Photo: Jon Fobes/Cleveland.com

Some thoughts that I have after watching the Browns' much improved effort Saturday night against the Lions.

-Derek Anderson was in danger of falling behind in the quarterback competition by enough that he may not have had time to make up ground before Eric Mangini made his decision. Instead, rocket-armed DA showed up and the Browns showed flashes of the '07 look as Anderson connected on several medium-deep passes. In turn, the running game was much more balanced as the safeties weren't allowed to "cheat up" at the line of scrimmage as often. Anderson connected on 8 of his 13 passes for 130 yards, but his weaknesses were still apparent. He continues to miss on the short screen passes, and that led to his costly interception that prevented the Browns from shutting out the Lions in the first half. The fact that he had 49 seconds to work with and an already-spectacular evening under his belt, Anderson still chose to go for broke. DA's screen pass to RB James Davis sailed off the outstretches arms of Davis and was an easy pick for the Lions, who used the turnover to setup a 51-yard field goal as the second quarter clock expired. It's still the classic give-and-take with Anderson: do you deal with the poor clock management, inaccuracy on short passes, and awful decision making at times in exchange for the rocket-arm and deep ball threat?

-Meanwhile, Brady Quinn didn't really do much to hurt himself in the two-man race. Much like Anderson's playing time last week, as the backup, Quinn's action was limited. He connected on 3-of-5 throws for 29 yards. For some reason, Mangini wanted to let Quinn start the second quarter mid-drive on a 3rd and 1. On that play, Eric Steinbach missed a block coming from left to right across the line and Quinn didn't have a chance to find a receiver deep. Quinn continues to show me a better presence than Anderson. In other words, I feel more comfortable with him under center. Does that mean he's more talented or he's a better quarterback right now? Quite honestly, no I don't think it means that, but what goes on inside the head of Derek Anderson terrifies me at times. I try to ignore the visions I see of Anderson losing us several games this season in the final two minutes.  However, I believe Anderson was near the top of his game tonight.

-Have I MENTIONED that I like James Davis? I have, and if you don't believe me, go back and check last week's article as well as post-draft analysis. Davis continues to impress the coaching staff as well, racking up 116 yards on 12 carries, most of that coming on an 81-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter. The impressive thing is that Davis broke the big gainer on a 3rd-and-12. Davis also added a nice 14 yard run as well. With Jerome Harrison banged up, James Davis has a golden opportunity to lock up some carries for the regular season as the change-of-pace back.

-The Browns may have one of the best special team units in the National Football League. Phil Dawson is a bit questionable from 50-plus, but he is as solid as it gets from inside 50. Dave Zastudil is an underrated punter, and he had two very nice punts that pinned the Lions inside the 15 that I can recall. We all know that Josh Cribbs is a top 2 or 3 returner in the league, and he proved that by schooling the Lions return coverage not once but twice on Saturday night. His 95-yard kickoff return was called back on an Abe Elam holding penalty, and he followed that up with an 86-yard punt return to paydirt. The Browns also have strong special team players such as Josh Cribbs, Blake Costanzo, and Kaluka Maiava. Maiava just stands out as a guy who is in on pretty much every special teams tackle. Special teams, just like penalties, often decide the outcome of the game, and at least the Browns have that area figured out.

-Speaking of penalties, they got worse in game number two. The Browns had 11 for 85 yards which is worse than last week's 7 penalty for 50 yard showing. One that was unnecessary was Eric Wright's celebration penalty after his interception on the first defensive series. Also, on top of those that were not called penalties, Mike Furrey stood up after both his catches and gave overexaggerated first-down signals. I'm sorry, Mike Furrey, but who exactly do you think you are? That kind of garbage in the preseason on a team that isn't predicted to be very good from a guy who isn't even projected to START at receiver? I don't like it, and I am usually not one of those people who freaks out about excessive celebrations. But, come on, you've got to have something significant to celebrate first. I'm still trying to patiently wait on that Mangini disciplined mindset to sink in.

-As far as the Browns defense goes, it was pretty solid. The first team held rookie QB Matthew Stafford to multiple three-and-outs and forced a turnover on the Wright interception. The quarterback pressure and containment was improved from the Green Bay game as well. I especially liked the play where Eric Barton came through untouched and popped Stafford pretty good. Kamerion Wimbley seemed to be active, and the defensive line was getting pressure with just three or four guys at times. The obvious improvement on defense was the tackling, especially open-field tackling. Bret Lockett and Corey Ivy had two of the better open-field tackles that stuck in my mind. The team also had a 4th-and-1 stop courtesy of Robaire Smith penetration and Abe Elam and David Veikune bringing down the ball carrier.

The Browns take on the Tennessee Titans Saturday night at Cleveland Browns Stadium in what will be in effect the team's dress rehearsal. Starters will likely play two to three quarters, and we'll probably have a much better idea of where Quinn and Anderson stand afterward. I will be at the game Saturday night, providing in-game tweets and a complete wrapup following the game.

Kirk

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