DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Rich Gannon calls out Braylon Edwards

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Browns' season fades along with their star receiver Braylon Edwards
by Mary Kay Cabot/Plain Dealer Reporter
Saturday November 29, 2008, 10:32 PM


Braylon Edwards has a league-high 18 dropped passes. Last season Edwards had 16 touchdown receptions. A case can be made that as star receiver Braylon Edwards has gone this season, so have the Browns.
The 4-7 record certainly isn't all his fault, but Edwards' staggering number of drops are the No. 1 difference from last year's 10-6 season. Heading into today's game against the Colts, he's dropped a league-high 18 passes -- and as many as 22 by the strictest standards.

At least four losses might have been victories had he made the clutch catches expected of a Pro Bowler. At this time last season, Edwards had 11 touchdown catches. This year, he has three. That's 48 more points last season.

NFL experts keep wondering how the Browns are the only team this season to defeat knock the 10-1 New York Giants. Picking off Eli Manning three times helped -- but so did a career-high 154-yard game by Edwards. In that 35-14 win Oct. 13, Edwards caught passes of 49 and 70 yards, and an 11-yard touchdown.

To his credit, Edwards expressed his disappointment after the 16-6 loss to Houston last Sunday. He also stressed that he's doing everything he can to beat the slump, but he can't get away from it. Every broadcast of a Browns game includes a montage of Edwards' drops.

After the Houston game, he said: "Football is my life. I don't have a wife, I don't have kids, I don't have a fiancee. I eat and sleep football. It's not that I'm not trying. I love this game to death.

"I care about this team, I care about this game, I care about winning for coach [Romeo] Crennel and winning for my teammates."

But it's hard to imagine it's a wonderful season with some of these missed opportunities:

• In the 10-6 loss to Pittsburgh, Edwards dropped a deep ball inside the Pittsburgh 5 with the Browns trailing, 10-0, in the third quarter.

• In the 14-11 loss to Washington, he dropped a pass at the Redskins' 9 with the Browns trailing, 14-3, midway through the fourth quarter. It was his fourth drop of the day. He also failed to turn around on a blitz read near the red zone with the Browns down, 14-11, with 40 seconds left.

• In the 37-27 loss to Baltimore, he dropped a perfectly thrown ball at the Ravens' 25 with the score tied at 27 in the fourth.

• In the 16-6 loss to Houston, with 7:47 left, he dropped a pass in the end zone with the Browns trailing, 16-6. In the third, he let the defender beat him inside on a slant to pick off a pass at the Houston 7.

During the Houston game, CBS analyst Rich Gannon, a former NFL quarterback who studied most of the Browns games this season, criticized Edwards for poor route running and underperforming.

"There's too many snaps where he's not coming full speed out of a cut at the top of the route," said Gannon during a phone interview this week. "He's also failed to come back for the ball. Twice, the ball was picked off on a slant route to him, and that should never happen."

Gannon said Edwards sometimes loses his focus, something Edwards admitted to in Washington.

"I've played with great receivers such Cris Carter, Art Monk, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown, and they gave their best every play," said Gannon. "He's certainly let Derek Anderson down in a number of games and Brady Quinn a couple of times."

What makes it tough to fix, Gannon said, is that it's not just one route. "It's been a smorgasbord of all of them," said Gannon. "At times, he's not ready for the throw."

He also hasn't seen Edwards making the difficult catch.

"He's got a great future, but you've got to go above and beyond," said Gannon. "That's what the great ones do -- fight for balls, make the one-handed catch, the big catch across the middle -- and make sure the other team doesn't come down with it."

Gannon said he senses that Edwards' confidence is shaken and "if he doesn't get balls early in the game or drops one, he gets down on himself."

He also think Anderson needs to get on Edwards' case more, even if it's not well received.

"I don't think Peyton Manning would watch a receiver drop three balls or not finish a route and not say anything to him on the sidelines," said Gannon.

"Anderson got benched and he needs to say, 'Enough is enough. Get it right or you're not getting the ball.' "

Anderson said, "I trust him and I'm going to keep throwing it to him, and I always tell him that."

Gannon also suggested vision therapy, although Edwards said his eyes aren't the problem. He said he also needs to spend even more time on the JUGS machine and study the great route runners.

"Braylon is one of those unique, physically gifted individuals who can take over a game, a team and light the city on fire," said Gannon. "I hope he does that."

Edwards said he and Anderson, who returns to the starting role today, are working hard to recapture their 16-TD magic from 2007, including reviewing those glory days.

"We stay after practice and watch all the film necessary," said Edwards. "It's more of a mental thing. We need to take care of our mental brain waves and get those working."

Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski said the team is trying to help Edwards work through the slump.

"He'll pull out of it," said Chudzinski. "Our job as members of the Browns family is to help each other work through the tough times -- staying together and not pointing fingers."

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All the work with the JUGS gun and in the film room mean NOTHING if he doesn't give 100% effort on gameday, and we've all seen him dog it far too many times this season.

I've no sympathetic feelings or words for Edwards. If he was giving maximum effort and continued to struggle, it'd be a different story. What's more, he's going to have to give 100% effort EVERY game, not just the next one, to start earning back the fans. It'll take amazing effort from his each and every game the rest of the way out just to keep from getting boo'ed, and he's earned it.

Hey, Edwards, try finishing a route or acting like you give a darn during the game and maybe it'll start to come back to you. People could live with your drops as long as you were a game-changer. As it is right now, people can't stand you because you're a game-changer, but only in a negative manner.

PS: Good luck getting that contract extension

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"We stay after practice and watch all the film necessary," said Edwards. "It's more of a mental thing. We need to take care of our mental brain waves and get those working."

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He really shouldn't use the "we" word at all.....

Watch him catch 100 balls next year since it's a contract year; he seems more and more to me to be just a gold-digger.

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What was it that Jerry Rice attributed his hands too,, Oh yeah, Catching bricks..

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I'm willing to do my part and throw a few bricks at him.

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A Jugs machine eh?

Where can I get one

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Now this thread's on track!

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And GMDawg...I don't know if you actually meant it...or it was a joke but that is exactly what he should be doing. He should just forget about the drops the routes.

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I'm sorry, but I said quite some time ago what his problem is. He's afraid he's gonna get hurt. If he's attempting to catch a ball and is not sure where all of the defenders are, he gets scared and can't concentrate on the ball.

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I hear the city of NY is inviting BE down town New Years Eve....they need someone they can count on to drop the ball



Trade Him,

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who is Rich Gannon to talk about Braylon Edwards?

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