It’s no secret that the excitement in Chicago for Bears football got a huge shot in the arm after Mitch Trubisky was drafted. He’s the first top five quarterback the team has taken since way back in 1982. There were already comparisons being thrown around from Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Rich Gannon. Ironically enough though the craziest comparison didn’t come until months later when an actual Bears player dropped a Mitch Trubisky Johnny Manziel connection.
Oh very dear. That certainly isn’t something Bears fans will want to hear, but it became reality. During a segment on NFL Live, the analysts that included Adam Schefter and former coach Herm Edwards discussed the million dollar question. Will Trubisky swipe the starting job from Mike Glennon by week one of the regular season?
In the midst of answering, Joanna Levesque dropped a big name when revealing what a Bears “starter” told her.
Mitch Trubisky Johnny Manziel comparison happened
Mentioning the name Manziel these days is akin to mentioning Voldemort in the Harry Potter books. It’s done in hushed tones while looking over the shoulder. That is how much of a disaster the former first round pick of the Cleveland Browns became by the time he left the NFL.
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Few players ever came in with more hype than the man known as “Johnny Football.” He was a star at Texas A&M, exhibiting a combination of natural scrambling ability and arm talent that drove defenses insane. At the same time he had reputation for immaturity and a love for the partying life style. That included booze and drugs. Some were afraid he wasn’t ready to handle the temptations of the NFL when he declared for the draft in 2014.
They were right
Manziel was a lightning rod in Cleveland from the start. He struggled early when he got on the field and the ongoing mess that the Browns were at that time from top to bottom only made matters worse. He started getting in trouble off the field including an ugly situation that involved a domestic dispute with his girlfriend in 2015. By the end of the year he’d alienated the organization and his substance issues were out of control.
Thus a potentially brilliant NFL career went down in flames. So one can understand why Bears fans might be nervous about Trubisky being compared to him. Of course the comment was centered around a physical comparison. In that context it’s true. Trubisky has the same athleticism and mobility Manziel did. He’s got the same caliber of arm as well. The better part is he’s more accurate and also bigger at 6’2″. Manziel was 6’0″.
The biggest difference though lay between the ears. Manziel was a fun-loving party boy known for being a bit lazy except for big games. Trubisky, by all accounts, is a tireless worker who never had any substance issue ever in his life. Hence why excitement remains so high.
Maybe he is another Manziel, but more what Manziel could’ve been had he kept himself out of trouble.
