The Summer of Self Destruction for the NFL

Jun 26, 2013; North Attleborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots former tight end Aaron Hernandez (left) stands with his attorney Michael Fee as he is arraigned in Attleboro District Court. Hernandez is charged with first degree murder in the death of Odin Lloyd. Mandatory Credit: The Sun Chronicle/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

All over the NFL landscape is Aaron Hernandez, assumed serial killer formerly of the New England Patriots. And while all AFC East fans don’t like to make fun of something so serious, we do understand the tight end deficient Patriots are now in a bind. The crazy thing is, that even though this is front page news every day, it has over shadowed the many arrests this off-season.

Rolando McClain was arrested two or three times, both with the Raiders and then with the Baltimore Ravens. Andre Smith of the Bengals was arrested for bringing a handgun to an airport. You would think for a professional that relies on air travel, he should know the rules.

Chicago Bears tight end Evan Rodriguez got a DUI and resisted arrest. He was then cut. William Moore of the Falcons got battery charges. A Browns rookie free agent from New Jersey hit a man so hard, he was charged with attempted murder. Then there were the myriad of drug possessions, DUI’s, solicitations, and simple battery charges. All together to date, there have been 30+ player arrests this off-season.

Hitting close to home, the Jets have had 3 so far. Two were rookie free agents that were cut for Drug possession, the other was Mike Goodson, the first acquisition of new GM John Idzik. Goodson would have been tops on the list after being pulled over, high, with drugs, a handgun, and hollow point bullets. In any normal year, this could have been top 2. Not this year though.

Two months ago was the Titus Young melt down. Young was arrested three separate times in a span of 5 days. Resisting arrest, burglary, assaulting police officers, what is really going on? Later on, the defense for this behavior was head trauma suffered while playing on Sundays.

That finally brings us to the destroyer of evidence, and the fugitive of Foxboro. Aaron Hernandez has bodies popping up all over the place connected to him. His love of guns, and growing line of plaintiffs claiming he shot them makes you wonder if the quality of the individuals is diminishing, even if the quality of play on the field goes up. Fielding a competitive team will soon require franchise funded probation officers.