DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns would drop the ball if they decided to trade Edwards (article)

The Cleveland Browns' decision to shop Braylon Edwards is a head scratcher.

The third overall pick in the 2005 draft is the only difference maker on a team that ranked 31st in total offense a season ago. He finished with 55 receptions, 873 yards and three touchdowns. He also had four receptions over 40 yards for the third straight season and ranked 12th in the league with 15 receptions over 20 yards.

Edwards' detractors point to his inconsistent hands, and rightly so. He has been among the league leaders in dropped passes the past three seasons. Another strike against him is his penchant for running wrong routes and blowing assignments. Still, despite those flaws, the Browns would be wise to keep Edwards.

His production isn't easily replaced, and losing him would force the Browns to field an offensive lineup with far less talent than the 10-6 squad from 2007. They'll already be without Kellen Winslow, who was traded to Tampa early in the offseason, and Joe Jurevicius, who was cut after failing to play a snap in 2008. Former Pro Bowl back Jamal Lewis will be 30 before Week 1 and is coming off a sub-par season in which he averaged less than four yards per carry.

Furthermore, the team is monitoring the investigation into a car accident in which wideout Donte Stallworth hit a pedestrian, who died on the scene. No charges have been filed against Stallworth pending the outcome of blood tests.

Then there's the Browns' uncertain quarterback situation. Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn are battling for the starting job, and taking away a talented playmaker at receiver would make their lives increasingly difficult. Edwards' most productive season coincided with Anderson's breakout year, and the duo appears to have the kind of chemistry that exists between top quarterback/receiver tandems.

Of course, the Browns wouldn't trade Edwards without getting equal value in return. But of the three New York Giants receivers mentioned in a possible trade, neither Steve Smith, Dominik Hixon nor Mario Manningham strikes me as a potential No. 1 receiver.

The Browns are attempting to retool a roster that underachieved in 2008, but the removal of their top offensive player would set them back for 2009 and beyond.

Changing stripes

Can a tiger change its stripes? Marvin Lewis, the Bengals head coach, is giving it his best shot by making over the team's offensive identity in 2009.

The Bengals are set to unveil a new offense this fall that hopes to feature a power running game, complemented by a vertical play-action pass attack. The look will be similar to what Cincinnati ran in 2005, the last time the team made the playoffs.

Last season, the Bengals finished dead-last in total offense. Much of that can be attributed to starting quarterback Carson Palmer missing all but four games with injury. More alarming, however, is that the Bengals only scored two or more touchdowns in six of their past 35 games, despite fielding a roster that features Pro Bowlers at key offensive positions. Thus, Lewis had little choice but to revamp the team's offensive approach.

"We're going to get back to effectively running the football and throwing it downfield," he said in January.

In 2005, the Bengals ranked 11th in rush offense, led by Rudi Johnson's 1,458-yard season. The team averaged over 119 yards on the ground and tallied 4.2 yards per carry. In the three seasons since, the Bengals have never ranked higher than 24th in rush offense, and the rushing yards per game has steadily declined in each season (from 101.8 to 97.2 to 95.0).

The inconsistency of the running game has affected Palmer, whose effectiveness has declined without the threat of a formidable rush offense. Since enjoying the best season of his career in 2005 (completing nearly 68 percent of his passes with 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions), Palmer's interception totals have increased in each subsequent season as he has been forced to shoulder more of the offensive load.

Additionally, the lack of an effective running game has hampered the team's explosive vertical passing game. Without the ability to force defenses to commit an extra defender to the running game (eight-man fronts), the Bengals' offense has been robbed of its most dangerous element: the deep ball.

Last season, the team only completed two passes over 40 yards and averaged an abysmal 5.2 yards per attempt. Five-time Pro Bowl receiver Chad Johnsonaveraged a career-low 10.2 yards per catch and saw his string of six straight seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards end.

Furthermore, Johnson only registered three receptions over 20 yards and didn't have a reception over 40 yards for the first time since his rookie season. For a player who has made a living on the big play (35 receptions over 40 yards in his nine-year career), Johnson saw the lack of a running game render him ineffective as an offensive weapon.

With his top players underachieving in the team's one-dimensional approach, Lewis has started to make the necessary changes to implement the power-running, vertical-passing philosophy he thinks has been lacking in Cincinnati.

The team re-signed Cedric Benson to a two-year, $7 million contract early in free agency after the former Chicago Bear rushed for 747 yards and two touchdowns in 10 starts for Cincinnati.

Benson, who was cut by the Bears prior to training camp following a series of off-field incidents, tallied three 100-yard games, including a spectacular 171-yard effort against the Browns. Although the former fourth overall pick of the 2005 draft hasn't shed the "bust" label that has been attached to his name since entering the league, he flashed some of the talent that made him such a highly coveted prospect coming out of Texas.

As the Bengals' workhorse, Benson carried the ball 20 or more times in five contests, and the team sported an unbeaten record (4-0-1) in those games. Although the fifth-year pro averaged only 3.5 yards per carry, his ability to grind out tough yards between the tackles forced some eight-man fronts and eventually created some big-play opportunities for the team. With a full training camp under his belt, Benson could be even more dangerous.

The Bengals' acquisition of Laveranues Coles also signals the change in offensive philosophy. Coles, who has 631 career receptions in his nine-year career, replaces T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the lineup. While Houshmandzadeh is arguably one of the best possession receivers in the game, he rarely made big plays down the field and only averaged 9.8 yards per catch last season.

Coles, however, has averaged nearly 13 yards per catch throughout his career, and still possesses enough speed to slip past corners on vertical routes. Though he lost some of the explosiveness that made him a Pro Bowler in 2003, he has produced at least one play over 40 yards in each season of his career, including seven over the past three years.

While the aforementioned transactions look good on paper, the team's offensive line woes may render the moves moot. Plagued by injuries (Levi Jones), free agent defections (Eric Steinbach in 2007) and salary cap cuts (Willie Anderson), the unit has underachieved the past two seasons. The Bengals allowed 51 sacks last season and only enabled their rushers to average 3.7 yards a carry, which ranked 28th in the league. With the loss of Stacy Andrews in free agency, the team enters the season with the prospect of playing at least two new starters along the line next season.

While the team can upgrade its talent by using its first-round pick on one of several intriguing tackle prospects (Eugene Monroe, Jason Smith or Andre Smith), it still will take some time for the unit to jell with so many inexperienced players in the lineup.

However, the biggest factor in the success of Bengals' offensive transition rests with offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. The 17-year veteran is highly regarded in league circles due to his extensive knowledge of the passing game, and his offenses consistently rank among the top units in the league. (The Bengals' pass offense finished ranked seventh or higher in three of the past four seasons.)

To ask an esteemed passing game guru to deviate from his preferred method of moving the ball would appear to be a concern, but Bratkowski has done it before. He directed the Bengals' offense when Corey Dillon tallied back-to-back 1,300-yard seasons and was chiefly responsible for Rudi Johnson's ascension several seasons ago.

The Bengals are looking to claw their way back into postseason contention, but the jury is still out on whether Lewis' decision to revamp the offense will be enough to get them there.

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The head scratcher, to me anyways, is why we wouldn't try to get something that will impact our team for the next 5 years (a player through draft picks) in stead of one year of production from a player who will probably head out of town next offseason. At which time we will give him a handshake and a thank you, and get nothing in return. If he doesn't figure into the Browns future plans in a big way, why not offer him "the chance to start over with a new team?"

What is up with the quote button? I mean, jesus h. why is it so complicated?!

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Just imagine if he caught HALF of those. Let's say it was 14. Imagine if he caught 7 more passes for, let's say, 10 yards each. That's only another 70 yards, but that brings his total yardage for the year up to 943. And, how many of those would have kept drives alive, or would have been TDs?

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i don't even see it that way (from the number standpoint). the way i see it is, if he caught half of those balls, the huge difference in attitude that would result from it. think of how deflating it is for EVERYONE on the team when he drops a key pass. take the dallas one for instance. the blocking was ok, DA threw a good ball, lays it right in edwards' hands when he had a step or two, and he drops it. what are the reactions of the line, DA, the defense? what about fast fowarding 7-8 weeks and same thing happens? people start getting complacent. things like "even if we do everything right, he'll still drop the ball so why bother" starts creeping up in everyone's heads. defense then goes "why bother, the offense can't score, he can't even catch the damn ball."

whenever people argued against DA's performance and they pre-emptively bring up edwards' drops, like "even if edwards caught half of it, it doesnt' help DA's numbers that much." well it doesn't, but what would that have done for DA in terms of getting into the hot streak and then making more passes to everyone all around? BE killed DA last season, may have even cost DA his career and what was BE's reaction? "what? even if i caught all those balls, would DA still be a starter? what kind of question is that?"

that said, i originally thought we should trade BE too but i think he can bounce back and when he does, and when the city reembraces him, i think things can smooth out. not to mention, we cleared a lot of cap so maybe we'll pay him well and everything'll be hunky doory again. simply put, a talent like BE is rare, even if you need to re-mold his hands. it's clear that he just needs more structured practice/discipline and i would expect mangini to deliver it. if BE is smart and he performs, he'll recognize that EM had something to do with it and he'll stay on board. the past season is the past, let BE prove himself again.

Well, and so much has to do with confidence, too. Imagine if he started catching well after maybe just a game or two of struggling. Now, when the ball comes to him, he isn't thinking about it as much, so he's able to make big plays.

Like you said, it just changes the whole dynamic of the team.

agreed. i mean look at the giants game. if we can somehow convince him that every game is a MNF game, he'd be a monster and it wouldn't matter who we play.

I said it in the other receiving thread, Braylon is in a CONTRACT year. He HAS to have a good season or he will get ZERO next offseason.

The Browns are not going to get anything worthwhile for him because he's too much of a gamble for another team...because they have to give up something for him. We don't!

Keep him, when he has a great year next season because he wants a mega contract....then you franchise him and decide then whether or not to sign him or trade him.

Using one's brain, and common sense would indicate that keeping BE is the best thing for us right now. But as I said before, there is so much hate for BE, not just dislike...that many wouldnt care if he goes to probowls for the next 5 season's...they will still hate him.

Braylon's critism is totally fair, but had he went to OSU...it would be about 1/10 what it is now.

Want more proof? How much slack did fans give Frye? And how laughable it was when people in C-Town called Simon Frasier decent? Fraiser was quite possibly the worst player to put on an NFL uniform, but fans around here put up with it because he was an OSU darling.

If fans would use their brains and not their ass here, they would see that it makes sense to bring BE back next season because it is a win-win.

I doubt many people care where Braylon went to school. I know I don't.
What fans DO care about is him producing like a 3rd overall pick.

I'm fine actually with keeping him or trading him, as long as we get something decent in return. But I'm getting real tired of his act, both on the field and off.

I suppose it would depend on what we get for him. A couple of seconds or a first and a third or a second and third this year and a third next... Might be interesting..

But whos gonna do any of that? Is Edwards worth that? are any of those deals enough?

I love this part:

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Of course, the Browns wouldn't trade Edwards without getting equal value in return. But of the three New York Giants receivers mentioned in a possible trade, neither Steve Smith, Dominik Hixon nor Mario Manningham strikes me as a potential No. 1 receiver.

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Well DUH! You think the Giants are gonna trade for Edwards if one of these three was just as good?

you've got to be kidding us! people spend so much time in the other thread to show posters like you why it doesn't matter that edwards came from michigan and you bring the same garbage argument to another thread?

the reason why frye got so much slack was because he was all heart and toughness. you can argue he didn't play well but he was always the first to point to himself for any shortcomings, he took so many tough hits, and kept getting back up for more. we all knew how terrible the team was then with such a crap line and people admired him for his toughness and leadership. not even CLOSE to the same line of argument.

get it through your head, we don't care that he's from michigan. we care because he doesn't give it his all, something frye had no problem doing, and there is no accountability within edwards' head when things go south, yet he "raised the team from the ashes" when the team was headed north.

Hmm...I have been reading a lot of the angst of some posters about Edwards, so I decided to look up his numbers (surprisingly 2008 stats aren't on the main site, had to get them from NFL.com). Given the upheaval with the number of Offensive co-ordinators (4 different OC's in 5 years) it's not REALLY surprising that he (and the rest of the offense to be honest) struggled.

Here's his overall stats. 2007 is the anomoly it appears. It's also the year we had the fewest injuries as well, which says something. Anyways, just thought I'd add this to the discussion. I found it interesting.

1st year (2005) - 32 Rec 512 Yds 3 TDs
2nd year (2006) - 61 rec 884 yds 6 tds
3rd year (2007) - 80 rec 1289 yds 16 tds
4th year (2008) - 55 rec 873 yds 3 tds


2005 Offensive Coordinator - Maurice Carthon
2006 OC - Jeff Davidson
2007 OC - Rob Chudzinski
2008 OC - Rob Chudzinski
2009 OC - Brian Daboll

so here is the average per year

57 catches
890 yds.
7 TD
15.6 per catch

Sounds more like Gary Collins numbers for a 14 game season....

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Of course, the Browns wouldn't trade Edwards without getting equal value in return. But of the three New York Giants receivers mentioned in a possible trade, neither Steve Smith, Dominik Hixon nor Mario Manningham strikes me as a potential No. 1 receiver.

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That's obviously a matter of opinion, the Giants are not willing to part with Smith for Edwards and from what I've heard the Browns would be willing to make that trade.

J/C

IMO trading Edwards now is senseless, unless we recieve a starter and at least two picks. To say fans hate him is a little much. They may have a dislike for his performance, and his attitude, but hate is a strong word.

Braylon, and for that matter Anderson, suffered from that injury at the end of camp. He never got his rythym with DA. IMO the whole offense struggled due to the lack of preparation just before the season. They went into the first game after missing much needed practice time. I think Edwards lost his confidence when he didn't start the season strong. Then after the team struggled the first few weeks it got worse.

Braylon is still a kid IMO. I don't think he's matured yet. I believe last year was a wake up call for him. I also think much of what he said in the press, he probably would like to take back. He went from prince to pauper with the fans and couldn't handle it. His problem is in his head. A good coaching stucture should help him. Someone needs to help him regain his confidence, but not by coddling him.

He will play hard this year I'm certain. Mangini's a tough coach who expects accountability, that should help. Crennel IMO was too easy on these guys, and bad habits were formed in their preparation. Braylon has the talent to be one of the best, and anyone who thinks otherwise is foolish.

In the end, he just might want to leave no matter what happens, but if we franchise him next year I believe that will be the best way to recieve the highest value for him. It gaurantees a first round pick at least, that's big for a team like ours.

Z......Frasier was a high motor give it your all guy who was a decent ST player. Calling him one of the worst players in the league just shows how uneducated you are about players worth. I'm sorry if I'm offending you, but some of the crap you post is horrible.

j/c

The BARE MINIMUM I trade Braylon for are the Giants two second rounders + Steve Smith.

If the Eagles called with their two firsts, I jump at that.

I don't care what we lose on offense, three firsts and three seconds would get this team MUCH better in a hurry if we draft well.

ditto..

The way I look at it is... We're going to suck with our without him so we might as well get something for him.

If the Eagles are offering I would take the 21st and their 2nd/3rd round pick which is similar to what Roy Williams got.

j/c

Some very interesting views in this thread. I kinda like it......trade him, don't trade him...he'll be a free agent next year so we may as well get something for him this year.....we can franchise him next year if he plays well.....lots of things to think about. I'm glad I'm not the g.m.

However, if Braylon thinks the fans in cleveland don't like him, wonder how the fans in philly will treat him when he doesn't run the right routes or drops easy balls.

IMO Braylon is much better than Roy is....so we should get better than that... I think we should do what we can to keep him...we simply have no body else....so he had an issue with drops last year. That can be coached...and fixed. No matter what WR we end up with, if he is good, then we will have to pay him. If he goes out this year, and puts up big numbers again, then he deserves the money.....

I hear that...I think that if we can still do the DA trade, and keep BE we would be better off then trading BE though...just my opinion....

I'm firmly in the trade him camp. If a player doesn't want to be here, he shouldn't be forced to be. Also I don't like players who quit, which Braylon said he wouldn't do again and then he went out and did it.

My desire to see Edwards traded stems from 3 things .....

1) I just don't see him re-signing after next year.

2) I just don't see us contending next year.

3) I can easily see a situation where Edwards becomes a UFA after next year.



Because of these factors, and looking at the best case senario with him here ...... and the probable senario with him gone, but with 1 or 2 1st day picks and possibly also a "good" WR in trade ....... well ... give me the future over a 1 year present.

I'm in the minority, but I am 100% opposed to trading Edwards. I see nothing good coming from it at all. This team is starving for talent, and he's got it. I'm always amazed at how quickly people are ready to dismiss guys. So much fickleness.

Even if we were to get high picks for him, we'd have to draft well and hope the players pan out. We already got a player that can get the job done. We are too quick to dismiss players after a bad year or a bad attitude. For once, why can't we nuture a guy a long and let him grow a bit? IMO, it's better than 50/50 that he'll go on and star somewhere else. The guy just has too much talent to be kept down.

We can always franchise him next year or get a contract done next year if he has a breakout season. IMO, he wants to do well, he wants to make up for last year. He's a bit immature, but that goes back to that growing thing.

I just think they'll be a lot of people who are really sorry after he's gone. There is no sense in trading him at all. He's legit, and we need legit players.

j/k

2 points:

1: If you are in the keep BE camp hope for stalled negotiations in the labor agreement. If we go to an uncapped year next year he becomes a restricted FA at the end of the year as opposed to an UNrestricted.

2. If you are in the trade BE camp keep in mind that if we lose him as a FA next year odds are that we will get a compensatory pick in the 2011 draft. Likely a 3rd rounder. So when you are saying yes trade BE for such and such you need to start his value at this point.

Personally, I am willing to trade any player if the price is right. If we trade BE then one 1st rounder is not enough. All that does is get rid of BE and we draft a rookie to take his place. Doesn't really do much to help our team. So my absolute floor would be a 1st and a 3rd and only if after talking to BE I am sure we cannot resign him and it is clear that he will be a locker room cancer. Otherwise I hold out for significantly more. I would take Philly's 2 1st, I would take Kiwanuka and the Giants 1st, possibly Kiwi and their 2nd but I would not jump on it right away.