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New York Jets Get Badder With Braylon Edwards
Published: October 7, 2009
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ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that embattled wide receiver Braylon Edwards has been traded by the Cleveland Browns to the New York Jets for two players and a draft pick.
The move gives the Jets and QB Mark Sanchez another top receiver to line up alongside Jerricho Cotchery and TE Dustin Keller.
Thus far this season, Edwards has 10 receptions for 139 yards and zero touchdowns. That’s about on par with the numbers of Chansi Stuckey, one of the two players headed to Cleveland. Stuckey has 11 receptions for 120 yards and one touchdown.
The team is hoping that Edwards will revert to his 2007 form upon his arrival in New York. That year, he caught 80 passes for 1289 yards and a whopping 16 receiving touchdowns. Like his quarterback, Derek Anderson, he went to the Pro Bowl that year.
Edwards, who in the past few days has come under fire for allegedly punching a friend of Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, has a history of sticky situations, including being with Donte’ Stallworth in March on the night that he hit and killed a pedestrian. (Edwards, however, was not with Stallworth at the time of the incident.)
However, he seems a perfect fit for the Jets, who have cultivated somewhat of a bad-boy image as of late. Coach Rex Ryan and linebacker Bart Scott have been providing plenty of bulletin-board fodder for their opponents all season, and the 49ers recently made allegations of Jets tampering with their first-round pick, extended holdout Michael Crabtree. Even with all the distractions and background noise, the Jets are 3-1 and tied for the lead in the AFC East.
Not only is Edwards going to have to clean up his act under the bright spotlights of New York, he adds to the fresh, brash image of the Jets that opponents can’t quite figure out this season. Edwards also has to appreciate the trade to a legitimate contender, a team which has a great chance at winning the AFC East this season and toppling the New England Patriots.
Meanwhile, the Jets get an explosive player who is a threat to score just about any time he touches the ball. In 2004, his longest receiving touchdown was 80 yards; every complete season he’s played since, his longest play has been at least 70.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
Browns, Panthers Face Quarterback Controversies Coming Out Of Week Three
Published: September 30, 2009
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After accumulating a combined 0-6 record, with their quarterbacks amassing three combined passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions, the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers find themselves in similar holes: at the bottom of their divisions.
Behind the poor play of Brady Quinn in Cleveland and Jake Delhomme in Carolina, neither team has gotten much going on offense. The Browns have only scored two touchdowns all year, and one wasn’t an offensive score: Josh Cribbs scored on a punt return in Week One. The Panthers have done slightly better, scoring four TDs, two on the legs of star running back DeAngelo Williams.
Both teams have had plenty of kicking success, with Cleveland’s Phil Dawson 4-for-4 in field goals and Carolina’s John Kasay 3-for-3, but teams don’t win games on strong kicking alone.
Cleveland coach Eric Mangini has already tried to shake things up, inserting Derek Anderson in the second half of last week’s 34-3 loss to Baltimore and naming him the starter for this week’s game against Cincinnati. While Anderson went a solid 11-for-19 for 92 yards against the Ravens, he also threw three interceptions.
Carolina coach John Fox continues to reiterate that Delhomme’s starting status is safe. Currently, the only other quarterbacks on the Panthers’ roster are A.J. Feeley and Matt Moore, neither of whom have done much in the NFL. Moore is 6-for-11 this season with an interception, and Feeley hasn’t seen game action since Dec. 12, 2007, when his Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. In that game, Feeley was 19-for-42 with four interceptions.
Fans continue to call for the head of Delhomme in Carolina, and Anderson hasn’t shown signs of reverting to his 2007 form in Cleveland, putting both teams in a sticky situation. Regardless of each team’s strength in the backfield (Williams in Carolina and Jamal Lewis, when healthy, in Cleveland), neither team is going to dig itself out of the hole without better play under center.
It may be in either team’s interest to trade for a quarterback to try and get through the season. Regardless of the name status of Anderson and Quinn in Cleveland, neither quarterback appears to be as reliable as Mangini would hope. The Browns can’t switch between two mediocre quarterbacks and expect to win games.
Perhaps somebody should put a call in to the Minnesota Vikings, who currently have a quarterback surplus. With two former starters in the NFL, Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, backing up the ageless Brett Favre, it may be worth it for one of the teams to take a chance and try swinging a deal.
As for the other team? I know it’s been suggested by everybody else in the world, and not to sound like a broken record who can’t come up with his own suggestions, but Jeff Garcia is available…
Another quarterback who’s currently looking for work is Gus Frerotte, who went 8-3 as the Vikings’ starter last season, before going down with a back injury. One of those two, however, may end up heading to Oakland to replace the struggling JaMarcus Russell, whose 39.8 quarterback rating is worst in the NFL.
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New York Jets: the New “Bad Boys” of the NFL?
Published: September 21, 2009
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To say the least, it’s been a crazy week for the New York Jets.
Since winning their season opener against the Houston Texans 24-7, they’ve been fined for violating the league’s injury policy (failing to list Brett Favre on injury reports last year), suggested that they would “embarrass” the New England Patriots in their home opener, and proceeded beat them 16-9.
Now, the San Francisco 49ers are accusing the Jets of tampering with unsigned draft pick Michael Crabtree.
It’s just the latest chapter in the sorry Crabtree saga, but it’s also another negative against the Jets.
It’s also contributing to the new brash, antagonistic image for the Jets.
After the failure of the Favre/Eric Mangini era, the team brought in Rex Ryan and drafted USC quarterback Mark Sanchez (which brought a rare cheer from the draft crowd in New York City) in an attempt to turn around the team.
So far it’s working, as the team is 2-0.
But the Jets have also rubbed a lot of people the wrong way this past week.
Though neglecting to mention Favre’s injury was mostly the fault of Favre and Mangini, it was inexcusable under the league’s injury policy.
Even teams that prefer vague injury reports (such as the Patriots) at least keep them complete.
We have no evidence yet that the 49ers’ accusation is grounded in fact, but if it is, the team is taking a step towards becoming the NFL’s most hated franchise.
While the Jets may not have an identifiable owner like Jerry Jones or Al Davis to whom such actions may be attributed, management will catch plenty of criticism nonetheless.
But as long as the team continues to play as well as it has, and Sanchez continues to play like this year’s Matt Ryan, Jets fans ought to stay excited.
Coach Ryan may very well be ushering in a new era for the green and white. Regardless of the problems the public relations department might encounter, everything ultimately comes down to the product on the football field, and barring a collapse on par with last year, the Jets will be a playoff team in 2009.
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