Why I Am Predicting a Browns Win On Sunday
If Derek Anderson Is Named Starting Quarterback
As my Twitter followers will tell you, I have been pretty rough on the Cleveland Browns this season. The Baltimore Ravens game was like seeing a train coming from a mile down the road and being tied down to the tracks without any chance to move. If I was a betting man, I would have made an investment that the Ravens would easily cover the 14 point spread. The team had already been demoralized with two losses coming into the game and eyebrow raising fines that were levied by Eric Mangini.
I think this weekends game against the Cincinatti Bengals can be different for a number of reasons but Mangini will have to make an unpopular move by giving Derek Anderson the start against the in-state rivals if they are to be successful. Here is my reasoning the Browns can break out for their funk and deliver a win on Sunday.
The game reminds of two different games in recent Browns history. The most recent was the contest against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football last year. I boldly predicted that the Browns would be victors in that game and was ridiculed with hate mail saying I shouldn't write such absurdities. While the 2009 squad hasn't show nearly as much on the field as the 2008 version, one of the big reasons that I felt the Browns were going to win was because of a huge win that the Giants had the week before. They felt like world beaters and probably felt that they could walz right into Cleveland and take the game half asleep. The Browns, of course, had other ideas and whipped the defending Super Bowl champs 35-14 in front of a national audience. Cincinatti is on top of the world with their biggest victory in years over the Pittsburgh Steelers and are ripe for an upset.
The other game that I think can be pointed to is the Browns game against the Bengals in September of 2007. Derek Anderson helped lead the Browns offense to 51 points only days after the Browns exiled former starter Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a future draft choice. You see, when Anderson is firing on all cylinders he is a force to be reckoned with at Field General. For some reason, instead of being lifted by the Cleveland media, he has been thrown in a faux-quarterback controversy with someone who just can't hack it as a professional quarterback in Brady Quinn. Quinn-fanatics say that he needs to play in order to get better. Anderson is only 26 years old and when his number was called he was ready to produce on the field as soon as he got the chance. In three weeks, Quinn will be 25 and has had one big game in his career which was against a very-suspect defense in the Denver Broncos last season. The truth be told, the head coach was forced to start him by the higher ups in the organization in a move that probably stunted the growth of this franchise for years to come. You cannot win in the NFL by dinking-and-dunking the ball downfield and you would think that the Cleveland fanbase would realize that by now after seeing Tim Couch's career just a few short years ago.
Another reason I am thinking upset is that if the Browns have any pride they will be out for blood against the Bengals. They were embarrassed on Sunday and are currently the laughing stock in the National Football League. If D'Qwell Jackson's words after the game are any indication, sounding like he hadn't given up on the 16 game season after 3 games, we may see a completely different team on the field this Sunday. Mangini and the rest of the coaching staff are hearing all the chatter and will be working overtime to try to get the heat off their collective backs. An old cliche that is suitable here is the saying "A Wounded Animal is a Dangerous Animal".
Hopefully Mangini can fix this mess because if they do, in fact, lose on and go 0-4 (and not show any improvement in doing so) things will begin to unravel very shortly. Hopefully history can repeat itself and DA will make fans remember that it was only 2 short seasons ago that he was the toast of the league and we can move forward from here on out.
Comments
It is amazing how everyone is so quick to point the finger entirely at the quarterback on the Browns after each terrible game. We haven't had a really good offensive line since the Browns came back to Cleveland. A quarterback can't make plays if he has 1 second or less to execute before he is in a heap on the ground. Get real! It wouldn't matter who Mangini puts in as quarterback if there is no line to give him protection. Until we get an owner who has the money and is willing to pay for the talent and some continuity in the staff so someone knows what is going on, the Browns will continue their downward spiral. Trade Brady Quinn before he gets beat up like Couch and every other quarterback they have had. At least give him a fighting chance to play real football.
GREAT ARTICLE, this is our superbowl
if we lose, our season is as good as done
and i really think we got a shot with Derek
Also with this offense, id prefer interceptions over punts
Great Article! I am so sick and tired of the quinn fans or as I call them Quinnenites. Its like they never opened their eyes while Quinn was running the offense. I mean seriously your going to support a guy who on 3rd and 9 throws a pass behind the line of scrimmage to a wide receiver who is covered like white on rice. I really do hope DA gets the start, Ive been telling people all along I would rather lose with DA than win with Quinn. At least we will have a chance with DA to stretch the field and teams will have to respect that!
I'm kinda glad that Quinn got out there to show the world what he could(n't) do, now we can hopefully stop hearing all about him. I would rather have a guy in there who we KNOW will move the chains, even if he might throw more picks. It's more fun to watch! At least then we can start to get the run going, give the line more breathing room and then eventually have less pressure, which will hopefully lead to less picks. Quinn had a fair shot and he flopped, 'nuff said.
I wouldn't point the finger at your guys QB what has your D LINE or O LINE done this year? Your defense is God awful and your offense doesn't have any WR you need to trad Brady Quinn. Never should of benched the pro bowl QB that you have but again with the way your O-LINE is playing you can have Peyton Manning back there and it wouldn't matter.
It was a big win for us over the Steelers but this is a different team than what we had in the shoot out. We have a good defense now and I def don't see you guys putting up 51 points....you only have one touchdown this year! was it even on offense?
Bengals 38- Browns 17 yes I give you two TD's one Defense and one Offense
Good Luck Guys!
I heard this song-and-dance before. We know what we have with Derek Anderson and he verified it again on Sunday. Don't tell me about rust. The backup has to be prepared and ready to go on a moment's notice. His performance was worse than Quinn's
Brady Quinn has played tight. This pathetic offense and poor play calling limited his chance to succeed. Eric Mangini went on for 6 months about "an open competition" only to pull the winner of that protracted battle after 2 1/2 games. That wreaks of desperation.
Quinn has the arm strength to go down field, but who is he going to throw two? Edwards is often doubled; Cribbs and the rest can't run routes, Furey is a nice possession receiver, but he's not a real threat. The tight end? Backs?
Quinn has done a nice job checking down - which is what a good quarterback will do. Anderson will force the ball into double and triple coverage with predicable results.
Quinn is the quarterback of the future and we may never know what kind of player he can be until he performs somewhere else.
How are you going to feel watching the Carolina Panthers - coached by Bill Cowher and quarterbacked by Brady Quinn - win the Super Bowl?
Anderson made his "Pro Bowl Season" of 2007 on four games early on - since then, he's been inconsistent at best, with the worst QB rating in the league since the latter part of 2007. This is our future?
Eric Mangini said the winner of the competition would "be his guy." This speaks volumes to the players about just how much his word means. If you listen to the national media, this situation is dire and Randy Lerner has some real problems to address with this coach, that is if he can pull himself away from his soccer team.
Get ready for more of the Anderson tease.
Good luck, Brady - we hardly knew thee!