Why Quinn, Why Now?

I think i'm as surprised as anyone that the Browns have switched QB's to Brady Quinn on this short week, having a game Thursday night against the Bronco's. I figured they would make the switch eventually, Derek Anderson hasn't played well for over 10 games, and it was only a matter of time before Romeo Crennel's seat got hot enough.

Despite the record and the wins, Derek Anderson hasn't played well since about halfway through last season. I'm not going to drop all the stats here since a ton of other writers have already done that, but basically DA has been riding his surprising 6 game span from the beginning of last season. He couldn't get the Browns into the playoffs last season despite only needing 1 win at either Cincinnati or SF at the end of last season. He's had numerous chances to put the Browns over-the-top this season, including a 27-14 2nd half lead last week at home against Baltimore. He isn't delivering, a good amount of the Browns points have come off of special teams plays, interceptions/fumbles, and 54-yard field goals by Phil Dawson. Braylon Edwards has also dropped at least 3 touchdown passes that probably would have saved DA's job, but he didn't catch them, and DA is the scapegoat.

I like DA, and i hope we're able to move him for something valuable, there are quite a few teams that need a QB, i mean, Daunte Culpepper might be starting for the Lions this week, and we've already seen awesome QB's this season like Brad Johnson, Gus Frerrotte, Charlie Frye, Seneca Wallace, Rex Grossman, Trent Green, JT O'Sullivan, Patrick Ramsey, Damon Huard, Dan Orlovsky...

A quick look at the stats shows DA with a QB rating of 68.9, and that puts him 3rd from the bottom against other QBs, only better than Griese (TB), Hassellbeck (SEA), Thigpen (KC) and Fitzpatrick (CIN) and just behind Palmer (CIN) and Russell (OAK). DA's completion percentage is 49.8%, which is only better than Russell's 48%. I can understand Russell's terrible rate, since Oakland is a terrible team, but Cleveland has one of the best offensive lines in the leagues, and WR's like Braylon, Cribbs and Winslow. There's no reason he can't be better.

As for the Browns decision to go this week, i think it has to do with a few different factors. First of all the division is not out of reach; Cleveland is 3-5 while Balt is 5-3 and Pitt is 6-2. Although i think they only have about 2-3 more "easy" games, things could still change, especially in the wildcard race. Another factor is Denver's defense. Denver is terrible, they were terrible to start the season and since then they've lost both Bailey brothers, DJ Williams, Marlon McCree, and many other starters. Those loses combined with the fact that they'll be on the road in cold Cleveland with a rejuvenated fan base (last week's game ended with the stadium chanting BRA-DY BRA-DY) means this will be a tough game for Denver. The short week also gives Denver less time to plan for a QB that nobody really knows about, but that is two-sided since it only gives Brady Quinn a few days to prepare as teh starter.

Romeo Crennel should be fired by now, and if this season continues to be bad, he'll surely be fired by the end of the season. There is too much talent on this roster for the Browns not to make the playoffs. Hello, is this Bill Cowher?