What the Hell is Wrong with Braylon Edwards?

Like most Michigan fans, Saturday night was not fun. I had higher expectations for the game. I thought they would come out better. I thought I was going to be able to rely on the defense if the offense came out flat. I thought that the offense was going to be different under Shea Patterson. I thought they had the best guys on the field. I thought they were going to win.

These were all mistakes by me. They came out flat and looked tired. The defense was horrendous in the first half. They fixed it in the second half. The offense, while they did more shotgun, looked very similar to last year. The O line was getting beat on a consistent basis. Patterson looked way too amped up. The run game never got going. They never found any rhythm. The defense couldn't get off the field on third down, which they excelled at last year, and if they had a chance to, they committed some dumb ass penalties. The coaches were not prepared, and neither were the players. Due to all of this, they got beat, and they got beat fairly soundly. I know the final score was only a TD difference, but anyone that watched that game knows what I know. So yeah, I was frustrated and annoyed and a bit upset.

But then I went to bed, slept on what I had saw, internalized everything and got over it. It is a game played by kids. They tried their hardest, they just had a rough night. But, you know who didn't sleep on it and let his emotions get the best of him? Braylon freaking Edwards. Go read his ridiculous tweets right after the game. Go see him call out players by name, kids that are in their late teens, early 20's, and say they played "scared", or called them, and the team, "trash". Look at him scream into the internet and see him say that he is "done with this team". He went to school there. He was an all time great while he was there. He is the last player to wear the number 1 jersey, when it meant something, that truly deserved it. He delivered as a wide out for this team in the early 21st century. There is no doubt about that. But for him to do what he did just a couple of days ago, that is absurd. To call out your former university on Twitter is the height of childish behavior. Then, to double down on it, after other former Wolverine told him to calm the hell down, what was he thinking? Finally he issued an apology, but only after he was suspended by his current employer, the Big Ten Network. And that apology was so half assed, he would have been better off not even saying it. Oh, and don't let me forget, he was still found to be tweeting some dumb ass nonsense after he got suspended.

Now, as I said, he was great while he was there, but what did he win of any importance? He is out here talking all this shit like the Wolverines won a national title when he was the team captain. Well, I think I should know as well as anyone, I mean I love this team with all of my heart, and they didn't win shit while he was there. Sure, they had one or 2 double digit win totals, and they were always in a bowl game, but they never won a big game because of him. And yes, I am fully aware of his spectacular game he had against MSU in triple overtime when Chad Henne was a freshman, my god was he amazing that game. But you know what, MSU was not a very good football team back in the early 2000's. Get over it Braylon. Also, the best bowl game he played in was the Rose Bowl, so big time, and he did have three TD's in that game, but they got beat by Vince Young and Texas. That was the same year he won the Biletnikoff Award as the best receiver in the country. So, maybe it was just his personal stats and accolades that mattered to him. But, I don't remember him calling out players and coaches by name after they lost a game they should have won. I don't remember him saying that the teams he played on that went 8-4 and lost some games they probably shouldn't have were trash. Hell, I don't even remember him saying that the Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke era teams were "trash". Braylon Edwards clearly has some kind of weird complex. He also clearly doesn't think before he speaks. He also doesn't seem to look back at record books from when he played. He just seems to be a guy that pops off at the mouth because anyone can do that now. To call out kids on social media though, that was a real low blow. He should know better than anyone else that that was wrong. Imagine if Twitter were a thing when he was in college. People would have trashed his stone hands all the time, especially when he got into the NFL. He dropped a ton of balls he should have easily caught.

That was what irked me the most was him calling out guys playing by name. That was a low blow. So I'm glad that Jim Harbaugh and Khalid Hill called him out. I'm glad that BTN suspended him. I'm glad that he is now being raked over the coals by other former Wolverines. If he doesn't want to root for the team he played four years of college football for, fine. Just don't talk about it in such a public way. Believe me, there are tons and tons of other, faithful Wolverine fans, such as myself, that will always stick by this team, in both bad and good days.

I used to be a big time Braylon Edwards apologist. But, after this childish nonsense, I am done. He can root for any team he wants, but he needs to cool it on bad mouthing his alma mater. I know he was mad, I was mad too, but I slept on it, and I am a god damn grown up. Maybe Braylon Edwards should grow the hell up as well. His actions were ridiculous. Get over it, it is just a game played by children that are ages 18-23. They are kids and you are a grown up. Now prove it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was not on twitter after the Michigan Notre Dame game because Ty is not a man child who is only defined by the time he was a good sports person.

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You Would Not Take Alex Smith over Aaron Rodgers in Your Fantasy Draft.

NFL scout deep in thought

Last night I watched the Packers play the Chiefs on "Monday Night Football".

The Packers, and most importantly Aaron Rodgers, shredded a pretty good Chiefs defense. I know that the Chiefs have some injuries in the secondary and they start a rookie back there, but Rodgers looked invincible last night. Throws were on target. He hit receivers in stride. He moved around the pocket with a mastery I haven't seen since Brett Favre. Basically, in my opinion, Rodgers has surpassed Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the best quarterback in football.

On the other sideline, the Chiefs have a very different situation at quarterback. Now, I'm an Alex Smith fan. I think he's a serviceable quarterback. At his best, he's a decent game manager. But, last night, he looked lost and scared. His offensive line could not block the Packers defensive line last night. When he did have time, he danced around in the pocket and usually ended up scrambling for small to no gains. When he had open receivers, he either under threw or flat out missed them. The Chiefs did break their streak of no passing touchdowns to receivers, but by that point in the game, it was moot. Jamaal Charles played well, he always does, but the Chiefs need Alex Smith to do more if they want to compete in the AFC. Jamaal Charles can only do so much, he needs help from his quarterback.

The game and the Packer win is not the point of my column today. While watching this game last night, the commentators for ESPN(the god awful team of Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico) brought up the fact that Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers were in the same draft class. One of them was the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, the other was the 24th overall pick. Watching this game, you'd think that Rodgers was clearly the first overall pick, right? Well, you'd be wrong. Alex Smith was the overall number one pick in that draft by the San Francisco 49ers. After the 49ers took Smith, 22 other teams passed on Aaron Rodgers. He had a funky delivery and he didn't have a ton of highlights as the quarterback of the Cal Bears. At least, that's what the "geniuses" said on their scouting reports. Rumors also surfaced that the Packers picked him out of spite. They didn't want the Chicago Bears to draft him, who had the next pick, which they then immediately traded after the Packers took Rodgers. People in Green Bay and fans of the Packers all over the world were furious that the Packers took Rodgers, my father and I included. We didn't want a quarterback, we had Favre. And if they were going to take a QB, why Rodgers? We all thought he wouldn't amount to much of an NFL player. He would also have to sit behind Favre until Favre was done playing. The pick didn't make any sense to anyone, except for the editor of this website, RD. He called me and my dad after the pick and said that the Packers got the steal of the draft, and that Rodgers was going to be a star. We told him he was nuts. He had no idea what he was talking about.

I'm glad that I was wrong. I'm thrilled to have Aaron Rodgers quarterbacking my team. But, Rodgers did have to sit for the first four years of his career and learn from Favre. The same couldn't be said for the first overall pick, Alex Smith. He was going to be the savior of the 49er franchise in the early 21st century. His blend of athleticism, he ran the spread at Utah before almost every team was running it in college football, was going to change the position. Unfortunately, the 49ers were not a good team and Smith's first five years were rough. The 49ers lured Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford in 2011 and that changed Smith's NFL career, for one and a half seasons. In Harbaugh's first season, he needed Smith to be a manager of the game, and that's what he got. Smith became a guy that didn't turn the ball over and could move the chains with short passes and his legs. He led the 49ers to the playoffs for the first time in a long time. During that same season, 2011, Aaron Rodgers coming off a Super Bowl win in 2010, won the MVP. He was no game manager, he was a game winner. The very next season, the 49ers had one of the best starts of any team in the NFL, and Smith was leading the way. He suffered a concussion midway through the season, and lost his starting job to second year "phenom" Colin Kaepernick. As athletic as Smith was, Kaepernick was younger and more athletic. Harbaugh rode Kaepernick all the way to the Super Bowl, the Ravens beat the 49ers, and Smith was relegated to back up duty. Meanwhile, Rodgers was putting up huge numbers, won a title, won two MVP awards, was a constant on All Pro and Pro Bowl teams, winning division titles with ease and playing in the playoffs every year. Their careers were on completely different paths. Rodgers was playing like the first overall pick, and Smith, he may as well been a fourth round pick. The 49ers traded Smith to the Chiefs the season following their Super Bowl appearance. The Chiefs have been an okay team under Smith, but they haven't had anything near the success the Packers have enjoyed with Rodgers at the helm.

Just to give you guys a taste of some of the players picked between Smith and Rodgers, names like, Cadillac Williams(out of the league), Braylon Edwards(out of the league), Cedric Benson(out of the league), Ronnie Brown(I think he's out of the league), Shawne Merriman(retired and also a women abuser) and David Pollack(out of the league due to a neck injury and a huge chauvinist). Guys who are still playing that were picked before Rodgers include some good players like Derrick Johnson(linebacker for the Chiefs), Damarcus Ware(linebacker for the Broncos) and Adam "Pac Man" Jones(DB for the Bengals). These guys are good, but I'd much rather have Aaron Rodgers. I know that not all teams need a QB when it's draft time, or that the draft is a total crap shoot, but Rodgers is, by far, the best player taken in the 2005 draft. Watching the game last night and hearing that they were in the same draft class was so shocking to me. I thought Rodgers was older than Alex Smith because he's so much better than Alex Smith. Rodgers has mastered the quarterback position, and Alex Smith struggles to be a game manager. The fact that the 49ers thought so highly of Smith and that Rodgers wasn't even on their radar is bewildering to me. I'm sure they wish they had taken Rodgers, but I'm sure a lot of teams in the 2005 draft wished they'd taken Rodgers. I guess you never truly know what you will get out of the draft, but last night, Aaron Rodgers was one thousand times better than Alex Smith, and Rodgers was picked 23 spots later than Smith.

Truly, head scratching.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He gives the editor too much credit, I just thought the Packers were being asses to the Bears. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.