It's already been made clear that the majority of Cleveland Browns fans would prefer to see QB Brady Quinn back under center when the team takes on the Baltimore Ravens next week on Monday Night Football. Granted, neither quarterback appears ready to revive our offense all of a sudden, but Anderson has worn out his welcome after failing to show results the past several games.
While it seems obvious to yank Anderson, head coach Eric Mangini has seemingly had something against Quinn in the same way Romeo Crennel didn't want to put the "kid" out there. Mangini announced that he knows who will start, but will not unveil his decision until Wednesday:
"I know where I'm headed, but we'll talk about that on Wednesday,'' he said. "I haven't talked to the quarterbacks about it yet, so that's part of it.'
This is the second time this season that Mangini has delayed the declaration of who the team's starting quarterback is. In Week 1, he withheld the information to gain a "competitive advantage" over the Minnesota Vikings. Now, after a bye week, he's waiting quite awhile again to name who the quarterback will be.
One of the big issues this season on offense has been the lack of chemistry between the quarterbacks and the receivers. So...if Mangini hasn't told the quarterbacks which of them is starting yet, does that mean we just wasted two weeks worth of practice for a particular quarterback to get more in-sync with the receivers? Eek.
Browns Drop Lower During Bye Week
Despite our pathetic team this season, at least we could "brag" that we weren't necessarily worse off than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This week, the Buccaneers upset the Green Bay Packers, and what an uplifting game it was for them. This is what happened:
- Rookie QB Josh Freeman made his NFL debut, leading the Bucs to a game-winning drive.
- The victory came at home, with the cannons blasting after every score.
- Members of the Buccaneers' young defensive line wrecked havoc on QB Aaron Rodgers.
All of the sudden, it seems like the Buccaneers could be on the upswing. Who else is starting to come alive? The Tennessee Titans have won two straight games since switching to QB Vince Young. The Rams also picked up their first victory two weeks ago (they had a bye this week). The team that is looking as "sad" as the Browns right about now? It's the Detroit Lions again. If the Browns/Lions game later this season doesn't draw national audiences, then I don't know what will.
Recapping Our Next Opponent - The Ravens
The Ravens lost for the second time this season to the Cincinnati Bengals, who are definitely for real. Baltimore was run all over by Cedric Benson again, and the Bengals' defense made Joe Flacco look like a turnover machine. If the Browns are somehow able to deliver the dagger in the Ravens' hopes of coming back for a wildcard spot in the division, under the (hopefully) direction of Brady Quinn, with potential rumors of someone like Mike Holmgren coming on board as team president, then maybe our spirits can be lifted just like the Buccaneers fans' were.