It's time that Cleveland's football fans deal with reality.
Heck, I'll confess that it's time I deal with reality because I'm still lukewarm on Derek Anderson. Listening to the fans at training camp chant: "Brady! Brady!" makes me wonder what they're thinking. Folks, Derek Anderson is your quarterback. PERIOD. STOP. IT. NOW.
There's no getting around it. And Anderson showed why he is on the field during Sunday's lone practice. While the guy's definitely got the arm and the confidence in that arm to be a gunslinger, he showed some patience Sunday and in Friday's practice at Cleveland Browns Stadium. In the matter of a couple of seconds, Anderson went through his progressions on more than a few plays. Look left. Look down the center of the field. Look right. BOOM! Ball.
At times, Quinn looks to stil be struggling with that and his accuracy. He continues to overthrow wide open receivers. In short: unless Anderson turns into the second coming of Paul McDonald, Quinn will be holding a clipboard this year.
Thanks to WKNR's Mark "Munch" Bishop for pointing something out this afternoon. During the scrum that is the war in the trenches, sometimes you can miss a trend. One noticeable one with the Browns' O-line: they're not just working their stronger left side that features Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach. They're running to that right side as well and the holes have been there for Jamal Lewis to run through – as he did on several occasions today.
Tight end Darnell Dinkins is one of those who has been catching practically everything thrown his way. This presents the Browns with an interesing dilemma. They have four players at the position who could conceivably make the team – Kellen Winslow, Dinkins, Steve Heiden and draft pick Martin Rucker. They say competition makes you better, this one is going to get intense before pre-season is over.
More and more it looks like the Browns have the potential to put two dominating cornerbacks on the field in Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald. Wright made a couple of tremendous plays on balls thrown by Derek Anderson.
STEVE HEIDEN… AND BRADY QUINN DOES NOT LOOK BAD AT ALL… I'VE BEEN TO EVERY PRACTICE AND ALSO THE FAMILY NIGHT… BRADY LOOKED GOOD BUT MADE A BAD READ ON THE INTERCEPTION THROWN TO ERIC WRIGHT… BUT WITH DEREK ANDERSON HIS RECEIVERS REALLY HAVE TO EXTEND, JUMP, AND REALLY HAVE TO WORK TO GET TO HIS PASSES… GRANTED I LIKED SEEING DEREK ABLE TO ROLL OUT AND PASS ON THE RUN…(THE PASS TO DONTE STALLWORTH ON THE SIDELINE)… DEREK DOESN'T LOOK BAD BUT STILL KEEPS ME NERVOUS I DON'T WANT TO SEE OUR RECEIVERS GETTING BANGED UP ALSO… BRADY MADE OUTSTANDING PASSES ON FRIDAY AS WELL RIGHT IN THE NUMBERS TO CRIBS ON A SLANT AND TO STEVE SANDERS BETWEEN TWO DEFENDERS!!!
POINT IS WE HAVE A GREAT BACK UP QUARTERBACK EITHER WAY WE PLAY IT… BUT I LOOK TO SEE DEREK IMPROVE ALOT ON HIS YEAR LAST YEAR… HE HAS ALREADY IMPROVED HIS ROLL OUT AND SO FAR HIS SHORT PASSES DON'T LOOK BAD!!!
GO BROWNS!!!!
Maybe it's 'Eric' when 'Steve' is just skating by?
Sorry Scott, but that is just flat out untrue. Brady Quinn has not looked good. He has looked disappointing. His accuracy issues have been noted by all observers even the coaching staff. While Anderson has been throwing lasers right on target.
Not one practice has Quinn graded out even close to Anderson. Not when Brady worked with the ones against the twos, not when he worked with the twos against the twos, the twos against the ones. If this were a heavy weight fight it would have been a stopped by TKO and if it were a little league game probably more something you would understand it would have been stopped by the mercy rule.
There is far more reason to be concerned if Quinn would play well enough as a back up if Anderson was injured than there is reason to think he might be good enough to challenge Anderson as the starter.
I know there is great affection by many fans for Brady Quinn and as you stand in the crowd of pre-teen girls standing Brady Brady you obviously have found it difficult wearing your Quinn jersey to not be biased.
But Anderson has had a great camp and Quinn has had a poor one. And it is very obvious to everyone that your boy Brady is still in the learning phase and needs another year holding the clipboard and Anderson is ready to take the Browns on a run at the playoffs.
This is Anderson's team and if you are a Browns fans than you like many members of the media who also were blinded by the Brady Quinn smile need to get on board and support the teams starting QB and try and enjoy the ride to the playoffs even grudgingly since your boy will not be the QB.
Apologies guys, I know it's Steve. You ever think one thing and say another? It happens with typing too. Don't ask me why the heck I was thinking of the former Olympic skater.
At any rate, Quinn hasn't looked good, Scott. He's looked far from it. I'll give him credit for taking plenty of time after practice to work on his issues, but right now, Anderson is your quarterback and he's earned it.
I have to disagree with people saying Quinn hasnt been solid. It's more or less an attempt to solidify the team under 1 QB.
Quinn looked sharp with the plays that were called and what the defense gave him versus the Jets. You know D.A. likes to force throws in there and as Scott Graef said above – DA's throws put his receivers in bad positions to get yards after the catch.