The Time For Quinn Is Now
Sep 22, 2008
Author: DawgBones.com

No fan of the Cleveland Browns wants to see one of their players fail, but in a game that does not discriminate it happens. After going 10-5 last season as the Browns starting QB Derek Anderson has regressed. Are all the Browns struggles in 2008 his fault, no, but he has made his fair share. The Browns are 0-3, 0-2 in the AFC North, and the season is on the brink of disaster. A spark is needed and that means it is time for backup QB Brady Quinn.

Is Quinn the answer, no one knows. What is known is Anderson is not getting the job done and people are going to start losing their jobs because of it. The switch to Anderson is not an endorsement of Quinn, but more of an indictment of Anderson. Going back to week 10 of the 2007 season Anderson has not been good. In fact in that time his numbers are below average. The Browns record is 5-6 over that period of time and Anderson has thrown just 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. His completion percentage over that time is 52%.

Granted the 2008 version of the Cleveland Browns is nothing like what we saw in 2007. For one veteran Joe Jurevicius has not played and off-season acquisition Donte Stallworth has yet to see the field. Every game Syndric Steptoe plays as the teams #2 WR the Browns have no chance of winning. The defense was suppose to be better with the acquisitions of Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers, but look every bit as bad as they have the past 2 years. All world KR/PR Josh Cribbs has been a shell of himself and has yet to give the Browns the field position they were accustomed to for most of the 2007 season. Add in the absurd amount of penalties and terrible game day coaching and you have a team that is 0-3 and desperate.

Brady Quinn did nothing this pre-season to make any Browns fan feel comfortable. As Anderson sat with a concussion Quinn got his chance to start. He struggled against the Detroit Lions defense, they are giving up the most points per game of any team in the NFL through 3 games and looked a little better against the Chicago Bears in the finale. In both games he failed to get the Browns 1st team offense into the end zone.

Regardless the Browns need a spark and head coach Romeo Crennel needs a win this week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The change to Quinn seems inevitable this season and by playing him this week the team would then have the bye week and more time to prepare for their Monday night match up with the New York Giants. By not playing Quinn this week the Browns take a chance of losing to the Bengals and then giving Quinn his 1st NFL start against the Giants, not an ideal situation for any QB.

Last year the team traded QB Charlie Frye after a week 1 meltdown. This was on the heels of a 4-12 season the year before. Anderson had a performance on Sunday in Baltimore very reminiscent of Frye's week 1 performance last year. The team isn't going to trade him, but they would be well served to sit him down and start the Brady Quinn era on Cleveland.

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