I Feel Like I'm Taking Crazy Pills: Thoughts On Cleveland's Quarterbacks

The Cleveland Browns' quarterback "competition" reminds me of a scene from the movie Zoolander when fashion designer Mugatu loses his cool over the adoration given to Ben Stiller as model Derek Zoolander and his various camera poses.

"What's wrong with you people! It's the same look! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

In the case of other Derek, of the Cleveland Browns, I feel a lot of the same sentiments as Mugatu.

For weeks now we have witnessed Brady Quinn establish himself as the Browns' starter in training camp as well as in last night's preseason opener against Green Bay. With Anderson, he hasn't proven that he's worthy of the starting gig, and last night's performance is just another indication of that.

Yet, many football fans, and sadly, many Cleveland Browns fans, still do not want to hand the reigns over to Brady Quinn. And because of that, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

So many people have fallen in love with Anderson's arm that it blinds them to the reality of his overall talent as a quarterback. There's no doubt that he has a strong arm. And when given time he can make defenses pay.

But I ask you, how is this any different than any other quarterback in the NFL? From starters league wide to backups and third stringers...every quarterback can look good when given time to throw.

The problem is quarterbacks are rarely given the time Anderson needs to stay consistent in the NFL. And when Anderson is under pressure he turns into a very mediocre, bordering on bad, quarterback.

Last night's performance was no aberration. Sure he only threw the ball twice, but his interception is yet another indication that he isn't the answer for the Browns.

First, Anderson is big. But, let's be honest, he's slow. By the time he finished backpedaling and had his head turned around last night, there was already pressure coming from his left.

After exhibiting a useless pump fake, Anderson threw the ball deep but was hit near the legs just as he let go. He didn't get all of the throw and it was promptly picked off by the Packers.

A couple things are important about this throw. First, as I've mentioned, Anderson is slow and is not good at escaping pressure. He could have been ready to deliver the ball earlier or he could have shuffled his feet, and eluded a defender and done something else with the ball.

Secondly, he could have chucked down to another receiver or just taken the sack. But he didn't. Instead, he tried to complete a long pass with his "rocket arm" and blatantly threw to a receiver who wasn't open and was double covered.

It's the same look! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills too, Mugatu. Why is there still a quarterback competition in Cleveland?

As for Quinn's peformance, let's be real here, he looked pretty good. His numbers were solid and he showed good presence in the pocket. He picked up some key third downs and moved his team down the field on two long drives.

Yes, Quinn tossed an interception in the red zone, but it wasn't thrown that much behind Edwards  (who could have fought for the catch) and it was a nice play by the Packers' defender to catch the ball.

Pay that no mind. The drive should have ended on the previous play when Edwards dropped a sure TD pass from Quinn. And Quinn should have led the Browns to 10 points on two drives. Even still, the interception shows us how Quinn and Anderson differ.

On this play, Quinn was able to elude the oncoming rushers and deliver the ball to Edwards in the end zone but the ball was thrown behind the receiver. Even though it ended badly, he showed us what Anderson can't do, mainly, escape pressure and try to make plays. 

The point is, Quinn is going to throw picks just like any other young QB, but they will rarely be of the mind numbing "what was he thinking?" variety so often displayed by Anderson.

How much longer do we have to pretend that there's a quarterback competition? Quinn may not have as strong of an arm as Anderson, but he is much better at everything else a quarterback needs to do on the field.

In this light, Quinn is a lot like a solid point guard in basketball who will go out there and give his team consistent 20 point-7 assist-7 rebounds games with minimal turnovers.

Anderson on the other hand, is that brazen guard who jacks up three pointers with 20 percent success and can't be trusted to handle the rock because he turns it over too frequently. Sure Anderson will give you nights where he'll score 40 and he'll average 25 per game, but which player better helps his team win?

There seems to be three distinct groups of people when it comes down to this controversy. First, there are the haters. Generally they are haters of the Browns and haters of Quinn, who usually (but not always) support Anderson. Perhaps they want to see the Browns do badly? Hmmm.

Secondly there's the group who have "moved on" and decided that Quinn has shown he's capable and worthy enough to become the undisputed starter. This group will continue to grow over the next few weeks.

And lastly, there's the third group, made up of mostly well-meaning Browns fans, who keep clamoring for one of the QB's to "step up" and "take control" of the job. I think the main problem with this group is that they are waiting for one of the QB's to step in and take this team to a whole new level and suddenly reverse the Browns' fortune.

This is not going to happen. Quite simply, the Browns are not very good and the quarterback position is not going to suddenly make Cleveland a nine-win playoff caliber club. You have to be realistic and assess the situation and decide which quarterback gives the Browns the best shot to win and not which one will blow you away with statistics.

Right now Quinn is the guy who is proving he can move the team down the field and who will not make bone-headed mistakes on the consistent basis Anderson does. I expect in the following weeks his lead over Anderson will widen as we see more high percentage throws, smart decisions, and overall team leadership from Quinn.

Also, the post-game interviews say something about these two as well. Anderson kept repeating how the team had to play better, never eluding to himself. Quinn, on the other hand, deliberately said he had to play better and put points up on the board. Which person sounds like a leader?

Hopefully, by week one Quinn will have Mangini's full confidence (if he hasn't already) and I won't feel like I'm taking crazy pills anymore.