Derek Anderson Is This Decade's Scott Mitchell

Before you read this article, check out this one by Bleacher Report's Rudy Dominick. 

After reading Dominick's article, I remembered that year (1995). This team looked all world. They had the best running back of all time in Barry Sanders. Three great receivers in Herman Moore, Brett Perriman, and Johnny Morton. The driving force to this offense was quarterback Scott Mitchell.

Many of the records that were set in '95 still stand in Detroit. So what happened to that team? They seemed to fall apart. It started in the Wild Card game against Philadelphia. They got blown out. Mitchell had a horrible game and threw multiple interceptions. If you're a Browns fan, the Cincinnatti game should come to mind.

For the Browns, 2007 was similiar to the Lions in '95. Jamal Lewis was resurrected. The recieving corps included Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, and Joe Jurevicious. Their quarterback was Derek Anderson. Much like Mitchell in '95, Anderson was phenominal that year. But again he cost his team the playoffs against the Bengals.

Comparing these two quarterbacks, they seem to be mirror images of each other. Both have cannon arms. That makes them exciting to watch when they are hitting. These guys can hit the long ball and make it look easy. When it is going well, it is really going well for these guys.

So why do they fail?

The answer is quite simple. You live by the long ball you die by the long ball. Defensive coordinators know this and they exploit it. They put extra defenders back and bring a blitz from out of nowhere. The QB will hurry his throw and interception is a likely result.

That forces a gun slinger to read a defense and hit the underneath routes. Accuracy is not a strength for a gun slinger. Therefore many high and low throws are the result.

Defenses will send them after the QB from all angles to not give the deep ball time to set up. Unless a gunslinger can scramble like Brett Favre, the gun slinger is dead. Neither Mitchell nor Anderson have good scrambling ability or escapability. The result is either a sack or a hurried throw which will likely be incomplete or intercepted.

The other problem guys like Mitchell and Anderson have is the long ball often depends on the receiver making a great catch. Moore had to out-jump many defenders to catch alot of Mitchell's passes. How many great diving catches has Edwards made for Anderson?

Edwards last year was known for the drops. In 1996 Moore and Morton also had many drops. The reality is that these guys had alot of drops during '07 and '95 respectively. Many of the great receivers drop their share of deep balls (including Randy Moss and Terrell Owens). However, it goes overlooked when they follow it with a great play.

The long ball is obviously the hardest to complete. So doesn't that mean that it is the hardest to catch? Yes a great receiver does make great catches for his QB sometimes, but to solely depend on it won't work consistently.

A truly great quarterback will be able to hit it on the next play. So you missed the bomb, hit a ten yard slant on third down. Keep the drive alive. That way your receiver catches a higher percentage play and forgets about his drop. So do the fans. Again, neither Mitchell nor Anderson are accurate enough to hit the high percentage passes.

That simply means that as exciting as these guys are to watch when they are on, they look pretty awful when they are off. Therefore a team will never go far with them. Wild card weekend is as far as they will go.

Now I know that most Browns fans do like Brady Quinn more than Derek Anderson. However, there is a contingent that still likes Anderson. I can relate to that, I really can. I remember arguing with family and friends in the years following '95 that Mitchell was a good quarterback. I blamed a poor line and dropped passes for Mitchell's problems.

Does that sound familiar, Browns fans?

I ultimately had to accept the fact that Mitchell really just wasn't a good enough quarterback. Guys like Mitchell and Anderson have their place in the NFL. If the coach needs the back up to come in and make a big play, they can certainly do it. However, inconsistency and inaccuracy makes it impossible to build a team around them.