By Banzay on 17:50
Filed Under: Braylon, Edwards
Receiver Braylon Edwards, arguably the only marquee name on the Browns' offense, will need to step up and make plays beginning Sunday against the Bengals if the Browns are to be any more successful in Derek Anderson's turn at quarterback than they were in Brady Quinn's.But it won't be easy. Why?Because there's no longer a Kellen Winslow Jr. or a Joe Jurevicius to take some of the heat off Edwards, like they did in 2007. Defenses are rolling coverages to Edwards, and there's no sign of that letting up any time soon."We haven't proven that anybody else can hurt a team yet," Edwards said. "Until we prove that Mike Furrey is a guy that can hurt you, until we prove that Jerome Harrison and James Davis and Mohamed Massaquoi and Robert Royal are guys that can consistently hurt you if you leave them open, teams are going to leave two guys on me and that kind of thing."Second-round receivers Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie should've been making an impact by now, but both have hardly played. Robiskie has been inactive the past two games, and Massaquoi has two catches for 31 yards in a part-time role. Massaquoi probably will play more this week but won't draw coverage away from Edwards yet."You can put as much pressure on me as you want to, because it comes with the position," Edwards said. "But at the end of the day, if I'm not getting any help, it doesn't matter. If the quarterback can't throw the ball, it won't matter. At the end of the day, everybody has to work together, not just to alleviate . . . pressure off me, but to win games, or to be successful on offense."That being said, Edwards is convinced he and Anderson still have the same magic as in 2007, when they both made the Pro Bowl and led the Browns to 10 wins."He and I are still having a lot of fun," he said."He and I had a good week of practice this week. He's healthy and he's the guy again, and I'm healthy and I'm back in my mode and doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and this could be a good week for us. This could be the beginning of something if we go out and execute and take it a play at a time and not try to get ahead of ourselves."The key for Edwards will be to run precise routes, fight for every ball, secure it and wrestle it away from defenders. Far too many interceptions are on passes intended for Edwards - including three of six this season. Of course, sometimes the quarterback forces a throw into coverage, but Edwards has to do more to help prevent picks.
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