Why Braylon Edwards is an Idiot

I'm sure most of us in the football-following world are aware by this point that NY Jets wide receiver, and former Cleveland Browns wide receiver, Braylon Edwards was arrested in the wee hours of the morning yesterday for driving while intoxicated. The breathalyzer he was administered showed that his blood alcohol content was approximately twice the legal limit.

As a Browns fan I can attest to the fact that Edwards is indeed an idiot. He had a physical altercation with a member of LeBron James' (incidentally, another idiot, but that warrants its own post) posse last season, which resulted in a lot of negative legal and media attention. He's prone to making sweepingly grand comments about his abilities as a wide receiver, and is notoriously unable to deliver on said promises on the field. He made some exceedingly ignorant comments to the press regarding his trade to the Jets about how his "New York essence" made Cleveland fans resent him. Just for your information, Cleveland fans resent Braylon Edwards because he dropped easy passes and never lived up to his potential or his obnoxious mouth when he played for the Browns. I'd like to know exactly how one develops a "New York essence" growing up in Detroit and playing for that dreaded school up north, aka the University of Michigan. Also, Abe Lincoln called, and he wants his beard back. But, I digress.

My main issue with Edwards' arrest this week is that I think everyone should be smart enough to not drink and drive. When you choose to drink and drive, you not only take your life into your own hands, but you put everyone else on the road at risk. It's pure idiocy. Ask Donte Stallworth how it worked out for him. It is totally unacceptable when an NFL player drinks and drives, because they have resources available to them that the rest of us simply do not have. To wit, the league provides players the opportunity to call for a ride anywhere, any time. They can choose from a variety of luxury cars with amenities from satellite television to an armed guard, and here's the kicker--despite their obnoxiously generous salaries, it costs them NOTHING. It's charged as a club expense. I'm sure the Jets would have gladly paid for Braylon and his teammates who were passengers at the time of his arrest, Vernon Gholston and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, to be transported in style to avoid the scrutiny they are under because of this issue.

I'm not even going to start on whether I agree with Rex Ryan's decision to play (but not start) Braylon Edwards this Sunday against the Dolphins. I'm not going to analyze the fact that once the Jets stopped talking as if they'd already won this year's SuperBowl they started playing like a team that might be able to get there. I'm just going to say that Braylon Edwards made a very poor and inexcusable choice this week when he got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. No amount of media spinning or legal wrangling will change my mind about that. I think that playing professional football is a privilege, and the league gives players every opportunity and tons of support to stay out of trouble, and when a player willfully rejects that and makes a choice that endangers himself and others, it can't go unpunished. Grow up, Braylon.

Unfair

People often say that life isn't fair. My kids in particular frequently voice this concern, and I invariably agree with them. Life ISN'T fair, and it's never going to be, so you have to learn to roll with the punches. However, sometimes something happens that is so devastating that it makes it impossible to even wrap your mind around how very unfair life actually is. My extended family is in the middle of one of those experiences, and my heart breaks for them even as I write this.

My cousin Brittany's five-year-old son, Damien Baker (pictured above), landed in the PICU at Children's Hospital in Columbus Ohio about a week and a half ago with severe head trauma. He had extensive swelling in his brain and was unresponsive. At the time that his symptoms presented, he was in the care of Brittany's boyfriend, Mike Brown, who lived with Brittany and her children, and kept her children regularly while she worked. Brittany received a text message from Mike alerting her to the fact that Damien had said his head hurt, and then he vomited, and then he lost consciousness. Mike took the boy to Mike's father's home before calling 911. After a brief examination at the hospital in the town in which they live, Damien was life-flighted to Children's Hospital in Columbus where a team of neurologists and experts assumed responsibility for his care. Some of the experts involved specialize in child abuse cases, and it was determined that abuse was the cause of Damien's injuries. Mike Brown was subsequently charged and arrested as the suspected abuser in this case. He is currently in jail and bond is set at $500,000.

Damien never regained consciousness, and the family was told early in the process that it was very unlikely he would ever recover. He passed away yesterday at 4:53 p.m. He was deeply loved by his mother and father, his baby sister, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as extended family and family friends, and he will be terribly missed.

I have no patience or compassion for anyone who would harm a child. I pray that the truth is established and that the perpetrator who caused these life-ending injuries to this child is held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law. I pray that Damien's death will not have been in vain; that other children will somehow be spared because of his story. And, I pray for comfort for all who knew him.

Other Noteworthy Week One Games

Although the Falcons/Steelers game was undoubtedly the game I was most emotionally invested in this past Sunday, the season began for everybody this week.

Vikings/Saints

The very first game of the season, which took place last Thursday, was the much anticipated rematch between the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings and last season's Super Bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints, in the very same Superdome where the Vikings fell to the Saints in the NFC Championship Game last winter. Everyone expected this game to be a crazy display of skill from both teams, on both sides of the ball, and it was actually really anticlimactic in my opinion.

The end result should not have surprised anyone except for maybe those Vikings fans who, despite their QBs age and preference for spending his offseason as the ringleader of a media circus as opposed to preparing for the season, are under the misguided notion that somehow their team is prepared to exceed last year's accomplishments. The Saints won, 14-9. But, this contest was obviously not the high-scoring, fast-paced nailbiter that anyone expected.

The bottom line is that both teams looked weaker than they should have after having such successful seasons last year. The Saints run defense was surprisingly shaky (which is great news for my Falcons) and Garrett Hartley, who was cool as ice under pressure last year, was just a hot mess of missed kicks. Drew Brees is an extraordinarily accurate passer, and the passing game was simply not as successful in the season opener (with the exception of the first drive, which resulted in a touchdown) as it had consistently been last year. However, the Saints adjusted and integrated more of a running scheme into the second half, which really opened up their offense.

The Vikings looked to be very much in preseason form. I personally think that allowing Brett Favre to, once again, skip out on preseason has been detrimental to this team, which has also weathered a number of injuries and health issues between last winter and last week. The play calling and refusal to adjust during the game was questionable, the player rotation was questionable (where the heck was Camarillo?), and overall, I think this is a Vikings team that has a long way to go to even be able to think about claiming their division this year.

Which brings me to the next game of note:

Packers/Eagles

I won't beat around the bush here. I'm a Packers fan, and I was very pleased with their performance in Sunday's matchup in Philadelphia. The Eagles have a bit of a learning curve to handle at present after trading Donovan McNabb to the Redskins and committing to Kevin Kolb as the starter. Kolb had some solid performances last season when starting in place of the injured McNabb, but is untested as far as a regular season established QB. Kolb looked weak early in the game, and then suffered a concussion, and former Falcons QB Michael Vick came in to run the offense. I will say, Vick looks to be back in playing shape, as opposed to the prison shape he was in last season. He looks agile and quick, like he did when he was last with the Falcons.

The Packers offense looks solid. Aaron Rodgers is on his way to being one of the all-time great quarterbacks. The offensive line was a little disappointing at first, showing shades of last season's ineptitude, but they pulled it together to protect Rodgers effectively as the game continued. The receivers looked sharp, and the defense looked very tough overall. You could tell they hadn't gameplanned for Vick's style of play and had some difficulty adjusting. All in all, I think the Packers look like THE team to beat in the NFC this year.

There were a ton of injuries in this game--a grim reminder of what these guys put on the line every Sunday when they take the field to play for our entertainment (oh, and millions of dollars. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that aspect of things.) The Eagles were much more plagued by injuries than the Packers, but the Packers did suffer a devastating loss in RB Ryan Grant's season-ending injury. I did hear that the Packers signed RB Dimitri Nance from the Falcons practice squad, and I think he's a great addition. He had some great preseason performances.

Browns/Buccaneers

We had free DirecTV Sunday ticket on Sunday, so I was really excited to see the Browns play. They played at the same time as the Falcons, so I could only watch so much. All I know is that it seemed like they were playing really well, and then turnovers and errors got the best of them.

I'm doubly mad about this, because a) I really wanted the Holmgren era to start off strong with a win, especially over a mediocre Tampa Bay team, and b) Tampa's win and Atlanta's loss on Sunday means that currently the Buccaneers are ahead of us in the NFC South. Jake Delhomme is awaiting MRI results and is currently hobbling around in a walking boot due to an ankle injury. Things are, as usual, looking to be particularly challenging for the Cleveland Browns. I just hope we can pull it together. Even a .500 season would be a huge improvement over the last two years.

Bengals/Patriots

I did catch a little of this game, but the Patriots ran away with it so early that I just couldn't bring myself to watch the train wreck. At least Cinci fought back and scored quite a bit. With their receiving corps and Cedric Benson, plus the strength of their defense, Cincinnati should be able to pull together a decent season. I hope this first game was not a harbinger of things to come. What can you even say about the Patriots? They're always good.

Other Notable Games

The Cowboys, also known as "analysts' perpetual favorites to win the Super Bowl every year despite their actual on-field performance", lost to the McNabb-led Redskins Sunday night. The Houston Texans upset the Colts for the first time in team history. Rex Ryan's mouth wrote a check his team couldn't cash in the season opener, when they dropped their first game Monday night in the new Meadowlands against a very tough Baltimore Ravens team. The Kansas City Chiefs taught the San Diego Chargers a thing or two in Arrowhead Stadium in the other Monday night game with a big win.

There were a lot of surprises in Week One, and it was certainly an exciting start to the 2010. Here's looking forward to Week Two, with hope that my teams will come out on top this week!

Atlanta Falcons Season Opener

Last night concluded Week 1 of the 2010 NFL Season. No matter what, Week 1 always ends up compromising the hopes and dreams of half of the players, team personnel, and fans of this league, because only half of the teams can come away with a win. This week was brutal for my teams, but I saw a lot about which to be encouraged, and now that a couple of days have passed I can write about those first games with a little bit of objectivity. (Look, a "little bit" of objectivity is all I can ever muster when it comes to my NFL teams. It's the best I can do. Deal with it.)

I'll cover some of the other games of interest as the week passes, but I'll start with the one that impacted me the most: the Atlanta Falcons lost a heartbreaker at Heinz Field to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I dislike the Steelers because I'm a lifelong Browns fan, so in addition to my natural hope that my team would prevail, I had a deeply rooted desire to see the Steelers embarrassed at Heinz Field, just because that would have been a little more fun for me. I also felt that we should have been able to pull off a win based solely on the fact that Dennis Dixon was starting at quarterback, even though I'm always the first to acknowledge that looking past any team at any time for any reason is an unwise move, especially if that team has home field advantage. Alas, a win was not in the cards for the Falcons.

I was furious during and immediately after the game, because that loss was just so disappointing, but now that a couple of days have passed and I've gained some perspective, I did see some things I'm excited about, and also see some things where a more balanced understanding of what happened is necessary. Let me elaborate:

Defense, Defense, Defense

Anyone who follows Falcons football can tell you that we have struggled defensively in the recent past. Our defense looked sharp on Sunday. We didn't always put as much pressure on Dixon as I would have liked, and we had trouble containing Mendenhall when it counted the most, but by and large, this is a significantly improved Falcons defense. That's going to make a huge difference this season.

Matt Ryan

People are already discussing whether or not Matt Ryan is "the guy" for Atlanta. Let me be clear--I love Matt Ryan, and I think he can do it. He completed 61% of his passes against one of the best defenses in the league. What I was uncomfortable with were his "deer in the headlights" looks on the passes he didn't complete. He's still broadcasting his passes and he's too easy for defenses to read. But, he is a hard worker and a smart QB, and he's willing to put the time in to improve. He'll get there.

Michael Turner and the Running Game

I want to see another 1,000 yard rushing season for Michael Turner this year. We have to figure out how to give him some room and let him go. Ovie Mughelli is great at creating space for him--I think Mike Mularkey needs to fine-tune our running schemes to make it happen. And, I think that on short-yardage situations, Ovie needs to get some opportunities. He's a great asset in a short-yardage situation. Jerious Norwood had more success than Michael Turner in Sunday's matchup, but as always, his fragility is a concern and I think his carries have to be kept to a minimum. However, I think if they use him intelligently he can be a game-changer. Jason Snelling was kind of a non-factor in Week 1, but he's talented. We can't just expect Michael Turner to carry the entire offense. We have a lot of depth and talent at running back, and we need to use it effectively.

Receiving

First things first--I loved seeing Harry Douglas back in action. I was also really happy for Tony Gonzalez, one of the best tight ends to ever play the game and a future Hall of Famer, as he made his way into the record books with his 1000th catch. That being said, Ryan has to work on his accuracy, and he can't throw to Tony Gonzalez every time. We have so much talent offensively that it's unacceptable to be as ineffective as we were against the Steelers defense. Also, we have to score touchdowns at some point! However, it would be irresponsible to not acknowledge how tough that Steelers D is.

Home Field Advantage

Home field advantage is a huge factor in professional football, and Heinz Field is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult places for a visiting team to play in this league. We're back in the Dome this week, where the Falcons will be surrounded by our fans, and where noise is a huge advantage for the Dirty Birds.

Matt Ryan's Interception

Troy Polomalu is a beast. He's one of the best defensive players ever. That Matty Ice came out of that game with only one INT was actually pretty impressive.

Matt Bryant

I will admit, when Bryant was selected as the kicker for this season, I was more than a little skeptical after seeing him miss some chip shot kicks in preseason. However, he was literally the only scorer in Sunday's matchup so I will cut the guy some slack for now.

Looking Toward the Cardinals

If I know anything about this coaching staff, they're working hard this week to correct mistakes and to prepare this team to beat the Cardinals in our house. I'm looking forward to celebrating the first win of the season this Sunday!