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Quinn Creeping Into Starting Contention

By Chris Pokorny

On Monday, Browns head coach Romeo Crennel finally decided to give one of his quarterbacks some confidence heading into the game. Crennel named Frye the starter for the most important exhibition game of the year, the third one. The third game typically features most of the starters on both sides of the ball playing an entire half together, with some of the starters also coming out in the third quarter. Whether or not Crennel actually gives Frye that amount of time to work with is another story, but at least Frye can better prepare himself mentally.

"I think both guys, with not knowing who the starter was going to be and if and when they were going to play, I think it began to wear on them a little bit," Crennel said. "I think they'll feel better knowing who the starter is and not having that hanging over their head. So hopefully that will give them a chance to focus in on the job they have to do and feel better about it."
Crennel stated that Derek Anderson will be the first backup into the game, and that Brady Quinn and Ken Dorsey both receive opportunities to play. I wouldn't be surprised if Anderson and Dorsey only played for one series, with Quinn getting the rest of the time with the backups. In an interesting statement, Crennel did not rule out the possibility of Quinn surprising everyone and being named the starting quarterback for opening day.
"I don't know whether he can catch up that quickly [being ready for opening day]. The more he shows us he can do, then the more we'll give him to do."
The Browns had two practice sessions on Tuesday, the final time this training camp that they had two practices in one day. Of course, the morning practice couldn't come by without a very noticable surprise:
TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 18 [MORNING/EVENING] (8/22/07)
  1. Quinn Starts: Don't get too excited, because it was only due to his youth. During the morning session of camp, Crennel allowed almost all of the veterans to sleep in while the rookies and younger players received reps for an hour. At the quarterback position, Brady Quinn saw every rep, although he was basically playing with and against second- and third-string players. Quinn believes he can still make a push for the starting job Week 1. "I'd say never say never," he said. "I think it's still on, some of the competition. Even though a starter's been announced for this game, I think guys are still competing. The roster hasn't been set yet. This isn't Week 1 yet for the NFL. We have two weeks left of hard work."
  2. More Clues?: Maybe, just maybe, Quinn's performance against the Lions last Saturday has got Crennel thinking, "Hey, this quarterback can save my job this season!" Unlike his statements at the beginning of the preseason, Crennel is now stating that he may not name the team's starting quarterback for Week 1 until he absolutely has to. That could be around the time when final cuts are made. Let this blurb from the Plain Dealer speak for itself:
    Crennel was asked if the competition is limited to two guys.

    "Yes," he answered.

    And those two guys would be Frye and . . . whom?

    "It's Charlie and yes," Crennel said. "Who do you want it to be? I've got three others to choose from."

    He never did say it was Derek Anderson.

  3. Not Excused: Amongst the veterans not excused for the morning practice were Chaun Thompson, Joshua Cribbs, Darnell Dinkins, Nat Dorsey, and Kelly Butler.
  4. Back to Normal: In the evening practice, everything was back to normal in terms of competition, with Frye getting most of the reps with the first-team, followed by Anderson, Quinn, and Dorsey. Frye's highlight came on a touchdown pass to Joe Jurevicius over the middle. Anderson's highlight came on a deep pass down the sideline for a touchdown to Braylon Edwards. Dorsey threw the ball well, but our beloved receivers had several drops while he was getting reps.
  5. Looking for Answers: We've been looking for answers regarding the status of injured players, but not much has been said yet. Eric Steinbach was not seen at practice, while LeCharles Bentley is rehabbing indoors still. Chances are that Bentley will start the year on the PUP.
CBS Broadcasting has announced which announcers will be doing the play-by-play for our Week 1 and Week 2 games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Week 1
Pittsburgh @ Cleveland (HD), 1:00
Announcers: Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon

Week 2
Cincinnati @ Cleveland, 1:00
Announcers: Bill Macatee/Steve Beuerlein

Looks like we're stuck with the "Z" announcers to begin the season. We can't even get Ian Eagle!

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