Interesting Braylon Tidbit

Submitted by Augger on
Hey all, Nothing earth shattering here, just a little interesting UM info I thought people might appreciate. I was talking to my NFL buddy on the phone and somehow the talk went around to the playoffs and the Wolverines that were participating. We ended up talking about Braylon and he mentioned some things I had never heard before. Now don't get me wrong Braylon was awesome in college, but for some reason I always thought of him as a mid first round guy, not necessarily the 3rd pick of the draft. My buddy concurred and added the main reason Braylon went so high was that he had quite possibly the best pro day he had ever seen. While NFL Braylon has sort of looked like UM Braylon (impressive but drops some that make you want to scream)...On that day when the scouts came to check him out on campus apparently no ball touched the ground, he caught everything and was just burning up and down the field, and thats why his draft status shot up. So like I said nothing earth shattering just a little inside info I thought was pretty cool. Here's to hoping he can take it to the next level as Sanchez matures. Aug '95
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Braylon Edwards

lbpeley

January 26th, 2010 at 3:56 PM ^

Nice bit of info there. He's always been a freak of an athlete. Even with his mouth of late he's still one of my favorite UM players of all time.

Joined: 01/29/2009

MGoPoints: 19651

these wolverines

January 26th, 2010 at 4:35 PM ^

i wish B couldve stayed in cleveland, we just didnt have enough talent around him. The year he blew up its because we had so many weapons teams couldnt just key on him. Cleveland never did use him right esp in the red zone, they never threw him a fade so he could use his athletic ability.

Joined: 11/17/2009

MGoPoints: 180

ameed

January 26th, 2010 at 4:58 PM ^

From what I remember, running "Fade to Braylon" was an instant TD in the redzone that could part the skies and shine sunshine on the Big House even during a blizzard. I still call for "Fade to Braylon" years after he is off the team, as it is ingrained in my psyche from his 2+ awesome years at UM.

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 186

jb5O4

January 26th, 2010 at 5:12 PM ^

Braylon is a great player but the last few seasons he has been the most disappointing Michigan man in the NFL. He makes unbelievable catches one play then drops the easiest catches. I hope he doesnt become the next TO, great athletic talent but not in it mentally.

Joined: 08/14/2008

MGoPoints: 751

Magnus

January 26th, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^

This is another reason that NFL scouts and GMs should look at game film, not workouts. If they picked based on his film throughout his college career, they would have seen bad drops every year from the time he arrived on campus.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 165949

Augger

January 26th, 2010 at 6:07 PM ^

They watch metric buttloads of film. They spend months going from campus to campus doing nothing but watching film of games and practice and writing reports about what they saw. In this case a fantastic workout helped add to what was already a pretty good resume. I think the workout helped to allay the fears they had about his hands, though in retrospect it may have been just a one day thing... Aug

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 353

Magnus

January 26th, 2010 at 6:39 PM ^

I know they watch film. My point is that individual workouts are overrated. I'd take a guy who was an elite player every Saturday over a guy who blew everyone away in workouts but didn't stand out in games.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 165949

SysMark

January 26th, 2010 at 5:44 PM ^

Unfortunately catching passes in drills and in games are two very different things. He will always drop passes. I don't know if it is concentration or just a native skill that evades him but it will probably always be an issue. He is a phenomenally talented athlete and football player but not a great catcher of the ball. Watch the long TD pass he caught in Saturdays' game. He ran a great route, was wide open and outran the defender to the end zone, but there was that one brief second when he caught the ball, with his body not his hands only, where you sensed he was fighting it off and might have dropped it were the defender closer. Contrast it with other top receivers who seem to just snatch the ball out of the air. I'm sure it also doesn't help that a history of dropped passes has to create doubt, uncertainty and a lack of confidence which can lead to more. That happens in any sport. He will always have big play capability but will also drop passes in big situations.

Joined: 11/15/2008

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Braylon1

January 26th, 2010 at 6:13 PM ^

to me, catching the football is a combination of instinct/natural reaction and athleticism to get to the ball and bring it in. i think Braylon's drops are a problem w/ confidence. I've played WR my whole life, and anytime you THINK about catching the ball while it's in the air, there is a chance you're going to drop it. his struggles are purely mental imo. i have a good friend who interned w/ the Browns. he watched Braylon often in practice and got to party w/ him as well. side note: braylon apparently loves jungle juice. my buddy told me nothing that we already don't know im sure, but basically that Braylon is a guy that can do ANYTHING that any other WR's do in the NFL. Braylon does things in practice every day that will blow you away, 1 handed catches, out jumping the DB's, etc. applying his pro bowl ability to game day every Sunday is something that he has to get down.

Joined: 02/02/2009

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