The Defense of Brady Quinn, Part II: A Closer Look

About a month ago, I wrote an article telling the sports world not to bet against Brady Quinn. The main thrust of my argument was to counter the claims that Quinn played a "soft" schedule at Notre Dame and that he wasn't worthy of the acclaim given to him coming out of college.

I attempted to show how well Quinn played in his team's losses in his last three years in South Bend once he took over as starting quarterback.

My point was not to show how college statistics are going to guarantee Quinn's success at the professional level, but rather to prove that most criticisms of his play are unfounded.

Now, I would like to elaborate on this subject a little further as Quinn is beginning to show the world that he has the ability to be a competent and successful leader with the Cleveland Browns.

If you think Quinn had it easy in college and was able to pad his stats against a constant stream of inferior opponents, think again. No other argument placed against Quinn is more ridiculous than this.

That's not to say Quinn never played weak teams—because he did. But the same can be said for every other college quarterback in the nation too. 

Why does it seem like Quinn is the only one to receive this criticism when dozens upon dozens of other schools' schedules guaranteed victories as well?

For example, take a look at four of the top quarterbacks in the nation and some of the teams they've already played in their careers:

Sam Bradford-Chattanooga, North Texas, Utah State

Tim Tebow-Citadel, Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, Western Carolina

Darryl Clark-Coastal Carolina, Temple, Youngstown State, Florida International

Colt McCoy-Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, North Texas, Sam Houston St, UTEP

I don't really have much of a problem with these guys playing cupcake teams because everyone does it. By the way, these four schools have Idaho State, Charleston Southern, FIU, Eastern Illinois, Temple, and Utah State on their 2009 schedules. 

Yet are we going to hear how McCoy won't be successful in the NFL because he "won't be lighting it up against Sam Houston anymore?"

Of course not.

You can make the argument these guys play a tougher schedule than Notre Dame, which is debatable, but that's fine. You can argue these guys have won the "big game" before and have beaten top 10 teams. Again, that is a valid point worth debate. 

But just remember how much more talent Bradford, Tebow, and McCoy have around them, especially on defense. Brady Quinn never had anywhere near that talent in his time at Notre Dame.

Even still, as I've pointed out in my previous article, Brady Quinn always played well for the Irish and never lost games for his team, even when they were seriously overmatched.

Better yet, he always played well against archrival USC. Once again, he lost 12 games in his final three years with the Irish and he put up these numbers: 261 for 478 (54.6 percent), 3,199 yards passing, 23 TDs, and 12 INTs.

These numbers are not amazing, but it shows that Quinn at least played solid when matched up against teams much better than his Notre Dame squad. 

And for the record, five of these 12 losses came against teams that went on to play in BCS bowl games.

At the other end of the spectrum, Quinn won 25 games in his last three years in South Bend, putting up these numbers in the victories: 511 for 792 (64.5 percent), 6,732 yards, 63 TDs, and 12 INTs.

And while Notre Dame generally lost to the elite teams it faced, these games still included victories over Michigan (twice), Michigan State (twice), Tennessee (twice), Penn State, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh. 

So let's give some credit where credit is due.

To put things into perspective, let's take a look at two other quarterbacks who were highly touted in college: Troy Smith and Matt Stafford. We all know the positives about these players, but let's take a look at their performances in which their teams did not win.

Smith: 5 losses (Iowa, Purdue, Texas, Penn State, Florida), 44 for 91 (48.3 percent) 457 yards, 3 TDs, and 5 INTs.

Bear in mind that Smith won the Heisman in 2006 and ended his career against Florida with a 4 for 14, 35-yard, one interception performance. There may be more "hype" surrounding Quinn and his career in the NFL, but I shudder to think how he would have been crucified if he ever played that poorly against USC or LSU.

Stafford: 9 losses (Tennessee twice, Vanderbilt, Florida twice, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia Tech), 141 for 270 (52.2 percent), 1,811 yards, 10 TDs, and 13 INTs.

These numbers are fairly decent for losses, but notice how Quinn is measurably better than the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NFL draft. And are these nine losses for Stafford against that competition any tougher than Quinn's 12 losses (USC three times, Boston College, Purdue, Michigan, Ohio State, LSU, BYU, Michigan State, Oregon State, and Pittsburgh)? 

Also keep in mind that Stafford and Smith were playing with better offensive weapons and much better defenses. Suddenly, it seems apparent Brady Quinn was a highly successful college quarterback, worthy of Heisman consideration and more.

Moreover, there are those who will look at this information and still say ad nauseam, "well Quinn got to pad his stats against the service academies." Again, this argument really doesn't hold water when you look at what other quarterbacks get to face during a season as well.

Nonetheless, Brady Quinn faced the Naval Academy four times in his career at Notre Dame and finished 4-0 against the Midshipmen. However, let's not pretend that Navy is a complete pushover. They may not be terribly good or play a particularly tough schedule, but the Middies did go 35-15 during Quinn's time in an Irish uniform.

Although Quinn faced Navy in their annual series against Notre Dame, the record holder for numerous Irish passing records played Army a grand total of once in his career. 

Let me repeat that: Brady Quinn played Army ONE time while at Notre Dame. The same can be said for the other service academy, Air Force, whom Quinn only faced once in his four years.

So the next time you want to tell me how Quinn won't do any good in the NFL because he won't be lining up against Army or Air Force, just remember those two games amount to 4.1 percent of his career in college.

And let's be brutally honest about this: Navy, Air Force, and especially Army may not be very good football programs, but the student athletes at these schools achieve more in a single day than most of us do in a week or two.

And while Notre Dame playing Army may be the same as Florida playing Western Kentucky on the field, it's an entirely different story off the field.

Football players at Notre Dame and Army are forced to be more than just football players. The same cannot be said for athletes at the majority of most major universities.

And because of the enormous responsibilities and rigorous academics at the service academies (and to a slightly lesser extent at Notre Dame), these schools demand our respect.

So while Notre Dame may blow out Army and Oklahoma may blow out Utah State, the two games cannot be fairly equated. The tradition and respect earned, plus the difficulties endured by Notre Dame and the service schools, is a showcase of everything college football should be about. 

The point I'm trying to make is that there has never been a time where Quinn showed he was not good or buckled under the pressure and cost his team victories.

Even in his two worst performances as an upperclassman (Michigan '06 and LSU '06), he still managed five touchdowns and 39 completions. There was no eye-popping, mind-numbing, horrible performance like Troy Smith's in the BCS National Championship Game.

Again, I'm not saying Quinn will emerge as a superstar in the NFL (although don't be surprised if he does become a top 10 quarterback or better) or that he'll be better than Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez or whoever.

But rather most, if not all, of the criticisms thrown at Brady Quinn are unfounded and false.

What Quinn's record does show, however, is that he is more than likely to become a successful quarterback in the NFL. And again, nothing from his college days or in his limited time with the Browns has signaled that he won't do well.

When you put up better numbers against the same high level of competition as Smith and Stafford, all while surrounded with lesser talent, it is a good indication that you have a bright future ahead of you.

Now is the time for Quinn to prove his worth with the Cleveland Browns, and he's done everything the right way leading up to this moment. Coach Mangini would be well-advised to hand the ball to Quinn and put his full confidence in his abilities.