The Quinn Era Begins

For better, or worse.......

The Cleveland Browns announced today that Brady Quinn will replace Derek Anderson at the starting quarterback position for the upcoming game against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. It's about time!

I'm not sure if Brady Quinn will be any better than Derek Anderson, but giving Quinn some playing time is the only way we'll ever find out. Now let's just hope that Chef (Romeo Crennel) will show the same kind of patience with Quinn that he has shown with Anderson. I say let the kid start the remaining games this season so that we can get an idea of just how good, or bad, he is.

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My Take On The Benching Of Anderson

Unlike Trent Dilfer, I do not think benching Derek Anderson was a bad idea. Dilfer seems to think that benching DA was a "knee jerk" reaction based on "public opinion." I tend to think it was decision that came far too late to save this season for the Browns, but it may have been in time to give the Browns management a fair idea of what they may have for next season.

Trent Dilfer needs to take a hard look at what Derek Anderson has actually accomplished in Cleveland this season (and for his career).

1) Anderson currently ranks 31st out of 35 significantly relevant QBs in the NFL with a QB rating of 68.9. The only QBs that rank below DA in this category are Tyler Thigpen (67.6), Ryan Fitzpatrick (66.6), Brian Griese (64.6), and Matt Hasselback (57.7).

2) Anderson ranks 33rd out of 35 QBs in completion percentage at 49.8 percent. The only two QBs who rank below DA in this category are Matt Hasselback (49.2) and JaMarcus Russell (48.6).

3) In 29 games for the Cleveland Browns, DA now has a career completion percentage of 54.7 with 43 touchdown passes and 34 interceptions. That all adds up to a career QB rating of 76.2.

To put Anderson's career numbers in perspective, I took the liberty of collecting some other former Cleveland Brown QB career statistics.

Kelly Holcomb: In 37 career games, Holcomb has a completion percentage of 63.3 with 39 touchdown passes and 38 interceptions and a QB rating of 79.2.

Charlie Frye: In 22 career games, Frye has a completion percentage of 62.0 with 16 touchdowns and 25 interceptions with a QB rating of 70.4.

Tim Couch: In 62 career games, Couch has a completion percentage of 59.8 with 64 touchdowns and 67 interceptions with a QB rating of 75.1.

Trent Dilfer: In 130 games, Dilfer has a completion percentage of 55.5 with 113 touchdowns and 129 interceptions with a QB rating of 70.2.

The one thing all four of the above quarterbacks have in common is they all SUCK. And if you compare their career statistics with those of Derek Anderson I think everybody will agree they are statistically similar. And yes, the statistics seem to indicate that Trent Dilfer may have been the worst of all five of the QBs mentioned. Trent does have a Super Bowl ring, but I think anybody who knows anything about football will tell you that the Ravens won that Championship in spite of Trent Dilfer, not because of him.

The Cleveland Browns decided to give Brady Quinn a chance to start this week because they need to know just how good (or bad) he really is so that they can begin planning for next season. Derek Anderson is a proven commodity. The Browns already know that Anderson will probably always have a sub 60 percent completion percentage. The Browns already know that Anderson is capable of doing great things on the field, and that he is capable of completely falling apart mentally at the drop of a hat. They already know that he has a rocket arm and that the only consistent thing about his performance is his inconsistency.

The only thing the Browns know about Brady Quinn is how he practices and that they gave up a lot to get him.

I don't know if Quinn is an NFL quarterback, but I do know that he was a four year starter at Notre Dame. And, the kid was phenomenal during his Junior and Senior seasons throwing for over 7,000 yards with a completion percentage of 63.3 with 69 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions during those two seasons.

Derek Anderson played his college ball at Oregon State. During his final two years of college he threw for over 7,500 yards with a completion percentage of 52.7 with 53 touchdowns and 41 interceptions. Anderson's college statistics are remarkably similar to what he has done in the NFL.

I think it is time to find out if Quinn's NFL statistics will be anywhere near what he accomplished in college. Time will tell. Let's just hope that Romeo will show the kid the same kind of patience that he afforded Anderson.