If Quinn's First Game Is Any Indication, Browns Are In For Long Season

While I do realize that this was only one game, Brady Quinn's performance in the Browns 34-20 loss to the Vikings earlier today certainly didn't give me much reason to hope for this season.

Evaluating Quinn's performance today, it was very apparent that he was handcuffed by conservative play calling in the first half. It was working though because the defense was playing well, the special teams generated some points, and the Browns entered halftime with a 13-10 lead.

Following halftime, the Vikings offense put a nice drive together and took a 17-13 lead following an Adrian Peterson touchdown.

The Vikings offense was finally starting to have success, and it became obvious that the next Browns  possession would be a good indication of whether or not the Browns would stay in the game.

Quinn responded by throwing a terrible interception which led to a Vikings score, then embarrassingly fumbling the ball with no defenders around him on his next possession.

What happened to the quarterback that was supposed to play smart and avoid turnovers?

What happened to the quarterback who was supposed to effectively manage the game with his accurate arm?

At that situation in the game, the Browns desperately needed a Quarterback who was capable of challenging the defense and stretching out the secondary.

The results of this game clearly show the multiple reasons that Derek Anderson would be a better fit as quarterback of this football team.

Unfortunately Quinn was incapable of responding in this kind of situation, constantly dumping the ball off to his tight ends and running backs.

In his 24 passes following halftime, he completed only one of them for more than 20 yards.

Expect more of the same results next week when the Browns head to Denver, and face a tough Broncos defense which held the Bengals scoreless for the first 59 minutes of their 12-7 win in Cincinnati today.

I understand that this was only one game, but Quinn certainly didn't give Browns fans anything to look forward to.

Today, Browns fans who boldly predicted that this type of team is capable of success with a quarterback like Quinn were given a perfect example of why they are clearly wrong.