Derek Anderson Should Start Over Brady Quinn, and This Is Why

I think Derek Anderson is the better choice at QB for the Cleveland Browns.  The guy had an off year in 2008 to be sure, with a slow start and an injury-plagued finish. 

However, he did play well in the middle of the season, and showed his powerful arm and poise in the pocket.  He slumped somewhat, but I think Brown's fans are going to see him again this year, and I think that's a good thing.

This comes, of course, with the disclaimer that whatever happens during training camp should be taken into account.

I think the Browns offensive line will improve this year (we'll see).  Giving Anderson more time in the pocket will mean more time for his receivers to get down-field, and more time for him to make his reads.

Consider three things:

1) His receivers were horrible last year.  Kellen Winslow was not making many plays.  Braylon Edwards was dropping passes like it was his job, dropping the second most passes of any receiver in the NFL (next to Terrell Owens, who was thrown to more than any other receiver in the NFL). 

Braylon alone contributed to a significant portion of Anderson's struggles last year.  Options at receiver may not be much better this year, but that still does not change the fact that Anderson is the better QB, because:

2) Brady Quinn does not have the arm strength to make long passes.  Quinn is not a down-the-field passing threat, and this will limit utilization of a receiving corps that is already limited in many other ways.  

3) Quinn had only one decent start last year.

Oh, and his one good start?  It was against the Denver Broncos, who were absolutely atrocious on defense last year.  The Broncos had the second lowest total interceptions of any team in the NFL, at six, and had the third worst defense in the NFL in points allowed. 

They were seventh from the bottom in passing yards allowed.  In that game, Quinn put up 239 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.  That is really no better than par for the course against the Broncos in 2008.

Compare that performance with Anderson's second game against the Baltimore Ravens last year.  Obviously the Ravens had a great defense, there is little merit in denying that.  Anderson had 219 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.  Now, the Browns lost that game, but their defense also gave up 37 points to the Ravens' offense, which is perennially horrible.  All I am trying to say is lets place the blame where the blame belongs. 

In the previous three games to the second game against the Ravens in 2008, Anderson threw for a total of 692 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. 

Yes, Anderson had a bad start to the season last year.  That is a poor reason to write off a QB that had a great season the year prior.  Many very good quarterbacks slump after their first great season. 

Browns fans are notoriously impatient, and understandably so.  But if the Browns organization allows that to affect them, the Browns will continue to fail by putting short-term whims of the fans over the long term development of the team.

Sure, the Browns may want to see what they have at QB in Quinn, just so you know what they have to trade.  This season could end up being a wash.  But that was expected in 2007, and you never know what will happen.  If the Browns are going to have a waste of a season, then the time to see what they have in Quinn is not the beginning of the season. 

Assuming no injury, the Browns should give Anderson his snaps first before finding out that Quinn has a mediocre arm and is generally overrated as a quarterback (he came from Notre Dame, go figure).  Then the Browns can try to figure out what little trade value they can get for him, or they can keep him as an OK backup, which is all he will ever amount to in the NFL anyway.