Check out Farmer Brown ...

  • To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.

-X-

Medium-sized Lebowski
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
35,576
Name
The Dude
KELLEN HOLTZMAN
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.hendersondispatch.com/sports/x1065840677/Leap-of-faith-Former-Northern-star-Brown-is-focused-on-family-farm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.hendersondispatch.com/sports ... amily-farm</a>

[wrapimg=right]http://d3ci6ib1jfcg74.cloudfront.net/archive/x1065838932/g2582580000000000009db13382b977dbaa6275cc5002226745d19f3c38.jpg[/wrapimg]LOUISBURG — Earlier this month, the Baltimore Ravens continued the celebration of their Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers with a customary trip to the White House before collecting their championship rings two days later.

Jason Brown could have been part of the festivities as a member of the Ravens. He could have been on the opposite sidelines on Super Bowl Sunday, on an offensive line in front of breakout 49er star Colin Kaepernick. Or he might have been a leader on a unit assigned to protect Carolina Panther lightning rod Cam Newton.

Instead, Brown elected to leave football behind. At only 30-years-old, the former Northern Vance Viking and North Carolina Tar Heel remains retired from the NFL after spending four seasons with Baltimore and three with the St. Louis Rams from 2005-2011.

The Ravens, 49ers and Panthers were each interested in signing Brown prior to the 2012 season after he was released by the Rams. But Brown walked away from the money, leaving a rather lavish lifestyle behind.

“I asked myself how much is enough,” said Brown. “No man can take a single red cent with him to the grave. And no man has ever beaten the grave. I had worked long and hard enough storing up riches on earth. It was time for me to move on the next phase of my life and start storing up riches in heaven.”

Brown traded his 11,000 square-foot home in St. Louis for a 1,000-acre farm in Louisburg, purchased last year. He had always dreamed of a large front yard with a white picket fence.

The Missouri digs were a better fit for MTV “Cribs,” boasting a 45-foot pool with a diving rock, water slide, fire pit, and a gazebo complete with a jacuzzi. The house included a 12-seat theater and workout, billiards and arcade rooms.

“It was just ridiculous,” said Brown. “It got to the point where it really wasn’t me. It really wasn’t where my heart was.”

Finding the right path

[hilite]Brown’s change of heart was triggered by Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo benching him in November of 2011 despite grading out as one of the team’s top offensive linemen.[/hilite] It snapped a streak of 84 consecutive starts in the league for Brown, who signed a reported five-year, $37.5 million deal with the Rams in 2009 that made him the highest-paid center in football.

[hilite]“I looked at him dead in his eyes and I said, ‘You’re making a huge mistake,’” Brown said of the meeting with Spagnuolo. “I tried my best to say that in a respectful manner. And he looked at me, right back dead in my eyes and said, ‘You know what, I think you’re wrong. I think this is the best move for the offensive line and for the rest of the team right now.’”[/hilite]

Brown couldn’t explain to his friends and family why he had been benched in favor of Tony Wragge, who played just one season in St. Louis before being released by the Ravens after the 2012 season. Brown didn’t know the answer himself.

“After that I had a lot of time to think about my life and my values and what’s important to me and my family,” said Brown.

[hilite]Less reps at practice meant more energy for his oldest son, JW, now 5. The 28-year-old Jason was no longer mentally and physically drained when he came home.[/hilite]

“My son is like, ‘Let’s play,’” said Brown. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go outside. Let’s do something.’”

Brown finished out the season with St. Louis and went to work preparing for the 2012 season, but North Carolina was on his brain [hilite]when he got a call from Jeff Fisher, who replaced Spagnuolo as head coach. Brown had been released.[/hilite]

“What most people would see as a failure, I saw as an opportunity,” said Brown.

Brown’s agent told him several teams were interested in the versatile lineman’s services, including San Francisco, Carolina and Baltimore.

The Ravens took Brown in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. He still had a good relationship with Ozzie Newsome, the team’s general manager.

Brown’s wife, Tay, is from the Bay area and still has family there. She wanted him to don the red and gold.

Others close to Brown badly wanted him in a Panthers uniform.

Brown’s parents drove him from the Charlotte airport to meet with Panther representatives.

“I just knew that it wasn’t for me,” said Brown, who saw the disappointment in his parents’ eyes. “I can’t play for my parents. I can’t play for my friends. I can’t play for the fans out there. As a man, you have to do what’s best not just for you and your family, but also you have to be in tune with God and his plan for your life as well.”

Seeds sewn for a new beginning

The Brown family put their St. Louis home on the market, not knowing exactly where they would go. Jason called it “stepping out on faith.” They ultimately moved in with Jason’s parents in September of 2012 before buying the Mort Harris farm in late October.

There’s more than enough space for JW and his sister, Naomi, 2, to roam and Baby Noah is six-months-old. The vast estate features numerous ponds, filled with fish, surrounded by growing fields of cucumbers, corn, wheat, and soybeans.

The farm wasn’t on the market when Brown was investigating a nearby property. But he knew that he wanted the Harris property when he saw it.

“It’s as though God saved this farm for me and my family,” said Brown. “We didn’t have to compete with anybody for the purchase.”

Jason and Tay have taken to gardening, planting everything from carrots to cantaloupes. Jason has plans for an orchard, vineyard and goats and cows to go along with his chicken coop.

“Money doesn’t grow on trees,” Jason says. “But food does.”

“I’m working harder than I ever had playing football, trying to whip this place into shape,” added Brown.

Brown has dubbed the grounds First Fruits Farm in honor of a Bible passage instructing to give back the first fruits, the best fruits one has to offer.

Brown said his current work on the farm is in preparation for sharing wisdom with youth, an extension of the Henderson-based ministry he founded in 2008, Wisdom for Life. He plans on hosting fishing derbies for area children and also hopes to form partnerships with local churches and ministers with the goal of planting gardens for youths to look after.

“Every child should know how to fish,” said Brown. “Every child should know how to sew a seed and tend to a garden, be able to produce fruits and vegetables. That’s one of the fundamentals of life.

“You don’t need a huge farm like this to plant a fruit tree or have a small garden.”

Brown said he misses the friendships and bonds he formed with players in the NFL. But it’s not likely he’ll trade his hammer and hoe for a helmet and pads.

“If I leave and go back to the league, who is going to take care of this farm?” Brown wondered.

Brown said the identities of he and Tay, a dentist, don’t lie in their occupations, but rather in faith and family.

That picket fence Brown dreamed of needs a fresh coat of white paint, but the Franklin County farm is starting to feel more and more like home to the Brown family.

“Since I was a kid, I always had that dream of something with a large front yard, white picket fence,” said Brown. “God has blessed me with those things. Haven’t painted it yet, but the white picket fence surrounding the house is going to be painted.”
 

bluecoconuts

Legend
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
13,073
I'm glad he bounced back... I'm not sure who was right in the Spags exchange, both of them seemed to have trouble doing anything right to be honest.

He's a great guy though, I'm glad he was smart enough to save up money and is happy doing what he's doing. In the end that's what's important, and he deserves to be happy.
 

jrry32

Rams On Demand Sponsor
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jan 14, 2013
Messages
29,790
Glad he moved on to a better life. Say what you want but that was one move that I didn't disagree with. IMO, Brown's heart wasn't in it at all during the 2011 season.
 

kurtfaulk

Rams On Demand Sponsor
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Sep 7, 2011
Messages
15,968
.

I read somewhere a while back that brown never wanted to come to the rams but the money was just too good to pass up. It's hard to play at your best when your heart isn't in it.

.
 

CGI_Ram

Hamburger Connoisseur
Moderator
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
48,082
Name
Burger man
That was a good story! Good for Jason... he followed his heart. That had to be really hard to do at such a young age and money of the NFL.

I agree with jrry; his heart wasn't into it and his play suffered. I think he didn't have faith in Spags, however, and that probably helped blow the candle out.
 

Thordaddy

Binding you with ancient logic
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Messages
10,462
Name
Rich
A55VA6 said:
That makes Spags look like such an asshole lol
How so, I have to believe most benchings transpire that way.
 

wv

Rookie
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
113
CGI_Ram said:
That was a good story! Good for Jason... he followed his heart. That had to be really hard to do at such a young age and money of the NFL.

I agree with jrry; his heart wasn't into it and his play suffered. I think he didn't have faith in Spags, however, and that probably helped blow the candle out.

I think this was part of it:
<a class="postlink" href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6937692/nfl-rams-center-jason-brown-grieves-brother-death-iraq-espn-magazine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/69376 ... n-magazine</a>

w
v
 

-X-

Medium-sized Lebowski
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
35,576
Name
The Dude
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10
Thordaddy said:
A55VA6 said:
That makes Spags look like such an asshole lol
How so, I have to believe most benchings transpire that way.
It's probably the tone or inflection you can read from the way Brown described it.
I think it's kinda funny because I picture it going down like this.

Brown:
"I think you're making a mistake."

Spags:
[yt2]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9AHIwmH7AY[/yt2]
 

CGI_Ram

Hamburger Connoisseur
Moderator
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
48,082
Name
Burger man
X said:
Thordaddy said:
A55VA6 said:
That makes Spags look like such an asshole lol
How so, I have to believe most benchings transpire that way.
It's probably the tone or inflection you can read from the way Brown described it.
I think it's kinda funny because I picture it going down like this.

Brown:
"I think you're making a mistake."

Spags:
[yt2]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9AHIwmH7AY[/yt2]

:lmao:

Yes! Exactly!
 

Mister Sin

Your friendly neighborhood fat guy!
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
Messages
5,369
Name
Tim
I never understood his benching. I would read message boards and people said he sucked... I just never saw it. I always liked him. I think playing next to Jason Bell didn't help.
 

CGI_Ram

Hamburger Connoisseur
Moderator
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
48,082
Name
Burger man
El Juggernauto said:
I never understood his benching. I would read message boards and people said he sucked... I just never saw it. I always liked him. I think playing next to Jason Bell didn't help.

What a mess that was! The Rams kept investing in FA along the oline and one-by-one they came here and failed.

I'd put Steve Loney right up there with some of the worst position coaches I've ever seen.
 

den-the-coach

Fifty-four Forty or Fight
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jan 16, 2013
Messages
22,425
Name
Dennis
jrry32 said:
Glad he moved on to a better life. Say what you want but that was one move that I didn't disagree with. IMO, Brown's heart wasn't in it at all during the 2011 season.

I concur here and Spagnuolo did the right thing with the exception of not having a viable replacement. Brown got too fat or calorically challenged if you will. He could hardly bend over to snap the ball and was totally ineffective at the point of attack.

Glad he's doing well, but pissed off he totally screwed the Rams because he just was not the player nor the leader they were looking for and because of the contract he signed with the Rams, it enabled him to retire early.

Sometimes your strength becomes your weakness and in Brown's case it did. He was very smart guy, but once the contract was signed realized there were other things than football and it did not help with a couple of bad seasons. But he was the first major signing of Spagnuolo & Devaney and was a failure because of heart so if I was Spags I would have told him don't let the door hit you in that big ass of yours.
 

-X-

Medium-sized Lebowski
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
35,576
Name
The Dude
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15
den-the-coach said:
jrry32 said:
Glad he moved on to a better life. Say what you want but that was one move that I didn't disagree with. IMO, Brown's heart wasn't in it at all during the 2011 season.

I concur here and Spagnuolo did the right thing with the exception of not having a viable replacement. Brown got too fat or calorically challenged if you will. He could hardly bend over to snap the ball and was totally ineffective at the point of attack.

Glad he's doing well, but pissed off he totally screwed the Rams because he just was not the player nor the leader they were looking for and because of the contract he signed with the Rams, it enabled him to retire early.
Pretty sure he was tipping plays (inadvertently of course) too. I'll have to go back and research it, but I'm 99.9% positive (so you're not sure?) that this was a big reason for his benching.
 

den-the-coach

Fifty-four Forty or Fight
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jan 16, 2013
Messages
22,425
Name
Dennis
X said:
Pretty sure he was tipping plays (inadvertently of course) too. I'll have to go back and research it, but I'm 99.9% positive (so you're not sure?) that this was a big reason for his benching.


You're correct sir, he was tipping plays because he was so out of shape in some cases. This was a guy that was going to be a huge signing for the Rams both on the field and off the field, but he could not do a push up...Push himself up from the table. And now that I think about it I wish the reporter would have called him out on how bad he was.

Never understood how he graded out high because when you watched the Rams play Brown was a liability not an asset. Guess I can blame Steve Loney, but I blame Loney for everthing that went bad from 2008-2011.
 

albefree69

Hall of Fame
Joined
Sep 22, 2012
Messages
4,512
Name
Alan
CGI_Ram not liking Loney:

I'd put Steve Loney right up there with some of the worst position coaches I've ever seen.

Don't disagree with that but how many of these good FA acquisitions did squat after they failed with the Rams?
 

CGI_Ram

Hamburger Connoisseur
Moderator
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
48,082
Name
Burger man
albefree69 said:
CGI_Ram not liking Loney:

I'd put Steve Loney right up there with some of the worst position coaches I've ever seen.

Don't disagree with that but how many of these good FA acquisitions did squat after they failed with the Rams?

Yeah, true. Loney was like a disease - they contracted it.
 

A55VA6

Legend
Joined
Mar 9, 2013
Messages
8,208
I just don't like Spags. I thought he was a terrible coach and everything else.
 

den-the-coach

Fifty-four Forty or Fight
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jan 16, 2013
Messages
22,425
Name
Dennis
A55VA6 said:
I just don't like Spags. I thought he was a terrible coach and everything else.

Spags was far better than milktoast Linehan IMO, but two Jason's were Spagnuolo's & Devaney's undoing. Jason Brown the Rams paid big money for and he ate his way out of the league and Jason Smith was so bad they had to draft Saffold the following year to cover up their mistake.