National Football League

NFL Truths: Braylon, Vince and more

Published Sep. 23, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Jason Whitlock

Dear Jason:

Please let the Vikings know I'm available, in shape and cheap if Brett contracts a mysterious injury/illness.

Your friend,

Jeff G

Your NFL Truths for Week 3:

10. Braylon Edwards' DWI arrest seems far, far worse than most of the other crimes (sans O.J. Simpson and Rae Carruth) that entangle NFL players.

If true, if Edwards was twice the legal limit and operating a car a little more than a year after his friend Donte Stallworth ran over and killed a man after drinking with Edwards, commissioner Roger Goodell must come down very hard on Edwards.

I'm not trying to trivialize dogfighting or allegations of sexual assault, but Edwards, more than most people, should have a clear understanding of the dangers of drinking and driving. In the NFL, only Stallworth and Leonard Little should have a shorter drunk-driving leash than Edwards.

Jets coach Rex Ryan claims he's tired of the "embarrassment" caused by the behavior of his players. Ryan's discipline of Edwards is embarrassing. Edwards, a high-priced starter, is going to come off the bench against the Dolphins.

This makes no sense. By benching Edwards, Ryan is acknowledging that Edwards committed the crime of driving under the influence. Why not suspend him for a couple of games? Why don't NFL teams hand out preemptive discipline in hopes of getting leniency from Goodell? Why not hand out legit discipline because it's the right thing to do?

9. Do you think Jerry Jones has any idea he's the problem in Dallas?

The franchise hasn't been right since Jones ran off Jimmy Johnson. A well-run sports team has one voice that stands above the rest. That voice should belong to the head coach. That will never be the case with Jerry "Mark Cuban" Jones roaming the sidelines.

Jones' need for the spotlight supersedes his need to win another Super Bowl. He's won three Super Bowls and Jimmy Johnson got credit for the two he coached and the one Barry Switzer coached.

Jerry wants credit more than he wants another Lombardi Trophy.

8. A.J. Smith, general manager of the San Diego Chargers, is starting to remind me of former Kansas City Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson, and that's not a good thing.

In the 1990s, Peterson developed a solid reputation while the Chiefs won a bunch of regular-season games but few postseason contests. Peterson acquired Marcus Allen and Joe Montana and drafted Derrick Thomas, Tony Gonzalez and Dale Carter.

Eventually, Peterson's ego ruined his relationship with Neil Smith, Jared Allen, John Tait and several other key players. Peterson never won a Super Bowl. He never won a playoff game after 1993.

A.J. Smith carries himself like he's Bill Polian, the best GM in football. Smith has scrapped publicly with LaDainian Tomlinson, Donnie Edwards and now Vincent Jackson. Have the Chargers won a Super Bowl during Smith's tenure? Maybe I missed that.

I don't know who is right in the Smith-Jackson standoff. Smith probably is. I'm just tired of Smith's name being in the paper. Other GMs seem to handle their business with less publicity.

7. I'm not sure why Andy Reid made a season-long commitment to Michael Vick. Strikes me as somewhat misguided.

As I stated Wednesday, I'm in full support of Reid's courageous decision to start Vick and dump Kevin Kolb. But, in terms of public relations, I would've left the door open for Kolb to return to the starting role this season.

Let's say Vick stinks up the joint the next two weeks and Reid goes back to Kolb. The media are going to tear Reid apart for looking indecisive and wishy-washy. If I were Reid, I would've stated:

"Vick is our quarterback while we let this situation play out. If he continues to play at a high level over the next two to three weeks, I can see him as our quarterback for 2010 and beyond."

6. I'd rather have Troy Polamalu than Darrelle Revis.

I know. That's easy to say right now with the Steelers at 2-0 and Revis on the sideline with a hamstring injury.

But my point is the best safety in football is more valuable than the best corner. I really believe this. The pass interference and illegal contact rules are so restrictive in this era that a big-play safety can have more of an impact than a shutdown corner.

Polamalu, if he remains healthy, is definitely going to create more turnovers than the league's best corner. Polamalu is going to get five to eight interceptions and cause two to four fumbles. Plus, he's going to be an additional linebacker in run support.

Keep an eye on Polamalu for player of the year.

5. If the 49ers are patient, Mike Singletary is going to be an outstanding head football coach. But right now, he's not the best at the little things.

The Niners drove 82 yards in 53 seconds Monday night to tie the Saints at 22-22. San Francisco got the ball with 2:12 to play. The 49ers left New Orleans with more time to mount a game-winning drive than they used to mount a game-tying drive.

It was horrendous clock management. Drew Brees was standing on the other sideline. The best chance at victory was a late score and winning the coin flip in overtime. San Fran never even forced New Orleans to burn a timeout.

4. Ines Sainz, the cleavage-bearing reporter for Mexico's TV Azteca, criticized the Association for Women in Sports Media for filing a complaint with the NFL over Jets players noticing her ass(sets).

American women learned how to be hypocritical, preachy and arrogant from American men. We love to impose our values on other cultures. Sainz put on a "catcall" outfit and would've been mortified had the Jets not noticed.

Obviously the Jets should've conducted themselves more appropriately and made overtures to Sainz on the down low. Why not give her the same courtesy and respect given to American Sideline Barbies?

If I'm not talking about you, don't whine. I know far more highly competent and professional female sports journalists than I do Sideline Barbies. But let's not pretend there aren't a couple of Barbies (and Kens) lurking in every locker room.

3. At some point, the NFL competition committee is going to outlaw all tackling. Defenders will be asked to push offensive players out of bounds. If the ball carrier falls to the ground, it will be an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the defense.

You saw the Ravens get robbed against the Bengals? Ray-ven Lewis sacked Carson Palmer and the refs bailed the Bengals out with a tripping penalty on Ray-ven. It was a bad call, a guess by the official. The refs flagged Terrell Suggs for roughing the passer. It was a ridiculous penalty.

The terrible calls led to two Cincinnati field goals.

The refs need more help from the replay booth. Quit making the ref on the field go stand under a camera and review plays. There should be a three-man crew in the press box reviewing damn near every call and the crew should make snap decisions. The guys on the field are making snap decisions. Why can't replay review refs?

Penalties would not be subject to coaching challenges. If the three-man crew sees an obvious penalty error, it would quickly radio down to the lead ref and overrule the call.

2. The Colts may not be the best team in football, but no team is better when it has a two-possession lead than Indy.

Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are simply unstoppable when they can focus solely on getting after the quarterback.

I felt sorry for Eli Manning on Sunday night. The Colts jumped to a big lead, and Freeney and Mathis started clown-suiting New York offensive linemen. Eli had no chance. The Colts looked nothing like the team that lost to the Houston Texans.

I'm not sure we've seen anything like Freeney and Mathis. They need a nickname. Crash and Burn?

1. Jeff Fisher does not believe in Vince Young. Period.

There's all this talk about Kevin Kolb, Andy Reid and betrayal. What about Fisher and Young? Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and V.Y. gets benched. Wow.

To me, that was the controversial QB decision this week. I know Young looked terrible. And I'm far from sold on Young as a franchise quarterback. But all it took was one half against the league's best defense for Young to get a seat.

We already know Young is emotional and moody. We know his work ethic is spotty. I don't see him responding well to being benched this early in the season.

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