Why If The Browns Had to Pick Between DA Or Quinn, Shouldn't It Be DA?

     Going into the 2010 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns have many holes to fill. Experts and fans alike agree that the direction that the Browns should go in the 1st Round of the draft would be getting either cornerback Joe Haden or safety Eric Berry, bother considered the best amongst their defensive backfield positions. The big question is going to be what they will do about their quarterback situation. Ther is a chance they could draft a guy like Colt McCoy in the 2nd round but I dont think hell be there at that point. There is a chance they could draft a guy like Tony Pike in the 3rd or 4th round or even a guy like Dan LeFevour in the 4th or 5th round which I would love. There is even talk about them doing something with Philly and getting one of the McNabb/Kolb/Vick trifecta. If all things do fall through, however, we are left with the same exact situation we were in a year ago as regards to the quarterback position. Who will be our QB? Can any of our QB's become a star? That may be the biggest question of all.

     While alot of people have written off Derek Anderson, I believe this to be a bit premature. If the Browns do nothing in acquiring a new QB, which I believe is unlikely, they will have to make a decision. They will have to look at the following areas: arm strength, accuracy, heart, decision making, athleticism, and upside. Once and if they do this, they'll come out with their starter.

     Derek Anderson has a much stronger arm than Brady Quinn. Wait, let me correct that. Just about every back up has a much stronger arm than Brady Quinn. Compare it to Anderson's cannon, there isn't even an argument. While I'm not a big fan of one trick ponies with big arms and not much else, Quinn's arm is pathetic. Seeing him struggle to throw a 40 yard pass was embarrassing. Anderson has the raw talent to make the big throw when you need it. Advantage Anderson.

     I have always been a fan of a QB that can put the ball on the money over one that can throw the ball a mile. One of my favorite QB's in the league has been Chad Pennington (hint Mike Holmgren.... he's a free agent this year). Derek Anderson has been pretty terrible with his accuracy short to medium range passes in his tenure. He shows fairly good accuracy on long passes, but you have to be able to throw a screen pass if you want to be an NFL QB. Since Brady Quinn was in college, all I heard was how accurate he was. He has yet to show me one instance where this was a correct assesment. Forget about long balls, he cant throw them. On medium routes, he gets flustered once a defender gets within 10 feet of him. He can throw a hell of a short screen pass, but you can't make a livin off of screen passes. Advantage noone.

     Heart is another tool I hold deep in my heart. I think that physical tools can be overriden, for the most part, if someone eats, sleeps, and breathes football. If you want it more than the other guy, even if you might be less physically gifted, you will probably win the battle. This also increases the play of those on your team and catapaults you into team leader. Derek Anderson just has shown no leadership capabilities. He just does not get emotional. Whether he has a great game, or a terrible game, his facial features never change. Teammates do not feed off of him when he is hot and I have never heard of him getting in a teammates face. Brady Quinn on the other hand, is a very emotional player. I don't like him personally, but you cant underestimate how much he loves the game. Advantage Quinn.

     A quarterback has to be the decider-in-chief of the football team. The play starts with him and he has to execute or else the play will not be successful. Anderson is known as kind of a river boat gambler. He will throw it 40 yards downfield into double coverage. I kinda like this as it shows trust in your recievers and shows you have balls, but he does it a little too much and alot of the time it is a bad decision. He also refuses to take sacks or throw it away too often. This leads to many interceptions. Quinn is almost the exact opposite, and not in a good way. Teams blitz him constantly because they knwo that if the blitz is coming, Quinn will dump off to a runningback that they are ready for and the play will go nowhere. On 3rd and 9, Quinn will throw the ball 5 yards and hope his reciever can break one. Advantage noone.

     Neither of these QB's are burners to say the least. I'm not gonna spend too much time on this. Although Anderson does have the longest quarterback run in Browns history, he doesn't have the type of athleticism you would drool over. Quinn has shown pretty decent athleticism from the QB position. I would probably give the nod to Quinn on this one if I had to, but it is so close that it's not even worth it. Advantage noone.

     Can any of these QB's become stars? There needs to be a serious discussion on this. If the front office decides no, then they need to go elsewhere right now. People look at Quinn's age and say he has potential. I don't have the foggiest idea where they come up with this though. He already is an excellent leader and that isn't enough. He's not going to get any faster as he ages, nor can he develope God-given arm strength. I dont see many areas other than his decision making. I believe that if a QB coach works with Anderson on his short and intermediate passing, he can develope the good enough accuracy to become a exceptional passer. He has the size a coach dreams about. The thing about Anderson that bothers me is his leadership capabilities. Is he going to be a guy that his players can look to when times look grim and say "I believe in this guy to put the team on his shoulders?" He hasn't come close as of yet. As far as age goes, people seem to look at Quinn as if he were a rookie and Anderson as if he's a crappy veteran. Anderson was born June 15, 1983. Quinn was born October 27, 1984. That's less than a year and a half difference! They are both in the same stage of their career and it is just apparent to me that the only QB that has a chance (keyword being "CHANCE") at being an elite QB is Anderson. Advantage Anderson.

     So there you have it. This is what the front office has to decide on. In Anderson, you have a big, young, strong-armed, "aww shucks" country boy that can't hit the the broad side of a barn if it was 5 feet away from him. In Quinn, you have a young, smart, fiery irish kid who has the arm of figure skater and the instincts of a lemming. I would go in a different direction if I could. (Hey there Mr. Pennington!) If forced to make a decision, however, I would choose Derek Anderson everyday of the week and twice on Sundays. Then I would beat and waterboard him to get some freakin emotion out of him!