The SEC has always been known for its bruising brand of football and that sentiment still exists today. However, Gary Danielson of CBS believes that one particular player has been "catastrophic" for the conference as a whole in that his influence can still be felt on the offensive side of the ball.
Danielson spoke with Saturday Down South and revealed that the player in question was former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
"I kind of felt that the Johnny Manziel success was actually a catastrophic success for the league," Danielson said. "Because the league started to say, 'We need to find that one guy who we can shape the whole offense. We don't have to really block him. He'll scramble. He'll run. He's run the zone-read. He'll throw. We don't even have to get open. We can throw back-shoulder throws and he'll put it there.'"
Danielson is aware of the criticism that could stem from this statement, indicating that he gets "critiqued about it that (he is) not willing to accept modern football" but the long-time analyst pushes back on that and seemingly prefers a more traditional quarterback rather than a free-from dual-threat player.
This isn't the first or last time that an idea like this will surface but it is also quite difficult to pin the entire offensive hopes of a league on one player, even one as spectacular as Manziel was at the college level. There is part of Danielson's sentiment that rings true in that offenses built completely around one player don't always work at the highest level but, in the same breath, this probably won't go over well.
