Jets' Edwards has many bad memories of Cleveland

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Braylon Edwards writes a blog for a magazine, chronicling his first full season with the Jets. Pretty soon, he may be a novelist.

"We could sit up here and talk about me and my relationship with Cleveland, but that's better suited for a book," the wide receiver said Wednesday, speaking about his impending return to the city he left on extremely bad terms.

"There are a lot of things that eventually one day I will put in writing and put out there, and we can talk about all the ins and outs from top to bottom and all of my feelings on that situation."

Edwards' roller-coaster week is about to get ratcheted up a notch. It began with catching a 74-yard touchdown pass in Detroit. But not everyone was enthused with the homegrown product, some serenading him with "DUI" chants.

He found himself back in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday for a hearing on DWI charges stemming from a Sept. 21 arrest, and his case was rescheduled for Jan. 11. On Sunday he'll face the Browns, who traded him here last October.

"I'm pretty excited," said Edwards, whose five touchdowns tie for the team lead. "As a player going against a former team, you're ready to play those games. You're ready to make a statement, especially as it happens to be there in Cleveland. So I'm really excited and can't wait to get to Sunday."

Edwards' words Wednesday were somewhat measured and not as sharp and pointed as the ones he said to Newsday in Tuesday's editions, when he said, "I left there with a bitter taste in my mouth, and I'm going back there for some satisfaction."

Edwards refused to get into specifics about what bothered him most during his four-plus seasons in Cleveland.

"Looking back, there's some things I'm not too happy with or too thrilled with," he said, "and definitely some things I don't agree with. But that's life."

One thing that steams him is the butterfingers label, stemming mainly from his league-high 16 dropped passes in 2008.

"I feel like it was some B.S.," he said. "I did have one year in which I didn't catch all the passes that came to me. I'll be the first to admit it - 2008 wasn't my best year, and that was it. I got a bad rap off of one year and I don't think it was fair, and it stuck with me.

"I did play with six, seven quarterbacks - including [running back] Josh Cribbs - but that's neither here nor there."

Edwards had some dicey moments in Cleveland. While recovering from a foot injury in 2008, he cut his heel running in socks after practice. He was pulled over for driving his Bentley 120 mph in a 65-mph zone. Shortly after he allegedly punched a friend of LeBron James in the face outside a club last October, he was traded. (Three months later, Edwards pleaded no contest to the charge and was put on probation.)

Eric Mangini figured a change of scenery would be beneficial for Edwards.

"Yes, I did think so," the former Jets coach said. "Sometimes with a fresh start, it really rejuvenates a guy."

That's why it will be crucial for Edwards to keep his emotions in check Sunday.

"There is a difference between being amped up and being out of your game," Rex Ryan said. "I think he's focused in on his game . . . Any time you leave a spot, you want to show them. I think he wants to showcase the kind of skill that he has."

Said Edwards: "I think the boos will be serious. I don't think they'll be cheering. I think everybody will be against me, but so what? That's life."