Never fear, this blog is not just for the Red, White, and Blue; you'll get some Brown and Orange as well. Its Day 21 in Berea and we still have no Quarterback. Frye/Anderson isn't exactly reminiscent of the days of Vinny/Bernie, but it is as intriguing. It is confusing, if not comical. Let's look at the timeline of the saga that is the Browns QB Derby:
After mini-camps in May (OTA's they are called now for some reason), Derek Anderson and his rocket arm seemed to have the lead over Charlie Frye, who's value (allegedly) can't be viewed on a practice field. Of course DA would look better when the players aren't in pads. He's a pocket passer who is bigger and stronger than the more mobile Frye. "Bernie Junior" aka "The Savior" Brady Quinn was inaccurate and flustered, but said all the right things as he took his spot 4th on the depth chart behind Ken Dorsey and his Coco Crisp-esque arm.
Training Camp arrived with Anderson and Frye now neck and neck, Quinn unsigned and losing ground at a rapid rate, and Coco Dorsey holding steady at third.
The first preseason game against the Chiefs was about as fun to watch as a screening of Schnidler's List with the Anderson and Frye taking turns one-upping each other with bad throws and decisions. Frye started, Anderson followed, Quinn never saw the field, and the Lemmings at the Stadium chanted his name all fourth quarter.
SIDE NOTE: In the interest of full disclosure, I don't attend preseason games. I don't watch preseason games. I am from the school of my father, the great Bobby D, who viewed preseason football at full regular season prices as nothing but a scam. I don't believe preseason games have any sort of bearing whatsoever. Remember the great Ben Gay who dominated the preseason a few years back for the Browns? What about Madre Hill? Luke McCown looked like a stud QB as well two preseason's ago.
The second preseason game against Detroit gave the Lemmings everything they've been wanting and more. Anderson started, fumbled his first snap, and threw a bad pick in the end zone after burning two timeouts inside the Lions 5 and producing no points. Frye was equally as pathetic, wildly overthrowing Steve "the best backup Tight End in Football" Heiden for an interception. Like the man he is "battling" for the starting job, the pride of Willard, Ohio led the offense to as many points as Elvis Presley, 2 Pac, John Wayne, and the Pope did combined. Dorsey played a nice quarter or so and then came the moment - BRADY TAKES THE FIELD!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Down 20-3 against nothing but guys who will be cutting hair and mowing lawns in three weeks, Quinn led two TD drives and a rock star was born.
I've had to endure almost a full week of typical jamoke Browns fans calling for Brady to start game one against Pittsburgh. There's a good idea. Let's throw the QB of the future to the fire with essentially no time against real NFL competition into the pressure cooker that is the Pittsburgh defense with a banged up offensive line which hasn't had time to jell. He isn't exactly known for his accuracy. Why screw with his confidence now when we all know this is at best a 5-11 team. You want him to start right away and have to face The Steelers, Cincinnati, Baltimore, and New England in the first six games? Frye has two years of starts under his belt. Let him get pounded and let Quinn learn the offense. The bye week is week 7. Is there a better time than that to hand over the reins to man already up for sainthood down at the Lakefront?
Finally, John Clayton from espn.com weighed in on the pathetic state of the Browns QB situation: It's pretty clear in Cleveland that no one seems to know how to handle the quarterback situation. Coach Romeo Crennel used a coin flip to determine the starter of the first preseason game. After that, Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson made mistake after mistake. Heads or tails, no one looks like the winner there. Then there's Brady Quinn. He came off the bench on Saturday to lead a frantic fourth-quarter rally against the Lions that excited the fans. His reward was being tabbed as the No. 3 quarterback in this weekend's preseason game. Folks, Quinn isn't ready to start, but the Browns aren't doing much to push the process. The new offense is taking time to mesh with the talent that's there. It looks like the Browns are in for a long season.
My advise costs nothing. You're welcome Romeo and Phil.
You know what else drives me crazy? The fact that this town has a first place baseball team fighting for their lives and the people in this town are more concerned with why Brady Quinn isn't starting now. WHY? The Browns still own this town and it's a friggin joke. The Tribe/Tigers first pitch is in 30 minutes. That's a real team folks.
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