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Mark Madden: Raiders finding out Antonio Brown is exactly as advertised
MARK MADDEN | Monday, August 12, 2019
It took time, but Antonio Brown finally did right by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Forget about his statistics. Brown compiled those for himself, not the team.
The Steelers never won a Super Bowl with Brown. (Told you so.)
But upon departing for Oakland, Brown immediately proved the turmoil that enveloped him in Pittsburgh was every bit his fault. Brown did so by creating comparable bedlam with the Raiders that is, again, totally his doing.
It wasn’t Ben Roethlisberger causing problems in Pittsburgh, like Brown and many agenda-serving members of the national football media claimed.
Brown’s teammates in Oakland don’t yet know him well enough to sabotage him, if he’s considering similar fabrication.
Brown let the Steelers off the hook. Roethlisberger is awaiting lots of apologies.
Brown rarely has practiced this summer. He hasn’t been seen at Raiders training camp in more than a week. He’s late for meetings, inattentive during. He bullied his bosses in Pittsburgh. He’s doing the same at Oakland. You knew that the minute Brown brought his kids onto the field for practice. Brown is running roughshod.
That’s meant figuratively. Frostbitten feet prevent Brown from literally running.
For someone with a rep for working hard, Brown misses a lot of practice. Dedication isn’t juggling a brick on video, then refusing to pay your personal trainer. Dedication involves pulling the same rope as your teammates. Dedication includes jelling.
Brown long has benefited from excuses made on his behalf. The latest barrage cites the potential for CTE. Or perhaps Brown is troubled, and needs therapy.
But it’s more likely Brown is a jerk and has been since tumbling out of the womb. He dropped to the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft because of character issues.
Brown’s personality shortcomings have been exacerbated by money and notoriety. Brown doesn’t care about winning, his teammates, his “friends,” or his family. His lone concern for any situation is how it benefits him. The world exists for Brown’s gain.
Being stupid doesn’t do much to dilute Brown’s narcissism.
The acute frostbite his feet absorbed during cryotherapy could only have occurred had Brown not worn the proper protective footwear. Maybe he wore his $1,000 loafers. You need to be fashionable inside that cryotherapy chamber.
If the notion of Brown refusing to protect his body properly during cryotherapy rings dumb, consider he’s campaigning to wear an unsafe helmet.
That’s Brown’s latest crisis: He’s worn the same helmet since beginning his NFL career. Now it’s been deemed unsafe. But Brown said other helmets impede his vision.
There are dozens of approved helmet options. But Brown threatened to retire or take legal action vs. the NFL if he can’t wear his old helmet. It’s been an issue since May. On the rare occasions he practices, Brown tries to sneak his old helmet onto the field. He even applied a makeshift silver-and-black paint job once. Can’t believe that didn’t work.
Thirty-one other players have switched from their old helmets this season, including Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
Brady doesn’t like it. The NFL doesn’t care. So Brady made the change.
Brown bullied the Steelers. He’s bullying the Raiders. But he can’t bully the NFL. His appeal was denied Monday.
This is terrific for Steelers fans. You get to witness the uproar, but the Raiders have to clean up the mess.
They won’t be able to.
The Raiders aren’t a very good team to begin with. Brown is making coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock look like bigger fools with each new eccentricity. The Raiders were 4-12 last season. They needed a workmanlike camp, not an excrement storm.
But Brown has been exactly as advertised.
It will get better, not worse. Between his feet and residue from the helmet drama, it’s easy to imagine Brown not playing in Week 1, or performing poorly if he does. When Brown struggles, the finger-pointing starts. Agitation ferments. Manure rolls downhill. Brown no-shows, or dreams up an injury. He goes in the tank.
The Raiders will be sorry they ever thought of trading for Brown.
They’re probably already sorry.
MARK MADDEN | Monday, August 12, 2019
It took time, but Antonio Brown finally did right by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Forget about his statistics. Brown compiled those for himself, not the team.
The Steelers never won a Super Bowl with Brown. (Told you so.)
But upon departing for Oakland, Brown immediately proved the turmoil that enveloped him in Pittsburgh was every bit his fault. Brown did so by creating comparable bedlam with the Raiders that is, again, totally his doing.
It wasn’t Ben Roethlisberger causing problems in Pittsburgh, like Brown and many agenda-serving members of the national football media claimed.
Brown’s teammates in Oakland don’t yet know him well enough to sabotage him, if he’s considering similar fabrication.
Brown let the Steelers off the hook. Roethlisberger is awaiting lots of apologies.
Brown rarely has practiced this summer. He hasn’t been seen at Raiders training camp in more than a week. He’s late for meetings, inattentive during. He bullied his bosses in Pittsburgh. He’s doing the same at Oakland. You knew that the minute Brown brought his kids onto the field for practice. Brown is running roughshod.
That’s meant figuratively. Frostbitten feet prevent Brown from literally running.
For someone with a rep for working hard, Brown misses a lot of practice. Dedication isn’t juggling a brick on video, then refusing to pay your personal trainer. Dedication involves pulling the same rope as your teammates. Dedication includes jelling.
Brown long has benefited from excuses made on his behalf. The latest barrage cites the potential for CTE. Or perhaps Brown is troubled, and needs therapy.
But it’s more likely Brown is a jerk and has been since tumbling out of the womb. He dropped to the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft because of character issues.
Brown’s personality shortcomings have been exacerbated by money and notoriety. Brown doesn’t care about winning, his teammates, his “friends,” or his family. His lone concern for any situation is how it benefits him. The world exists for Brown’s gain.
Being stupid doesn’t do much to dilute Brown’s narcissism.
The acute frostbite his feet absorbed during cryotherapy could only have occurred had Brown not worn the proper protective footwear. Maybe he wore his $1,000 loafers. You need to be fashionable inside that cryotherapy chamber.
If the notion of Brown refusing to protect his body properly during cryotherapy rings dumb, consider he’s campaigning to wear an unsafe helmet.
That’s Brown’s latest crisis: He’s worn the same helmet since beginning his NFL career. Now it’s been deemed unsafe. But Brown said other helmets impede his vision.
There are dozens of approved helmet options. But Brown threatened to retire or take legal action vs. the NFL if he can’t wear his old helmet. It’s been an issue since May. On the rare occasions he practices, Brown tries to sneak his old helmet onto the field. He even applied a makeshift silver-and-black paint job once. Can’t believe that didn’t work.
Thirty-one other players have switched from their old helmets this season, including Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
Brady doesn’t like it. The NFL doesn’t care. So Brady made the change.
Brown bullied the Steelers. He’s bullying the Raiders. But he can’t bully the NFL. His appeal was denied Monday.
This is terrific for Steelers fans. You get to witness the uproar, but the Raiders have to clean up the mess.
They won’t be able to.
The Raiders aren’t a very good team to begin with. Brown is making coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock look like bigger fools with each new eccentricity. The Raiders were 4-12 last season. They needed a workmanlike camp, not an excrement storm.
But Brown has been exactly as advertised.
It will get better, not worse. Between his feet and residue from the helmet drama, it’s easy to imagine Brown not playing in Week 1, or performing poorly if he does. When Brown struggles, the finger-pointing starts. Agitation ferments. Manure rolls downhill. Brown no-shows, or dreams up an injury. He goes in the tank.
The Raiders will be sorry they ever thought of trading for Brown.
They’re probably already sorry.
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