Braylon Edwards is Back with the Jets, But They Should Have Never Let Him Go in the First Place
By Jason McIntyre
Sure, he never lived up to being the No. 3 pick coming out of Michigan — Cleveland was a bad fit and Edwards was also a bit of a punk — but with the Jets he had solid chemistry with a young Mark Sanchez.
Without a doubt, this was his highlight as a Jet. What an epic final minute. [Sidenote: Where has that Sanchez been?]
I maintain that part of the reason Mark Sanchez regressed is because of the loss of Braylon Edwards after the 2010 season (toss in Jerrico Cotchery, too). Sanchez had great chemistry with those two receivers, but management was pissed at Edwards for his DUI, and backed up the Brinks for Santonio Holmes instead, and ended up low-balling Edwards. They decided to pay me-first punks like Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason. The latter was cut early in the season; the former was a red zone threat but also a loafer who wanted the ball a lot and couldn’t get separation at the line of scrimmage. Those two + Holmes were far too much personality for Sanchez to handle, and he crumbled. It was ugly.
How will Edwards fare with the team this time around? He probably won’t do much. Maybe he’ll catch 8-9 passes in the final three games. What he hopefully will do:
* Be that guy who makes a clutch 3rd down reception to keep a drive alive (the Jets don’t have one of those)
* Pick up the spirits of a beaten and bruised Mark Sanchez (this is where you mention his tweet that likely got him cut by Seattle)
* Block well
If I had to pick a second favorite play of the Edwards era in New York, it was this one against the Colts in an AFC Title game loss. This one put them up in the 2nd quarter and I still remember hosting friends during this game and going absolutely bananas when he scored. [Sidenote: If Thomas Jones doesn’t get hurt early in the 3rd quarter …]
I don’t think the Jets beat the Titans this weekend. It’s a bad matchup for their defense: a scrambling QB and running back who could screen pass them to death. New York’s linebackers are terrible and will struggle.