No NFL analyst has been tougher on Johnny Manziel over the past two years than ESPN’s Merril Hoge. After biting his tongue for quite a while, Johnny Football has finally fired back.
When a reporter asked Manziel on Friday about the heavy criticism he has received from Hoge, Manziel took aim at Hoge’s fashion sense.
#browns manziel with a laugh: "Merrill (hoge) needs to worry about his big neckties"
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 18, 2015
I never noticed it before, but Hoge does wear a massive windsor knot. Someone needs to tell Merril that he won’t look as much like Fred Flintsone if he squeezes the tie a little.
Hoge labeled Manziel a bust shortly after Manziel came into the league, and he was even tougher on the 22-year-old after Manziel struggled mightily in a game last season. The former NFL defensive back went after Manziel again on Monday.
“He’s so sloppy fundamentally,” Hoge said on Sportscenter, per Mary Kay Cabot of Northeast Ohio Media Group. “He was reckless and A&M, he’s reckless in the NFL. He doesn’t play in structure. He doesn’t understand concepts and it was very evident in this game. Missed a lot of hots. If you go to the throw, why would the ball sail inside vs. outside. If you watch his footwork, because really the guy he’s going to is the guy he should (go) to. It’s man on man and you got the ball and it’s third down. This is open in the NFL, but watch his footwork, watch how sloppy it is.
“He doesn’t have a strong enough arm anyway, that’s why the ball sails to the outside. Then the reckless aspect of it. He is protected across the board here. There is no reason to run. You know it’s third and long, but you have a better shot throwing it within the structure and design of the play than you do in running. Even during the course of the game, do remember the one throw where (Brian) Hartline made a great catch, they blitzed him. He was supposed to throw it hot. The tight end was wide open and he runs.
“It’s very elementary: he’s not gotten better in two years.”
After the tie comment, we have to give the advantage to Manziel.
Photo via DJ Steph Floss/Twitter
