Roger Staubach likens self to Johnny Manziel

Count former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach among the admirers of Johnny Manziel's athletic abilities on the football field.

Speaking with USA Today's For The Win blog, Staubach discussed a recent commercial for the Nissan Heisman House series that he and Manziel filmed together. After talking about the fun times he had doing the commercial, Staubach talked about Manziel's style on the field and the similarities he sees in the young Browns quarterback with how he used to play the game.

"Well I’ll tell you, on the field he and I would be very similar," Staubach said. "I’m as competitive as he is, but he’s a nice kid too. Off the field, he’s you know, lived the higher life. Of course I was married with three kids when I was in the Navy. So by the time I joined the Cowboys I obviously had a family and everything and Johnny’s still having a good time.

"He works hard, he’s very competitive and he’s in Cleveland. The Cleveland quarterback, (Brian) Hoyer’s doing a good job so I think Johnny is going to get his chance in the NFL one day and he’s going to be a good quarterback."

Manziel was known for being a dual-threat quarterback in college, as he had a knack for making big plays with his legs despite not possessing elite-level straight-line speed. Staubach was certainly a pass-first quarterback, though he could run if needed. Staubach's best season running the ball came in 1971, when he ran for 343 yards during his first season starting the majority of Dallas' games.

It's interesting to hear one of the greats compliment Manziel after the offseason of criticism he endured for his life off the field. That has since died down with Manziel backing up Hoyer. If Manziel wants to continue receiving these kind of comparisons this offseason, perhaps he'll be a little more careful when going out for nights on the town.

Then again, with Manziel poking fun at that image in the Heisman House commercial, maybe he should just continue being himself unapologetically.

Follow me on Twitter: @JasonHButt

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