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Written by Dawg up North
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Thursday, 27 December 2007 |
And so it goes ……. again. We Browns fans seem to have this love/hate affair with one position on the field above all others, the Quarter Back.
Here no logic and no middle ground is given, two sides are clearly drawn and if some tries to apply some logic, to look at the situation from afar they are quickly dismissed by one or both camps who can and do pull statistics out of their respective keesters to display to all. Whooppeee!!! We can all find a stat that if we turn it and twist it will prove our point precisely. 
But I’m going to give it to you as I see it from my vantage point of never having lived in Cleveland, not having been born there and having no ties to Cleveland except my love for the Cleveland Browns.
When Charlie Frye was the QB and there were so many clamoring to have him play over an experience QB by replacing Trent Dilfer. And oh how the people of Ohio cheered that a “local” boy had made good and was now playing for his hometown team. However to some of us with no Ohio ties that all seemed a far too emotional reaction and the play on the field by Frye nowhere near reflected the optimism and support he was getting from the fans. Charlie’s on filed play reflected his college play, it wasn’t at the professional level and his ability to learn and adapt were below what an NFL QB should be able to do. He simply didn’t learn and didn’t adapt well or quickly enough to be the starting QB on an NFL team. Yet there were so many that still wouldn’t see that he was not progressing, but just wanted to point out that he had heart, he was tough, he took a beating and got right back up. Somehow to many of us those things just didn’t translate into admirable qualities for an NFL QB. 
And now we have Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. One now a known quantity and the other still an unknown. Anderson who has played well this season, using his abilities to the fullest and helping the Browns to a winning season and a possible playoff berth. Quinn the first round draft pick that the Browns traded a 2nd round last year and a 1st rounder in this coming draft to get. This time there is a large division amongst the fans and the on the boards on the topic. And again I will say to you all take a deep breath, take a step back and look at the situation and performance on the field from a slightly different perspective. First ask yourselves if Anderson has performed adequately? Has he performed as well as could be expected from an NFL QB in the situation that Anderson finds himself in? If you can answer yes the first question and I think we can answer yes then Anderson has earned the starting position on this team and he should remain the starter for what’s left of this year. The second question is more elusive and maybe a different question should be asked in it’s place, has Anderson progressed throughout the year, has he learned to deal with different situations better, has he learned to make different plays when his primary weapons have been taken away, has he gotten better as the year has gone on? I don’t think anyone can deny that Anderson has used his physical skills to the fullest, taking advantage of a strong arm to make plays. But has he learned to deal with adverse situations and not just depend on his arm? And here is where we are, I for one, looking at Anderson from outside Cleveland haven’t seen that improvement, haven’t seen that learning. It isn’t a matter of how many picks he’s thrown but rather the situations that he has thrown them in. They still come from Anderson trying to use his arm to force passes into multiple coverage situations. He hasn’t learned that NFL DB’s can and do adjust and can close on the ball very quickly. They still come from him throwing too hard on the shorter routes or from throwing too far in front or behind his receivers. It isn’t from BD’s jumping the routes very often; it isn’t from arrant throws when he’s being hit very often. His passing hasn’t improved; he depends on his arm alone to get him out of trouble. It is the way he was at Oregon and the way he has been in the NFL. This is his 3rd year in the league he should have learned this by now don’t you think. Anderson is an adequate NFL QB; he may be a starter on an NFL team like he is right now with the Browns and he certainly looks like he will be a very good #2 QB on any team in the NFL.
Should Quinn be starting over Anderson right now? No, absolutely not. Should Quinn be getting some playing time? Yes absolutely so the team can evaluate what he can bring should they need him. They paid a hefty price for him by giving up a 2nd rounder last year and a 1st rounder this year. They should take the opportunity to look at him under fire against an NFL team. If they don’t then they will have to depend on next years training camp or if they were to be offered a 1st rounder for Anderson find themselves in the position of having to start Quinn next year and not know if he can or can’t do the job. That’s not a place that the team should want to find itself in and I think Phil Savage is too smart to let that happen.
So if Quinn doesn’t get any playing time this year what does that mean? In my mind it means that the FO and coaching staff already knows what direction they want to head in for next year. And that leaves two possibilities it seems to me. One is to leave Anderson as the starter again with Quinn on the sidelines and the other to have Quinn start next year regardless. I don’t think the two QB rotation is a viable one for this or any team in the NFL. Any of us can try to guess or speculate as to what the FO is thinking on this now but it should all become clear pretty soon. In my mind even as well as Anderson has played he hasn’t shown enough to be handed the starters job for next year or the future of the Browns. But that leads off to another discussion and I won’t go into that right now.
In closing let’s try and take a pause before we set our fingers to typing on this subject. There is a lot to debate and discuss but the only way to debate it and discuss it is to have a calmer outlook on it all. We can all be emotional and passionate about our Browns and that sometimes leads too quickly to calling out the other person instead of discussing the facts and the merits of the players. |
