In a situation screaming for smack, Edwards sounded like Big Bird on Sesame Street as he chatted with reporters after the Jets' win on Sunday.
View full sizeThis first-quarter hit between New York's Braylon Edwards and Browns cornerback Sheldon Brown ended with Brown leaving the game with a shoulder injury and players briefly scuffling on the field. "They look good," Edwards said of the Browns. "They're putting a team in place to be a contender."CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Braylon Edwards was a party pooper, straight up, after his Jets beat the Browns late Sunday afternoon.
In a situation screaming for smack, Edwards sounded like Big Bird on Sesame Street as he chatted with reporters. Maybe it was because Edwards caught just four passes for 59 yards, or that Santonio Holmes had made the game-winning grab in a 26-20 overtime victory.
Or maybe Edwards became a new man in less than one week.
Whatever the case, Edwards was all about the team, not the personal satisfaction of having gotten the best of his former employer in his first crack at it.
"In life, you learn, you get older, you mature in some ways," he said. "I felt as though, today, I just came here to play football. I didn't come here to get into it with fans or anything like that. I was focused on the goal at hand, which was helping the Jets do whatever we could to win.
"The storybook ending for me is getting a team win."
Seriously, B.E.? The only thing missing was a rocking chair.
Reporters wondered what had happened to the old Edwards, the Edwards who, at the outset of the previous week, seemed to delight in talking junk about the Browns and Cleveland.
Edwards insisted those who thought he was running his mouth must have been mistaken.
View full sizeMany Browns fans didn't hide their distaste for Braylon Edwards' return to Cleveland on Sunday. But Edwards shrugged off the reception."I don't think I was talking during the week," he said. "The only comment I made was, 'Bring your popcorn,'" he said. "And if you brought your popcorn, it was well-deserved because it was a great game between two teams that wanted a big win."
Not only did Edwards refrain from taking post-victory swipes at the Browns, he praised them.
"They look good," he said. "They're putting a team in place to be a contender. They took us to the end of the 'fifth' quarter. I like what they're doing; they're definitely a team on the rise."
Not content to stop there, Edwards threw a bone to Browns faithful.
"[The stadium] is a great atmosphere to play in," he said. "The fans are loud. They do a good job in terms of trying to help out the Browns and get into the opponent's head."
Browns players sought to mess with Edwards on New York's first drive. At the end of a six-yard reception to the Cleveland 11, Edwards and cornerback Sheldon Brown smashed into each other. While Brown was on the ground feeling shoulder pain, several of his teammates moved on Edwards. There was pushing and shoving and, in the case of Cleveland lineman Ahtyba Rubin, an apparent punch that whiffed.
Edwards was asked if he thought Rubin attempted to punch him.
"There was a lot of things going on," Edwards said. "The only thing I sensed was Sheldon Brown trying to make a tackle. We went helmet-to-helmet, he went down, and I think my knee touched the ground and I was ruled down -- yet guys still tried to take shots at me after the play. But that's football. Those guys were excited to get out there, and I don't thinkanything was dirty."
Fans booed loudly and chanted. At that point, Edwards could have turned the game into one-against-a-city and adversely affected his team. Instead, he remained calm the rest of the way. If he chirped at the Browns, it was not blatantly evident. Nor did he make gestures to egg on the crowd.
"In any situation like this, there's a lot of emotion," he said. "There are tempers that can flare up. You can get caught up in some nonsense. We're human.
"But the question for me was, 'For what?' What do I gain from getting into it with anybody, or backsliding, or being what they perceive me to be? I just said, 'Let me be what I know I am.'"
On Sunday afternoon, he was a receiver who caught four passes for 59 yards, earned a team victory and kept it vanilla afterward.
"Everybody did a good job of keeping their personal issues aside and just coaching football, playing football and getting a win at the end," he said. "We played for the betterment of the Jets organization."
Bring back the old Braylon. ASAP.