Antonio Brown needs help. We know how good he is at football. We found out that Rodgers believes he is the smartest person in the room. He is also very good.
One of the league's biggest issues is convenient amnesia, and the two men that play the two most glamorous positions in football had two completely different days on Sunday.
I hope the history of Brown's decision to undress and storm off the field during the third quarter of the Bucs' game with the Jets is not forgotten.
The Raiders wanted to get Brown when he showed us who he was. When his time with the Raiders ended in drama, Bill Belichick got on the phone and made it happen in New England. We thought it was over when Tom Brady and Bruce Arians came up with excuses for him.
We don't know if mental health issues are solely responsible for why Brown has done so many things over the years. It is not my place to tell him what is going on with his mind and actions.
But...
The franchises kept taking a gamble on Brown because of his talent and ability to help teams win football games.
I agree with the idea that you can't apply the same rules to everyone and that you can make exceptions for exceptional people. There is a certain responsibility with that. Teams have used Brown for his physical talents all the while knowing they would be done with him as soon as he became a distraction.
This week will see another discussion about Rodgers' candidacy for the league's most valuable player after he went 29-for-38 for 288 yards and two touchdown in the Packers' 37-10 win over the Vikings.
After a 2020 season that was almost wrecked by the Pandemic and an off-season in which Rodgers played chicken with the Packers, the unvaccinated quarterback lied about being vaccined and missed Green Bay's Week 9 game.
I am not here to debate Rodgers' resume, as his play has been worthy of him being named its most valuable player. I'm here to ask if anyone wants to say something out loud.
The best players in the league are allowed to get away with anything.
Money is the answer.
If Brown can run a route better than almost every other receiver in the league, and Rodgers can keep playing better than almost every quarterback on Sundays, the NFL is perfectly fine with putting up with them.
The league made a decision. It is time for fans to make their own decisions. Some kid is going to ask their parents, teacher, or coach why men like Antonio Brown and Rodgers were allowed to get away with things like this. Nothing was done about it in the past, so that parent, teacher, or coach won't have an answer that makes sense in the future.
