Yes, I am officially back from my hiatus. Rumours persist that I may have been off climing Mt. Everest. Some others speculated that I may have been off in a cross country trip in a boxcar with my banjo and the finest hobos of the west. Another theory is the Cavs’ hangover which had rendered bloggers like myself too depressed to type.
However, one place I can assure you I have NOT been is the latest Browns bandwagon “debate” as to who will be the team’s sacrificial lamb at quarterback until Brady Quinn is ready to assume duties.
That is until now.
First of all part of me can’t even believe this is such a hot discussion among Browns fans anyway. I know this is somewhat the “dead season” as far as Browns chatter goes, but is this something even worthy of a heated bar stool debate in the first place? Let’s try to keep in mind training camp still doesn’t start for another month while at the same time realize just who we are debating about.
The fact is that the debate among QB’s between incumbent Charlie Frye and back-up Derek Anderson has to like trying to choose which appetizer to pick off of the poo-poo platter first if you are a Browns fan. Aside fromt he recent Presidential debates, rarely has there been this much adieu over some truely mediocre candidates.
Either way, if one of these two play an entire season (unlikely by the way) again then I think its safe to say Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (owner of our #1 pick next year) will be the happiest man in the NFL.
Of course lost in this great quarterback debate is first round pick Brady Quinn’s status off the field come training camp. If Quinn’s camp and GM Phil Savage can magically avoid a holdout, he should have a very realistic shot to start opening day. However, if as predicted by many, a lenghty holdout forces Quinn to miss a preseason game or two we may not see him play till November if at all this season.
Sure, having your QB of the future sit and learn has worked in other cities. Steve McNair watched Chris Chandler in Houston, Carson Palmer watched John Kitna in Cincy, and Phillip Rivers learned a thing or two from Drew Brees most recently in San Diego. Hey it worked there, so why not here you ask?
Unfortunately, the Browns aren’t your typical NFL team. On this roster there isn’t a credible veteran NFL quarterback for Quinn to learn from if he were to sit on the sidelines. In a nutshell, Brady Quinn will not learn anything from watching the likes of Derek Anderson or Charlie Frye during their typically poor play on the field.
Brady may be better off just getting at least a dozen starts this season regardless of the situation on the field. Remember fans, this is a totally different situation for Quinn than it was for Tim Couch in 1999. Today the Browns have a talented offensive line, tight end, recievers and a running back that is capable of at least 1,200 yards this season. Couch had none of the above.
Read the complete post at http://kidcleveland.blogspot.com/2007/06/training-camp-07-brady-quinn-versus-poo.html