In a move that will likely be seen by many Jets fans as a move towards taking the AFC East division title, the New York Jets traded for Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards this morning.

At first glance, the move would appear to make sense for the Jets–they’ve lacked a big name wide receiver this season, who can stretch the field and take some pressure off of the running game.  Led by a defense that is ranked 3rd in points allowed and 4th in yardage allowed in the NFL and the effective (if not spectacular, for a rookie) play of QB Mark Sanchez, the team started 3-0.

But the Jets passing game is also ranked 27th in the NFL after four games, and Sanchez looked more like a rookie QB last week against the Saints, a team that, while improved defensively, has not had a reputation for having a stout defense in recent years.  And while the running game is currently ranked 9th in the NFL by yardage, that can’t be expected to continue if the team can’t effectively move the ball through the air, as teams will start to put 8-9 guys in the box regularly to stop Thomas Jones and Leon Washington.

Edwards brings to the Jets a rare combination of size and speed, and the pedigree of being a #3 overall pick, in the  2005 draft.  But to be honest, that’s about all the positivity that he brings to the table for the Jets.

He also brings a reputation for dropping passes (tied with Brandon Marshall for the most in the NFL over the last 2+ seasons), and a reputation for being a bit of a head case.  Just in the last week, he failed to catch a pass in the Browns overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and was the accused of punching a friend of NBA star LeBron James, who claims that Edwards has always been jealous of him.

In his career, he has also accused Cleveland fans of not appreciating him because of his Michigan roots, gotten into a sideline altercation with quarterback Charlie Frye, and was late to at least one team meeting due to attending the famed Michigan-Ohio State game, after being advised by team veterans not to.  He was also fined $150 and given 30 hours of community service last November after being found guilty of driving 120 MPH, and was partying in Miami with fellow Browns WR Donte Stallworth the night that Stallworth struck and killed a man while driving drunk (although Edwards was not with Stallworth at the time).

Playing in Cleveland, Edwards is used to playing in front of fans that are rabid, and will be on his case for dropping passes–although, I don’t ever remember the Dawg Pound cheering as one of their own players crawled off the field injured before.

Added to the fans will be the increased media scrutiny–even as the red-headed step-child to the Giants in New York, it’s likely that Edwards never faced the type of media criticism in the media hot beds of Cleveland and Ann Arbor that he will face in New York.

Edwards is also in a contract season–the time of a career when many players step up their games.  So far this season, Edwards has failed to do so–will that continue in New York, or will he finally regain his 2007 season form?  And will the Jets make an effort to resign him before the end of the season, or will they risk letting the player they just traded for walk away?

Finally, one must also take into consideration that Edwards will be going to a new team–while the offense may be similar to the one run in Cleveland (as much of Cleveland’s staff was in New York last year), he hasn’t really proven that he’s great in that offense yet–and he’ll be trying to establish a rhythm with a new quarterback–just ask Roy Williams, who had an even better track record than Edwards in the NFL, and struggled mightily when he was traded to the Cowboys last season.

In the end, the Jets clearly felt they had to make a move to compete over the full season in the AFC–with New England in their division, Baltimore and Indianapolis playing at extremely high levels, Pittsburgh and San Diego still talented but struggling a bit, and Denver…well, playing so far above what anyone expected it’s ridiculous, even making the playoffs could be a struggle.

The question now is whether this move is one that will actually help the Jets, or whether it will actually set them back even further.

Drew Rosenhaus (@RosenhausSports) has quickly become a big fan of Twitter, updating his 23,000+ followers of the status of several of his numerous NFL clients, like announcing his firm’s signing of Bryant McKinnie or that Mike McKenzie is healthy, has worked out for the Seahawks, and expects to sign somewhere soon.

I wonder, though, how teams will start reacting to his updates, when they may impact their attempts to improve their team.  For instance, this morning, Rosenhaus tweeted:

“The Vikings have informed me that they will be waiving receiver Aundrae Allison by 5pm today if he isn’t traded first.”

As far as I can see, this tweet effectively eliminates whatever little leverage the Vikings may have had in a trade situation–after all, why would a team that’s short on WR and kick return talent give up a late round draft pick for a guy who’s going to hit the waiver wire in a little more than 7 hours?

It makes sense from Rosenhaus’ perspective–if his client is traded, he has no control over the team he lands with, and there is no new contract signed, meaning Rosenhaus doesn’t get another commission.

But if you’re the Vikings, would you put up with Rosenhaus announcing their intentions to the world?  They may have informed Allison/Rosenhause merely in good faith, so it was clear why he wouldn’t be on the practice field today, since they wouldn’t want him getting hurt after the roster decision had been made.

Now, if I were the Vikings, I would consider not waiving him until the end of camp, merely to spite Rosenhaus.

Jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Monday awarded more than 2,000 former professional football players a $28.1 million verdict against the NFL Players Association and its licensing and marketing division, after determining that the union and its subsidiary, Players Inc., failed to market retired players’ marketing rights under a group licensing authorization contract.

The contract was supposed to cover licensing of electronic games, collectables, and other merchandise. The jury award included more than $7 million in actual damages and $21 million in punitive damages for the claim, which was originally filed by Herb Adderley.

Adderley wept following the announcement and told the Associated Press “I won three Super Bowls and this feels better than all of them combined.” NFLPA Acting Executive Director Richard Berthelsen told the AP the union planned to ask U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup to toss out the verdict. If that fails, the union intends to appeal.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the class action lawsuit cited, among other products, EA (Electronic Arts Inc.) Sports’ Madden NFL, a game series that features more than 100 “vintage” teams with nameless players resembling stars of old. Only active players received a cut of the licensing deal, “which surpassed $35 million for 2008,” the paper announced.

The players were represented by McKool Smith P.C. and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP. McKool Smith attorney Lew LeClair called the verdict “a great victory for the men who devoted their lives to building professional football,” according to a firm statement.

At least one retired NFL player, Dave Pear, posted an excited reaction on his Web site. “And we’re all still wondering just exactly how much the NFLPA and Players inc. wasted of the Union’s money (YOUR money) to fight this lawsuit over the past two years,” Pear wrote. “And how much more they’re probably considering to appeal the award?”

An exchange in the comments section written by Sharon Hawkins, wife of former Oakland Raider Wayne Hawkins, asks if former players could now create a class action about the NFLPA’s disability plan – another issue many retired football players are contesting.

Pear replies: “Hopefully this trial will go a long way to establish a consistent pattern of greed and fraud by those who were supposed to represent us!” He then adds that he plans to continue petitioning for justice for all retired players. That issue remains contentious as well.

On Sunday after the Cleveland Browns lost to Washington Kellen Winslow Jr. went public with details of the medical issue – a staph infection – that kept him out of the team’s game a week earlier.

He said he was upset with the team because it wanted to keep the infection quiet and blamed him for not wanting it revealed, and saved particular venom for general manager Phil Savage for not calling on him while he was hospitalized.

“I heard from [head coach] Romeo Crennel and I heard from my position coach [Alfredo Roberts] when I was in the Clinic. I heard from my teammates. But I never heard from the main man – Phil Savage – and that really disappoints me. Sometimes I don’t even feel a part of this team,” according to an Associated Press story posted at www.nfl.com (and linked to above).

On Tuesday the Browns issued a statement announcing that they have suspended Winslow without pay for one game.

“The Cleveland Browns are committed to winning and taking care of our players,” the statement on www.clevelandbrowns.com Web site starts. “We are also committed to protecting the privacy of our players, particularly with regard to medical issues. To that end, following discussions with Kellen Winslow and his representation, the Browns agreed to make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of his recent medical condition.”

Okay so far.

“As an organization we have worked hard to ensure the safety and well-being of our players. Consistent with this effort, we have consulted with the team’s medical experts to ensure that any instances of staph infections are evaluated and treated thoroughly and expeditiously, and in accordance with the recommended standard of care,” the statement, attributed to Savage.

Okay, that’s fine. No issues, although there have been a half-dozen players who have had staph infections over the last couple years.

Finally, it continues later: “Kellen has expressed his desire to be a productive member of the Cleveland Browns. His comments and behavior on Sunday evening, however, were unwarranted, inappropriate, and unnecessarily disparaging to our organization. His statements brought unjustified negative attention to our organization, and violated the team-first concept of our football squad. Therefore, disciplinary action will be taken in the form of a one-game suspension without pay for conduct detrimental to the club.”

This is the part that concerns me. Winslow raised his concerns about the safety of the locker room and revealed, of his own volition, information about what caused his hospitalization. It seems to me that the specifics of his illness – and whether or not they should remain private – are his business and his business alone.

Yes, Winslow was indelicate in his statements about the team and Savage. No question – but I’m not sure he’s wrong in wishing that the general manager of the team might check in once or twice.

As far as stating “There’s obviously a problem (with staph) and we have to fix it,” as he told the Associated Press. “It’s unfortunate, because it happens time and time again,” isn’t Winslow simply stating a truth?

A half-dozen staph infections since 2005 is a lot. And while the team may have legitimately tried to solve whatever problems might be causing the issue it would still seem as though Winslow speaks the truth in saying something more should be done.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Winslow’s. He was a little too brash entering the league for my tastes. But I don’t think a player gives away the right to speak his mind just because he signs a contract to play a game. He didn’t threaten anyone, he didn’t attack anyone. He simply stated an opinion.

In this case – and please tell me if you think there’s something I’m missing here – in this case, I don’t think the punishment fit the crime.

With Ladell Betts out for a couple weeks the Washington Redskins might sign Shaun Alexander.

The former Seahawk running back is scheduled to meet with the team on Tuesday and will sign if everything goes according to plan, according to the NFL Network and ESPN.com.

Betts’ injury is not considered serious, but ya’ gotta have someone in case Clinton Portis goes down. The former league MVP hasn’t been good since 2005 when he rushed for almost 1900 yards and scored 28 touchdowns.

The guy won me a couple of fantasy football championships over the years but paid a heavy toll on his body. The guess here is that he pops around the league trying out for any team that loses a back for a season or two before hanging it up for good. He’d garnered interest previously from Cincinnati and New Orleans but neither team chose to offer him a deal.

Two ZoneBlitz.com fantasy teams may have been thrown a severe curve ball today, as Tom Brady’s knee injury has apparently been confirmed as a torn ACL.

On the positive side, neither team that featured Brady were in paid leagues.  And both are currently winning their games for the week.

On the down side, in one league we didn’t draft a backup QB, and in the other, Matt Schaub was auto-drafted for us (way too early), but was subsequently cut for one of the rookie RB we snagged.

Thankfully, with the free internet service at McCarran International Airport, we’ve already made a transaction to shore up for next week–we grabbed Trent Edwards from Buffalo, who we actually kind of liked anyway.  But he’s no Tom Brady.

As for the Patriots…well, I think those fans in Boston can stop talking about going 16-0 again.  And I doubt we’ll see any more 16.5 point spreads in Vegas.

Matt Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons first-round pick, will start at quarterback during the team’s first game of the season against Detroit.

Ryan completed 32 of 52 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns with one interception during three preseason games, beating out Chris Redman and Joey Harrington for the job.

While Ryan clearly has more upside than the other contenders and he has reportedly looked solid during the preseason, this decision will undoubtedly raise the question once again over whether or not rookies  should start at quarterback.

It’s worked in some cases. Peyton Manning started right out of the gate and, while he had his struggles as a rookie, he’s undoubtedly become one of the top two or three quarterbacks in the game. John Elway and Troy Aikman are two others that have overcome tough beginnings to establish Hall of Fame careers.

On the other hand, David Carr was immediately thrown to the wolves in Houston and his 21 fumble, 15 interception, 76 sack season in 2002 laid the groundwork for him becoming jittery and mediocre over the last six seasons. He’s been a big disappointment. Ryan Leaf won his first two games then came completely unraveled and never recovered.

Ryan likely has more mental capacity than Leaf did. And the likelihood is that he’ll fall somewhere in between the extreme examples. But I question the decision to start him right away for a couple reasons.

First, the Falcons aren’t going to be very good this season. They’re rebuilding an offensive line. Rookie Sam Baker has reportedly held his own against solid ends like Paul Spicer and Kyle Vanden Bosch, and left guard Justin Blalock has supposedly improved after a first season described by the Atlanta Journal Constitution as “so-so”.

Unknown Harvey Dahl appears to have taken the right guard spot from Kynan Forney and center Alex Stepanovich has been injured. Tyson Clabo, Terrance Pennington, Quinn Ojinnaka, Doug Datish, Ben Wilkersonn and Todd Weiner are among others hoping to play on a line that MUST protect Ryan from getting physically – and thus mentally – battered during his first season as a pro.

The second reason I question starting Ryan is that Redman established some rapport with members of the offense late last season. Laurent Robinson was solid the last few games and Roddy White played well, while the team scored 27 and 44 points in the last two games.

That’s not to say that Redman is the long-term answer – clearly that is not the case. But in recent years the trend has been more toward rookies sitting the bench, such as JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn both did last year.

Clearly the coaches know more about how Ryan has looked in practice – and how he will react mentally to a season that without question will have some ups and deep, deep downs. And new coach Mike Smith wants to start his tenure with his guy. For Ryan’s sake I hope he’s not jumping the gun.

The New York Giants have suffered a blow in their efforts to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora, a key pass rushing contributor during the big run last season, suffered serious ligament damage in his knee Saturday night.

Umenyiora, according to the Newark Star Ledger, will undergo surgery that is likely to knock him out for the season.

The Giants have some depth at defensive end. Justin Tuck had 10 sacks during the regular season and might have been the best defensive player on the field during stretches of last season for New York and converted linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka could move back there as well.

But the injury coupled with Michael Strahan’s retirement cost the Giants 109 regular season tackles and 22 sacks – not to mention half of what was an unbelievably successful rotation during the playoff run.

The Giants are certainly not out of the running in the NFC East and beyond in 2008 – but the road has gotten much, much tougher already.

When Charlie Batch got hurt it made sense that the Pittsburgh Steelers would bring on board one of the veteran quarterbacks left on the free agent market. But signing both Daunte Culpepper and Byron Leftwich had to be a bit of a surprise.

With Ben Roethlisberger firmly established as the starter in Pittsburgh it’s unlikely the Steelers will head into the season with both veterans. They also have rookies Mike Potts and Dennis Dixon on the roster. My money would be on Leftwich – he’s younger and he’s shown more competence than Culpepper during the last couple years – Daunte has never fully made it back from his knee injury a couple years back.

Batch is likely out for a month to six weeks. The one upside for both guys is the opportunity to get into camp gives them an opportunity to showcase themselves in preseason game action – giving them a much better chance to be in uniform somewhere on opening day than they had while they were sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.

EDIT: According to the folks at Sports Illustrated only Leftwich was signed – Culpepper also worked out, but the Steelers didn’t offer him a deal. Oops.

According to Stu Scott on Sports Center tonight, Brett Favre has been traded to the Jets.  No details yet on what the Packers will receive as part of the deal.

In an interview with Mark Schlereth (who’s nickname, Stink, makes me laugh–and who surprise surprise dropped that he played with Elway, made comparisons to his Broncos teams, and mentioned that he played for the Redskins, all in a 5 minute interview), says that it legitimizes the Jets offense immediately.

Of course, I wonder how the lack of practice with the team will impact him–and how he will adapt to a non-West Coast offense, even with the help of Bill Callahan, who is familiar with the West Coast offense.

Of course, the move does immediately raise the fantasy value for WRs Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, and probably further elevates RB Thomas Jones.

And, while I’m not sure the Jets are quite on the Patriots level quite yet–they could at least make things interesting in the AFC East–and between the Bills and Jets beating on the Patriots 4 times this season, it might make the AFC even more wide open.