OK, so with Dilfer gone and Ken Dorsey coming to Cleveland it's worth asking, what is going on with the quarterback situation in '06? While Charlie is the present and future (if all goes well), beyond that it is definitely murkey. Dorsey would presumably step into the second-string role. Dorsey is okay, but he's got relatively little experience too and I tink he'd be a more appropriate backup if we had a veteran starter. With Frye as the starter conventional wisdom says there should be a veteran backup to mentor him and help him make adjustments. Does anyone think Dorsey is that guy?
It's not the worst thing to have a roster of young QBs. Doresy has been in the league for a while so it's not like he's completely green, and obviously Frye's experiences in 2005 are now invaluable. And the 2006 Browns are not expected to be a strong playoff contender anyway, so if we are going to take some lumps at QB this is the last year in which we want to do that.
But the '06 Browns have a lot of promise. The offensive line and defense have both gotten an infusion of talent and figure to be improved. We finally have a solid starting running back, and the receivers should be stable if not spectacular. There's a decent shot that this squad can come out of the gate and be quite competitive -- and you don't want that progress stunted by extreme struggles are QB. We need a solid veteran who can step in and lead this team if Frye struggles or gets hurt.
Problem is, there's just not a lot of talent out there. The best names available are Jay Fiedler, Gus Frerrote, Jeff Blake, and Shane Matthews. Or you can pull a guy off the almost-retired scrap heap like Tommy Maddox or Vinny Testeverde. Or you get truly goofy and be the team that gives Tim Couch his last shot. But the point is that the pickings are slim. And I'm going to take this as an opportunity to again bemoan the fact we didn't pursue Brad Johnson last offseason. If I am Phil Savage I take a long hard look at Fiedler -- he's a veteran who's 1) won, a little, 2) has played in conservative, run-first offenses, and 3) has some similarities in style to Charlie Frye.
Right now I hope Phil is playing golf with Ozzie and agreeing to trade Anderson back to the Ravens for a 5th rounder. Then we promptly sign Fiedler and keep Dorsey as the 3rd QB/future 2nd stringer. And we all get a good laugh when McNair gets hurt in the first month of the season and the Ravens are stuck again with Boller at the helm.