CJ Stroud Says He's Way More Burrow Than Manziel And That's Why He Doesn't Run That Much

Darron Cummings. Shutterstock Images.

Cleveland.com - If the NFL was worried he can’t or won’t move around enough, Stroud tried to answer that before it was asked. He could change that perception.

To be fair, Stroud said a similar thing when we discussed it in November.

“I feel I have that talent, where if that does happen, I can still make a play,” Stroud said. “I don’t do it as much as everybody else because I usually get the problem fixed before it happens. I can usually see it. Make the right call, run the right routes, and we usually get the first down or the touchdown.”

One of the most common things we do as humans is forcefully compare people to others from our past. If you pull up to a job interview and the boss drives the same car as the psycho supervisor that made you leave your last place or employment, you probably won't take the job. If we meet a new chick and she looks similar to our piece of shit cheating ex then she's probably more in line for a hate bang than a relationship. 

But nowhere do we apply these mental gymnastics more than sports. Everyone needs to be the next someone else. And a few months back CJ Stroud gave a way-too-honest response when asked who he modeled his game after.

Big Tennessee blogged about just how tone deaf this answer was when you're trying to get an NFL franchise to hand the keys over to you. Which is correct. But I do understand what Stroud was saying. He just probably shouldn't have said it.

Well now he's taking a different approach and Johnny Football is taking some strays in the process.

It seems as though someone got in Stroud's ear because since the last cringey comparison all we have been hearing is Stroud comparing himself to Joe Burrow, which will make any front office guy get all antsy in their pantsy. This latest edition, however, he went a step further and dragged the bottle service bandit himself into the fray.

Our discussion delved into the problems solved publicly and those solved privately. It’s the problem-solving that turns into a highlight vs. the problem-solving that can seem mundane because the problem was never allowed to grow. You don’t have to spin away from a free blitzer and run in a circle if you plan for the blitzer days ahead of time.

“People see Johnny Manziel, they see the people like that,” Stroud said of Texas A&M’s spectacular and spinning former Heisman winner. “I look at (Joe) Burrow at LSU, he was making some crazy throws, and I feel like the throws I make are crazy sometimes, too. But (Burrow did) a lot of things that were very routine, and people are like, ‘Oh, that’s easy.’ No it’s not.”

“I’ve gotta think before the defensive coordinator thinks about it,” Stroud said. “Then I’ve gotta think after he thinks about it. I’ve gotta think about the middle linebacker, what he’s thinking. I’ve gotta think about the corner, his leverage. I’ve gotta do this and that, just to make one play work. And then I’m on to the next and it’s over with.

“So yeah, it might not seem spectacular, like I’m not doing anything crazy. But honestly in the eyes of (coaches and teammates), they’re like, dang, you really made that happen, which is kind of cool.”

Translation: I don't need to spin around and run 30 yards just to make a pass because I actually know what the fuck is going on with the defense. I study this stuff, unlike you know who.  

I love this play from Stroud. It may seem unnecessary to you but people's careers and reputations are riding on this pick. He needs to quell any and all concerns these GMs may have. Even if they hadn't thought of them yet. 

What's funny is that Todd McShay tweeted this morning that this Manzielian behavior (my term, not his or probably anyone else's besides Manziel's former probation officer) is what the GMs around the NFL wanted to see.

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Every Ohio State fan will tell you that Stroud refusing to use his legs was maddening at times. That if he had leaned into his athleticism a little more then maybe the Buckeyes would have been a little more potent on offense like they were against Georgia.

Either way it's pretty clear that Stroud feels like the work he does before games and in between drives trumps mashing the circle button over and over and running for his life.

And Stroud isn't the only one bringing up Burrow comparisons. The Panthers QB coach Josh McCown said the same thing last month. 

So kudos to Stroud's PR team because the messaging is working. 

Burrow = Prepared athleticism

Manziel = Flash in the pan chaos

He's cementing in everyone's mind that he is the former and does not need to be the latter. 

And I saw the Manziel experiment up close. There isn't a single logical comparison for him to Stroud. But I also get why Stroud is saying what he is saying. Preparation beats improvisation any day of the week. Both on the field and in trying to figure out the next thing someone will say to bring your draft stock down.