Now That Is The Brady Quinn I Know

Last night I was at home with a bunch of mixed emotions. On one hand I was happy and nothing could bring me down because of the birth of my second son on Friday. At the same time, this Notre Dame fan was sulking over a third straight defeat by the Fighting Irish.

After that team got off to a 6-2 start, they have just fallen apart. It was last night when I realized something. I don't need Brady Quinn to be a great or even a good NFL quarterback. The reason is that he was simply outstanding in South Bend and his NFL accomplishments and struggles won't change that.

The reason why it was important to me before for him to do well in the Pros is because there are way too many Quinn haters (who are really just Notre Dame haters in disguise) who always try to diminish his accomplishments in South Bend. I decided last night that is not my problem anymore. I know the player he was at Notre Dame.

Anybody who denies it now after what has happened since he left needs to get over their hate. Sure Jimmy Clausen has been good and may very well be a better NFL quarterback than Quinn. However comparing Notre Dame accomplishments, it isn't even close.

Therefore, I decided to just let Brady Quinn determine his own fate and be okay with the outcome no matter what.

And wouldn't you know it, he has a career day. Overall, he was 21 of 33 for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns. The most important stat is no interceptions. The best part of the touchdowns was that two of them were long bombs. The last one showcased the scrambling ability that Eric Murtaugh and I came to know at Notre Dame.

Now I don't mean to get overly excited. After all it was against the Detroit Lions whose team is almost as bad as the Browns. However, it does show a couple of things. One, Quinn can throw the ball deep. Two, if you give him a chance out there he can produce.

In his earlier games, he went against three of the toughest defenses in the league with arguably the worst offense in the league. He had no chance. With games against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and San Diego still on the plate, expect him and the rest of the offense to struggle more.

However, the schedule also includes games against Oakland, Kansas City, and Jacksonville. That is a good mix of tough games and not as tough of games. That is a chance for Quinn and the rest of the offense to grow.

Unfortunately for the Browns, Matthew Stafford had a career day too and he led the Lions to a last second victory. The loss drops the Browns to 1-9, but seriously who cares? At this point, the most important thing for the Browns is the development of their young quarterback. That took a huge step in the right direction today.

Now recently I rubbed a few Browns fans the wrong way by calling them garbage. I was just trying to make a point about how they are not patient and run too many talented players out of town without letting them develop. "Garbage" was probably a little over the top and I apologize to whomever was offended.

However, my point remains. Browns fans need to understand that their best bet is to let Quinn develop and understand he will struggle in spots.

There are people like myself that are not Browns fans but Quinn fans. However, I think there is something that both Browns fans and Quinn fans need to understand. This song says it all and pay more attention to the words than the title.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ5qU8Atxjk