2014 at 3:33 am
To say Freeman had two coaches fired is slander as well…but I see your point, Joe. Just would not draft Manziel. how many “winners” and heismans qbs come out of college and actually succeed? the hype for this guy is tebowesque.