The worst case scenario happened for the Cleveland Browns’ coaching staff last night in the team’s 23-20 loss to the Lions at Browns’ Stadium. The play of Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson was lackluster and rookie Brady Quinn made his debut and drove the team to two touchdowns, albeit against a bunch of defenders who will probably be cut in the next week or so. Quinn’s success already have the fans on his side, but GM Phil Savage has to know that the best thing for Quinn is to sit, hopefully until 2008.
It is definitely a problem when Ken Dorsey is your most effective veteran QB. Once again Frye and Anderson could not put points on the board, and with Crennel’s job in the balance, that’s a huge thing for the head coach. Frye made his usual bad decision on a quarterback sneak that came up woefully short near the end of the first half, and almost missed a wide open receiver resulting in an interception. Anderson also threw a pick to stop his opening drive short of the end zone.
Still, the coach needs to pick his starter this week before the NFL’s dress rehearsal, the 3rd pre-season game. The old saying about if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have any applies to the Browns. It is not Crennel’s fault, nobody has stepped up to claim the job. The fact that Quinn came in and played well gives the fans the ammunition needed to want the Notre Dame rookie as a starter. Maybe Crennel should allow Quinn to start the next game so he can play against some starters.
Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski’s attack has proven that it can move the ball. Most of the time, it hasn’t been the defense that has stopped the Browns, it has been poor decisions or poor throws by the signal callers. If you had to make a decision between Frye and Anderson, you probably would pick the former, but there is nothing to suggest he can make enough plays to win games in the NFL. I realize that the front office saw the same thing and that’s the reason they traded a first round pick to get Quinn. That’s still not a reason to put Brady’s career in peril.
Crennel needs someone who can hold the fort for awhile and pick up some wins in the meantime. There is no doubt Quinn will be the man eventually, but who goes against the Steelers on September 9th? There has been much speculation recently that the loser of the Frye/Anderson will be traded or released, making Dorsey the primary backup and sounding board for the starter and the rookie. Just another reason a decision has to be made.
Maybe the best move is to play Dorsey and Quinn next week and see if the former proves worthy enough to be the starter. At least he hasn’t played poorly in the first two games. Either way, the developments of last nights’ game has to give Crennel a headache. It’s got to be more painful for him to watch knowing his job security is at stake than it is for the fans.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 