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In what could be an unceremonious ending to his Browns career, Derek Anderson heard Browns fans cheering when the quarterback went down in the fourth quarter with a damaged left knee ligament that will probably end his season. "They were cheering the fact that I was hurt," said Anderson after the 10-6 loss to the Colts. "They don't like me. That's well known."
The cheering was not lost on his teammates, who were upset by it. One said it was his lowest point in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
"We care about each other and that was very disappointing," said receiver Josh Cribbs, who could serve as the No. 2 quarterback behind Ken Dorsey next week in Tennesee. "We love our fans, but that just wasn't needed. Hopefully Derek isn't hurt too bad and he'll get back and they can cheer for him the next game."
Anderson suffered the injury with 1:07 remaining when end Robert Mathis beat right tackle Kevin Shaffer on a bull rush for a 10-yard sack. Shaffer's momentum knocked his helmet into Anderson's left knee and then Mathis grabbed Anderson's leg and brought him down.
"I don't remember making any contact," said Shaffer. "I just saw him laying there and knew something was up."
Anderson winced and collapsed when he tried to stand up. He had to be helped off the field by two trainers and was checked on the sidelines. Then he made the long, slow trek to the locker room, propped up by the trainers and limping badly.
"I just felt a burn, the pain," said Anderson. "I'm not really sure what happened. I'm disappointed. I think I sprained the [medial collateral ligament]. I'll get it evaluated and see exactly how bad it is. It doesn't feel very good."
Anderson suffered a mild MCL sprain in college, so he knows what one feels like.
"I did it in the bowl game when we waxed [brady Quinn] and Notre Dame," he said with a laugh.
Anderson's injury came in his first start after being benched for three games in favor of fan favorite Quinn, who's now out for the year with a broken finger. It was his chance to prove that he never should've lost his job in the first place. But with the Browns committing to Quinn as their quarterback of the future, it may have been his last game as a Brown.
"I started playing pretty well before the change was made, which is fine," said Anderson, who slipped to 13-14. "It was unfortunate the way I got put back in there, with Brady getting hurt. I was looking at it as five weeks to get guys going again. I think I did. I think I got the linemen, those guys played their tails off."
He said he also hoped to try to help save Romeo Crennel's job.
"Guys aren't going to give up in here," said Anderson. "We love RAC and we're going to play for RAC. That's the biggest thing these last four weeks, knowing the entire situation."
Anderson's frustration with the season and his lack of support by some fans and media was evident when asked about his strip-sack that resulted in the Colts' game-winning TD.
"[Dwight Freeney] hit me when I was throwing it and it comes out," said Anderson. "I'm not trying to drop balls and lose games for us. I know you guys think that sometimes. I'm giving it everything I've got. I'm obviously frustrated, I'm probably going to be sick about it tonight. We had an opportunity to beat the Colts. Peyton Manning is a guy I've watched and admired. It didn't happen."
The season will now most likely be turned over to Dorsey, who went 2-8 in spot duty in San Francisco, with eight touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
"Dorsey will do a good job," said Anderson. "He's with us every single week. Guys will play for him. The guy won a national championship [with Miami] and lost what, two games in college? He's smart and he knows the offense. I'll let you guys cheer for him."
Anderson, who completed his first seven passes, scoffed at someone's suggestion to start Cribbs at quarterback.
"We're not putting Josh in," said Anderson. "You guys are smoking crack. Because we're playing bad doesn't mean we're going to put a receiver at quarterback."
Said Dorsey: "It's unfortunate for anybody to go down like, but Derek especially, because he's worked extremely hard every week. Even when he's not the starter, he works hard. It was good to see him go out there and get in a rhythm."
Anderson was hoping the fans would cheer him in these last few starts, but not like that.
