The cat, pardon the pun, is finally out of the bag.
Johnny Manziel is going to make his Canadian Football League debut this Friday night when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats host the Toronto Argonauts in their first game of the preseason.
Head coach June Jones confirmed Monday that Manziel would get his first taste of real game action and what better team to do it against than Hamilton’s arch-rivals, who also happen to be the defending Grey Cup champions.
So, the question is, what should we expect out of “Johnny Football?”
According to Jones, Manziel will be given plays that he is “comfortable with” in an effort to ease him into game action.
“I’m going to have him do things that he knows and does,” said Jones. “I’ll get a list from him of the things he feels comfortable with and those will be the things he does.”
And that should be Hamilton’s game plan with Manziel.
Giving him too much to think about on top of everything else he has to think about (CFL rules, wider field, extra man on the field, etc.) would be a recipe for disaster.
Jeremiah Masoli is the No. 1 QB and that is not going to change this preseason, and maybe not even this year.
So there’s no need to rush Manziel. Start him off with a small package of plays, evaluate how he does, and keep building as the weeks progress.
Who knows, soon enough, Hamilton could have the most talented quarterback corps in the CFL.
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