Anderson, Quinn Have A Lot On The Line For Browns-Lion Showdown

Browns Backers,  

Greetings from Cleveland!

I have come up from Pittsburgh to go see the annual snooze-fest called the Great Lakes Classic. This will be a fight between two downtrodden teams from two depressed Rust Belt cities.

You just have to wonder, which is worse? A team that went winless or a team that has redefined the meaning of offensive?  

When the Browns and Lions square off tonight, both teams will be playing for more than a shot of redemption. Both are coming into tonight's game trying to find a bona fide leader.

For the Browns, it comes down to Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn. The Lions have to determine whether Matthew Stafford is worthy of the No. 1 pick and being the new face of the once-proud Detroit Lions.

I will have to say that Stafford playing in the toughest conference in college football—the SEC, which should stand for Simply Elite Competition—has more than prepared him for the NFL.

His pocket presence and rocket arm helped his status in the draft. Tonight will be his first-ever NFL start on the road against a team who is struggling to attack the QB, and often treats offenses like they have the swine flu.

I would not be surprised to see Stafford develop into a respectable QB who can help the Lions win some games this year.

The question is whether he can lead them and gain the veterans' respect.

On the other side of the coin, the Browns are in need of a decision from Mangini as to who will be the starting QB.

While Quinn put up some fair numbers in Green Bay and moved the team down the field, it is never good to leave points on the field.

In the case of Derek Anderson, time is running out for him to stake his claim to being the starter.

If he does indeed start tonight's game at home, he will need to come out in his 2007 Pro Bowl form, not the 2008 incarnation that had many Browns fans begging and counting down the days to his release.

This preseason game is vitally important for Anderson, and he must play well to keep the Cleveland media and fan pressure off of him for at least another week.

For Brady Quinn and Matthew Stafford, this game could be the prelude to many starts and—for the Browns—hopefully many points and some wins.  

Talk you after the game,
Dawgfather