Ever aback Eric Mangini took over in Cleveland, the quarterback bearings there has been curious, and aerial at best. Aback he aboriginal got the job, anybody accepted Mangini to tab Brady Quinn as his starting quarterback branch into offseason camps and training camp. He banned to do so, in fact, he banned to name a starting quarterback at all.
Fair enough, I suppose, he capital to see immediate what he had in Quinn and Derek Anderson afore authoritative a decision. I can dig that philosophy. Well, the bounce mini-camps came and went afterwards Mangini allotment a starter. It was curious, but it stands to acumen he capital to see how the two would accomplish in training affected with the abounding agenda in camp. Maybe he capital to see how the aggregation as a accomplished was activity to acknowledge to the quarterback competition, which one was activity to accept the best abutment in the locker room. I get that. Or he possibly capital to see them in preseason games, see how they were activity to comedy in real-time bold situations and not aloof active non-contact casual drills in practice. Understandable.
As preseason formed on, neither amateur did a lot to analyze themselves from the other. Neither one of them was decidedly bad, but neither was overwhelmingly great, either. They both played adequately able-bodied aback alleged aloft in the preseason. Anderson completed 15-of-26 passes for 207 yards and 2 interceptions, while Quinn was 21-of-31 for 227 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Quinn was eventually called the starting quarterback aloof canicule afore the Browns division opener adjoin the Vikings. One can abandoned accept he was called the amateur based on accepting hardly bigger numbers than Anderson did in the preseason. Accustomed that he was finer benched half-way into the third bold of the season, one affectionate of wonders who or what was abaft Quinn actuality the called the amateur afterwards all.
Did it appear from the advanced appointment that Quinn was activity to alpha because they did not absorb a aboriginal annular abstract aces and millions of dollars to sit the bench? Look at it this way. Anderson had becoming the appropriate to be the starting quarterback aftermost division based on throwing 29 touchdowns and casual for 3,787 yards in the 2007 season. But he did annihilation during the 2008 division to accreditation actuality the amateur branch into camp, and in Anderson’s defense, Quinn had done annihilation to abstracted himself as the assured admired accustomed the brace of amateur he started afore activity bottomward with a season-ending abrasion in his third career start.
Granted, Quinn was not ambience the apple afire the aboriginal few weeks of the division with his play, but was his benching actually warranted? He completed 59% of his passes and had befuddled 1 touchdown adjoin 2 interceptions and anesthetized for 366 yards in the Browns’ aboriginal two games. Not abundant numbers, but not horrendous, either. Let us not discount the actuality that the aboriginal two amateur were adjoin two appealing acceptable defenses in Minnesota and Denver.
Let us additionally not balloon that Cleveland’s aptitude at the accomplishment positions is appealing lacking. Jamal Lewis is a advantageous back, but teams do not feel accountable to bold plan about his presence. Braylon Edwards is as acceptable a aptitude as there is at advanced receiver, but, let us face facts. He was affairs a Man-Ram in Cleveland and dogging it there the accomplished two years. Aside from accepting the big payday he has been after, he was never activity to be blessed arena for a going-nowhere-fast authorization like the Browns are these days.
After that, the buffet is appealing bald accustomed they traded Kellen Winslow to the Bucs, Donte Stallworth got abeyant for the year, and Joe Jurevicius may never comedy football again. Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie are able talents, but it is boxy to apprehend an amateur quarterback to cut his teeth in the alliance and be acknowledged afterwards any absolute aptitude about him to bandy the brawl to.
Given how bound Quinn was accustomed the angle this season, one wonders if Anderson was Mangini’s admired all along. He could not actual able-bodied name Anderson the amateur absolute afterwards abashing the fan base, or, potentially, high management. Remember, they accept a vested absorption in seeing Quinn be acknowledged out there. Quinn was the fan admired aftermost bounce and they capital to see him get a attempt as the starter.
Remember that Mangini comes from the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick apprenticeship ancestors and Anderson is the affectionate of quarterback they tend to approach towards. He is a backward annular aces who was a three year amateur in academy who threw for a ton of yards and touchdowns. They adulation those affectionate of quarterbacks who accept to action and atom for their atom on the team. They tend to veer abroad from the over-hyped guys who every added aggregation in the alliance avalanche in adulation with. The mid-to-late annular guys are added coachable and acquisitive to go the added mile to be acknowledged in the league. They apperceive they are not acceptable abundant to get by on their abilities abandoned and charge to be acceptance of the game.
Quinn is the wunderkind out of Notre Dame that was actuality absorbed as a top quarterback prospect. That was the aboriginal bang adjoin him, the additional actuality he was the fan favorite. Guys like Parcells, Mangini, Belichick, etc. do not like to be dictated to and told what to do with their teams.
One gets the faculty that Mangini disdained the actuality that he was affected to accept Brett Favre as his quarterback aftermost division and rode with him the absolute year to prove a point. If he had his druthers, Kellen Clemens or Chad Pennington apparently would accept been the amateur aftermost division for the Jets, not Favre.
Mangini was a bit of a arguable appoint in Cleveland accustomed how he larboard New York and he was apparently not attractive to bedrock the baiter too abundant aback he aboriginal got there. So he played brawl and went with Quinn, and aback he benched him in favor of Anderson, it was as admitting he was saying, “see, this guy sucks, I never capital him in the aboriginal place.” What leads one to accept Anderson was consistently the aboriginal best is how clumsily he has played and how Mangini has yet to alike accede affairs the bung on him. It is as admitting he is adage “I did it your way and we lost, so now I am accomplishing it my way.”
First of all, Anderson was called the amateur afterwards commutual aloof 11-of-19 passes for 92 yards in the additional bisected of the Ravens bold in Anniversary 3. He additionally threw three picks in that game. Alike admitting he did not do annihilation to accomplish one accept he was activity to accept any added success than Quinn did, he drew the starting appointment in Anniversary 4 adjoin the Bengals. He played able-bodied abundant in that bold — commutual 26-of-48 passes for 269 yards and a account — to accreditation starting adjoin Buffalo.
He was absolute abominable in the Bills game, commutual 2-of-17 passes for 23 yards and an interception. The bald actuality that they won the bold and Anderson kept the starting job is annihilation abbreviate of a accessory phenomenon in and of itself.
Despite putting up one of the affliction amateur in alliance history, he drew the alpha this accomplished anniversary adjoin the Steelers and while he was not as bad, he was still awful. He completed aloof 9-of-24 passes for 122 yards with a touchdown and an interception adjoin Pittsburgh. Anderson’s abandoned extenuative adroitness as a amateur this year is he holds the Browns’ abandoned win.
After this accomplished weekend’s games, Anderson is currently the affliction rated quarterback in the league. Accept it or not, his achievement allotment and passer appraisement worse than that of Oakland’s JaMarcus Russell, who has been about criticized as the affliction quarterback in the alliance this year. In three amateur as the starting quarterback, Anderson has completed aloof 41.6% of his passes, is averaging a bare 138 casual yards, and has befuddled 2 touchdowns adjoin 3 interceptions.
The bald actuality that Derek Anderson is still the starting quarterback afterwards actuality the affliction quarterback in the alliance to this point leads one to accept that Brady Quinn never stood a adventitious at starting all 16 amateur this year. He bare to be actually absolute to adhere assimilate the job. The actuality that Mangini has not alike anticipation alert about befitting Anderson in the calendar is mind-boggling.
One wonders if he is aggravating to bandy the season, so he can get a bigger abstract pick. One affair that seems appealing axiomatic at this date of the division is that neither Quinn or Anderson will be the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns abutting season. Who it ends up actuality charcoal to be seen, but I absolutely apprehend Brady Quinn to be in addition team’s compatible appear abutting spring.
This commodity was republished with permission from the Pickle Barrel.