Browns backup quarterback Brady Quinn will make his first NFL start in Thursday night's nationally televised home game against the Denver Broncos, the team confirmed Monday evening.
Quinn, the 22nd overall pick in the 2007 draft, has attempted only eight passes and completed three for 45 yards, all during a field goal drive during last year's finale against San Francisco.
With 2:43 remaining in a 37-27 loss to Baltimore Sunday, the home crowd erupted in chants of "Brady, Brady" after Terrell Suggs intecepted a Derek Anderson pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Before that throw, Anderson had compiled a career-high streak of 132 consecutive completions without an interception.
The Browns had won three of four before Sunday. Anderson led Cleveland to a 10-6 record, one game shy of the playoffs, threw 29 touchdown passes and went to his first Pro Bowl in 2007.
Coach Romeo Crennel did not seem to leaning towards making a change when he spoke to the media at noon.
Asked if his thinking on Quinn had changed, Crennel said, "No, I haven’t really. I haven’t had chance to talk to the coaches or anything. With a short week, I told 'em to go ahead and get started on Denver. They haven’t even looked at this game yet."
Asked if Anderson was the starter for the Broncos, Crennel said, "Yes, as of right now."
Whether the short week would play a part, Crennel said, "A short week is always tough. I don’t know how much you take that into consideration. You do what you think you need to do."
Quinn spoke briefly in the locker room before the team meeting. If the change had already been made, he didn't let on.
Asked how he felt about fans chanting for him, he said, "We lost the game, really that's all that matters. That's something in the NFL, everyone always loves the backup. That's just how it is. It's not any difference any place else."
Quinn made two preseason starts when Anderson was sidelined with a concussion and did not throw a touchdown pass or an interception. He completed 14 of 24 for 106 yards against the Detroit Lions and 7 of 9 for 65 yards against Chicago.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Too little, too late for this season. The move should've been made in the off-season, trading Anderson when he still had some value. Alas, Savage was a victim of his own greed, and like Wall Street, D.A.'s value has dropped like a lead weight.
Regarding Brady, I haven't felt as much excitement this entire season as when WTAM just broke the news about the QB switch. I've been anxiously awaiting it since the moment we traded for Brady's draft rights. This is the ONLY move the Browns could possibly have made to electrify the stadium Thursday night. The entire COUNTRY has been waiting for this freakin' move. The ratings will be thru the roof… Unfortunately, after all of D.A.'s inconsistency, we're playing for pride now.
Nick I couldn't agree more. Savage should have (and could have!) traded Anderson while he was worth something after a fluke season against an easy schedule. His numbers are dismal going back even several games into last season. And he is not even completing 50% of his passes! This move is way overdue. I cannot understand Crennel on this or any other decisions. He is the worst coach in the history of the Browns and that is saying something. He should be the next to go.
Very mixed emotions about this move:
(1) I agree that the Browns should have let DA go free agent in the off season when his stock was at its peak. He had one great half-season that he will likely never duplicate.
(2) Why send Quinn in THIS week? I'm skeptical that the front office is setting him up to fail. First, they have a short week to prepare. Second, DA was not COMPLETELY to blame blame from the latest loss (although he certainly did his part); he had 1.5 good quarters and 2.5 bad quarters. It will look to the rest of the team that DA is the fall guy, undermining Quinn's authority. The season is over anyway; let DA screw up once more for old time's sake before we send him to the Seahawks practice squad.
I was thinking to myself earlier today that if I was Quinn I would be making noise about wanting to be traded. I mean, WTF, I was drafted in the first round and here I am holding the clipboard for some Jekyll and Hyde who has one of (if not THE) lowest QB rankings in the NFL? Obviously, this is a team that DOES NOT CARE ABOUT WINNING.
Braylon Edwards is a joke. He had one nice long catch and immediately started hot-dogging as if he was the next Jerry Rice. Don't any of the coaches (or even his own agent) tell him that he needs to CATCH the ball consistently before he can land that big endorsement contract. (Forget about appealing to professionalism, because that obviously doesn't matter to Braylon.) Can we trade him and DA to the Lions for a 4th round pick?
I do not believe that the front office is setting up Brady to fail, they just finally realized, too late, that hopes for a playoff berth are over and they need to plan for next year. They are simply too slow and lethargic to respond to the fast pace of the NFL. They should have pulled him in the second half of the Redskins game after it became obvious that the "other" DA was on the field. So now relax, enjoy, no pressure. . . and no playoffs