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From Ohio.com:
Browns' QB plan is 2-track
Frye to start tonight in Denver; Quinn to be brought along slowly
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, Aug 25, 2007
The Browns will use the preseason game tonight in Denver to try to get quarterback Charlie Frye ready to start the regular season.
Rookie quarterback Brady Quinn (probably) won't play until the second half.
The Browns fear that rushing Quinn will hurt him, and they also think that given his 11-day holdout, he's not ready.
So the Browns will have a two-track quarterback system as the regular season approaches.
The first will emphasize trying to boost Frye's confidence so that he can start the regular season. If Frye falters, Derek Anderson would get the chance in the opener. It would not be Quinn.
That's because Quinn is on the second track, which will emphasize getting him ready to play period.
Few people in Berea think that the entire season will go by without Quinn stepping into the lineup. The front office and coaching staff wants that to happen in a careful, deliberate way a way that will allow him to grow without ruining his confidence.
The Browns were more than pleased with Quinn's success last weekend against the Detroit Lions. They also were quick to point out that it shouldn't be taken without perspective.
Quinn was given four or five plays to run, and he ran them time and again. Too, the Lions were playing the softest possible defense, giving everything underneath and protecting deep.
The Browns think that continuing to bring Quinn along in a more deliberate way will best protect his long-term future.
Matt Leinart and Vince Young had decent rookie seasons in 2006. Each took over a few games into the season.
David Carr started from Day One in Houston and is no longer with the Texans. And the memory of Tim Couch being thrown into Game 2 and not succeeding is fresh in many fans' minds.
The team thinks that it has more pieces in place to make the Browns more competitive; the brass points to the additions of running back Jamal Lewis, offensive linemen Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach, linebacker Antwan Peek and cornerback Eric Wright as steps forward.
The Browns think that those players along with linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, tight end Kellen Winslow and receiver Braylon Edwards should help Frye (or Anderson).
And those players will allow the Browns to allow Quinn to grow at his pace.
The top two
There is no false sense of security within the team about the play of Frye and Anderson. Neither has grabbed hold of a job that was there for the taking, and neither has played especially well.
Part of the reason there was such excitement about Quinn's performance was that it was in stark contrast to the play of the other two.
Quinn scored two touchdowns; Frye and Anderson have scored zero.
Quinn has a 121.9 passer rating. Frye's is 69.4. Anderson's is 54.3.
They are not exactly setting the world on fire.
The Browns maintain they do not want to make a bad situation worse by putting Quinn in too soon and taking the chance on setting him back. They want his steady progression to be up, not like the stock market.
And they think that putting him in the lineup now would be too much too soon and would risk ruining him.
It's kind of a corollary to the ''two wrongs don't make a right'' theory.
In other words, why do what the team thinks is the wrong thing with Quinn simply because the two quarterbacks ahead of him are doing the wrong things on the field?
Brownies
This week, coach Romeo Crennel didn't name a starter for the opener, nor did he name a backup. Because he can't. Nobody has earned the starting spot. . . . Quinn has been thrown to the wolves before. As a freshman at Notre Dame he started and took a serious pounding. He responded pretty well. . . . Best player of camp? A tie between Wimbley and Lewis, who will need the offensive line to play well to carry his success into the regular season. Wimbley seems poised for a big season. . . . The team is releasing numbers of people ejected or arrested at home games this season. Against the Kansas City Chiefs, there were 86 ejections and eight arrests. Against the Lions, the numbers were down to 74 and seven.
And finally...
The Browns were a bit amused and a lot perturbed when so much talk was given to Quinn's play last weekend. The team clearly thinks that too much attention is given to the quarterback and not enough to other positions.
But asking fans and media not to pay attention to this quarterback situation is asking them to ignore the elephant in the living room. If the Browns really have added more pieces, and if they are closer to being more competitive than ever, then the quarterback has to play well. He cannot make silly mistakes.
The Browns will use the preseason game tonight in Denver to try to get quarterback Charlie Frye ready to start the regular season.
Rookie quarterback Brady Quinn (probably) won't play until the second half.
The Browns fear that rushing Quinn will hurt him, and they also think that given his 11-day holdout, he's not ready.
So the Browns will have a two-track quarterback system as the regular season approaches.
The first will emphasize trying to boost Frye's confidence so that he can start the regular season. If Frye falters, Derek Anderson would get the chance in the opener. It would not be Quinn.
That's because Quinn is on the second track, which will emphasize getting him ready to play period.
Few people in Berea think that the entire season will go by without Quinn stepping into the lineup. The front office and coaching staff wants that to happen in a careful, deliberate way a way that will allow him to grow without ruining his confidence.
The Browns were more than pleased with Quinn's success last weekend against the Detroit Lions. They also were quick to point out that it shouldn't be taken without perspective.
Quinn was given four or five plays to run, and he ran them time and again. Too, the Lions were playing the softest possible defense, giving everything underneath and protecting deep.
The Browns think that continuing to bring Quinn along in a more deliberate way will best protect his long-term future.
Matt Leinart and Vince Young had decent rookie seasons in 2006. Each took over a few games into the season.
