Shhh.
Do you hear that silence? That's the sound of Johnny Manziel letting his camp handle his critics for him. When Texas assistant coach Vance Bedford took what some perceived as a jab at Manziel's NFL learning curve on Twitter, Manziel fans and even his private quarterback coach, George Whitfield, rushed to his defense. On Monday, Manziel's agent, Erik Burkhardt, piled on:
Zing! The next time Burkhardt wants a Texas player as a client, here's guessing the reception on Texas' end might be on the frosty side.
But Manziel has stuck by what seemed like a pledge to stay off Twitter until after the draft, which he tweeted on Jan. 10 after he declared his early eligibility. One wonders, just two days before he becomes the most talked-about draft pick in the NFL, if Manziel is even seeing this sort of thing at this point. There is obviously no shortage of people in his circle willing to go to bat for him where social media is concerned. Yet, Bedford's poke is just the sort of thing Manziel might have dealt with on his own -- to much Twitter fanfare -- a year ago when the NFL draft wasn't anywhere near the center of his plate.
If Manziel can stay off of Twitter altogether for months at a time (he took a similar respite in the fall during football season), the haters will have to come up with something stronger than Bedford's jab to draw his personal attention.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter *@ChaseGoodbread.*