Browns place two in Hawaii

Braylon Edwards and Josh Cribbs made the Pro Bowl.

GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BEREA — Is it possivble for a team that sent one man to a Pro Bowl in the previous eight seasons to feel snubbed after getting two men elected Tuesday?

Perhaps. The Browns have their most exciting team since the 1980s; yet, only return ace Joshua Cribbs and wideout Braylon Edwards were named. They are the first Browns players to receive the honor in six seasons — only linebacker Jamir Miller has played in Honolulu since the team’s rebirth in 1999.

Look for the Browns to use a perceived snub as playoff-drive fuel.

Slumping Pittsburgh, which has the same 9-5 record as Cleveland and barely beat the Browns on Nov. 11, got five players in. One is linebacker James Harrison, Cribbs’ former Kent State teammate.

San Diego, also 9-5, got four players in from an offense averaging 318.4 yards a game. The Browns are averaging 348.8 yards and have outscored the Chargers 368-359.

If the season ended today, Cleveland would play at San Diego in a first-round playoff game.

Chargers guard Kris Dielman beat out Browns guard Eric Steinbach for a spot in one debatable decision.

San Diego’s Antonio Gates — he gives Kent State a third Pro Bowler — is the starting tight end. Kansas City’s Tony Gonzalez is the reserve tight end.

Cleveland’s Kellen Winslow Jr. is the first alternate, meaning he would play if Gates or Gonzalez bow out.

The Browns can’t possibly have as big a chip on their shoulder as Jacksonville. The Jaguars are 10-4 after winning at Pittsburgh; yet, no Jaguar was elected to the Pro Bowl.

Edwards made the team as an extra wide receiver, behind Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne. He has 69 catches for 1,170 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He did not feel snubbed.

“It feels good,’’ he said after Tuesday’s announcement. “I’ve dreamed about this my whole life. I prayed for it.’’

Edwards ticked off the names of teammates, saying he owed it all to them.

He thought back to August, when he told the media he would show an improved attitude.

“To say it and have everybody say, ‘Yeah right,’ to my face and then to actually back it up and do it, it means a lot to me, and I’m proud of myself,” he said.

Cribbs leads the NFL in kick return yards (1,637) and average per return (30.9).

Cribbs was undrafted out of Kent State in 2005.

“It means a lot — just coming so far,’’ he said. “It means so much to my teammates, to the special teams unit. Just the look in their eyes. I was talking to Lennie [Friedman, a wedge blocker] and the look in his eyes was just as excited as mine.’’

Joining Winslow as an alternate — in line to play in the Pro Bowl if an elected player bows out — are Steinbach, left guard Joe Thomas and quarterback Derek Anderson.