Jonathan Martin

I think this is the best post in the thread. But I think I said something similar at the time. There's a whole load of stuff going on here that we will never know about, so reducing it to "man up" isn't helpful.

 

I've started alot of fights then ran.

 

I don't think most of us think it's "easy" to stand up to a bully, but to handle it as Jon did, well, it seems beyond weak. He "went along" with it for so long, acting like it was a joke and he thought it was funny. And then, one day, out of the blue, he goes AWOL, and airs the dirty laundry in public. Did he ever try to bring it to the coach's attention? Did he even talk to fellow teammates? Did he even verbally let RI know that the messages he was leaving were now offensive? Anything? Reading the tea leaves, the coaches told RI to "toughen" JM up, so they were probably equally guilty of the whole mess. Of course, none of the coaches got blamed whatsoever.

 

I don't disagree with anything you have said. And when I said, "stand up to" that doesn't necessarily mean you just go full violence. Sometimes it can simply mean, standing your ground and tell him you have had enough. It doesn't mean you have to start swinging (but, sometimes it might be your best option, so you get a jump on him if needed). Did you see the vid or RI acting a fool in the bar? He has the rep of being a huge a hole (but most teammates like him, the opposing players detest him). He will probably do fine in Buffalo. I see Rex building a winning team up there. They have some good talent.

 

Buffalo acquired Matt Cassel in a trade with the Vikings in the hopes that he will be a Veteran QB that can mentor EJ Manuel or another young QB they bring in. So it is hoped that he is a short term solution to their long term QB problems. Having weapons like Sami Watkins and Mccoy will go a long way towards taking the pressure off Cassel.

 

Martin signed with Carolina so it the discussion becomes somewhat academic at this point. He will have Oher to work with now and I don't see either one as being tough on the other. Soft spoken types that they are.

 

I agree: Rex is in same situation - good D, good rushing game, weak QB. I think EJ has shown why most teams didn't consider him 1st rounder material: He lacks the instincts and intangibles to be successful at the NFL level. Castle is a stop gap. If Rex learned anything, he will realize you need something at QB better than below average if you want to contend. Miraculously, Rex did get a Sanchez-QB'd team to two consecutive AFC championship games.