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Commentary: Ben Tate wants everyone to stop talking about teammate Johnny Manziel

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Ben Tate is tired of hearing about Johnny Manziel.

And he thinks Johnny Manziel is tired of hearing about Johnny Manziel.

Well, aren’t we all?

But here we are, talking about Johnny Manziel yet again. In just four sentences, I mentioned Johnny Manziel four times (hey, look at that -- five for five).

And why is that? Because Tate is talking about his new Cleveland Browns teammate. And you can’t go talking about Johnny Manziel -- especially in the manner Tate did -- without it generating even more talk about Johnny Manziel.

It’s a vicious circle.

Tate, who spent his first three NFL seasons with Houston before joining the Browns as a free agent this off-season, and Manziel, who was a first-round pick for Cleveland in last month’s draft, were among the players at a league marketing session at the Coliseum on Saturday.

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That’s where Tate gave these quotes about his team’s rookie quarterback:

“He had success early in his career when he was at [Texas] A&M, he won the Heisman or whatever, but there are lots of people that have won the Heisman. I mean, Mark Ingram won the Heisman, and I don’t see everyone all excited when he got to the league.

“Right now, I would say it’s [returning starting quarterback Brian Hoyer’s] team. Until [Manziel] comes in and shows otherwise and can take that position from him. ... The guy has been there, the guys know him, are comfortable with him.”

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Tate apparently took some heat for the comments and tried to set the record straight Monday on Twitter: “My point was I’m sure he is tired of it all ... And just wants to be left alone to play football y’all too worried about what he does in his everyday life that’s all I was saying.”

He also addressed the matter again Tuesday after practice: “As a player, I know I would get tired if people were monitoring if I picked my nose, if I spit to the left or right. It’s annoying. He’s a human being. He’s a great football player. I get why he gets the constant media attention. I just think he wants to come in here and do his job and try to win the starting quarterback position.”

Hmmm ... Johnny Football has never struck me as a guy who dislikes attention. But I get your point, Ben.

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Tell you what. If you stop talking about Manziel, I will too ... at least until someone else brings him up again. Or until the next time he does something blogworthy.

Hope you enjoy your 30 seconds of peace and quiet.

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