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Browns wide receiver says he isn't interested in getting traded
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Friday, Dec 19, 2008
BEREA: Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards insisted that he was not trying to orchestrate a trade when he said after a loss Monday to the Philadelphia Eagles that he felt ''unappreciated'' and that he's a ''marked man'' because he played at Michigan.
''I don't want to be traded,'' Edwards said. ''I made it clear I wanted to be part of what this team does next year. I want to make plays. I want to have fun. And I just want to enjoy it. I don't know, maybe I care too much.''
Leading the NFL in dropped passes, Edwards, the third overall pick in the 2005 draft, believes that he's bearing the brunt of fans' frustration because the city's last sports championship was delivered by the 1964 Browns.
''I can't apologize for what happened before I got here,'' Edwards said Thursday. ''I wasn't a part of The Drive. I didn't fumble at the 1. I think fans are still disgruntled about that, and they have every right to be. But that's not me.''
Making his first Pro Bowl last year when he set franchise records for receiving yards (1,289) and touchdowns (16) during a 10-6 season, Edwards has 837 yards and three touchdowns for the 4-10 Browns going into the home finale Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. He doesn't want to be compared to the team's legendary receivers like hall of famer Paul Warfield and Gary Collins, despite breaking Collins' record of 13 touchdowns in 1963.
''I just want to be Braylon Edwards,'' he said. ''I don't want to live in a Paul Warfield's shadow or a Gary Collins'. I love the game just as much as a Paul Warfield. I give everything I have, just as much as a Paul Warfield, and I'm trying to make plays when I can. Just being human, I caught a — what's the word I'm looking for? — I caught a slump. Unlike basketball, I can't just shoot my way out of it.''
One of Edwards' drops — 16 total according to Stats Inc. — was the turning point of the season. On Nov. 2 at home against the Baltimore Ravens, the score was tied 27-27 with 13 minutes to go when quarterback Derek Anderson hit Edwards in stride for what would have been a 77-yard touchdown. It slipped through Edwards' hands. The Browns blew a 14-point third-quarter lead and fell to 3-5 on the year.
Edwards said he expects to be booed Sunday because ''they've been booing me all year.'' He said he and his family have heard obscenities when they dine at Cleveland restaurants.
''I'm sure I'm not the only football player or athlete that has experienced things like that,'' Edwards said. ''I've had an incident happen, but it's in the past. I don't feel unsafe. No one has gone as far as to try bodily harm. It's just been vulgar words and expressions.''
Edwards knows fans would love him if he were playing well. So he said he must continue to do his job, ''catch passes and not drop the ball.''
But the chip on his shoulder about his Michigan past seems deeply rooted. Fifteen former Wolverines have played for the Browns, including tight end Aaron Shea, center Steve Everitt, running back Leroy Hoard and defensive back Thom Darden, and none spoke of problems.
''The state of Ohio hates Michigan,'' said Edwards, who grew up in Detroit. ''I'm not making anything up. The day I got drafted, the first thing you guys said was about my Bentley and the next comment was, 'How do you think you're going to fit in with the Browns being that you're from Michigan?' Every time I come up to people, it's 'O-H-I-O.' I'm like, 'I play for the Browns.' ''
Cris Carter, a Middletown, Ohio, native and Ohio State product who played receiver for 15 years in the NFL, has offered Edwards advice in the past. If Edwards called now, Carter said he would tell him to ''get to work on your game, try to be a complete player and don't worry about some of the peripheral things that can become a distraction.''
''If you're going to be a great player, what other people say is irrelevant,'' Carter, now an ESPN analyst, said by telephone Wednesday. ''Outside the people in your football family, why is he worried about people who don't know anything about football? That would be part of the solution.
''Some of this younger generation of receivers who are successful in generating publicity for themselves, they need to concentrate on becoming professional receivers. Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Andre Johnson are professional receivers.''
One of 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2009 class, Carter blamed Edwards' dropped passes on concentration. It is probably no coincidence that Edwards' three 100-yard games this season came on Monday Night Football.
''He's not a guy who's had problems catching the football, he's just in a slump,'' Carter said. ''You don't worry about that as much because of his talent and the fact he can catch. It is critical where he goes from here.''
Edwards has just one year remaining on his contract, but Carter said trading Edwards would not offer him a clean slate.
''You're not going to get a clean slate, you had a terrible year. There's too much video out there,'' Carter said.
As for a trade, Carter said, ''Why would you trade him? Is somebody going to give you Anquan Boldin for him? He's a young receiver in his first contract. How old is Braylon? 25? He'll come out of this.
''He's a great talent. I'd take him on my team. Just get back to being a ballplayer. Other ballplayers had bad years. He's got size, speed, that flair about him, he's just young. I wish I'd been that good at 25.''
As for Edwards' persecution complex about being from Michigan, Carter jokingly said, ''Tell him Cris Carter says people in Ohio don't like bad football players.''
Patrick McManamon's take: Braylon wants out of town
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
BEREA: Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards insisted that he was not trying to orchestrate a trade when he said after a loss Monday to the Philadelphia Eagles that he felt ''unappreciated'' and that he's a ''marked man'' because he played at Michigan.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Wilmington, NC
Posted 03:50 AM, 12/19/2008
"Tell him Cris Carter says people in Ohio don't like bad football players."
As opposed to good pitchers, which we despise. Have fun rolling in your money, C.C..
Posted 06:53 AM, 12/19/2008
What kind of incentives do the Brown's have in the player contracts. I think only 1/2 the pay should be guaranteed. Give 5% more for every win, and maybe an extra 100 thousand for every play off win...and for a Super Bowl win they just get the ring....and a new cap..
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 07:27 AM, 12/19/2008
What would you expect from a player from Michigan? The Clowns need to trade his arse and get ready for life without Crennel & Savagte. Meanwhile, did you see my STEELERS won the AFC North again, have a first round bye, and potentially homefield throughout the playoffs if they beat the Titans and Clowns in the next two weeks. GO STEELERS !!!
Posted 07:58 AM, 12/19/2008
Please trade him to D-E-T-R-O-I-T.....A-S-A-P!
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 08:14 AM, 12/19/2008
Get rid of Edwards and that other high priced cry baby, Winslow, too!
Akron, OH
Posted 08:17 AM, 12/19/2008
''I can't apologize for what happened before I got here,'' Edwards said Thursday. ''I wasn't a part of The Drive. I didn't fumble at the 1. I think fans are still disgruntled about that, and they have every right to be. But that's not me.
WTF? We're upset with you Braylon, because you have dropped so many passes! TBH, I forgot you went to Michigan until all this was brought up... like you said, catch the ball and we'll love you! BTW, it doesn't hurt to keep your mouth shut either!
Posted 08:26 AM, 12/19/2008
Braylon has a big mouth, maybe he should use it to catch passes! I don't care where you live and where you went to school. When you put that Orange helmet on wear it with pride and do your job. Face it you had a tough year and the fans and the MEDIA have been talking about it. So suck it up, work on your problems and come back next year better then ever!
This Place, 32
Posted 08:38 AM, 12/19/2008
NO! KEEP HIM.....wait, there is more.....
BENCH HIS A#$ for half the season for no good reason....then, when he is on the field, RUN PLAYS ONLY....he comes off the field....pass to Joey J...TOUCHDOWN!!! (Is that an O H I O you hear Braylon?)
Posted 08:44 AM, 12/19/2008
Braylon, I've traveled in Michigan extensively on business for years and can tell you the "Ohio hates Michigan" rant of yours is pure BS! You are taking a rivalry between two schools and blowing it out of proportion. YOU let the genie out of the bottle because you craved attention and consistently vented to the media. Unfortunately for you, you can't put it back in the bottle when things aren't going your way. Welcome to the world of adulthood.
Stow, OH
Posted 08:58 AM, 12/19/2008
Let's just hope they get a hard nosed coach and maybe another receiver to compliment him .Hopefully since he will be in his final contract year he will focus more on the task at hand ,like catching the football,instead of playing his air guitar in the end zone.
Posted 09:43 AM, 12/19/2008
Cris Carter is right. Just shut your mouth and play the game. The three guys he mentions, especially Andre Johnson, are class acts.
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:54 AM, 12/19/2008
This guys ego is so BIG! that he needs both hands to carry it!!!!!
cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 10:04 AM, 12/19/2008
well, Peter, we can certainly see you live in The Real World...
as for Braylon the Brayin' Receiver, just remind him we saw Bobby Mitchell and Paul Warfield, Slaughter and Brennan, and there is a reason they were and are appreciated; they understood they were being paid to CATCH a football, not to drop one
BRAYLON:
leave, go, stay, play: what you will learn is that respect is something you earn, unlike the way you are paid, which is for something you haven't accomplished yet...
Galt, CA
Posted 10:05 AM, 12/19/2008
''I can't apologize for what happened before I got here,'' Edwards said Thursday. ''I wasn't a part of The Drive. I didn't fumble at the 1.
Braylon, you're not fit to sniff Earnest Byner's sweaty old unwashed jock.
"He doesn't want to be compared to the team's legendary receivers like hall of famer Paul Warfield and Gary Collins, despite breaking Collins' record of 13 touchdowns in 1963."
There's no comparing this clown with those greats. The article also forgot tom mention he's now got the team record for drops in a season sewed up already (with two more games to play).
The over/under for drops by BE in the Cinci game is 5.
Just shut up and play football.
Barberton, OH
Posted 10:05 AM, 12/19/2008
I absolutely do not want a guy with an attitude problem like Braylon's on the Browns. That simple. Sure, he's talented, but his focus is OBVIOUSLY lacking, and a guy like this will not bring a team a super bowl ring. Please, whoever is in charge when the season is done, cut him. He's a cancer.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:08 AM, 12/19/2008
Ol' Black & Gold Grump, rubbin' it in the face of you Browns' fans again. LOL.
Braylon should get a real job. See how long he'd last stocking shelves at Big Lots if'n he dropped merchandise as often as he drops passes.
When will America get sick & tired of these multi-million-dollar losers as the John and Jane Does keep losing their jobs and retirements? As Ann Landers would say, "Where's the outrage?"
Akron, OH
Posted 10:46 AM, 12/19/2008
Here's an idea. Bring in Mike Ditka to straighten these players out. What these players like Edwards and Winslow lack is discipline. Crennel is their buddy, and he needs to be an authority figure.
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 11:05 AM, 12/19/2008
"Derek Anderson hit Edwards in stride for what would have been a 77-yard touchdown."
That would NOT have been a touchdown. He was tackled after he dropped the ball. He would have been tackled IF he caught the ball. It was a big play in that game, but not a season-changing play.
Blame Braylon for a lot of things ... but not ruining this season. Football is the ultimate team sport. It takes an entire team to be this bad.
Posted 11:39 AM, 12/19/2008
I love how some of you address Braylon as if he is sitting around reading this blog.
Trade him for WHO?? We all saw what he can do last year... he'll be fine.
what better receiving option do we have?
Same with Winslow... they are our two best talents.. and you just want to dump them? Do that and next year we win 2 games instead of 4.
Only ignorant Browns fans would curse at a player and his family in a restaurant. Stay Classy Cleveland!!
-Ron Burgandy
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 11:41 AM, 12/19/2008
Braylon just can't seem to keep that big yap shut, can he?
Posted 11:42 AM, 12/19/2008
Truth Patrol -
don't watch football. Plain and Simple. That is what you do if you are fed up with the salaries. dont buy tickets and dont watch the games. Maybe you can knit or sew in your free time.
barberton, oh
Posted 12:26 PM, 12/19/2008
Now wait a minute...he is the best player the Steelers have. Don't trade him or Savage or Romeo. PLease!
Posted 12:45 PM, 12/19/2008
I am sick of hearing about how these players love to play for Romeo. B.S. I don't know how many season ticket holders I represent but I will not be re-upping mine next year if the FAT MAN is still on the side line. I'd like to hear how many of us agree on that.
Posted 12:51 PM, 12/19/2008
failin braylon needs to go, he can't catch, run or throw. He leads the league in dropped passes, which have cost the clowns games; and he's mystified that the fans don't love him. What an idiot, it must not take much to attend school in Ann Arbor.
Posted 01:00 PM, 12/19/2008
at least tim couch had a concussion when he was crying, I don't what reason edwards has.
Posted 01:04 PM, 12/19/2008
OMG
Why don't you go hang on the Steelers N-U-T-S somehwere else. You're a classless moron who just likes to talk trash. I bet you run and hide when the Steelers don't play well. Just another bandwagon fan.
barberton, oh
Posted 01:39 PM, 12/19/2008
Steve, you sound like the Clown my friend is married to. If you really like football, find a better team to back. One that will change you outlook on life. It's not so bad....life just doesn't suck the way the Browns do.
"Scott Brown Signed His Fold Out Picture For Me", ..
Posted 05:22 PM, 12/19/2008
''I just want to be Braylon Edwards,'' he said. ''I don't want to live in a Paul Warfield's shadow or a Gary Collins'. I love the game just as much as a Paul Warfield. I give everything I have, just as much as a Paul Warfield, and I'm trying to make plays when I can. Just being human, I caught a — what's the word I'm looking for? — I caught a slump. Unlike basketball, I can't just shoot my way out of it.''
NO, BUT YOU CAN CATCH YOUR WAY OUT OF IT....AND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT, CATCH THE 5:15 OUT OF TOWN...I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE CUT AND WE GET NOTHING FOR YOU...BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, NOTHING = NOTHING...I KNOW YOU'RE GOING FOR 20 DROPS....
Posted 05:43 PM, 12/19/2008
Braylon reminds me of the great boxer Roberto Duran, "hands of stone".
A, O
Posted 06:33 PM, 12/19/2008
All I want for Christmas is a humiliating loss for Steelers in the playoffs!!!
Akron, OH
Posted 07:07 AM, 12/20/2008
He's right about one thing--the vulgarity and verbal abuse in public should stop--have some class.
Braylon would make a good politician--he's throwing in red herrings all over the place (the Drive, the Fumble) to distract the issue from his poor playing. I guess we should be impressed he knows so much about the history of the Browns, but he really needs to focus on THE PRESENT!
Posted 12:02 PM, 12/20/2008
Braylon,
Maybe you should act like Jerry Rice and practice catching bricks. Or TAKE YOUR STUPID GLOVES OFF. Rub some vasoline on your hands and practice catching the football then. If you can master that, you won't ever drop another pass. But most of all, stop complaining about the fans and whatever else is bothering you. It comes with the territory. The only way to fight all the criticism is by playing well. If you play well, it will go away completely.
