Time to shift the Johnny Manziel focus to the field

May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) gestures on stage after being selected as the number twenty-two overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to the Cleveland Browns at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel has made headlines on and off the field, even if he hasn’t deserved it.

From the moment he walked across the stage at Radio City Music Hall during the 2014 NFL Draft flashing his “Money Manziel” sign, we knew that Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was … different.

Manziel came to town as the type of athlete the Browns had never seen before, one who was as much a brand as a football player. He also came with, through no fault of his own, a rabid fanbase that cared about everything Manziel does – both on and off the field.

That fanbase cares solely about Manziel the individual, wanting him on the field no matter what. It didn’t matter if Manziel was ready or not, or if it was in the best interests of the Browns, they needed to slake their thirst for the next highlight from Johnny Football.

That white-hot spotlight has followed Manziel wherever he has gone, whether he deserved it or not.

But with last week’s announcement that the Browns were turning the starting role over to Manziel, we thought we may be able to focus on what Manziel is doing on the field.

How naive of us.

The latest example came over the weekend, when Manziel had the audacity to return to his native Texas for a few days and then attend Saturday’s game between Ohio State and Michigan State.

We know all this courtesy of the website Busted Coverage, which was quick to highlight Manziel’s latest great adventure (if you could call it that). According to the site, Manziel:

"… went to Austin, Texas to put in a couple nights of Fun Johnny Manziel. One night was at Austin hotspot Rio Rooftop and then there was a DJ booth visit on Friday night at the Summit Rooftop Lounge where the new Browns starting QB used his throwing hand to clutch what looks like a silver bottle of Dom."

"And then Fun Johnny hit up the Michigan State-Ohio State game Saturday in Columbus."

Wait, that’s it? That is what all the fuss is about?

We understand that it was a quiet news weekend since the Browns were on their bye, but getting riled up about what was a relatively normal weekend it growing tiresome.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

It’s one thing if Manziel’s actions result in the police getting involved – like they did this spring at the Byron Nelson Golf Classic or earlier this fall during a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. Those are newsworthy and need to be reported, although probably with a little less frontier justice thrown in.

Last week Manziel said that the club was not “going to have to worry about me this week,” and he seems to have lived up to that vow.

The Browns have three consecutive home games coming up, starting Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens, and at least two of those games present solid opportunities for Manziel to improve on his 1-3 record this season. (Especially if Manziel can figure out how to put more than 10 points on the board.)

With everything that has gone on with Manziel since being drafted it is somewhat understandable that people are going to get worked up over everything he does. But it is also a good idea for those people to save their outrage for when he actually does something worthy of headlines.

Until then, let’s focus on what really matters, shall we?

Home/Browns News