Sage Rosenfels has advice for Johnny Manziel

Sage Rosenfels was never a true starting quarterback in the NFL. But he was a damn good back-up. He started 12 games in his 12 year career and while his start count may be much lower than many other quarterbacks who have played the game his years of service far exceeds most. Rosenfels has been around the NFL. He knows the ropes and he knows what it takes to be successful. He may not be able to teach a player what it takes to be a starter but he can teach one how to be a NFL football player.

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Sage Rosenfels has decided to offer up some of that experience to Cleveland Browns rookie Johnny Manziel.

In an article that Sage wrote on Footballbyfootball.com, Rosenfels doesn’t offer up advice on how to throw the ball but instead offers his opinion on what he needs to do to be a leader. He uses sound references that he likely has endured during his 12 year career. A loss of a close game due to interceptions thrown late, the media press conference after the game, the return to the locker room on Monday and having to face your teammates that you let down.

"Tuesday is the “off” day in the NFL. It’s the only day of the week players aren’t required to be at the facility. But you play quarterback, so you should be there for a nice chunk of the day, possibly before your weekly trip to a charity function of your choice. I usually watched the last 4-5 games my opponent played and took notes and drew up some of my favorite concepts and ideas."

Rosenfels continues to talk about how the team looks to the quarterback to gauge whether or not he has shaken off a previous loss, how he prepares for the game and how he reacts to the scrutiny in the media. His advice is not to simply shelter yourself from the world, be yourself. Go out with teammates on Friday he says to Manziel but know that everyone out there knows who you are and what you do will be on display there as well.

Rosenfels says he believes in Manziel and has faith in the Cleveland Browns coaching staff. It’s rare to see any ex-player offer such pointed advice to a rookie outside of the network television appearances that are prevalent on today’s sports networks, the question is whether Manziel or any other rookie quarterback heeds the advice. As Rosenfels points out early, everyone thinks they know everything when they are 21.