Braylon speaking his mind....again.
Nothing new at all, and generally he makes the same points I think anyone would make (give or take a year of leeway).
I don't know though...I just wish he wouldn't be so damn outspoken. I can't see RR and him getting along at this point.
http://detnews.com/article/20100617/SPORTS0201/6170470/U-M-s-Braylon-Ed…
I'm sorry...I love alumni, but...they need to STFU regarding the program. Thanks for being awesome, but please don't criticize a team you're no longer a member of.
First off, where did he criticize the team? He said they need to start winning. I guess there's some implied criticism in the sense of him criticism them for losing, but who doesn't complain when Michigan loses to Toledo, wins 3 in conference a games in 2 years, etc. He didn't say RR sucked, the team was soft and all that. He said "RR has his players, so we need to start winning."
Secondly, how does becoming an alumni of the program mean you can't criticize it? Braylon played college FB and now he plays in the NFL. He can actually speak from an exprienced viewpoint. Unless you happen to be a coach or player, I'd bet he has more exprience than you.
All the players currently in the program are going to toe the party line. You don't go say "Yeah my coach is terrible." So to me the next best thing are former players, because they can compare the current system to the system they played in and say if it is better, worse or the same.
How would Braylon know the differences between the former system and the current? Anyone can say "this system has lost the last 2 years and the system before that didn't, therefore we need a change."
Unless you happen to be a coach or player, I'd bet he has more exprience than you.
I'm neither, but I don't have to be. First off, I don't have the amount of media exposure that Braylon does, so my opinion won't be heard by thousands. So the difference here is how many people you are reaching. If he wants to say stuff when he's not with the media, go ahead. But with the media...please don't.
Second, I'm not criticizing the program. If they have a negative opinion, it's just adding to the negativity. Even more...they should lay low if it's not even the same system that was being run when they were here, since they don't necessarily have all the details.
When I say media I mean television and newspapers and that kind of thing. I do appreciate having a place to go to debate my opinions and see other points of view.
I love how he uses the "we are Michigan" meme. Maybe he didn't actually watch the games or look at the depth charts the last 2 years. It will be so nice when we are running off national championships starting in 2011.
Yea, I hate when people speak their minds with valid points about things! It's the worst!
His "valid points" seem to be all opinion. He doesn't even say what needs to happen, just that "RichRod needs to win or be fired." Great insight Braylon.
Just because it is his opinion does not mean they are not valid points. If we do not get it done on the field this year Rich Rod should probably be fired.
He's not a color commentator on ESPN. A reporter asked his opinion on the matter and he stated it. Just because his opinion is exactly the same as just about everyone related to this program: that this is the make or break year, is no reason to hate on the guy. It's not his job to offer great insight.
I never said any of that. I personally don't care if Braylon doesn't like RichRod. I just think it is ridiculous to hear another former player saying "RichRod needs to win or be fired." We have all heard it before. This isn't really news.
FWIW, he's said it before. This is just a repeat. I'm not even sure why it would be important enough to write about in the news, but whatev.
The main stream media loves to grasp on to anything negative at this point. I know its slow this time of year for football news but if you have nothing of substance to say, don't say anything at all.
what else should he say? You want him to call the opening drive for UCONN?
Considering that Braylon Edwards Michigan endowment is slighly more then my "Beveled Guilt" donation to MGoBlog I will allow his comments.
It's one thing for you or me or any other Joe Blow fan to make those comments. I, to some extent, completely agree with his opinion that w/o tangible progress this year (i.e., wins) RR should probably be let go.
My point is that EVERYONE f*cking knows this, and by him entertaining some reporter's pointless question he (1) adds further negative press and fuel to the "RR is on the hot seat" fire which does NOTHING to benefit the university he loves; and (2) outside of adding pressure to RR, this is terrible from a UofM PR perspective across the board. It's not earth shattering, but the sum of all these alumni and former players making negative comments just for the sake of hearing themselves talk does sway the public perception of the football team and university as a whole.
It's just unnecessary...
What would Bo do?
Bo would be down on Braylon like a ton of bricks for causing yet another distraction for the Team, the Team, the Team ...
He's in the area and the media is asking him about the state of Michigan football. How is that being outspoken? It's not like he put some anti-RR billboard or has website dedicated to talking about RR. He's in town, local media asked him and he said what he felt.
Ok, let's assume the reporter asked, "Hey Braylon, so what is your take on the opinion that RR is on the hot seat this year?"
Wouldn't a much more pragmatic answer have been... "Well Mr. Fishing For Negative Response Reporter Man, as a alumnus and former player I just want to see us get back to our winning ways. RR has shown he can do that in the past, so I'm hopeful that our team can put themselves back in the mix this year. I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal and I have faith in our current players. Thanks, I hope that was negative enough for you. Make sure to come to my basketball game."
Instead of..."He's past the hot seat, and he has to make it work."
Like I said originally...it's really in line w/ what most people are thinking, but Braylon refuses to understand how much weight his words carry and what damage they can do to the PERCEPTION of the university.
Who cares? I dont.
Two topics are really starting to frustrate and bore most of us around here: Constant whining about media stories on the board and the freaking out about what former players say.
YAWN
Other than the notion that we have had the same level of athlete on the squad the past 2 years as in the more distant past (which is demonstrably false), what is so bad about his comments? Is 2010 make or break for Rich Rod? Yeah, probably. Do we and our alumni expect to win? Yeah, for sure. If Rich Rod can't get it done, we'll find someone that can? I sure hope so! I think people have gotten too sensitive whenever an alumni speaks and doesn't drool all over the current regime...
I respect him a lot due to the fact that he has the whole #1 jersey scholarship thing (kinda sad we don't have anyone who has been stud enough to use it yet with RR). No problems with what he said except for the fact that he beleives UofM is entitled to the best athletes in the country just for waking up in the morning. I disagree about him needing a breakout year but don't fault anyone at this point for feeling that way. My opinion still is lets get into a bowl this year and worry about 8-4/9-3 next year.
He said that we have in the past had top athletes here year in year out..........But when you see a program fall off the cliff the way we have the past 2 years (not all at the fault of RR, but he is the coach) those top athletes are looking other places, there is hesitance, skepticism, etc. In my opinion, Braylon Edwards deserves the right to express the obvious here which is WIN, or move over! Quit overanalyzing the situation.........its just that!
For every Braylon Edwards opinion, we can probably find a Rick Leach or a Ty Law to counter it. It's boring and dumb. Next we're going to have to suffer through another lecture about "Braylon's" No. 1 jersey and tradition, blah, blah.
Just stop it Braylon.
As for expectations that Edwards will ever STFU about RR and Michigan football, don't hold your breath.
If I were RR I'd give the official No. 1 jersey to a terminally ill patient at Mott's or something and tell Edwards to bite me.
dropped a few. So has Braylon.
Okay, so when does a player "earn the right" to speak out? Because a lot of people on this board were hating on Morgan Trent because he was a "shitty player." And even though that's a dumb reason to want to stop someone from having an opinion, Braylon Edwards was decidedly not a shitty player. He was perhaps the best receiver in Michigan history, a fan favorite, stayed through his senior year, earned the right for the #1 jersey, established a scholarship, etc.
People have opinions about things. It's a fact of life. And David Brandon is going to do whatever he's going to do, regardless of what Braylon says. The effect of this is virtually nil. And if Michigan comes out and wins 8 or 9 games, I'm pretty sure Braylon will back off the throttle a little bit.
While I sympathize with your point about Braylon, people were not "hating on" Trent because he wasn't a good player, they used that as an ad hominem attack because it seemed to many like he threw RR under a bus and seemed to betray a personal conversation with Lloyd that led to Carr having to make clarifying statements in a spotlight he has been actively avoiding.
No offense, but people certainly were saying stuff like "What does Trent know? He sucked."
Well, Braylon was good. So if we're using the theory that "Good players know stuff," then maybe we should lend Braylon's opinion some credence.
Of course, like I said, that's a stupid way to gauge someone's knowledge. Ben Roethlisberger is a good football player, but clearly a moron. The same goes for Matt Millen. I can't imagine Peter Gammons ever being a great baseball player, but the dude's a baseball genius.
and I remember and agree that people indeed said those things. I just don't think they said them for the reason you gave above. They weren't hating on him for being a bad player, they were hating on him by calling him a bad player. Just a minor quibble.
Regardless, if people were judging a player's intelligence or opinion based on on-field performance, you're right, that would be stupid.
Take a look at the dude in your profile pick. THAT guy has "earned the right" to talk. He is arguably one of the best defensive players UofM has ever seen and he had to spend his best years on two of the shittiest teams we've had in decades.
But yet, despite the vast amount of frustration BG probably has about the way his last two years played out, he continues to say only positive things about RR and the university when he could easily throw both under the bus. The worst he has said has been to the tune of, "We just need to get better on the field, and I think we'll do that w/ RR."
Yes, Braylon played a few years for the Browns...but he was making millions to lose those games.
You're right that the effect of this is nil...but compare minimal negative effect to the powerful positive effect that would result from alumni players SUPPORTING the TEAM despite their personal opinions of RR.
I love Braylon Edwards, but I'm going to side with the people telling him to STFU. I'm sick of hearing "This is Michigan, we always have the best players so we should always win" garbage. Being Michigan doesn't preclude us from having transition bumps, especially in a major transition, and it doesn't mean we aren't succeptible to bad seasons when the talent isn't up to what we're used to and the breaks don't go our way.
If we continued to lose and suck at recruiting for a while, I'd agree with some of this. Saying "this is Michigan" only means we shouldn't be down long, not that we shouldn't ever have a down period.
Desmond has a good viewpoint on this - "RR will win, give him time and you'll see." The people who say "he's already had 2 whole years, get him out of here" are really getting on my nerves, and I don't care whether they're in the NFL or not.
To me, it comes down to loyalty. Braylon knows that his comments can damage or undermine the program. He should keep them to himself and be a "good soldier."
He's not a soldier anymore. He's retired from the force.
If he were a current player for Michigan, I would agree. But he's an alumnus and a donor. I'm not saying that his comments help, but he's coming from a position of relative authority. If he's not allowed to voice his opinion, then who is?
How often has Braylon thought carefully before shooting from the hip/lip? Plenty of data suggests that he says whatever is on his mind without doing any careful analysis.
Aside: I'm surprised that he so often displays high-maintenance tendencies. His dad (Stan) seemed very thoughtful and measured during his UM days.
As for his comments in this case, I don't think he's being entirely fair, but he is (of course) entitled to his opinion.
Being the son of a star athlete probably has something to do with it.
What careful analysis do you expect him to do? He's a big-time NFL player. He's probably got better things to do than read MGoBlog all day. I mean, I don't, but he probably does.
To put it another way, it would be pleasant if he considered his words more carefully (more often). I can see that (yes) he'd have better things to do than closely inspect Michigan's roster.
How much analysis would it have taken in this case, though? How many times would you have to watch Threet before concluding that he was raw/young and poorly suited to RichRod's offense? How long would it take to see one first-day NFL draftee in the past two years? (Quick aside: You need to go back twenty years to find the last instance. Check it out: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/history/college/MI) 2011 isn't looking great, either, for now.
If Braylon had made a slightly different remark like "I'm disappointed in how some things have been handled in the program" I'd feel better about it. But just saying "We always have great players" puts him on the level of Beano Cook.
If Michigan doesn't show big improvement this year, then I am going to believe it is just not going to workout here at M for RR. I am expecting a big season, anything less than 8 wins is a harbinger for fail AFAIC.
with this subject but it's a cold hard fact. RR is already in a hole with the past two seasons that not having a winning season this year will mark the end of his stay. This program has too good of a record in wins and bowl appearances to let it continue to slide and the fact that it has been since 2003 that we last beat OSU has to change here soon. The alums don't like the situation, the fans don't like it and I know RR doesn't like it but if he doesn't fit then he doesn't fit. Not every coach is meant to lead one specific college to glory. For RR this has to be his break out year with Michigan. It is a perfect chance to turn around a troubled team and lead them to a successful season, good conference record and a bowl appearance. If he can do that then he's safe for now. If Michigan ends up 5-7 and wins no more than 3 conference games then he's going to be gone.
I named my son Braylon before the Rod era began. I'm thinking of changing his name to Denard or Dilithium. Thoughts?
Eh, if he's less than 5 years old, he probably won't remember his old name, so I say go for it.
I, on the other hand, am expecting a son in the next couple weeks, and his name will be Charles. Heisman trophies don't wear out, yo.
when my son Reggie was born . . . .
i just hope RR can turn this thing around. if he does im going to laugh in the faces of every person who talked trash about him.
Honestly - I am fine with Braylon saying these things. I mean, RR has to make it work or else he is gone.
The debatable part is what is "making it work"? In 2005, Lloyd took a team that had lost to Texas in the Rose Bowl on a last second field goal, sent Braylon and Marlin off to the draft (but retained everyone else), then went 7-5 the next season.
Since Lloyd was kept after that season, I'd have to think 7-5 is "making it work". (and yes I know Lloyd had built up a ton of "equity" in the UofM coaching seat, but college coaching is not that safe)
I surely hope we do not have notable alumni walking around touting "9 wins or bust". To expect a 4 win improvement is.... just. not. logical.
Nick Sheridan at QB in 2008. That was Michigan... and we didn't have the best players.
Braylon Edwards obviously really cares about Michigan Football, and I like hearing from former players who really care about Michigan Football. I don't care if they are fans of RR or not, if their statements are more or less eloquent, more or less strident, more or less extemporaneous. One thing shows - they care about this program. And I support them in that. They are allowed to be individuals, to have unpopular opinions, and I never want to see them censored.
Yes, but we still wish he'd publically support the team more.
How can someone so involved in football come off sounding so ignorant? I love me some Braylon, but his comments are just dumb.
"Everybody says he didn't have his players when he first got here..."
You disagree with that opinion, Braylon? Did you forget that Steven Threet was the starting quarterback in Michigan's spread offense in 2008? The guy is about as mobile as a mobile home. And when he didn't work out, Adam Sandler took the snaps. You know, the guy from Happy Gilmore? SHABADOO, Braylon!
"This is Michigan. We have some of the best atheletes in the country, year in and year out."
Really, Braylon? The best atheletes in the country? That's why Michigan started walk-ons last year?
Give me a break.