In a few of my recent posts I have to admit, I've been going a little hard on the NFL. Though in my opinion, it was well deserved. In this post, I am not going to talk about the league itself, but some of the players and former players in it. Specifically, the not so smart ones. I guess you can say these guys are not the sharpest tools in the shed. Just like the NFL has deserved some harsh criticism, I feel these guys deserve some of the same. For being such public figures, being paid such large sums of money, and having such loyal fans, you'd think these guys would attempt to show some common sense, right? Wrong. I've made a list of the top 5 in my opinion of the not so bright players in the NFL. Now just so you know that I am not ripping apart other players because they're not from my favorite team, the Giants, I've thrown in two players from New York that have definitely earned their spots on the list. Just to be clear, I am a huge fan of the NFL, but sometimes you just have to point out the obvious. Though these guys may show some on the field smarts, their stupid behavior off the field balances it out. See if you agree with any of these.
Number 5 - Jason Pierre-Paul
I had to start the list with none other than the former New York Giants player Jason Pierre Paul. He was an incredible player for the New York Giants, there's no doubt about that. I've seen him play in many games and in almost every one he has made incredible plays. Pierre-Paul was also being paid an incredibly large amount of money for his place on the team. Everything seemed to be pretty much in his favor. So what better way to take advantage of having all of that in your life than to be completely careless and blow your finger off playing with fireworks? Yes, you heard that right. The man who needed his hands for his profession decided to risk tens of millions of dollars to shoot off fireworks. Do players deserve to have their fun? Of course they do, but not with that sort of risk. Did he commit a crime? No, but he did commit an act of straight stupidity. After he blew off his index finger, he returned to the Giants with a larger than life wrapped hand. Though he could still play, in my opinion not nearly as well as he used to, the Giants decided he was not worth the embarrassment. They traded Pierre-Paul to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Number 4 - Michael Vick
Vick was originally selected by the Atlanta Falcons to play in 2001. He was one of the best quarterbacks of that time, especially for his running game. However, it was not enough for Michael Vick to just continue to do great things on the field. In 2006 he plead guilty to disgusting and shocking accusations of running a dog fighting ring. It would have been horrible enough if he was just another idiot there betting on the poor dogs who were ripping each other apart, but this moron was the ring leader. You're a great quarterback making great money and even if you weren't, why on God's green earth would you do something so awful? For whatever reason, the NFL decided after Vick was done with his suspension and paying off his fines, they'd allow him to return in 2010. However, I don't think anyone has forgotten or will forget what this man has done.
Number 3 - Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson
This former NFL player has more of a child's mindset than a grown man. He once played as number 85 for the Cincinnati Bengals. In honor of playing with that number, he thought it would be a great idea to legally change his name to Chad Ochocinco. I mean, it makes sense, right? I don't know why everyone who plays on a team doesn't do that. I guess the reality of him changing his name to two numbers in spanish caught up to him and he decided four years later to change his name back to Chad Johnson. It's almost as if a child was stuck in a grown man's body. Other than the brilliant name change, he was immature on many levels. Ochocinco purposely cursed heavily to the press to bring more attention to himself and threw big tantrums. Then when he was arrested for assault, he thought it would be funny to give his lawyer a victory spank inside of the courtroom. The judge didn't think this was too funny and instead of letting him go, he received a complimentary trip to jail for 30 days.
Number 2 - Adam Jones
Adam Jones was originally drafted in 2005 by the Tennessee Titans. Though he was a great football player, Jones decided he wanted to give himself as much trouble as he could after joining the NFL. He was suspended for the entire 2007 and part of 2008 season for his ridiculous behavior. He is also a former Bengals player like our previous list maker Ochocinco. This guy either thought he was really above the law or he really is not that bright. Let's list a couple of his accomplishments. During an arrest for weed in 2005, he thought he might as well assault the two police officers arresting him. In 2006, he was locked up for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Not long after that he was arrested again for spitting on a woman in a nightclub. However, the grand daddy of them all is when he decided at a strip club to slam a stripper's head into the stage. He wasn't done yet. Later that night, he returned with his friends and shot up the club, paralyzing one of the victims. It's beyond stupid, it's disgusting.
Number 1 - Plaxico Burress
It hurts me as a Giants fan to say this, but I've decided to give the number one spot to none other than the former Super Bowl champion, Plaxico Burress. Those who are fans of the NFL can probably understand why. Burress was a former player of the New York Giants and an incredible one at that. He was Eli Manning's go to guy and he made catching hard passes look effortless. He scored the winning touchdown in the Giants 2008 Super Bowl. What better way to celebrate being a remarkable player on a remarkable team then to shoot yourself in the leg. It almost sounds made up, but it happened. In 2008, Plaxico Burress was at a New York nightclub and thought it was a bright idea to have a loaded pistol with him and keep it in his plants. After reaching into his pants, Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh. To top if off, he did not have a license to carry his weapon in the state of New York. Adding insult to injury, he was locked up after being released from the hospital. He served a bit under two years and at the height of his career, Burress was let go by the team he had just helped win a Super Bowl. For that Mr. Burress, you deserve the number one spot.
I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading! See you soon!
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