Et tu, Braylon Edwards? - vaughn99's Blog

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Et tu, Braylon Edwards?

Posted on December 18, 2008 at 02:25 PM.

(6)

Did he catch this one? Chances are about 55%, according to "stats"

Ok, so if you're at all paying attention the NFL this year, you know this:

The Cleveland Browns are having a rough season

Like really rough.

How rough?

Let's recap:

Hometown hero LaCharles Bentley sued the team, we went 0-4 in the preseason, and wore sh!t-brown spandex running shorts in our home opener.

We've chalked up 3 more staph infections (coincidentally equal to the number of games off-season "upgrade" Donte Stallworth has played).

We've been humiliated on MNF (twice), and can't win at home.

We're now on our 3rd QB of the year (while our best passer is a gunner on kickoffs and punts).

Romeo's probably on his way out (and deservingly).

So's DA, and Phil Savage, and hopefully the 3-4.

Luckily things can't get worse, right?

(Enter stage left, Braylon Edwards, p!ssed)

Monday, December 15

A reporter saying Edwards� play reminded him of the �Braylon Edwards of last season,� to wit, Edwards responded:

Quote:


	I�m really to the point now where I�m just playing football, . . I could care less about fans, media, people talking about trading me and the B.S. that�s going on with our team and the season. I�ve got a job to do. My job is to catch the football. So I cleared my mind and just played football. I�m not going to feed into whatever else is going on.

Gulp.

It got worse.

Edwards expounded:

Quote:


	It is what it is. I�ve learned being here that I�m very unappreciated. Not in the organization, just in the eyes of the fans, the city. Since Day One I�ve been a marked man coming from Michigan. It�s just gone that way. Even when things are good, there�s heckles.

Oh my. Well there's that. He said it, and I guess that's that, mattress man.

It was after a difficult, perhaps humiliating, loss on National TV.

Monday Night National TV. You know, prime time.

No one can like that, so let's chalk it up to a lash out. A "woah is me" of sorts.

But Charlie Brown did not apologize.

He actually made it even worse.

Tuesday, December 16

Edwards was given a chance to redeem himself by the local media. Let's just say that didn't work out too well either:

Quote:


	I�m not Paul Warfield, Webster Slaughter or Jim Brown. I�ve given my all to this city for four years, and I realize it will never be enough. I went to the Pro Bowl last year and resurrected this team from the darkness, and nobody cared .

I guess it is Christmas and all, so we should be celebrating a Messiah's return, no?

Quote:


	People in this town believe they are entitled to too much. They have been disrespectful to me and my family. I�ve gone out in public with my family and have had to deal with being called foul names. My parents have been called vulgar things at restaurants.

There's more:

Quote:


	My biggest problem is that I actually give a damn. I�m always rushing back from surgeries and injuries, never missing games or practices. But through this, I�ve learned how to overcome adversity. I�m also proud of how my foundation has taken off. I�ve been doing all this community service in Cleveland � my charity efforts will only be in Detroit from now on.

Oh my goodness.

Pretty sure he dropped this one. Yep.

So on another blog this Ed(wards)-itorial ran today. It's actually pretty good. It's by a Browns fan, who also happens to support Edwards, from his time on that team from the north.

Read it here: WFNY

Here's my response to the diatribe that was, and my end-all be all on Braylon Edwards:

I hate hate hate �that school from the north� but I do respect [the author's] fandom. The day the Browns picked #1 from the maize and gold though � he became #17 for the brown and orange � and a-ok in my book.

Sure, the freshman flop became a sophomore sensation, but this year was just a regression to mean, in my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. I do put quite a bit of that [regression] though in the �not Braylon�s fault� category. Dude should run streaks and deep posts (be a �home-run threat�) only. And that�s what he would be on any other team � a diversion. Moss has Welker, Johnson has Walter, Boldin has Fitzgerald, the list goes on and on. If JJ84 and/or K2 were healthy (and in good graces with the coaching staff), [Edwards] could have excelled again . . . Guys with names like Steptoe and Wilson (whatever happened to him) just don�t cut it.

I chalk [these outbursts] up to a spoiled man-child, pampered his whole life, who became christened with an �elite WR� crown too soon.

Think about the buildup this year: he was THE FACE OF FANTASY FOOTBALL, had a 100 RTG in MADDEN, and was a model donor to local charities � building playgrounds � he was 110% embraced by the city.

Then came the foot �cut,� the missed pre-season, injuries to the rest of the WR corps, the QB �situation,� and the dropsies. Oh those dropsies. He didn�t have the mental (or emotional) makeup to fight through those, so what would give us the impression he�d be able to bounce back from an emotional battering from the fans.

That�s the source for these tirades in the media. And there�s no return from this. I can�t think of a more blatant disregard and disrespect for the community in which you work by a professional athlete.

And I can�t think of a more unprepared or more ill-equipped 1st Round pick in this teams� storied history.

Not only is Braylon Edwards NOT Paul Warfield, Jim Brown or Webster Slaughter, he�s not even Tim �I�m Not Crying� Couch or Gerard �The Ladies� Man� Warren when it comes to mental-preparedness. And he's ESPECIALLY NOT fellow UM alum (and Browns 1st Draft Picks) Derrick Alexander, Thom Darden or Steve Everitt.

So what is a Browns' fan to do now? Hope this former first rounder goes ahead and goes to Detroit? Maybe we can trade him to the Lions for another Pro-Bowler?

I'm not sure what to do or think. I've forgiven K2 time and again for being an idiot and repping the "U." I still love BQ10 even though he's a homophobic red-state loving pretty boy.

Et tu, Braylon?

Comments

# 1 rudyjuly2 @ Dec 18

Sounds like a player headed out of Cleveland. Braylon had issues with drops at Michigan as well. Too many mental lapses. Having a bad year probably made it worse. Winning cures all (if they can win big again).

# 2 matt8204 @ Dec 18

Well, I agree with him on one thing. Athletes should not be subjected to vulgar insults when they try to to out in public with their families or girlfriend/wife. It's nonsense. Yes, they've been a major disappointment. It happens. These guys are still human begins, regardless of how much money they make. Just because they're rich and famous doesn't mean fans have carte blanche to verbally abuse them. As such, they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, just like the rest of us want to be treated. Would you want people berating you with obscenities and invectives if you had a bad day at the office?

# 3 vaughn99 @ Dec 18

Quote:


	matt8204 @ Dec 18 (53 Minutes Ago) Well, I agree with him on one thing. Athletes should not be subjected to vulgar insults when they try to to out in public with their families or girlfriend/wife. It's nonsense. Yes, they've been a major disappointment. It happens. These guys are still human begins, regardless of how much money they make. Just because they're rich and famous doesn't mean fans have carte blanche to verbally abuse them. As such, they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, just like the rest of us want to be treated. Would you want people berating you with obscenities and invectives if you had a bad day at the office?

The thing of the thing is -- Braylon was more than accepted locally. He was lauded and welcomed. His delusions that his being a "Michigan man" outweighed his being a "Browns player" were nothing short of asinine. Keep playing well, a catch the ball and he's our favorite son. The fact that he played sub-replacement level for the first 3/4 of the season but was not, nay could not be replaced, benched or anything -- because he is the 14 million dollar man, Mr. First Round Pick, Mr. Pro Bowl is what perhaps led to the community rescinding their good graces to the Edwards.

In this town -- perhaps more than most -- sports, and especially FOOTBALL, is so sacred it's beyond comprehension. And the effect it has on this depressed community -- both emotionally and economically -- is perhaps immeasurable. I get paid sh!t, and my "bad day" or "dropped ball" isn't worth millions of dollars in lost revenue to my company -- let alone an entire city. A #3 overall selection in the NFL needs to see himself different from any Joe Schmoe out there, because all these Joes are depending on him.

I can only blame Braylon so much though -- which I thought I was clear about i my blog -- the current climate will just keep getting more hostile until there is some sort of administration that recognizes it and acts accordingly: in their hirings, firings, and dealings.

Braylon doesn't recognize it and can't handle it. Romeo. Phil Savage the same. The other professional franchises around here have similar problems. Dare I even say it, but LeBron (the king himself) only sometimes gets it. This recognition of the community of which they are a HUGE part, is what I expect out of these demigods-come-athletes, nothing less.

Where have you gone Bob Feller?

# 4 BrownsFan72 @ Dec 18

If they get rid of him who are they going to throw to Donte Stallworth??? Syndric Steptoe? It sucks being a Browns fan but thats how it is right now...I could never change teams unfortunately.