Browns QB Derek Anderson May Be A Temporary Fix In '09

Is Brady Quinn that bad of a NFL quarterback?

Because Derek Anderson made him look like a high-school level quarterback after Sunday's performance versus the Bengals.

The play-calling obviously was tailored to Anderson's strength, which is his big-time arm, but was it the play calling that was bad in those first three games or was it Quinn?

This will be debated for a long time, but it is sad that it looks like Quinn's days in Cleveland may be numbered as long as Anderson can continue to play the way he did versus the Bengals.

So Anderson may not have had the best stats in the world, but he was able to move the Browns' offense, score points, and not make too many bad decisions.

OK, so the pass into the end zone that was intercepted was bad, and all he had to do was thrown the ball up in the air so that Braylon Edwards could jump up for it and it might have been a score.

It didn't happen that way though.

Still, Anderson helped the Browns offense show some life after three weeks of terrible offensive play.

Is Anderson the answer at quarterback?

As far as 2009 goes, if Anderson can play at a similar level for the rest of the season, he is the answer, but he is not the long term answer.

No matter what the Browns decide to do with Quinn in the next two weeks before the trading deadline, Anderson looks like he will be the Browns' quarterback for right now.

With Brett Ratliff waiting on the bench, if Anderson fails, Eric Mangini will probably go with him next and not Quinn because Ratliff is one of Mangini's guys from the Jets. Mangini's confidence in Quinn may be permanently shattered especially with Anderson's showing.

If the Browns trade Quinn, there are teams out there that would love to get their hands on him because their quarterback situation is not good at all.

Teams like the Rams, Redskins, Seahawks, Raiders, or even the Dolphins might love to get a guy like Quinn on board to give him a shot in a new system.

Regardless of what the Browns do with Quinn, they need to be looking at the 2010 draft class right now and assessing all the quarterbacks that will be coming out including: Tim Tebow, Jevan Snead, Colt McCoy, Tony Pike, and Sam Bradford.

Anderson may help 2009 be a less painful season than the way it started, but in 2010 there will be a new face of the Cleveland Browns franchise.