Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson: The Drama Continues in Cleveland

Brady Quinn is out, again, as the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns after a foot injury prematurely ended his season.

With that kernel of news, Derek Anderson once again gets to showcase his skill at throwing interceptions for the scouts around the league.

Mike Holmgren now has the unenviable task of choosing whether or not to keep Quinn as his starter going into the 2010 season. That Quinn will be kept over Anderson now isn’t a debatable point, it’s whether or not Quinn will be the starter or the backup.

Anderson had his final chance to be the starter of the future for the Browns when Quinn got benched in Week Three. Anderson responded by posting some of the worst QB ratings in the history of the league.

Quinn’s performance hasn’t exactly lit the place up either, but he’s shown the ability to effectively run the no-huddle offense and his interception rate is far, far lower than Anderson’s.

The hook on Anderson always has been his rocket arm and quick release, but the problem always has been his flings that send the ball downfield with little regard as to the coverage, which usually comes back to bite him in the end.

Holmgren needs to evaluate Quinn from two standpoints: The first being his opinion on if Quinn can “turn the corner” next year and become the quarterback everyone wants him to be. The second evaluation is whether or not Quinn is too fragile to trust in the long-haul.

Quinn broke his index finger last year, ending his 2008 season after three starts. This year, it’s his foot. While the extent of the injury is unknown, and that’s fine, it naturally raises speculation and comparisons.

For example, Eli Manning has been battling through a foot injury, plantar fasciitis, since late October. There’s only two weeks left in the season, so it’s not unfair for fans to speculate on why Quinn can’t “tough it out.”

I’m going on record right now to say Quinn should be the starter next year.

He’s shown he can effectively run an offense after his early season benching and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll most likely won’t be on the sideline next year.

The most likely scenario, no matter what Anderson does in the next two weeks, is Quinn will be named the starter going forward, and a quarterback will be taken in the 2010 draft. With 11 picks and no depth at the position, this isn’t a stretch prediction.

That doesn’t mean Quinn is guaranteed anything going through the 2010 season; it’s just a prediction Holmgren will not put Cleveland through two quarterback controversies in two years.

That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Holmgren decided to pick a quarterback in the first two rounds and make Quinn the backup.

No matter what Holmgren decides, though, Anderson’s time in Cleveland is over. If Anderson lights it up in the next two weeks, it might revive his un-tradeable value to a couple more low-round picks.

With a team like the Browns, who have too many holes to count, you can’t have enough draft picks.