Sticking with the sixth-rounder?
Posted November 1st, 2007 by Marla Ridenour
Seattle coach Mike Holmgren used to like to pick quarterbacks in the sixth round while he was in Green Bay, with Matt Hasselbeck and Mark Brunell being examples. But even Holmgren isn't sure what he would do if he were in Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel's shoes and was watching sixth-rounder Derek Anderson succeed while first-round draft pick Brady Quinn sat on the bench.
"If you commit to them and you think you have gotten the right guy, they can absolutely come in and play," Holmgren said of sixth-rounders. "But it's been my experience that when a team goes and drafts a quarterback number one, when we traded our pick in Green Bay to get Brett Favre in his second year when he was with Atlanta, what you’re saying is this guy is going to be your quarterback. You don’t draft a guy number one and pay him all that money. Everyone knows that.
"So how long is it before Quinn plays, Cleveland knows better than anybody. They did not draft him to sit on the bench, I know that. In the meantime, this young guy is doing a great job. As far as the timing of the thing goes, only a few people there know what’s going on."
Crennel seems to be in no rush to play Quinn and Cleveland hasn't had a blowout where it's had the luxury of putting him in. Chances are with the 32nd-ranked defense in the league, Quinn may follow in the footsteps of Cincinnati's Carson Palmer and sit all season.
November 2nd, 2007 at 3:57 am
Marla, not that you check the comments, but I think Brunell was a fifth rounder.
November 3rd, 2007 at 7:19 am
Do we really care what round a winning qb was taken in? Pray tell, why would we throw DA to the curb for potential? Play DA until he proves he cannot do the job, or until he gets hurt. Qb's go down in the League all the time. Unfortunately, I am sure the Rookie sometime will get his shot b/of that.
November 4th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
no reason for DA not to play or be the starter. Remember Sipe? Mike Phipps was our 1st rounder that we trader Warfield for. Best guy plays hands down.
November 5th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I am old enough to remember the Brian Sipe and MIke Phipps controversy. Sipe was like a 13th rounder from San diego state when they had that many rounds and was a supplemental player for his first two years. Something like a limbo status between being on the team and not being on the team. Mike Phipps was a high draft pick from Purdue. Eventualy they got rid of MIke PHipps and the rest is history.
I say you go with success. If Anderson continues to perform you trade or cut Quinn and save the money. You can draft another 6th rounder to be the back up. Notre Dame is over rated and no guarantee of success. So many great players have come from obscure colleges and have been low draft picks.
November 5th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Anderson is doing outstanding and improving each week as he gains confidence. Let's keep him at #1. Let Brady learn on the sidelines. The reality is an NFL team had better have 2 quality QBs. Injuries are so common that without 2 good QBs and a decent 3rd option like Ken Dorsey, any team can go down in a heartbeat. Of course, economics is alos a factor and paying 2 QBs the really big bucks probably won't work. If that happens, trading Brady for a high pick or two in the 2008 draft or getting some quality Defensive players might be another option. We must stop the other team's offense.
November 5th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
DA is doing outstanding job and improving each week as he gains confidence. And he's sharing the ball with all our talent..Let's keep him at #1. Let Brady learn on the sidelines for awhile. Look up in Green Bay, Rogers was a first round pick and he is still on the sideline, and if Brett comes back next year, another year on the bench, that would be four years.. Not saying DA is a Favre, but that some time a number one might not start sooner than one might hope..
November 5th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
if DA keeps it up the whole season, trade Quinn for a mid first rounder and draft a D-lineman.
DA is doing what we HOPE Brady will do. it's a no-brainer.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:44 am
getting DA from baltimore was a major coup. not only has he been the man in browns town, but it weakened baltimore. he is playing better than their current qbs.
November 8th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
You play your best and sit the rest!
November 9th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Why is it we are worrying about all this? We are on a 3 game winning streak for crying out loud! For the longest time, we just worried about finding a QB that could perform… Now we most likely have 2! Just bask in the glory of the good times we are in!!!
November 10th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
as much as I hate to say it… they probably need to trade DA for draft picks… he will be worth more than quinn… and cleveland has a lot of holes to fill..
November 11th, 2007 at 6:08 am
Nobody has mentioned the fact that DA is a restricted free agent after this year. With the way he is playing that could cause major headaches for our team. With all the teams out there that are dying for a decent QB someone is going to come after him. The question is which one of them has the cap room to make him unaffordable to us? We have lots of players who are getting paid above the league average at other positions. I’m not sure what our cap situation looks like in the future… Can we afford to keep DA?
November 12th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Everyone should get rid of the idea of trading DA! Only a Cleveland fan, coach or player could come up with an idea like that. We've made so many stupid personnel decisions in the past, I question if most Browns backers can tell the difference anymore. IF WE WANT TO WIN, SIGN DA TO A LONG TERM DEAL AND LET QUINN'S MODEST CONTRACT PLAY OUT! DON'T TRADE ANYONE FOR CHRIST'S SAKE.