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Photo: Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com
Eric Mangini spoke for the entire Cleveland Browns fanbase when he sent the message loud and clear today: "We've had enough of it, Braylon Edwards!"
We've had enough of your whining about how you've never truly been welcomed by some of the best fans in the NFL because you went to Michigan.
We've grown tired of your far too frequent off-the-field incidents, including drinking with Donte' Stallworth the night he killed a man, driving your car 120 mph, and the all-too-fresh Mike Tyson punchout of LeBron's good friend.
But, most of all, Braylon, we've grown tired of you drop, drop, dropping passes that most of us could probably catch and then not stepping up like a man and taking some of the responsibility for it.
His tenure as a Brown will be marked by one spectacular Pro Bowl season where he and Derek Anderson connected for almost 1,300 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns. It will also be marked by disappointment at what could have been if he had performed as well in his other seasons with the Browns. In Edwards' other four seasons with the Browns, he never had more than 884 yards or 6 touchdowns in season, both came back in 2006. This season, he had just ten catches and no touchdowns in four games, including zero catches last week with Derek Anderson back as the starting QB. He was thrown to at least five times that game, and he had one can-of-corn drop that would have given the team a first down on the first drive.
In exchange for Braylon, the Browns received what is believed to be third and fifth round draft picks along with WR Chansi Stuckey and LB Jason Trusnik. It's not really as much about what the Browns got as what they can do now moving forward. Stuckey will enter the mix at wide receiver for the Browns, but he is best served in the slot and is probably now the Browns #3 receiver, maybe #2 considering the talent now at receiver. Ironically, Stuckey has one more catch this year than Edwards. Last season, he had 359 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns. Trusnik is considered a dynamic special teams player and should help improve an already solid unit with the likes of Blake Costanzo, Kaluka Maiava, Josh Cribbs, and Mike Adams.
What do I think about this trade? Well, I'm not in love with it, but I said to myself after the game Sunday, "God, why don't they just bench Braylon?" Well, the Mankini regime did me one better by sending him away. Let's face it: there is NO WAY that Braylon would have stayed in Cleveland after this season. In retrospect, yes, it would have made much more sense to trade Braylon on draft day or in the offseason, but I am still okay with what went down.
The fact remains that Braylon could very well turn it around and have a 1,000 yard season with the Jets. Him and Mark Sanchez (another gift from us) could become a Manning-to-Harrison type duo, and they could be together for years to come. However, that was never going to happen here in Cleveland, so I suppose this beats letting him walk at season's end for nothing.
Now, the Browns are able to see what they have in second-rounders Mohammed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie. If Sunday was any indication, Massaquoi is going to be a very capable target. We haven't seen Robiskie much (or at all), but that should change now. With Josh Cribbs better suited for primary use as a returner and not a #2 receiver (See Sunday's game for proof) and Mike Furrey in the third-down role and getting some time at safety, Massaquoi could and should ascend to #1 reciever, and Robiskie should join the mix. This is how I would rank things right now if I were calling the shots. My starters would be Massaquoi and Stuckey, my third down receiver is Furrey, and my fourth receiver is Robiskie. I would use Cribbs more in the backfield and only occasionally as a wide receiver.
In this already lost season for the Browns, there is one thought that comforts me. Braylon, if you stay where you are now, there will be plenty of distance between you and LeBron James.
Kirk
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