First and 10: Brady Quinn to start against Denver

First and 10

1)      Good luck Brady Quinn. You get to lead a team that … may or may not have its No. 2 receiver … does have a No. 1 receiver who continually drops passes that can make or break your future … has an offensive line underperforming, especially compared to a year ago … has a mercurial tight end who does not think running the right route or being in the right place is vital to an offense but who does think he can run to any open spot and expect the quarterback to know where he's going and throw it there … does not have a legitimate third or fourth receiver. Other than that, your deck is stacked fairly well in your favor.

2)      Yes, that's negative. And perhaps Quinn can provide the spark the Browns offense has been missing. Given the way Derek Anderson has played, Quinn was going to get a chance at some point this season, and the Browns have decided it's going to be Thursday. It's surprising because of the timing. I mean, if Anderson wasn't pulled after the Washington game it seemed like the Browns were simply not going to make the move until they were eliminated from the playoffs. Then he gets pulled after a game where many players let the team down – not just the quarterback. Bottom line for the Browns: Inside the team's offices the thinking was that they could sit around all year and make excuses, or they could try something. They are trying something.

3)      The general consensus coming out of the Baltimore loss was that the defeat should not go on the shoulders of Anderson. That Anderson played fairly well, even though he didn't help the cause late in the game. Had Braylon Edwards – the guy who really deserves to be replaced – caught that fourth quarter pass things would have been different. That being said, going 2-for-10 after that drop does fall on Anderson. He did not help himself much at all. In the first eight games of the season Anderson faced seven of the league's top 10 defenses. Quinn gets to step in against the defense ranked 29^th. In that sense, giving him a short week does not set him up to fail, it sets him up to succeed.

4)      I'm not sure if this is a move designed to salvage a season or to prepare for 2009. The playoff hopes are very dim right now, and it might be the right time to see what the Browns have in Quinn so they know what to do in 2009. But technically the Browns are not out of the playoff hunt. Either the Browns feel like the Anderson train had run its course and they think Quinn might give them a better chance, or they are throwing in the towel on 2008 and pointing to 2009.

5)      There's a lot of whispers that because Romeo Crennel said early in the day that he was not thinking of changing quarterbacks that the decision was foisted on Crennel from above. The Randy Lerner I know would not do that. In fact, the Randy Lerner I know would bend over backward to avoid doing that. And I hear that Crennel did in fact make the decision, after discussions with the front office and his coaching staff. For Trent Dilfer to say the decision was a knee-jerk reaction by the owner to fill seats is a little much; the seats are already filled. The tickets are sold. People would have showed up Thursday night. Bottom line: Crennel is loathe to say anything to the media before he talks to his players. He also said he hadn't yet talked to his coaches, and the players had yet to report. The discussion about what to do was under way though, and after more discussion in the afternoon and thinking more Crennel decided it was time. Something comparable happened a couple years ago. The Browns weren't sure about Charlie Frye after his rookie season and Trent Green was on the trading block. Phil Savage discounted acquiring Green in a morning interview at the NFL Meetings, but that same day the coaching staff looked at film of Green and told Savage they thought he brought something. So Savage investigated, and when word broke he did inquire it came across like he had been misleading. It happens.

6)       Making a move in a short week isn't easy, but as former Browns offensive coordinator Bruce Arians once said to me about a quarterback: If the guy can play, he can play. See: Joe Flacco.

7)      I do agree with Dilfer when he said this: "This is a function of the defense not getting off the football field, Braylon Edwards, a superstar receiver who's supposed to make all the plays to make you better, having 14 drops at least. It's about their playmakers, Kellen Winslow, not being there, not being dependable. It's about people not being at their best and Derek Anderson burdening the responsibility for this." But Dilfer well knows that quarterbacks get more than their share of the credit and more than their share of the blame. It pretty much goes with the territory. And … Dilfer and Anderson have the same agent.

8)      If Bill Parcells says that a team is what its record is, then a quarterback is what his numbers are. And it's hard to support Anderson's production based on the numbers. A 49.8 completion rate (33^rd in the league) … 5.98 yards per attempt (30^th) … nine touchdowns in eight games (tied for 14^th) … seven interceptions (tied for 8^th highest) … a rating of 68.9 (31^st), which is ahead of only Tyler Thigpen of Kansas City, Ryan Fitzpatrick of Cincinnati, Brian Griese of Tampa and Matt Hasselbeck of Seattle.

9)      Perhaps the move will also help in this regard: Anderson's play is based on vertical passing. The Browns lack that element in the offense this season. It may benefit the offense to go with a guy who will complete a higher percentage and go the short route. Problem comes if Quinn throws three interceptions in a loss. If that happens, then what's the next step? I guess if you're with the team you really don't think in those terms, though.

10)   Some quick thoughts: The man at fault on the screen pass intercepted by Terrell Suggs: Kevin Shaffer, who was overrun and allowed a man to get in Anderson's face before the play had developed. … Shaffer is not having a good year. Nor is center Hank Fraley. And the dropoff when Eric Steinbach leaves the game is massive. That adds up to an offensive line that is struggling. … Every time I write that the Browns lack a third receiver, I forget about Kevin Kasper. The coaches were high on him, but he was lost for the season after breaking a bone in his neck. … We've seen the last of Ryan Tucker this season, which means we've seen the last of him as a Brown. He'll be let go after the season. … Are there two bigger disappointments in the league than Edwards and Donte Stallworth?

Three and Out

Dear Pat,

I cannot imagine how (!) the coach is not pulling Derek Anderson after the Baltimore game!!

I have seen quarterbacks on other teams get pulled for less.

Thanks,

Ed

Dear Ed,

Obviously your letter was written before Monday night.

And Crennel did pull the quarterback.

You're welcome.

Dear Pat,

Just two questions this week.

Any chance you can get Ed Suba, Jr. to make that great photo he took of Braylon Edwards dropping the touchdown pass into a big Fathead I could put on my office wall?

John Lennon had sisters?

John Brodie

Galt, CA

Dear John,

You are becoming a weekly staple. But your letter gives me an excuse to use Suba's picture here. It's an award winner if I ever saw one.

As for John Lennon's sisters, he had three (named Paula, Georgette and Ringo) and they sang in a group that appeared regularly on the Lawrence Welk show. Remember?

Here is Suba's shot (note that Braylon is not exactly ‘looking it in'):

Dear Pat,

I thought your article in Tuesday's Beacon Journal was spot on! This team lacks discipline in all areas! You left out the touchdown catch of Braylon Edwards where he could be seen screaming into the camera "That's what I do!" Well actually Braylon, what you do is drop wide-open touchdown passes at critical points of the game! Act like you've been there before!

John

Albuquerque

Dear John,

I also could have mentioned Braylon's air guitar routine in Cincinnati after he (finally) actually caught a touchdown pass.

I did not know he screamed "that's what I do" after the TD vs. Baltimore. Had I known I'd have included it.

By the way, there are many who still are not convinced that should have been a touchdown. If you notice, Edwards got up awful quick after the ref signaled touchdown – as if he was trying to avoid the possibility the call could be changed.

Edwards just does not get it.

He is coming across as a classic frontrunner, a guy there when you win but a guy who disappears when the team is losing and it needs him.

Oh … it also would have been nice if he'd have stood up like a man after the game and addressed the media.

But he didn't.

Is anyone surprised?

Dear Pat,

What is Chris Gardocki doing now? Does he see himself kicking again in the NFL?

John Vaughan

Dear John,

Chris lives on Hilton Head and has some private business things going. A couple teams called him a year ago to try out, but he's struggling with bulging discs in his back and that prevented his return. One was the Browns, prior to the opener a year ago. He just couldn't do it.

Shame. He remains one of the true good guys.

(Want to be recognized in "Three and Out"? It's a rare treat. Comment here or send an e-mail to pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com, and put "First and 10" in the subject line)