No Brady Quinn, No Derek Anderson, but Young Guys Shine in Cleveland Browns Loss

In a surprise move, Eric Mangini didn't play either Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson in a move that looks to be all strategy in looking toward the regular season home opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Brett Ratliff got the start against the Bears and threw an interception on his first pass attempt, but then recovered by throwing a touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi later in the first quarter on a slant that Massaquoi dove into the endzone for.

With the majority of the Browns starters getting the day off, the rookies and younger players had their opportunities to make the team before the final roster cuts, which take place no later than Saturday.

Of the younger guys who made an impact, the most notable were CB Gerard Lawson, CB Coye Francies, RB James Davis, TE Martin Rucker, QB Richard Bartel, and RB Chris Jennings.

Gerard Lawson, CB/KR/PR

Lawson made the most of his chances as a kick returner, since Josh Cribbs was sitting, by returning many kicks way past the 20 yard line. He averaged 33 yards per return.

Coye Francies, CB

Francies, once again, showed that he is another solid late round pick by the Browns by consistently breaking up passes. And he also made a TD saving tackle in the game. He ended up with seven tackles.

Chris Jennings, RB

Jennings, who is a lesser known name, showed great power and some nifty spin moves on his hand offs and runs after catching screen passes. There were several times where Jennings ran straight at would-be tacklers and just ran through them.

Jennings has rushed for 59 yards and caught six passes for 42 yards and was the Player of the Game by Cleveland's Channel 3 sports broadcast.

With the running back position very crowded, if the Browns do not put Jennings on the practice squad, then he will get picked up quickly by another team just based on his performance against the Bears.

James Davis, RB

Davis also ran very well (37 yards with a 7.4 yard per carry average) and on one particular play, he was swallowed up by the line, and then burst through out of nowhere for a 21-yard run. Davis led all Browns running backs in yards with 187 yards and a 7.7 yard per carry average.

Martin Rucker, TE

Rucker finally broke out and caught three passes for 37 yards and also showed that he is very hard to get on the ground. There were two different times that Rucker caught a pass in the middle and it took more than two defenders to bring him down.

Richard Bartel, QB

Bartel had a very strong outing (going 12-for-14 for 137 yards), whereas Ratliff struggled (8-for-20 for 71 yards with one touchdown and one interception) to consistently move the offense down the field.

Those performances create another tough decision for Mangini to make regarding his third string quarterback.

With 23 players getting the pink slip by Saturday, it will be a very tough choice as to who stays and who gets cut by Mangini and his staff.

At least it was refreshing to see the Browns' backups perform well, and their depth looks better than it has in recent years.

(Article originally posted on Dawg Scooper: An Unofficial Cleveland Browns News Source)