|
Photo: Thomas Ondrey/Cleveland.com
Not to be outdone by the Indians, Eric Mangenius and the Cleveland Browns have done the old switcheroo under center, ousting Brady Quinn and promoting Derek Anderson to the unluckiest player on the team.
Anderson will start his first game since Week 13 of last season against the Colts. He holds a record of 13-11 as a starter, compared to Quinn's 1-5 mark. Last week, in relief of Brady, Anderson threw three interceptions but did open up the vertical passing to an extent, throwing for first downs on third down to Mike Furrey twice and Braylon Edwards once. Mangini cited DA's third down success as a reason for his start, but while he was 3-for-7 on third down, he threw two of his three picks on third down as well, trying to force the issue.
My take on this is Mangini is feeling the heat. He feels he needs to put the person under center that has the better track record and won ballgames when this team was on the verge of the playoffs. While this decision is not one I would make at this juncture, if nothing else it will hopefully open up the offensive playbook, which has to be done in order to give the Browns any chance of competing. We know what to expect from Anderson far more than Quinn. Anderson will probably throw for 300 yards twice and lead the team to victory, but he will also have a couple (more) 3 or 4 interception games and the Browns will get blown out just as bad as last week. A startling statistic is that Anderson had picks in 13 of the 16 games in that '07 season, with three against the Patriots, four against Cincinnati with the playoffs on the line, and 19 total.
I don't think Quinn is getting a very fair deal here. He had to sit by and watch as Anderson tripped over his own two feet last year as Romeo Crennel refused to make a change until it was far too late to make any difference. Now, quick trigger Mangini pulls him 2 1/2 games in after he's faced two of the best defenses in the league in Minnesota and Baltimore and teams with a combined 9-0 record thus far. I'm not saying Quinn hasn't been bad, because he certainly has been. He's missing receivers and holding onto the ball way too long. However, the play calling is so incredibly imbalanced towards the running game and 5-10 yard passes that teams are stacking the box and daring Quinn to throw it long, something offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and company are not letting him do. The excuses need to stop for Quinn at some point, and that point apparently is now. He's in his third year, and he must be showing something in practice to explain why the coaching staff feels so uncomfortable with him throwing the ball more than 15 yards downfield.
No matter who is quarterbacking right now, this team is a mess. All Mangini is doing is opening himself to more scrutiny from the national and local media. I'm certain that he doesn't care, but when the unruly mob of Browns' fans shows up outside his office with lit torches and pitchforks, he might take notice.
Kirk
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 