"Brady! Brady! Brady!" the Cleveland fans chanted after a disappointing loss to the Baltimore Ravens. On Monday afternoon Romeo Crennel told the press that Brady Quinn was going to start Thursday night against the Denver Broncos. Fans were excited for Quinn's much anticipated arrival but were worried that he only had one full day of practice to prepare for the game.
Quinn said he was not going to use the lack of preparation as an excuse. He jogged out onto the field Thursday night to a roar that only the Dawg Pound could reach and Quinn did not disappoint. He posted a 104.3 passer rating as he completed 23 of 35 passes for 239 yards and connecting on two TD's. He threw most of his passes to tight ends and running backs, with only one completed pass to star WR Braylon Edwards.
More importantly than this impressive statistics, especially for his first NFL start, was the way he managed the offense. Quinn was not sacked, he did not call a timeout, and reported no fumbles or bad handoffs. He ran the offense smoothly, was calm and composed and showed a great deal of mobility that Anderson has lacked.
His success proves three things.
1.) Phil Savage (Browns GM) was an idiot to sign Anderson to a three year $24 million dollar deal when you have this kind of talent behind him.
2.) Waiting is not always bad. Quinn sat for a year and a half and that may not have been the worst thing for him as he showed Thursday night that he can dive right into the NFL and carry on offense.
3.) Quinn has the potential to be a great Quarterback in the NFL. I know he only played one game against a bad defense, but his demeanor, his accuracy, his confidence, his mobility and his football IQ are extremely impressive for a 24-year-old first time starter.
6 comments Last one added 8 months ago — Leave a Comment
Patrick Collins 8 months ago
Quinn is a stud!
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John Flyte 8 months ago
Nice article. Thank you.
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Josh pratt 8 months ago
Couldn't have put it better myself. The biggest thing I noticed about Quinn was how he managed the game and commanded the offense like a seasoned pro. He was in total control of that offense.
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ben werth 8 months ago
I have no problem with people being excited with Quinn. But I have a huge problem with people not understanding how poorly this coaching staff handled the situation. Anderson was completely scapegoated by a coach who knew he will be fired soon if something miraculous didn't happen. Well, Quinn, with his amazing checkdown skills and complete inability to throw down field did have two huge advantages. Chud called a good game against a HORRIBLE defense. And Quinn didn't bother throwing to the moron who cost DA his job. If anybody should have been benched it should have been Edwards and perhaps the entire defense sans Rogers. Crennel is an awful coach and has been his whole tenure with the Browns. If it weren't for the emergence of a 25 year old Pro Bowler, Crennel would have never gotten his new contract. And now, he repays DA with a scapegoat tag. Awful.
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Patrick Collins 8 months ago
I agree that the blame fell unfairly on the shoulders of Derek Anderson. However, while Braylan Edwards has been disspointing, there is no one even close to his caliber behind him in the depth chart. The only hope with a guy like Braylan is that he finds his rhythm sooner than later. The only position where there was a legitimate back-up that could, potentially bring the Browns out of the duldrums was QB. Brady Quinn may not solve all the answers- I think he adds more than Anderson does- but I can understand the reason for the move. Something had to be done and the only place on the roster where that could be achieved is at QB.
Also, Anderson only throws the ball to Edwards- why didn't he throw to Winslow and other recievers? I submit that its because Anderson is one dimensional- deep ball only- such a strategy leads itself to blockbuster performances and monsterous busts. Consistency is the name of the game and that is exactly what Quinn brings to the table.
Finally, I wouldn't argue that Quinn can't throw the deep ball. He threw the deep ball at Notre Dame with great success. His forte is exploiting defenses and making smart, calculating reads. His deep ball is there, but I'd rather have 250 yards of passing with 2 TDs than 400 yards of deep balls and 2 INTs. Quinn is the future. Anderson had his chance and, upon realizing that his best reciever was a dud this year, made no attempt to improve other aspects of his game and throw to the remaining Browns recievers.
Can't Winn Without Quinn!!
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Brendan Collins 8 months ago
Ben I am a big Quinn fan, I have been throughout his college career at Notre Dame, but I agree that the situation was handled very poorly. Do I think Anderson was the reason the team had been losing games? No I dont because Quinn played a great game against the Broncos and put up 30 points and still lost. But although Anderson was unfairly treated in Cleveland, he has many inabilities - he has no mobility, he is not accurate in short or intermediate routes, he does not have the optimal level of composure and confidence of a starting QB, and he forces throws. His best attribute is his strong arm, and with Braylon Edwards having a great season last year it worked pretty well, but it doesn't work if you cannot establish a run game and use the play action bomb down the field. The browns have struggled in the run game so you need the short and intermediate passes to get first downs.
My only point that I dont agree with you is when you say Quinn's "inability" to throw the ball downfield, and although he has not shown this talent in the NFL he most certainly did in college. He does not have a weak arm, but he has always been a conservative quarterback and he throws to the open guy, he does not force throws. If Braylon is wide open down the field, then trust me Quinn will connect with him.
Thanks for you comments.
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