BustedKnuckles
Footballguy
Browns need to make the tough call and trade Brady Quinn
By Matt Sohn (msohn@pfwmedia.com)
Nov. 9, 2007
The images are emblazoned on most football fans' minds: Brady Quinn, the golden boy from the golden dome, sitting in Radio City Music Hall, alternating his countenance from stoicism to despair as 21 teams passed him by. Then, moments after commissioner Roger Goodell announced the Browns had traded into Dallas' 22nd spot, the Ohio native was seen glancing and pointing upward in victorious relief, knowing that he'd soon be quarterbacking the same team he grew up cheering for.
And even though it has almost zero actual chance of happening, the Browns would be wise to say good-bye to him after the season.
The Dawg Pound faithful have a lot to be barking about these days. After years of watching their team go back and forth between laughingstock and tackling dummy, the Browns have emerged as the darlings of the NFL. At 5-3, they're just one game behind the Steelers in the AFC North and are primed to at least grab one of the conference's wild-card berths. But in the forward thinking NFL, it's never too early to start planning for the future. And given the Browns' defensive holes and solid play of Derek Anderson, the prospect of trading Quinn to a QB-needy team in return for a first-round draft pick in April makes too much sense for the Browns to ignore.
Without doubt, the visceral reaction to the notion of the Browns trading Quinn just one year after trading a first-round pick to select him, is one of incredulity. But from an analytical standpoint, it's in the best interests of the club. When the Browns engineered the deal with the Cowboys last April — parting ways with their '07 second-round pick and their '08 first-round pick — upgrading their quarterback play was justifiably a top priority. Neither Charlie Frye, who started 13 of their 16 games, nor Anderson inspired confidence with their shaky play. To compare their inconsistency to another Cleveland gunslinger, think Wild Thing, minus the mohawk.
In a league that traditionally allows one-time elite prospects more second chances than former middling prospects, Cleveland harbored little belief that '05 third-rounder Frye or '05 sixth-rounder Anderson was its long-term answer at the game's most important position.
But given Anderson's play through eight games, it appears as if Cleveland jumped the gun. Aided by a healthy Braylon Edwards, a thumping running back in Jamal Lewis and a dramatically improved offensive line bolstered by OLT Joe Thomas and OLG Eric Steinbach, Anderson has deftly guided Cleveland's fourth-ranked offense while stringing together a better season than all but a handful of other signalcallers. Meanwhile, their last-ranked defense looks like it would have a tough time stopping a half-dozen Cleveland-area prep offenses. Just how bad is it? Consider that you have to go back to the Baltimore Colts in 1981 to find a defense that's given up more yards per game than the 411.8 these Browns have yielded in half a season. Or, to put it another way, an era when Art Modell could actually feel safe walking the streets of Cleveland.
This shouldn't be misinterpreted as to mean Anderson is a future perennial Pro-Bowl lock. Far from that. But for as much as fans, analysts and even players gushed about Quinn's limitless potential and sterling work in the preseason, Anderson trumps his rookie position-mate in the one area that matters most: He's proven himself in actual NFL games. The importance of having such proven commodities at quarterback can't be overlooked. The NFL is littered with the carnage of too many “can't miss” quarterbacks to think that Quinn's immune to a similar fate. Thinking otherwise would be equal parts foolishness and arrogance.
With Anderson set to become a restricted free agent after the season, the Browns are expected to lock him up, especially if he continues his current pace through the remainder of the schedule. It's even more likely that the Browns will fail to see another team part ways with a top draft-pick for the rights to him, partly because of his sixth-round stigma and partly because of his limited body of work. But a Browns front office that's had an up-close view of him guiding their club to it current level knows what he's capable of and should be weary of messing with a winning hand.
Quinn, on other hand, has maintained enough of a mystique to render him as a legitimate piece of first-round trade bait. In fact, his year spent refining his craft and learning the nuances of the professional game makes him an even more attractive option. None of three consensus first-round quarterbacks entering the '08 draft — Boston College's Matt Ryan, Kentucky's Andre Woodson and Louisville's Brian Brohn — are expected to grade out as highly as Quinn, and you can bet teams such as the Vikings or Chiefs would jump at the chance to acquire him.
It's certainly a boon to have quality depth at quarterback. But when you're the Browns and you have the chance to add an upper-echelon talent to an embarrassingly lousy defense, QB depth is a luxury you just can't afford.
By Matt Sohn (msohn@pfwmedia.com)
Nov. 9, 2007
The images are emblazoned on most football fans' minds: Brady Quinn, the golden boy from the golden dome, sitting in Radio City Music Hall, alternating his countenance from stoicism to despair as 21 teams passed him by. Then, moments after commissioner Roger Goodell announced the Browns had traded into Dallas' 22nd spot, the Ohio native was seen glancing and pointing upward in victorious relief, knowing that he'd soon be quarterbacking the same team he grew up cheering for.
And even though it has almost zero actual chance of happening, the Browns would be wise to say good-bye to him after the season.
The Dawg Pound faithful have a lot to be barking about these days. After years of watching their team go back and forth between laughingstock and tackling dummy, the Browns have emerged as the darlings of the NFL. At 5-3, they're just one game behind the Steelers in the AFC North and are primed to at least grab one of the conference's wild-card berths. But in the forward thinking NFL, it's never too early to start planning for the future. And given the Browns' defensive holes and solid play of Derek Anderson, the prospect of trading Quinn to a QB-needy team in return for a first-round draft pick in April makes too much sense for the Browns to ignore.
Without doubt, the visceral reaction to the notion of the Browns trading Quinn just one year after trading a first-round pick to select him, is one of incredulity. But from an analytical standpoint, it's in the best interests of the club. When the Browns engineered the deal with the Cowboys last April — parting ways with their '07 second-round pick and their '08 first-round pick — upgrading their quarterback play was justifiably a top priority. Neither Charlie Frye, who started 13 of their 16 games, nor Anderson inspired confidence with their shaky play. To compare their inconsistency to another Cleveland gunslinger, think Wild Thing, minus the mohawk.
In a league that traditionally allows one-time elite prospects more second chances than former middling prospects, Cleveland harbored little belief that '05 third-rounder Frye or '05 sixth-rounder Anderson was its long-term answer at the game's most important position.
But given Anderson's play through eight games, it appears as if Cleveland jumped the gun. Aided by a healthy Braylon Edwards, a thumping running back in Jamal Lewis and a dramatically improved offensive line bolstered by OLT Joe Thomas and OLG Eric Steinbach, Anderson has deftly guided Cleveland's fourth-ranked offense while stringing together a better season than all but a handful of other signalcallers. Meanwhile, their last-ranked defense looks like it would have a tough time stopping a half-dozen Cleveland-area prep offenses. Just how bad is it? Consider that you have to go back to the Baltimore Colts in 1981 to find a defense that's given up more yards per game than the 411.8 these Browns have yielded in half a season. Or, to put it another way, an era when Art Modell could actually feel safe walking the streets of Cleveland.
This shouldn't be misinterpreted as to mean Anderson is a future perennial Pro-Bowl lock. Far from that. But for as much as fans, analysts and even players gushed about Quinn's limitless potential and sterling work in the preseason, Anderson trumps his rookie position-mate in the one area that matters most: He's proven himself in actual NFL games. The importance of having such proven commodities at quarterback can't be overlooked. The NFL is littered with the carnage of too many “can't miss” quarterbacks to think that Quinn's immune to a similar fate. Thinking otherwise would be equal parts foolishness and arrogance.
With Anderson set to become a restricted free agent after the season, the Browns are expected to lock him up, especially if he continues his current pace through the remainder of the schedule. It's even more likely that the Browns will fail to see another team part ways with a top draft-pick for the rights to him, partly because of his sixth-round stigma and partly because of his limited body of work. But a Browns front office that's had an up-close view of him guiding their club to it current level knows what he's capable of and should be weary of messing with a winning hand.
Quinn, on other hand, has maintained enough of a mystique to render him as a legitimate piece of first-round trade bait. In fact, his year spent refining his craft and learning the nuances of the professional game makes him an even more attractive option. None of three consensus first-round quarterbacks entering the '08 draft — Boston College's Matt Ryan, Kentucky's Andre Woodson and Louisville's Brian Brohn — are expected to grade out as highly as Quinn, and you can bet teams such as the Vikings or Chiefs would jump at the chance to acquire him.
It's certainly a boon to have quality depth at quarterback. But when you're the Browns and you have the chance to add an upper-echelon talent to an embarrassingly lousy defense, QB depth is a luxury you just can't afford.
