Cleveland's Johnny Manziel Returns 'Sports Center's' Merril Hoge's Insults [WATCH]

Johnny Manziel will always have critics. Since college, analysts have debated whether or not he has what it takes to be a productive quarterback in the NFL. Some of the critiques against him may be warranted, while others are probably just because he's a flamboyant guy and players like that always seem to draw heat. One person who has been the most vocal against Manziel is ESPN Sports Center's Merril Hoge. The former Bears and Steelers running back said Manziel was essentially a hopeless cause with weak fundamentals.  Now, Manziel is returning the insults to Hoge.

Naturally, Manziel wasn't too thrilled by this analysis on him. During one interview last week, the quarterback went after Hoge and took shots at something very close to him.

"I think Merril Hoge needs to worry about his big neck ties," said Manziel. "Talking about Merril, he's been that way since I decided to come out for the draft, so I guess that's part of it, but no extra motivation or extra bump for me or anything like that. It's just go out and play and quiet him with the way we go out and win on Sunday. That's what we want to do."

Manziel is referring to criticisms made against him last Monday on Sports Center. On that day, Hoge essentially called Manziel a bust. The exact words he used about his gameplay were "reckless" and "sloppy."  When asked whether Manziel's problems could be corrected Hoge said he didn't think so.

"No. It comes down to this: Here's what was happening in that game. He fell back to what he trusts. His instincts," Hoge said of Manziel running instead of throwing the ball in key situations. "That is who he is. He's going to run. That's what he's believed in, he's won a Heisman Trophy for, and that's what he's going to go to when he needs it the most, when you need structure, you need discipline to come out, he's going to be erratic and reckless and run. And that's never going to change."