Mike Freeman of BleacherReport.com invoked the help of a classic television show when he wrote Wednesday about Cleveland Browns quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.
"I saw this point first made by Chris Mortensen of ESPN this week. He said, effectively, that teams like the Cleveland Browns were fooled by Johnny Manziel during the draft interview process. It was a really smart point and one that I ran by several NFL scouts. Those scouts agreed," Freeman wrote.
"Go back in time, to the scouting process, specifically to teams interviewing Manziel. Reports out of the combine were that Manziel interviewed well with many teams during the formal interview process. Manziel didn't interview with the Browns at the combine but did later and supposedly did well in all of his interviews.
"Here's some of what Manziel told Peter King of Sports Illustrated that he said to teams:
" 'I've tried to be completely honest with the teams. I was in college. I did some college things with my friends. I had fun, and the thing that I told some team tonight is, my Mom always told me, 'There's a time and a place for everything.' There were points throughout the last year maybe I was a little bit out of that saying. I did things too much and maybe overly aggressive. At the same time, things progressed fast for me. A lot of things were thrown on my plate and pushed into my life, and I really ran with those. To get back to that saying, there's a time and a place for everything. There's a time to have fun, there's a time to work,' Manziel said.
"This is nothing against King, to be clear, who is a great journalist; this is about Manziel's ability to be a chameleon, to say what he knows people want to hear.
"This is the Eddie Haskell Phenomenon. EHP. 'You sure look lovely today, Mrs. Cleaver'. Then, just after saying that, Haskell would go and steal some kid's lunch money. That's an exaggeration, but you get the point. That's Manziel.
"We saw the EHP last week with Manziel. 'I'm not the guy that I've always been,' he told reporters. 'I'm not the Johnny Manziel that came in here a year ago. It's been a year of growing up for me.'
"See what Manziel did there? He invoked learning, growing up. Key words. Buzzwords that he knows have worked for him in the past. Words he knows will fool. Then came the kicker quote: 'This is a job for me now, and I have to take it a lot more seriously than maybe I did at first.'
"Oh, he's good. Really good.
"Of course, just a week after he said that, Manziel was late for medical treatment.
"It should be noted that when Manziel interviewed with teams at the combine, some saw through him. They didn't believe him. They were able to see through his act. Teams like the Browns could not. He suckered them.
"So here we are. Whenever Manziel says he will try harder or be more accountable or be more mature, just remember the Eddie Haskell Phenomenon. The EHP. Just remember Manziel can't be believed."
If Wally and the Beaver were NFL scouts, this never would have happened.
He said it
Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News had a new notion after San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore had 15 pizzas delivered to the team's media room Monday: "From now on, every local writer will refer to him as 'Hall of Fame-bound running back Frank Gore ...' "
Sports quiz
What did the Cleveland Browns give the Philadelphia Eagles to move up to draft Johnny Manziel with the 22nd pick in the 2014 NFL Draft?
Answer
Cleveland gave the No. 26 overall pick and a third-round pick at No. 83, which Philadelphia then traded to the Houston Texans.
Sports on 01/02/2015