Edwards arrest puts Jets in a tough spot

[Maxman]

Edwards arrest puts Jets in a tough spot

by Tyson Rauch on September 21, 2010

in Jet News,Tyson Rauch,Writers

Early Tuesday morning (5:15 am) New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated. Edwards, who was reportedly driving with 3 other passengers in the car including D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Vernon Gholston, blew a .16, which is double the state limit.

This arrest has sent shock waves throughout the entire Jets organization and has put the team in a precarious situation. There are several stipulations in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that forbid both the NFL and the New York Jets from punishing Braylon until he is actually convicted (Edwards is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 9). So as much as the Jets want to address the situation, their hands are somewhat tied. So what exactly can Gang Green do? As of now Braylon will reportedly not start on Sunday night against the Dolphins, but will play in the game. Not exactly the punishment all the talking heads are looking for. But as of now the Jets are walking a fine line and are truly in a tough spot.

Here are some of my thoughts and comments on the situation:

1) Timing is an issue- 5:15 am Are you kidding me? I can almost guarantee that there are some coaches and players waking up at this time to get ready to watch film and prepare to workout. Even though Tuesday is somewhat of an off day, I have a hard time believing players lay in bed all day sleeping.

2) 3 players no phones? The Jets have a “Player Protect” program in place to help in situations where a player is unable to drive. You mean to tell me none of these guys thought to call? Talk about irresponsible and ignorant.

3) How is this Rex’s fault? Many in the media are pinning this on head coach Rex Ryan and his lack of discipline. Is Ryan supposed to go out with all of his players and hold their hands? This is completely on the player and has nothing to do with Rex and his policies.

4) Why punish D’Brick and Vernon? If D’Brickashaw and Vernon are guilty of anything it is making a bad decision to drive with a person that has been drinking. Furthermore they should have not let Braylon drive in the first place. But punish them? These guys did not break any laws, keep the focus on the main culprit.

5) Will hurt the Jets against Miami- This is a distraction the Jets did not need and it will hurt them on the field against the Dolphins. Other than Edwards the Jets have only 3 other receivers (Cotchery, Smith, Clowney) on the roster, with Jerricho Cotchery the only proven one. The Dolphins will be able to game plan to stop Jerricho and tight end Dustin Keller leaving Mark Sanchez scrambling for answers in the passing game.

6) Look to move Edwards? It is no secret that Braylon has ruffled some feathers since being a Jet and this is just the icing on the cake. Edwards is in a contract year and there is no way he will be a Jet in 2011. So with that being said the Jets should consider trading Edwards once Santonio Holmes returns from his suspension. Granted the Jets will not get much in return but at this point he could be addition by subtraction.

7) Anti-Jet bias shines through- I find it comical how the New York Jets organization is getting bashed for a selfish, stupid mistake made by a player on his own personal time. Why don’t you just admit that you do not like the New York Jets and their bravado before you make yourself look ignorant with your comments. Just because Rex Ryan is not Bill Parcells, it should not make it open season on his team. Last I checked even legendary coaches had some players that had off the field issues.

The bottom line is that this is an unfortunate situation and thankfully no one was hurt. This will be a temporary distraction for the Jets, who will hopefully have their act together against the Miami Dolphins Sunday night.

[HessStation]

Very well written. Great points across the board.

[Blackout]

Vernon Gholston clearly masterminded the whole thing

[THE ILK]

Poor J-Co, he was doing a good thing, and this sh*t had to happen.

[Blackout]

Poor J-Co, he was doing a good thing, and this sh*t had to happen.

i agree

cotch = the man

[Midget Love 20]

Edwards arrest puts Jets in a tough spot

by Tyson Rauch on September 21, 2010

in Jet News,Tyson Rauch,Writers

Early Tuesday morning (5:15 am) New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated. Edwards, who was reportedly driving with 3 other passengers in the car including D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Vernon Gholston, blew a .16, which is double the state limit.

This arrest has sent shock waves throughout the entire Jets organization and has put the team in a precarious situation. There are several stipulations in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that forbid both the NFL and the New York Jets from punishing Braylon until he is actually convicted (Edwards is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 9). So as much as the Jets want to address the situation, their hands are somewhat tied. So what exactly can Gang Green do? As of now Braylon will reportedly not start on Sunday night against the Dolphins, but will play in the game. Not exactly the punishment all the talking heads are looking for. But as of now the Jets are walking a fine line and are truly in a tough spot.

Here are some of my thoughts and comments on the situation:

1) Timing is an issue- 5:15 am Are you kidding me? I can almost guarantee that there are some coaches and players waking up at this time to get ready to watch film and prepare to workout. Even though Tuesday is somewhat of an off day, I have a hard time believing players lay in bed all day sleeping.

2) 3 players no phones? The Jets have a “Player Protect” program in place to help in situations where a player is unable to drive. You mean to tell me none of these guys thought to call? Talk about irresponsible and ignorant.

3) How is this Rex’s fault? Many in the media are pinning this on head coach Rex Ryan and his lack of discipline. Is Ryan supposed to go out with all of his players and hold their hands? This is completely on the player and has nothing to do with Rex and his policies.

4) Why punish D’Brick and Vernon? If D’Brickashaw and Vernon are guilty of anything it is making a bad decision to drive with a person that has been drinking. Furthermore they should have not let Braylon drive in the first place. But punish them? These guys did not break any laws, keep the focus on the main culprit.

5) Will hurt the Jets against Miami- This is a distraction the Jets did not need and it will hurt them on the field against the Dolphins. Other than Edwards the Jets have only 3 other receivers (Cotchery, Smith, Clowney) on the roster, with Jerricho Cotchery the only proven one. The Dolphins will be able to game plan to stop Jerricho and tight end Dustin Keller leaving Mark Sanchez scrambling for answers in the passing game.

6) Look to move Edwards? It is no secret that Braylon has ruffled some feathers since being a Jet and this is just the icing on the cake. Edwards is in a contract year and there is no way he will be a Jet in 2011. So with that being said the Jets should consider trading Edwards once Santonio Holmes returns from his suspension. Granted the Jets will not get much in return but at this point he could be addition by subtraction.

7) Anti-Jet bias shines through- I find it comical how the New York Jets organization is getting bashed for a selfish, stupid mistake made by a player on his own personal time. Why don’t you just admit that you do not like the New York Jets and their bravado before you make yourself look ignorant with your comments. Just because Rex Ryan is not Bill Parcells, it should not make it open season on his team. Last I checked even legendary coaches had some players that had off the field issues.

The bottom line is that this is an unfortunate situation and thankfully no one was hurt. This will be a temporary distraction for the Jets, who will hopefully have their act together against the Miami Dolphins Sunday night.

POTW all around...this shows that Braylon Edwards has not grown up since his Cleveland days. I said it after the Ravens game (and in light of Randy Moss' week 1 post game comments) that Randy Moss has a better chance of being a Jet if there's football in 2011 than Edwards. In reality the more waves Moss is making about not wanting to be in NE its making the Jets a very suitable landing spot to make one last run and stick it to the Pats.

Edwards though is worth keeping for the year because he has NO value on the market. I mean, none. If Santonio Holmes, a pro-bowl caliber WR was only worth a 5th rd in the off-season, Edwards will be lucky to be worth a 7th in mid-season. Keep him for depth because this is a win now team, and as of right now he's our starter. The leash is beyond shot, its 1 more **** up and he's gonna be suspended --- cut worthy absolutely.

[visajets]

It was a set up the police officer was Bill Belechek or Tony Sparanao I wanna see the police report.

[AFJF]

I'm beyond the point of believing that a DUI causes any distraction to a team at all. IMO, you have to care about something to allow it to distract you. If the players cared about this type of thing they wouldn't do it in the first place. When they did do it, they would man up and say that the player should be held accountable. All we get is a bunch of guys saying "we have his back".

Wake up. They don't care. Not even a little bit. It's a joke to them and their handlers will tell them what to say when asked about it. The very second the mics and cameras are off, it's not even something they think about.

This will not be a distraction to this team at all. If they lose it will be because their players were out all night celebratin their week 2 victory and not preparing for wk 3.

[BP]

I'm beyond the point of believing that a DUI causes any distraction to a team at all. IMO, you have to care about something to allow it to distract you. If the players cared about this type of thing they wouldn't do it in the first place. When they did do it, they would man up and say that the player should be held accountable. All we get is a bunch of guys saying "we have his back".

Wake up. They don't care. Not even a little bit. It's a joke to them and their handlers will tell them what to say when asked about it. The very second the mics and cameras are off, it's not even something they think about.

This will not be a distraction to this team at all. If they lose it will be because their players were out all night celebratin their week 2 victory and not preparing for wk 3.

LOL! Very profound post

[Jbro22]

Anyone that says this is a distraction is building in excuses.

Players had to respond to questions with PR fed answers for 2 minutes today, Big deal.

[Maxman]

Anyone that says this is a distraction is building in excuses.

Players had to respond to questions with PR fed answers for 2 minutes today, Big deal.

How many Jets are married and got yelled at today for something a teammate did? That sounds like a distraction to me, lol.

[Jbro22]

How many Jets are married and got yelled at today for something a teammate did? That sounds like a distraction to me, lol.

Marriage is a self imposed distraction and said married players are use to it by now.

[Maxman]

Marriage is a self imposed distraction and said married players are use to it by now.

Charity Washington is on line 2.

[Jbro22]

Charity Washington is on line 2.

That chick hates me.

[slats]

6) Look to move Edwards? It is no secret that Braylon has ruffled some feathers since being a Jet and this is just the icing on the cake. Edwards is in a contract year and there is no way he will be a Jet in 2011. So with that being said the Jets should consider trading Edwards once Santonio Holmes returns from his suspension. Granted the Jets will not get much in return but at this point he could be addition by subtraction.

They should not -and will not- consider trading Edwards. He's an asset. He'll be on the best behavior he can possibly put together for the rest of the season. Holmes comes back in week #5, but will probably need a week or two to shake off the rust. And as we've seen with Revis, the hamstring-type injury is always a possibility after a layoff.

Braylon helps the team this year, and probably nets them more in a comp pick in 2012 than they'd be likely to get for him for the balance of this season's $6M contract.

[s dubb]

Guys in all actuality the only people that make this into a big deal is the media. Period, point blank. They almost violently plaster players incidents EVERYWHERE, they bash, ridicule and degrade them in the media. I am by no means siding with B.E. I'm merely saying the media makes it worse. Now everybody and their mama has to answer to the f*ckin media? child please!

In 2 weeks this will be an after thought. B.E was drinking at his "charitable banquet" with his teammates, don't know what he was doing at 5 in the morning however but the court system will deal with him like they deal with anyone else going through this. Demerit points will be revoked, a license suspension and a hefty fine with the notion that if that happens again he could have his entire license suspended/revoked for an extended amount of time or for good.

This is not a big deal IMO. It's a big distraction because of the damn media. Once this story dies then B.E can work on saving face.

6) Look to move Edwards? It is no secret that Braylon has ruffled some feathers since being a Jet and this is just the icing on the cake. Edwards is in a contract year and there is no way he will be a Jet in 2011. So with that being said the Jets should consider trading Edwards once Santonio Holmes returns from his suspension. Granted the Jets will not get much in return but at this point he could be addition by subtraction.

Absolutely f*ckin not. This is his first offense with the Jets. Regardless of what he did in Cle. I agree with the notion he likely won't be resigned, I doubt he won't as he just flushed that option down the toilet. As far as trading him now or when Holmes returns is just painfully idiotic to even mention. He'll be dealt with accordingly. Rex wants to beat Miami so he won't start, however he'll play A LOT this week regardless if he starts or not.

He'll be here and more then likely be let free to go in the offseason and I'm not even so sure as to say they won't resign him.

Oh and did the Jets suspend Ellis with the pot incident?, oh that's right you all forgot. Same thing will happen with B.E.

[war ensemble]

Edwards arrest puts Jets in a tough spot

by Tyson Rauch on September 21, 2010

6) Look to move Edwards? It is no secret that Braylon has ruffled some feathers since being a Jet and this is just the icing on the cake. Edwards is in a contract year and there is no way he will be a Jet in 2011. So with that being said the Jets should consider trading Edwards once Santonio Holmes returns from his suspension. Granted the Jets will not get much in return but at this point he could be addition by subtraction.

Um, what? You admit we won't get much--while he's an RFA (or so I believe)--and he's addition by subtraction? Did you watch the game two days ago? Not only is he clearly NOT addition by subtraction because he's a very good football player, we gain WAY more for him over the offseason by way of compensation picks than we do now. It makes absolutely no sense to trade him now.

And you overhype the distraction issue. They deal with PR people for 10 minutes or so, big deal. It's not going to fundamentally alter the way they prepare for this game.

[bitonti]

They should not -and will not- consider trading Edwards. He's an asset.

gotta wonder if they could get chanci stuckey and jason trusnik for him

[AFJF]

Anyone that says this is a distraction is building in excuses.

Players had to respond to questions with PR fed answers for 2 minutes today, Big deal.

+1

[JiF]

5) Will hurt the Jets against Miami- This is a distraction the Jets did not need and it will hurt them on the field against the Dolphins. Other than Edwards the Jets have only 3 other receivers (Cotchery, Smith, Clowney) on the roster, with Jerricho Cotchery the only proven one. The Dolphins will be able to game plan to stop Jerricho and tight end Dustin Keller leaving Mark Sanchez scrambling for answers in the passing game.

6) Look to move Edwards? It is no secret that Braylon has ruffled some feathers since being a Jet and this is just the icing on the cake. Edwards is in a contract year and there is no way he will be a Jet in 2011. So with that being said the Jets should consider trading Edwards once Santonio Holmes returns from his suspension. Granted the Jets will not get much in return but at this point he could be addition by subtraction.

Good read.

Here's some spots I disagree with...

5) I dont see how this hurts them on the field. Plenty of distractions happen throughout the year on every team and you have to work through it. Hell, the Broncos are dealing the with the death of a young man. 90% of the lockerroom could probably give a sh*t BE spent a couple of hours in jail, they just want to "******* ball" as the model put it. Secondly, he's going to play so there is no game planning for the Jets without BE.

6) You dont trade him. That doesnt help you this year and if Sanchez just showed what he could be for the rest of the season, you want BE on this offense. He creates a dynamic that no other receiver on the roster can create. Keep the guy around, see if this helps you get him on the cheap, if not let him ride and find a true #1 in the draft.

[aec4]

Vernon Gholston clearly masterminded the whole thing

Yep, Gholston recorded his first sack.... he sacked edwards.

[faba]

You know the worst thing about this is the NFL provides 24 hour car service to any player- the Jets should have made him sit out Miami game -

[The Crusher]

You know the worst thing about this is the NFL provides 24 hour car service to any player- the Jets should have made him sit out Miami game -

Why? How does this do anything but punish the team and the fans. Do you think it's going to make him never do it again? Is it just to save face to show the media and the rest of the league they are in control?

I still think the punishment should be centered on helping and punishing Braylon only. Wait until Santoniao gets back and put then do something.

[Klecko73isGod]

You know the worst thing about this is the NFL provides 24 hour car service to any player- the Jets should have made him sit out Miami game -

You don't cut off your nose to spite your face and you don't screw over the other 52 players on the team who did nothing wrong or your fans by taking a player of Edward's talent off the field and certainly not for a game of this importance.

You want Edwards suspended? Fine, do what college teams do and suspend him for an easily winnable game - Cleveland. We won't need Edwards for the Cleveland game as Santonio will be back by then and if there is one game Edwards had circled on his calender this year it was that one.

As an aside, according to Chris Mortensen on Sportscenter last night, Edwards will not be facing a suspension from the league for this at all. You can not draw a line from previous violations of the NFL's nebulous and ever evolving conduct policy to this as since there was no injury to a second party or destruction of property this by CBA definition falls under the guise of the substance abuse policy. This would be Edwards' first offense of the substance abuse policy so the most punishment the NFL could hit Edwards with is a fine of up to half of one game check up to $50,000.

[faba]

I think if you have ever known someone injured or killed in a car accident from drunken driver you may feel different.

[CTM]

The media is just dying for this team to fail, it's a bigger story now that we have national spotlight. I can imagine them having already mentally written thier finger waging life lesson about arrogance and class in sports.

[Klecko73isGod]

I think if you have ever known someone injured or killed in a car accident from drunken driver you may feel different.

I do. And I also have stupidly gotten behind the wheel of a car after having a few too many.

What Edwards did was stupid. He will be punished. He will punished by the legal system as any other citizen would be punished. He will also be fined a large chunk of money by the NFL. It is not his employers' job to punish him.

[Bugg]

I'm beyond the point of believing that a DUI causes any distraction to a team at all. IMO, you have to care about something to allow it to distract you. If the players cared about this type of thing they wouldn't do it in the first place. When they did do it, they would man up and say that the player should be held accountable. All we get is a bunch of guys saying "we have his back".

Wake up. They don't care. Not even a little bit. It's a joke to them and their handlers will tell them what to say when asked about it. The very second the mics and cameras are off, it's not even something they think about.

This will not be a distraction to this team at all. If they lose it will be because their players were out all night celebratin their week 2 victory and not preparing for wk 3.

This.

As a fan, it's embarrassing.Edwards is a giant child.And not surprisingly many NFL players are(though in fairness not all). Edwards' primary concerns are that he will someday soon after the case is resolved forfeit some game checks and his free agency will be that much less lucrative.

But practically if Edwards is on time for practice and plays until after the NFL takes action, that's it.

If you want to get your panties in a bunch, you're angst is wasted on this.

[The Crusher]

I think if you have ever known someone injured or killed in a car accident from drunken driver you may feel different.

To be perfectly honest Faba I do. Me. 6 years ago a drunk driver ran a red light turned onto Highway 29 in Gainesville Va and I hit him at 64 miles an hour. Killed him and spent 18 months trying to walk again. Both my knees sheered and my feet faced backwards when I was cut out of my truck. The day before that I was a top 10 ranked East Coast strongman and instantly was learning to walk again requiring people to help me go from my car to the office. Been playing catch up and haven;t competed since. I also lost a close friend in college to a drunk driver.

Im not lessoning drunk driving. I simply stating that keeping him from playing will do nothing to keeping him from driving drunk. Treatment, restricting his driving/freedom, or forcing him into a program to deal with his obvious issues with drinking is what would work. Keeping him from playing does nothing more than allow Woody and the NFL to say, "Look we did something."

[Green DNA]

Edwards arrest puts Jets in a tough spot

by Tyson Rauch on September 21, 2010

in Jet News,Tyson Rauch,Writers

7) Anti-Jet bias shines through- I find it comical how the New York Jets organization is getting bashed for a selfish, stupid mistake made by a player on his own personal time. Why don’t you just admit that you do not like the New York Jets and their bravado before you make yourself look ignorant with your comments. Just because Rex Ryan is not Bill Parcells, it should not make it open season on his team. Last I checked even legendary coaches had some players that had off the field issues.

I never heard Parcells get bashed for the Lawrence Taylor shenanigans that went on through his whole career while Parcells looked the other way.

I never heard anyone bash Billick or Newsome when Ray Lewis was at the scene of a murder and said nothing

I never heard Sparano or Parcells get bashed for the Ronnie Brown DUI

I haven't heard Coughlin get bashed for Jacobs throwing his helmet in the stands or for Rolle going off about the organization

and on and on...

The media, especially some fat douchebag here in NY would love to see Rex fail, which will make it all that much sweeter when he is successful.

As far as suspension, forget about the holier than thou preachers, we have a game to win this week and I want him on the field. No doubt Edwards is a irresponsible idiot, but all I care about is winning. If the league has not mandated any punishment, why should the Jets?

[BP]

You know the worst thing about this is the NFL provides 24 hour car service to any player- the Jets should have made him sit out Miami game -

I agree. by not doing that the Jets are showing you can do whatever you want with no repercussions. lack of discipline. and Woody of all people doesnt want him to miss a game. it could effect psl sales for the amazing new stadium he has built

[NIGHT STALKER]

I never heard Parcells get bashed for the Lawrence Taylor shenanigans that went on through his whole career while Parcells looked the other way.

I never heard anyone bash Billick or Newsome when Ray Lewis was at the scene of a murder and said nothing

I never heard Sparano or Parcells get bashed for the Ronnie Brown DUI

I haven't heard Coughlin get bashed for Jacobs throwing his helmet in the stands or for Rolle going off about the organization

and on and on...

The media, especially some fat douchebag here in NY would love to see Rex fail, which will make it all that much sweeter when he is successful.

As far as suspension, forget about the holier than thou preachers, we have a game to win this week and I want him on the field. No doubt Edwards is a irresponsible idiot, but all I care about is winning. If the league has not mandated any punishment, why should the Jets?

Exactly...I tried to convey this yesterday in a couple of threads. He's an idiot I think we all can agree on that. We, as fans can cheer or boo our players...that's our right. I boo his decision to drink and drive, but I will cheer him when he's a positive influence on the field.

[slats]

I agree. by not doing that the Jets are showing you can do whatever you want with no repercussions. lack of discipline. and Woody of all people doesnt want him to miss a game. it could effect psl sales for the amazing new stadium he has built

The Jets arranged for the league not to impose any penalties on Edwards?

Wow, that's awesome!

[Biggs]

You know the worst thing about this is the NFL provides 24 hour car service to any player- the Jets should have made him sit out Miami game -

I would like to see him get his day in court or plead guilty before doing anything. This is a criminal offense and the Jets and the League should do nothing until he either pleads guilty or is found guilty.

[winB4eyeDIE]

This is just another situation that Rex can reference when he's holding the Lombardi, that didn't get in our way of reaching our goal.