http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/12/karlos_dansby_says_johnny_manz.html
BEREA, Ohio -- Browns linebacker Karlos Dansby said first-round picks Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert both wasted their first seasons and better get it together in a hurry or they'll be gone.
"When you're a first-round pick, you've got to c'mon, man'' said Dansby. "They've got to reset their goals and they've got to do it fast.''
He agreed with safety
Donte Whitner that Gilbert wasted his rookie season by not working hard enough and said Manziel obviously feels he wasted his by not putting in the time.
"There's so much (Gilbert) could've done better and he didn't put forth the effort,'' said Dansby. "So yeah, it's a wasted year.
"Like Johnny said the same thing, it's a wasted year for him. That's how he feels. He's like 'damn, I've got to take this more seriously. I've wasted all this time.' That's basically what he's saying. So it's like 'don't waste your time man, because it's precious bro. You never know when you're going to be done. You're one play away from never playing this game again.'''
Dansby said he was surprised to hear
Manziel publicly admit Tuesday that he has to take it more seriously because this is his job now.
"When did you figure that out?'' said Dansby. "When I saw the statement, I was like 'hold on, so what are you saying?' But that's the thing with a lot of rookies these days. Their only goal is to get into the NFL. They want the glam and the flash but they're not willing to put in the grind and the work and the time in order to be great. They want it to just fall in their lap and it doesn't happen like that.''
Dansby rattled off a list of first round picks, especially quarterbacks, that flamed out quickly after only a few years, the Matt Leinarts and Ryan Leafs and Tim Tebows.
"The list goes on and on,'' said Dansby. "All of a sudden, it's your second year, third year, fourth year and then you're gone. There's no time to waste. You can't take a day off. You've really got to put in some work and now they understand that. It's a job, this is work.''
Dansby said he and Whitner have taken it upon themselves to bring out the greatness in Gilbert, the Browns' No. 8 overall pick.
"You've got to live up to expectations and you've got to play up to expectations and that's what we expect of him,'' said Dansby. "It's a learning curve for him and we all understand that, but at some point the switch has to turn on and you've got to go for it and we haven't seen him just go for it and do it on a consistent basis.''
He said Gilbert hasn't shown the willingness in any facet of his preparation.
"He needs to step up to the plate in practice, meetings, everything,'' he said. "Being a pro, it takes a lot. It's a lot of stress, a lot of pressure. We're trying to teach him. But he's got to want it for himself. If you don't want it for yourself, you'll be average, and we know the potential that he has.
"You see it and we want him to go, put your head down and go. Be the guy that we know you can be. We see it, he'll show a flash here and there, just do it on a consistent basis.''
He said he's played with some of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and he knows what they do to be great.
"I've played with Patrick Peterson, Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, Joe Haden and they do it on a consistent basis,'' he said. "They study film. They know what the hell's going on. They know their role, their position, how they're supposed to play their technique. They got it down pat and they're working on it day in and day out all the time. They want to be the best, every last one of them.''
He said the Browns have used "tough love'' on Gilbert all year because coddling doesn't work in the NFL.
"You can't babysit nobody,'' he said. "This is a grown man's game, so we have to give him that tough love because we know he's got it in him. Somehow, someway we have to pull it up out of him. If it's ticking him off, then we have to tick him off.
"We've got to strike that nerve in him to make him take his game to the next level because we know he's got it in him. We see it.''
He said he's seen plenty of guys turn it around after a rocky start.
"That first year is going to be rough as hell,'' he said. "Once it clicks in that second year, I've seen guys take off and never look back.''
Whitner said Gilbert didn't say anything to him about him telling him publicly to stop acting like a kid.
"No, because it's the truth,'' he said. "He understands that. We're going to move forward. We need him to be that fourth or fifth guy in the secondary that can go out there and make plays that we can rely on. He's going to work on it and he's going to become that guy. He understands now. He's been able to go through a full season with us. he wants to be a great player, hopefully he can act on that.''
Like coach Mike Pettine, Whitner believes the Oklahoma State product has the talent to succeed.
"It's all about mindset in this league. he has all the physical ability in the world. take the job seriously? are you very detail-oriendted. just come with right mindset day in, day out, he'll be ok.''
Said Joe Haden, who just made his second straight Pro Bowl: "Everybody has their bumps in the road as a rookie. I know I did. It's just making sure you have to be very, very professional. It's a business at end of day and you have to realize that. It's not like college football, high school football. You've got to be able to be mature enough to start making all your meetings and just making everything you need to be to. He's starting to really learn that. He's starting to get better at it, it just takes a little time. I did the same thing. he's going to be all right.''
