Berg vs. Ferg: Can Manziel save the Als’ season?

Berg vs. Ferg returns for another season on CFL.ca as columnists Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson debate over some of the league’s most contentious storylines. This week they debate over the impact of Johnny Manziel.

The Montreal Alouettes needed Johnny Manziel as much as Manziel needed the Als.

On Friday night, after more than a year of anticipation that started with him going on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ neg list, Manziel will make his first career start in the three-down game, taking on his former team in front of his new home fans at Percival Molson Stadium.

RELATED
» The Waggle: Manziel set to make debut
» Preview: Als, Ticats clash on Friday Night Football
» CFL.ca writers make their Week 8 picks

For Manziel, this signals the official start of what he hopes will be an historic football comeback. The Alouettes, meanwhile, are banking on this marking the beginning of an era, one that lifts them from years of mediocrity and the seemingly never-ending search for ‘the next one’ at quarterback.

Even if it’s two years and done for Manziel before heading south of the border, the Alouettes have a lot to gain. Of course, after giving up two first round picks and two more impact players, there’s also a lot at stake.

At 1-5, quarterback has not been the only issue in Montreal. Yet the impact of a star behind centre cannot be understated. If Manziel can become just that — a shining star in an otherwise murky situation — his teammates will suddenly look a lot better and the team will win games.

If.

Can Johnny Manziel save the Alouettes’ season? More in the latest Berg vs. Ferg:

BERG (4-4): THERE’S NO EASY FIX FOR THE ALS

Pat Steinberg, CFL.ca
@Fan960Steinberg

If you’ve read the Monday Morning Quarterback or spent time listening to the CFL Fantasy Podcast, you’ll know I haven’t bought all the way in on the Johnny Manziel hype train. When he makes his first CFL start on Friday night, he’ll throw his first pass in a meaningful professional game in more than two years. For that reason, among others, it would be unrealistic to peg him as the saviour of Montreal’s season.

Count me in the “wait and see” camp when it comes to Johnny Football. While I don’t deny his natural athletic gifts and natural motivation, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious here. Not only are we talking about a long layoff, but we’re also talking about a player who has never had much professional success and someone who is still very new to the Canadian game. Manziel having any semblance of success is by no means a sure thing.

But even if Manziel does prove to be a viable CFL starter, quarterback isn’t the only area the 1-5 Alouettes are struggling with. Montreal has a lot to figure out on the defensive side of things, too. As it stands right now, the Als are giving up league-worst totals of 32 points per game, 415 total offensive yards per game, and almost 300 passing yards per game.

Some of Montreal’s struggles are due to how anemic they’ve been offensively, of course, but you can’t pin league-worst numbers solely on that. The strength of the Alouettes coming into the season was supposed to be defensively, but their coordinator stepping away right before the start of the season threw things into disarray. I still think Montreal is recovering from that, and they’re not getting any help from their offensive unit.

As skeptical as I am on Manziel, I don’t deny he could make a difference for the Alouettes. Even if he does, though, Montreal has a number of things to work out on the other side of the ball for their season to be saved.

FERG (4-4): MANZIEL COULD BE THE SPARK THE ALS NEED

Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca
@TSN_Marsh

Johnny Manziel can not alone save the Montreal Alouettes’ season, but he can motivate those around him to do so by showing them a hope unseen in Montreal since the departure of now Argonauts coach Anthony Calvillo.

I saw first hand during his stretch in Hamilton how Manziel could command a room with his name alone. That rockstar vibe can absolutely be a distraction, detrimental to team chemistry and on field performance.

It can also create an excitement infectious to a roster which might lead to improved outcomes for French Canada’s lone CFL franchise.

With Manziel announced as the starter this week – poetically against his old team – the Montreal football market feels relevant again if only for a couple of seasons, maybe even only a couple home dates.

That might seem Ludacris – who was great at halftime in Edmonton by the way – but it’s exactly the feeling Kavis Reed and Mike Sherman were hoping to create when they traded for Manziel.

As someone who understands the Manziel effect from first hand experience and who is driving to Montreal to watch Johnny try to sink his claws into the Ticats surrounded by hyperbole I can attest that he is different and could drag Montreal from the East basement to the playoffs.

Imagine what all of this will look like if he not only creates energy and excitement, but answers it with the type of jaw dropping improvisations football fans everywhere came to love during his Heisman campaign.

DON’T SIT ON THE FENCE!

While both sides are pretty convincing, someone’s got to take it. Whose argument convinced you the most?

You can vote for this week’s winner both on CFL.ca and Twitter. Meanwhile, continue the conversation by tweeting @Fan960Steinberg and @TSN_Marsh.

The winner will be revealed in the following week’s Berg vs. Ferg.

[polldaddy poll=10072023]