Brooks Looks at Top 3 Browns' Questions

Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson and rookie Brady Quinn are engaged in a heated competition that will be decided during training camp. While it appears to be a three horse race on paper, the battle will come down to the veterans. Last season's starter, Frye, completed over 63% of his passes, but had 17 interceptions during his 11-game stint as starter. Anderson displayed surprising potential in his four appearances at the end of last season. Though his overall numbers were not overly impressive, his ability to rally his team from a huge deficit versus Kansas City and his effectiveness versus Baltimore's highly respected defense won him some fans within the organization. After being penciled into the No.1 spot at the end of mini-camps, Anderson can officially claim the job with a strong performance during the preseason. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to build on the momentum created during the offseason.

After selecting Thomas with the third overall pick, the Browns appeared to solidify the left side of their line. But with speculation swirling of a lengthy holdout by Thomas, the Browns have to prepare for life without Thomas. Fortunately, they resisted the temptation to trade Kevin Shaffer prior to the draft, so pencil him in as the starting left tackle. Although he struggled a season ago, he has been a solid player throughout his career and should play better with Eric Steinbach beside him. Shaffer was one of their marquee signings in the previous offseason and the coaching staff indicated that they would not give his position away without a training camp battle. The competition between Shaffer and Thomas is one of several taking place along the line. With Kelly Butler vying for Ryan Tucker's spot at right tackle, the preseason will give the Browns plenty of opportunities to use different combinations and improve their overall depth. With more versatility and depth, the offensive line should be stronger when Thomas eventually steps into the starting lineup.

The Browns finished near the bottom of the league in pass defense last season. Though their coverage was spotty, the root of their problems was their inconsistent pass rush. Kamerion Wimbley led the team with 11 sacks as a rookie, but received little help from anyone else in the front seven. Without addressing their personnel weaknesses through the draft or free agency, the Browns will have to creatively come up with ways to pressure the passer. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, has some athletic players who have the versatility to be incorporated into an exotic zone blitz, but the Browns have been reluctant to blitz due to the questionable cover skills of their corner. Given the multiple looks that the 3-4 can disguise, the Browns will open up the playbook to create a consistent pass rush. If their young corners, Eric Wright and Leigh Bodden, can hold up during the preseason, the Browns will head into the season with enough confidence to feature the blitz as their primary way to pressure the passer.