Browns' Edwards: 'I want to be here in Cleveland'

[plumcrazy73]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8962142...in-Cleveland%27

 

Browns' Edwards: 'I want to be here in Cleveland'

 

BEREA, Ohio (AP) - Braylon Edwards isn't sure he can catch a break, either.

 

The style-conscious wide receiver, whose drops have defined Cleveland's calamitous season, hopes to repair his rocky relationship with frustrated Browns fans and said he has no intention of asking for a trade despite his unhappiness or the team's expected upcoming offseason overhaul.

 

"I don't want to be traded," Edwards said Thursday. "I want to be here in Cleveland. 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."

 

Edwards' passion has never been questioned. But some Browns fans have grown tired of his inconsistent play and showboating ways.

 

He leads the NFL with 16 drops, and this season the former first-round draft pick has become a target for fan abuse - he says because he went to Michigan and most Clevelanders root for Ohio State.

 

Edwards also feels fans begrudge him because of the team's infamous championship failures. Denver's John Elway broke Cleveland's heart with a 98-yard drive in the 1986 AFC title game, and one year later, Browns running back Earnest Byner fumbled at the goal line as the Browns lost to the Broncos again.

 

The way Edwards sees it, the present-day Browns are haunted by their past.

 

"I can't apologize for what happened before I got here," he said. "I wasn't a part of The Drive. I didn't fumble at the 1. That wasn't me. I think fans are still disgruntled about that and they have every right to be, because they're fans, but that's not me. I'm Braylon Edwards and I just want to be Braylon Edwards."

 

The Browns (4-10) are winding down one of the most disappointing seasons in memory, a severe slide that has been aided by Edwards crucial drops, including what would have been a long TD in a home loss to Baltimore that led directly to quarterback Derek Anderson being benched for Brady Quinn.

 

Edwards has had some positive moments, but his three best games have all come in Cleveland's appearances on Monday Night Football.

 

Coincidence?

 

"Uhhh, yeah," he said after a pause. "I don't know."

 

Following Monday's loss in Philadelphia, Edwards said he felt unappreciated by Cleveland fans and that "since Day One I've been a marked man coming from Michigan. Even when things are good, there's heckles."

 

Edwards' postgame comments came across to some as him setting the stage to demand a trade this winter. He swears that's not the case at all.

 

"Why would I?" he snapped. "I wouldn't ask to be traded."

 

Edwards revealed Thursday that he and his parents have been harassed in public at restaurants. He doesn't feel unsafe in Cleveland and has not been threatened with physical violence.

 

As for the anti-Michigan sentiments, Edwards believes it unfairly separates him from his teammates and makes it tougher on him. He's not the first former Wolverine to play in Cleveland as Thom Darden, Steve Everitt, Leroy Hoard - all Michigan men - had successful careers with the Browns.

 

"I'm not making anything up," said Edwards, who is signed through next season. "I'm not reading into anything. I'm telling the truth. The day I got drafted, the first thing you guys said was about my Bentley and the next comment you made was, 'How do think you're going to fit in with the Browns being that it's O-State country and 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."'

 

To his credit, Edwards, who missed three weeks in the preseason after cutting his foot while running after practice in his socks, has not used his college choice as an excuse for his statistical slippage. He enters Sunday's game with 50 receptions for 837 yards and three TDs. Last season, he had 80 catches for 1,289 yards and 16 TDs.

 

"I never used me being from Michigan as a copout," he said. "All season I've owned up to my play. I said I'm not playing well, I'm dropping passes I need to be catching. I never blamed it on the quarterback. I never blamed the offensive coordinator. I never blamed it on anything but me not concentrating and focusing."

 

No Cleveland team has won a major championship since 1964, a drought that has inevitably led to fans being more cynical and critical of pro athletes, especially one as flashy as Edwards.

 

He knows football fans here expect more, and he's trying to please them.

 

"There's been a lot of bad things that have happened here," he said. "We can't ever get over that hump in any sport. I understand their frustration, I really do."

 

With the Browns facing an uncertain offseason - both coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage could be fired - Edwards was asked if he finds the future unsettling.

 

"I've gotten used to it," he said. "I've played for what, three or four offensive coordinators? I've played for six, seven quarterbacks. I've experienced a lot of change and adversity since I've been here. All I can do in the offseason is make sure Braylon Edwards is 100 percent fit, come here in shape and be ready to catch passes and help this team out. That's all I can really do. I can't worry about who is going to be here."

[Riffer X]

I heard his whiney ass interview on WTAM tonight.

 

Two of the most popular players the last 20 years here were Steve Everitt and Leroy Hoard.

 

Matter of fact, Derrick Alexander the WR was popular as hell. Then he went Michigan wideout and started dropping everything and acting the tool.

[Flugel]

I heard his whiney ass interview on WTAM tonight.

 

Two of the most popular players the last 20 years here were Steve Everitt and Leroy Hoard.

 

Matter of fact, Derrick Alexander the WR was popular as hell. Then he went Michigan wideout and started dropping everything and acting the tool.

 

 

LOL! LOVED Leroy Hoard and Thom Darden. Everitt was fun to watch too. Alexander got off on the wrong foot and never really got consistent for us.

 

I'm hoping this is just a matter of Braylon starting over fresh in 2009. We all got frustrated with him a little this year because most of it was mental. You don't score 16 TDs in 1 season if you suck though. He'll be okay. I'm more worried about the OTHER WR spot to be honest. That was like a dead starter all season.

- Tom F.

[Riffer X]

LOL! LOVED Leroy Hoard and Thom Darden. Everitt was fun to watch too. Alexander got off on the wrong foot and never really got consistent for us.

 

I'm hoping this is just a matter of Braylon starting over fresh in 2009. We all got frustrated with him a little this year because most of it was mental. You don't score 16 TDs in 1 season if you suck though. He'll be okay. I'm more worried about the OTHER WR spot to be honest. That was like a dead starter all season.

- Tom F.

 

He just needs to shut the fook up already Flugs, enough is enough.

 

The kid can play and we all know it, but my god, sooner or later he's gotta grow up man.

 

Take responsibility, stop blaming others and get the job done.

 

Guess what? Do all that, and you're a hero in this town, regardless if you went to Michigan.

[bugzilla]

I can't say this enough. Braylon Edwards killed this season. The team has alot of problems, but he is the main culprit this season. Without his dropped passes we would be still in the hunt for the playoffs. It has nothing to do with him being a Michican man. Browns fans want winners. We don't care where they come from. This "MIchigan Excuse" just shows that his heart is as shallow as his playmaking ability. If he goes somewhere else, he will have the same problems. He can get open. He just can't hold onto the ball. Go to Philadelphia and see how long the fans allow you to do that. He's had one good season and two bad ones. Don'te lecture us about how you "lead us out of the darkness".

[Earle]

Most WR's are drama queens and they love the media attention, they thrive off of the love for the fans and want to be excepted. BE may be from Michigan, but I will say he will make a good #2 or 3 receiver for us.

 

We need to get rid of scum like Stallworth and get a #1 guy who can stretch the field, we need a real Burner to open up the passing game plus it will benefit the rb's

 

But first any new WR's need to be Manly and not so girly like these girly recievers we have to listen to on espn all the time.