Johnny Manziel

The trick play against Baltimore that was called back featured Johnny Manziel catching a pass from Brian Hoyer. Much more use was expected, as the Browns try to determine whether he is the team's future quarterback or not.

(AP)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The latest dust-up of Johnny Entourage, his merry men and the eager fan is shocking only to those who live by the slogan of "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

The advice was popularized by Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers and one of the great rogues of Colonial America and the scrum for independence.

I'm shocked, shocked, that Johnny Football was out late at night, possibly in an establishment where adult beverages were served, probably singing naughty songs.

Who knew Johnny had great potential -- and the ability to do great harm to it off the field? Only everyone. The Browns took him in the first round anyway.

The latest incident is proof that celebrity athletes have bodyguards who take their duties seriously. I'm not criticizing the fan, but Johnny Manziel is the biggest celebrity athlete in town other than LeBron James, who himself is probably the biggest since Michael Jordan. An intervention is always possible when approaching such athletes.

After Browns coach Mike Pettine's devotion to Brian Hoyer was sealed by a fraternity handshake as brothers in the Loyal Order of the Overlooked (to use Hoyer's term for himself and his teammates), Manziel has been a spare part. He is not even used when the package of plays emphasizing his mobility might have helped start the offense.

It seems more and more that Pettine views Manziel as a distraction waiting to happen.

Worse, some fans, probably not close to a majority though, see Manziel as a egocentric rich kid, presenting himself via his copyrighted nickname as bigger than the sport. It is a silly thought. Don't hate on Manziel for having shrewd business advisers.

It might be a small thing, but in the brief exposure we have had to Manziel since the Hoyer Asscendancy, I have never heard him speak of himself in the third person. This is the "royal we" of jockdom, a construction much used by James, among many others.

Yet it seems that some perceive Manziel -- who wants nothing more than to play and help the team win, just as Hoyer does -- to be an enemy because he comes off as the anti-Hoyer.

Hoyer actually has benefited from so much good wishes as Brian Ignatius or Moses Cleaveland-Hoyer or whatever the fan ID of the day for him is, that Browns' victories in spite of his spotty play are fully credited to him.

So was a victory over Buffalo last year, in which he played barely longer than the national anthem before getting hurt. Technically, he was the starter, but actually, Brandon Weeden, of all people, won that game.

From here, Pettine has failed in one of his primary duties, that of finding a quarterback for the future.

From here, Hoyer is what he is – a middle- to back-of-the-pack starter, beset by inconsistency, but one with whom fans identify because of his Cleveland roots and his hard work and seriousness.

From here, the Browns would be foolish to throw huge money at him or to apply a franchise player tag to him. It will be interesting to see how many suitors he has as a free agent.

No one knows what Manziel can do, since he never gets a chance. He has always been a different player when the bright lights are on, fans are in the stands, and attention is being paid.

The playoff chase, however, has probably scuttled any chance to see Manziel in action.

Instead, Andy Dalton, just good enough to get the Bengals to the playoffs but not good enough to do anything once they are there, and Hoyer might duel for the division championship. It is a thought no one held at the start of the season, admittedly.

For Manziel's part, the extraneous noise that follows him around has drowned out a reasonable discussion of his possibilities. He has been convicted on the grounds of his lifestyle.

These moralistic and censorious critics have forgotten what it is like to be 21 years old. They went straight from childhood to yelling at kids to get off their lawns.