Proving the theory of blind squirrels

by Dawg Nuts on Oct 20, 2008 9:03 AM EDT Comment 22 comments

from this day forward, i shall refer to DA as The Blind Squirrel. Occasionally, even he finds a nut, like the one against the Giants. But typically, he sees nothing, finds nothing, and starves. Not only that, he's making all of us starve with him. Romeo has a chance to shoot the blind squirrel and put him out of his misery, except he's too clueless to see the misery we all see. i'm rambling. man am i pissed off.

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Be patient, in another 3 or 4 games, DA will find his rhythm and light up the scoreboard. Won’t that be fun?

by elsandito on Oct 20, 2008 9:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

from this day forward i will no longer participate in debates about who should be QB for this team. if anyone out there (see: thirty3’s “still want quinn?” article) can’t tell that this guy is a bum, then i will have to agree to disagree with that person.

it’s been obvious since last year that he is a bum and nothing has changed this year. it’s amazing how he can single handedly lose ballgames and still collect a very lucrative paycheck.

as stated above, i will no longer comment on this subject.

by fivekmd on Oct 20, 2008 10:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess the frustrating part is they give up a number 1 to get Quinn, they have a QB in DA who is the lowest rated QB in the league, and guess what he will be starting in Jacksonville.
Just a lovely situation in Cleveland and our Browns.

"Have You heard of the Boom on Mizar 5?"

by Grockcubs on Oct 20, 2008 11:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What is DA starting?

by rufio on Oct 20, 2008 11:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I bet he will start the Wave on the Browns sideline.

The best thing probably is to hit [Grady] 2nd -- Jay

by Buckeye Brad on Oct 21, 2008 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hm, going to have to take issue with the “proving” wording. Doesn’t really “prove” anything. It is fairly reasonable to say that DA is prohibitively inconsistent, and I don’t know of any evidence that shows he can play otherwise.

by joeee on Oct 20, 2008 1:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the body of work over his last 12 to 14 games certainly PROVES that he only rarely finds his rhythm and helps this team win. that’s what I meant to say with my goofy analogy. and I also didn’t intend to start another debate, because clearly there no longer is a debate, as fivekmd stated.

by Dawg Nuts on Oct 20, 2008 2:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I for one will admit I was wrong.

I really thought Anderson was the guy and thought that he would develop more touch and stop forcing so many bad throws. Now it’s apparent he’s not a young, poor mans version of Brett Favre rather a young version of Vinny Testaverde (circa Tampa 1990).

I also agreed with Crennel’s decision to continue to keep Anderson at QB up until halftime yesterday. The TD drive nonwithstanding, it was clear that Anderson just didn’t have it and he is losing his team’s confidence. Crennel should have made the switch to Quinn at halftime. It’s debatable whether or not Quinn would have been able to pull off a win yesterday but I feel Crennel dropped the ball here not giving him a shot. Loyalty to your players, especially your QB is important (we all remember how rediculous the Holcomb/Couch mess was…) but what’s best for team comes before loyalty. IMO 1 good game and one good quarter (Cinci game) out of 6 gets you benched unless you are an entrenched veteran Pro Bowler with a history of sucess.

In Anderson’s defense, he has been without Stallworth and Winslow for part of the year and without Jerovicius for all of it. On top of that, his best reciever (Edwards) can’t seem to catch a cold and can’t make a hot read.

All things taken into account I think they have to start Quinn this week. I’d bench Edwards too but that’s just not really practical. We just have to hope he decides to show up.

We might be in too big of a hole to make the playoffs this year but there are positive things to build on. Our defense has improved dramatically from last year. The play of Rodgers and our young corners has been particularly encouraging. We are also running the ball well and protecting the QB reasonably well.

We just need better QB and WR play and a bit more pass rush to bring it all together.

by mgtbfb on Oct 20, 2008 4:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There can’t be much doubt about whether Anderson is ready to be an NFL starter right now: he clearly isn’t. Notwithstanding his excellent performance against the Giants, his inconsistency is simply too great at this point to lead a team which has hopes of contending. It’s more than just a slump this year: look at his performance over the last 4 games last year as well, and especially at his performances in road games. I’m not interested in an emotional rant (though that certainly wasn’t my feeling while watching the game). Taking an objective look at his stats gives a pretty clear answer, IMHO. The Browns (read Crennell) have been protecting his ego and confidence by continuing to give him p.t. But, considering his performance, how can that be helping his confidence? Throwing 70 mph bullets to receivers 5 yards away, underthrowing long routes by 5 yards, displaying no touch whatsoever, rushing throws…hard to see how that’s building his confidence.

Just as troubling is the appearance that Winslow and Edwards both went into a funk and played far less than their best – Winslow because his feelings got hurt when he didn’t receive a call from the GM, Edwards when the game didn’t start off the way he wanted. You’re talking about two huge egos, matched only by their immaturity. Finally, consider how badly coached these guys appear to be. How hard is it to figure out how to manage the clock? Pretty much everyone else does it, but the Browns consistently bumble around during the 2 minute drill, wasting precious time in disorganization, late play calls, the famous non-working helmet mic (have they ever heard of a backup plan?), etc. Add to that the fact that this is the most penalized team in the NFL, and not only penalties of aggression, which can be sometimes overlooked. Have you ever seen as many false start and procedure penalties? All speak to one thing: a lack of team organization and discipline. Isn’t that one of the most important jobs of a head coach?

Who knows what to expect from this bunch? They could win four in a row, or lose the next 8. The talent is there, but the discipline, organization, and execution simply are not.

by drjeo on Oct 20, 2008 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah don’t forget that Winslow had been in the hospital more days than he was on the practice field. It might not just be because he was frustrated with Savage.

by rufio on Oct 20, 2008 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You’re right. I really didn’t forget that he was in the hospital, or that he had very little practice. I was basing my comments on things Winslow said after the game, in which he complained that he was “treated like a piece of meat” because he didn’t get a call from the G.M., and also because the Browns indicated that it was Winslow who didn’t want his mystery illness disclosed. This is despite the fact that Winslow himself said, as late as Friday, that the illness was private and he didn’t want to talk about it. Sure it was frustration talking, but it also appears to me to be very immature for someone of his age and experience. I really like Winslow, but he certainly appears to be a really high-maintenance person.

by drjeo on Oct 21, 2008 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK so lets say hypothetically that DA has played his last down as a Brown.

What happens if Brady takes over the starting job and gets a great start (just like DA). We pretty obviously trade DA in the offseason, right? Then, after a while lets say Brady drops off significantly (just like DA). How long is his leash? Do we stick with him through an entire bad season? 2? 5 games? How long before he gets the boot (just like DA)?

I would love to see Quinn come in next game, play lights out, and go on to a HoF career. I am realistically bracing myself against that.

by rufio on Oct 20, 2008 11:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Can we see BQ take a few snaps first before we start discussing when he will be run out of town?

by fivekmd on Oct 21, 2008 8:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We have 2 QB’s for the next 2+ years. They will keep both because they understand injuries and the price of the two they have is still less than the cost of one stud.

I wanted BQ early last year. I then wanted DA traded in the offseason (sell high), but now we are stuck with DA until all hope for this season is over (which it isn’t yet) bacuase you cannot create a QB controversy when there is still hope. If you do, the team’s mission changes from trying to get better to who will start this week. You cannot fight for a playoff spot if you don’t know who to start at QB each week. Even as a BQ backer, I know he’ll have some growing pains, so when the switch is made, it has to be made for good and DA becomes the backup. It’s that simple!

For better or worse, 2008 is DA’s chance to lead us to the playoffs. I don’t like it, but it is what it is and you have to be sure when the switch is made as there is no going back.

by dvd1204 on Oct 21, 2008 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So you think we will pay BQ’s increased salary (due to his playing more than 45% of snaps) AND DA’s 7+ million roster bonus at the end of the year?

Do we even have the cap room for that?

by rufio on Oct 21, 2008 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I do

Forget which guy gets which money and the 1st and 2nd string QB’s are reasonably priced. Quinn’s escalators don’t kick in until the 2010 season. I’ve had a really hard time trying to find out exactly what the esculators are, but by all accounts it’s 11 M for the last two years, so I’m going to split it over that span

Year DA BQ Total
2009 5M bonus + 3.3M salary 655k salary 9M
2010 2M bonus + 3.3M salary 5.5M escalate + 700k salary 11.3M
2011 0 5.5M escalate + 700k salary 6.5M

There is no additional hit to the salary in 2009. The only way the Browns would consider getting rid of DA is if they get a great offer and BQ lights it up in the 6 – 8 games he plays. Even then I suspect Savage will still be cautious in 2009 especially when Matt Hasselback’s and Jake Delhomme’s of the league are making 10M+ (the going rate for a starting QB)

by dvd1204 on Oct 21, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

“Quinn’s escalators don’t kick in until the 2010 season”

Uh, I was pretty sure Quinn’s contract payed him like a starter (read: much more money than he is getting now and more than I believe your figures indicate) if he got a certain % of the snaps.

I am also pretty sure that the second DA is permanently benched he is out of town.

Where are you getting your information?

by rufio on Oct 21, 2008 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

multiple sites

It’s tough tracking down this info, but rotoworld seems to be the best

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_contract.aspx?sport=Nfl&id=4149

Initial contract signing reports also contains some of the same info

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp07/news/story?id=2964653

Condon proposed to allow Quinn to get a $5 million increase in the final two years of a potential five-year deal if he takes 55 percent of the snaps in any two of the first three years or 70 percent in any one of the first three. The Browns wanted to make the triggers tougher to reach.

by dvd1204 on Oct 22, 2008 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This quote is huge actually. The Browns avoid paying $5mm in escalators if they wait until half the season is over because Quinn will have gone the first two years without taking 55% of the snaps. I think this should clear the picture a little bit about when we can expect to see Quinn

by Roger Dorn on Oct 22, 2008 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought the same too, but he also earns it if he plays 70% next year which I believe will happen if he takes over as starter at any point this year. And rotoworld reports a slightly yet signifigant difference…

Another $11 million is available though escalators in 2010 and 2011 based on Quinn taking at least 55% of the snaps in each of the first two years or at least 70% in his third season.

Rotoworld says it is “55% in each of the first two years” which he obviously cannot reach since he didn’t play at all last year. So if the Rotoworld contract is correct and you think the Brown’s will do whatever it takes not to pay Quinn, then you can expect that no matter what happens this year, Quinn will only play 10 games next year.

Again, I don’t know the actual details of the contract and I have seen it reported as 55% of the snaps in 2 of the any first 3 years, so if this is the case, I would agree with you that we shouldn’t expect to see him until game #9 against Denver.

by dvd1204 on Oct 22, 2008 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why stop there? What if BQ’s replacement plays really well aafter we bench BQ? What do we do with the other 2 qbs? And if BQ’s replacement tanks after 6 games, then what? What if Jamal decides he really wants to be a woman? I plan to spend the rest of this day pondering these things.

by elsandito on Oct 21, 2008 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs