My Fair Brady—Quinn, That Is

With Tom Brady out for the season, the NFL, and fantasy owners are quickly turning their attention to a new Brady with Hollywood looks.

Brady Quinn, of the Cleveland Browns, was very impressive Thursday night in his first NFL start, and (if you haven't already) I recommend fishing him out of the free-agent pool before it's too late. 

Here's why:

Quinn's 23 completions on 35 pass attempts put him at 65.7 percent against the Denver Broncos. He amassed 239 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. In two regular-season games, and eight preseason games, Quinn has only thrown two interceptions. 

Derek Anderson threw interceptions in two-thirds of his 24 regular season games over the past two seasons, compiling 26 picks in that time period. Anderson is a career 54.7 percent passer and was completing passes at 49.8 percent this season.

Many are saying, "It was Denver; wait till Quinn plays a real team." Denver was giving up 243.25 passing yards per game heading into the meeting with the Browns, but they were torched for 798 yards in two weeks by Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees. In the team's other six games, they have given up 191.33 passing yards per game. Heading into the matchup, the Browns were averaging 173.12 passing yards per game. 

Quinn was able to control the tempo of the game and put quality drives together, only going three-and-out on the team's opening series. He avoided being sacked by the NFL's ninth-best sack defense and did a great job of hitting his check-downs. Anderson was sacked in seven of eight games this year.

Last season, Quinn came in at the end of the Browns' Week 17 victory over the 49ers. He was 3-of-8 passing for 45 yards. Not impressive, but Kellen Winslow dropped a wide-open touchdown pass in the end zone that would have changed the perception of his play. 

In two seasons under Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, Brady completed 63.3 percent of his passes, for 7,345 yards, 69 touchdowns, and only 14 interceptions. As you probably know, Weis is the former Patriots offensive mastermind and was the coordinator that helped develop the NFL's other Brady—Tom.

Quinn is in a perfect situation to put up some very good numbers for the remainder of the season. Through the first eight games, Anderson averaged 30.3 attempts per contest. As we witnessed in Thursday's game, Quinn has already developed a rapport with his Pro Bowl tight end. 

It has been a tough season for Braylon Edwards, who only had one catch for 15 yards against Denver. Let's not forget Edwards scored 16 touchdowns one season ago, something no player in the NFL can do by a fluke. Quinn has the arm strength to get Edwards the ball all over the field, and he is smart enough to know his success, and the team's success, rides on distributing the ball the Browns' two receiving threats. 

In Week 11, the Browns travel to Buffalo to play a middle-of-the-pack passing D that has lots its spunk since the beginning of the season. In Week 12, the Browns host Houston, who is on the same level as the Bills defensively.

In Weeks 13, 14, and 15, the Browns will face the Colts, Titans, and Eagles, respectively. By then you will have had time to fully evaluate Quinn's value to your fantasy team, though most quarterbacks are not good starts against those opponents. 

In Week 16, which happens to be championship week for many owners, Quinn will be playing the abysmal Cincinnati Bengals, who will have fully quit the season by that time. 

Finally, by Week 17's matchup with the Steelers, many fantasy owners will have completed the season and be getting ready for next year’s draft, where, if you’re lucky, you will draft Brady Quinn.