Say it isn’t so, Brando n!  The New England secondary is not strong enough to absorb something like this.  Meriweather is the only guy in the Patriots defensive backfield that I have any faith in whatsoever.  Now he’s being sued in his home state of Florida for allegedly having shot two people.

However, no charges have been filed yet.  How often is it that lawsuits are filed before there has been a verdict?  To file for suit against an NFL player before there has even been an arrest makes the case appear suspicious.  I have followed Brandon’s career very closely, and I think I have gained some insight as to what he’s like as a person.

I had always had mixed feelings regarding Brandon Meriweather.  It was no surprise to me when the Patriots used a 2007 first round draft pick to obtain the defensive back.  However, there were rumors of immaturity, both on and off the field.  Listening to him speak on WEEI on a weekly basis throughout football season has showed me that he is probably a laid back guy.  Furthermore, Coach Bill Belichick speaks so highly of Brandon that I finally stopped wondering as to his long-term status with the team. 

However, he has never grown past his immaturity.  It seems that he has just learned to control it…sometimes.  Of course, everyone remembers his helmet-to-helmet hit(s) on Todd Heap in week six of this past season.  He was fined $50,000, although he was not suspended. 

But that is not where I am displeased with Merewether.  I have grown tired of watching his selfish play.  As a D.B., it is his job to prevent the wide receivers from catching the ball.  Sometimes he seems to think that he is a receiver himself.  There is nothing worse than watching him decide to leave a receiver open in order to anticipate an interception.  I have actually seen him hesitate to leave the receiver open, and then still give in to temptation and go after the ball.  I think this hesitation is his brain saying, “If you leave this man open, there is nobody left to cover him.  He will be uncovered all the way to the end zone.”  Yet he pursues the ball anyway.

If he were the dynamic threat that New England featured when they still had Asante Samuel, I would be all for this type of play.  But when a player does this numerously throughout three and a half seasons, and has 12 career interceptions, then something is wrong!  He shows bad decision-making.  I hope that he has not been making the same decisions in life as he has in football.