You’re right. I’m overreacting to one incident. But being pissed because you aren’t getting your catches on your way to making the superbowl for the first time is the epitome of destructive prima donna behavior, isn’t it?
What has Edwards done to get labelled as a headcase?
I think Johnathan Ogden got into the pro bowl last year despite retiring years ago. Offensive lineman pro bowl voting is usually a crock - someone talks you up, you get a reputation, and then you’re golden for years.
Are we really going back to the meme that Boldin is a headcase? I thought we cleared that up on page 2 of the thread. Boldin just wants to get paid fairly. Edwards has made the same agitations and has gotten into yelling matches on the sideline. Neither guy is a issue.
What was the incident in the NFC championship about?
Edwards has had one sideline yelling match and it was misrepresented by the media. It was implied or claimed that he was yelling at his quarterback, but he actually grabbed his jersey while yelling at the offensive lineman saying basically “look how much dirt is on here, protect him better” - not exactly primma donna stuff.
SenorBeef, you’re starting to sound like a mother defending her cub with Edwards.
In what way were my comments not clear? I said Edwards is not a prima donna, no one has said he is. The point is that Edwards has much less of a track record of being a stand up guy than Boldin does, if you are going to compare anyone to Boldin as far as character they are going to come out looking bad, especially a 4 year guy like Edwards. Yelling matches on the sideline are part of the game, if a player is sitting on the bench indifferent I’d be more concerned than if he’s yelling.
Remember the coverage of the Boldin incident? It was pretty much agreed by all parties that it was nothing and no one has done anything but stand by Boldin, including Haley who seems to spark this stuff over and over. For years and year Boldin was the leader and captain on this team. He was upset about his contract but came out and killed himself on the field instead of sulking. He got his face destroyed and came back early and gave 110%.
Has T.O. distorted reality so much that any time a receiver does anything but nod and smile he’s automatically a head case and cancer? We should all be so lucky to have a talented WR who actually gives a shit.
Yeah, it’s a habit I’ve developed talking to other Browns fans. There’s a significant minority of Browns fans that are avid OSU fans who also happen to be retarded enough to hold college grudges against players in the pros. There are a lot of people calling for Edwards to be cut every time he dropped the ball in the middle of his 16 TD season because he had the audacity to go to Michigan.
The origin of this line of discussion was http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11048286&postcount=135
when RNATB said
When has Braylon whined? I was saying not only has Braylon not whined, but Boldin had what looked to be an extremely selfish whiney blowout in the NFC championship game.
What has Edwards done? He hasn’t gotten into legal trouble. He hasn’t really badmouthed his teammates or the organization in public, he hasn’t threatened to hold out, demanded a huge contract through the media, or anything really. Where does this impression that he has been anything but a stand up guy come from?
Fair enough, I mischaracterized Boldin unfairly. But it was in defense of a baseless assertion that Braylon was a whiner and that seperated him from the rest of the group (including Boldin).
There was quite the discussion about Jay Cutler and the words “whiny (whiney?)” following the trade by certain people in the other thread. It was a stupid argument then and it remains a stupid argument now. If a guy can fucking play and is on the field giving his best effort then he’s fine. If he’s not attacking his teammates and coaches in the media he’s fine.
Even if Edwards has been publicly complaining about the direction of the team and wanting a trade, so what, it’s a business. Ditto Boldin. When player pulls a Randy Moss and openly dogs it, then you can complain. When a guy pulls a TO and basically declares war on the coaches or QB, then complain. If a guy is just talking about being unsatisfied but still giving you 100% effort and producing, then they need to shut up and let him handle his business.
:smack:
I swear I’m speaking latin here. Braylon is not an issue. RNATB called him a whiner, which is of dubious validity, but whatever. I’m just clarifying Chitwood’s comment that disparaging Boldin by saying he’s a headcase in comparison to Edwards is pretty foolish. Neither guy is a headcase or a prima donna. But between the two Boldin has proven to be a fantastic leader and unselfish guy up until now, Edwards simply hasn’t been around as long to build up the respect.
Both Edwards and Boldin have spoken publicly about contracts, money and the teams commitment to them on and off the field. For both it’s neither here nor there, it’s just an excuse for the media to write stories. But it’s wrong to call Boldin a headcase based on the contract dispute and the sideline yelling. Lot of players have done those things, including Edwards. That’s the extent of what I’m saying, no further implication that Edwards is a bad teammate.
That said, the DROPS are worth talking about. Of course, Boldin’s health and age are equally relevant.
Fair enough. I was probably taking years of habitual defense out on you. There are people out there who call Edwards a headcase or a prima donna or all that and I totally don’t get it. He definitely has a legitimate issue with drops. It’s not that he has bad hands (he makes some spectacular grabs) but that he’s trying to make every play a home run so if he catches a 6 yerd route on first and 10 he’s looking ahead to the defenders to try to make it a 15 yard gain and drops it. A problem definitely, but it’s not that he has bad hands - on plays where just making the catch would be spectacular and he’s not worried about RAC to make it spectacular, he makes some great grabs.
This is exactly why I’m still holding out hope that the Giants will trade for Boldin, but lower the price for Edwards enough that the Eagles can grab him for a 2nd and a 5th or something like that. That he makes those spectacular catches proves his hands are just fine, someone just needs to teach him that there’s nothing embarrassing about a six yard gain. I honestly can’t believe the amount of flak Edwards gets.
Calvin Johnson drops passes sometimes. You can not have him.
If Edwards’ mouth isn’t an issue, why are the Browns trying to trade him?
Well one, the Browns GM isn’t exactly publicly taking offers for Edwards. I’m finding that a lot of the Edwards trade talk is from sports writers speculating that now is the time to trade him since he is a free agent after '09 and stunk it up in '08.
Two, any number of reasons could lead to a trade, and we wouldn’t ever know the real reason. Didn’t the Browns just get a new coach? Edwards could have met the coach wearing a Yankees hat and the new coach is a Mets fan. Traded.
So now that we’re getting close, who do you want your team to draft?
I’d like the 49ers to take whoever is available in this order: Crabtree, Raji, Orakpo, Maclin, Sanchez, Oher, Andre Smith.
I’m assuming certain players will already be taken. There’s something about Stafford I don’t like.
Why is the default presumption that it’s due to his mouth, despite the fact that he hasn’t been critical of the team or his contract in the media at all?
If there’s interest in trading him, it’s probably because he doesn’t want to sign an extension. Whether he hates Cleveland (and he may, as I said, a whole lot of retarded OSU fans hate him - his house gets egged regularly, for example), or wants to be a star in a bigger market and you know he’s going to bail, then I can see the logic in getting value (although I’d prefer to franchise him indefinitely if necesary).
I fear it may be Mangini being an asshole and wanting to make his mark on the team by getting rid of anyone he doesn’t like. There are rumors he wants to offload both QBs to draft Sanchez to put his mark on the team. Who knows at this point.
Besides, hearing a few offers doesn’t mean he’s determined to get the guy off the team.
The overriding theme that I’ve been hearing is that it’s generally assumed that Edwards is gone after his contract is up no matter what. Most people seem to believe that he wants out of Cleveland and won’t resign with the team, and if that’s the case the Browns essentially have to trade him before the draft in order to get something for him.
Of course with the Franchise tag and the recent history of players making bold proclamations that they won’t be back with a given team, and then eventually signing a fat contract with them ala Lance Briggs you might not want to overreact if you are a GM.
FWIW, Edwards hasn’t actually said he was uninterested in resigning with the team and it’s not like he’s demanded a trade or that the GM has said he’s going to be traded.
Well, the Bears are out of the first round and their first pick is #49. I’m hoping the Mock Draft projections and Insider blogs that have us getting WR Mohamed Massaquoi out of Georgia are accurate. All the scouting reports on the guy are simply glowing, he’s supposed to be an A+ character guy and his production was excellent. He’s got good (though not elite) size and speed. It seems like every other team drafting in the 10 picks before the Bears have worked him out, so he’s a hot commodity and might be gone.
That said, I haven’t seen this guy very much myself. I’m relying on the public perception so if we miss out on him I won’t be crushed, guys like Juaquin Iglesias and Brian Robiskie have also been projected as options and of the group I don’t feel especially enamored with any of them.
I will say that the Bears need to draft a Safety and a Wide Receiver with the 49th and 99th pick. I don’t care what order they go with, I just hope that they take the BPA at 49. If one of the top Safeties drops to 49, you bypass any of those WRs to get him and take a WR in the third round.
Here’s a dream scenario. We get Massaquoi at 49. Safety Rashad Johnson slips to them at 99. And, 6’-6" 227lb WR from Cal Poly, Ramses Barden miraculously falls to us in the 4th round at 119. More realistically, we land top Safety Louis Delmas or William Moore at 49 and nab either Barden or Patrick Turner from USC at 99.
The more I look at it I’m loving the idea of taking one of the super tall guys like Barden, Turner or Kelly later and using the 2nd round pick on defense. Of those three Turner has the most impressive highlight reels but experts like the other two guys better. If that leads to us getting Turner in the 4th round I’ll do backflips.
Hey! Keep your paws off Louis Delmas. He’s ours. 
Eh, it’s probably pretty unlikely that he slides to the middle of the 2nd round. Safeties are a position that you see very little film of before the draft, so I’m not sure if Delmas is really the class of that position class or not.
And we now have confirmation that Raji was clean at the Combine and did not test positive. Percy Harvin and Brandon Tate however are a completely different story. Harvin was already sliding down draft boards and might be drafted in the 25-32 range at this point. Considering he’s something of a luxury pick without a true position, maybe that’s where he belonged from the start. How interesting would it be to see him in the slot in Arizona if Boldin is gone?
Only 3 more days. Ahhhhhh!