FanHouse BrendonAyanbadejo

Apparently, not all NFL players are juiced-up Neanderthals. Sometimes that's easy to forget, what with all the Twitter-related arrests and Plax-on-Plax violence.

But Ravens' linebacker and special-teamer Brendon Ayanbadejo seems particularly enlightened. Last week he attended an event to celebrate the relocation of Equality Maryland, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group. Ayanbadejo is a proponent for same-sex marriage, and he has previously commented thoughtfully on the issue for Huffington Post (Via the Washington Blade):

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.

And it's not just because of Devin Hester! Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News has spent the last three decades compiling a ranking of the league's special teams, using a formula he learned from former NFL coach Frank Gansz, and, for the second straight season, the Bears finished on the top of the heap. As good as Hester is at taking kicks back to the house, there are other reasons why the Bears fared so well.

The Bears blocked eight kicks, by far the most in the league, and had the league's best kickoff coverage unit. They finished third in punt coverage and second in field goals made. So Pro Bowl special teamer Brendon Ayanbadejo, Israel Idonije (three kick blocks) and kicker Robbie Gould should all be commended for their work this season.

Enough kidding around, though. As the video makes pretty clear, it's Hester who puts the special in Chicago's special teams.

Yesterday on the FanHouse we discussed some curious offseason decisions made by the Chicago Bears. This morning the theme continues with the news that they've released fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo. The Bears signed Ayanbadejo after the Cardinals released him for violating the NFL's steroid rules. He was suspended for the first four games of the season but participated in training camp and played in exhibition games. Ayanbadejo wasn't taken totally by surprise.

"I knew that this was possible," he said. "I definitely didn't expect it to happen. I thought I'd be able to come back and maybe just contribute, then see how things went. I'm disappointed 100 percent, but I have nothing negative to say about the opportunity the Bears organization gave me."

In the interim the Bears signed fullback Lousaka Polite to back up starting fullback Jason McKie and activating Ayanbadejo would have required them to release another player. With a defense ravaged by injury, the Bears don't have a player to spare to make room for a non-starter who would only contribute to their special teams. Those units, led by Brendon Ayanbadejo, have been the sole bright spot of the first four weeks.

Was the signing a favor to his Pro Bowl brother? Since being with the Bears allowed him to serve his suspension and didn't cost a roster spot that doesn't seem all that far-fetched. Are the siblings going to continue with their online reality show with the now-anachronistic title Bears Brothers? That remains to be seen but a strange season for the Bears continues to confound.

Do you ever find yourself wondering what Brendon and Obafemi Ayanbadejo are like when they aren't on the field? Probably not but if the feeling should strike sometime in the future you now have an outlet to satisfy your curiosity. The brothers, each of whom play for the Chicago Bears, are the stars of their very own reality series, creatively named Bears Brothers, which is available on the web.

The show isn't without its merits. There's a trip to the barbershop with several other current and former Bears that illustrates the battering NFL players take for their paychecks. Wideout Rashied Davis shows off several fingers mangled by catching balls which proves Rex Grossman throws hard if not accurate passes. Former Bear Bryan Copeland shows what happens when you tear your quad. It rolls up into a grotesque ball on the upper part of your leg so if that's your sort of thing take a look.

That barbershop scene also features Obafemi discussing his release from the Cardinals, he felt they were shady in their dealings with him, but doesn't touch on why they released him. He tested positive for taking a banned substance before getting cut and the Bears signed him, probably as a favor to his Pro Bowl brother, before he got suspended for four games. That's surprising since he did an admirable job of owning up to his mistake when the suspension was handed down and its a far more interesting topic of conversation than what happened to a missing tube of Chapstick.

Otherwise it's a pretty typical reality show, which is to say not something that I'd spend a lot of time watching.