Posts tagged BradyQuinn at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Pro Football Weekly's Dan Arkush is not a patient man. He's gone through the painstaking effort of identifying the decades most high-profile busts, and in looking strictly at the ninth-overall draft picks, he decides that Ted Ginn is the winner (or loser, depending on your perspective).

Yep, Ted Ginn, the guy who's been in the league all of one season, played on arguably the worst team of the decade and had Trent Green, Cleo Lemon and John Beck throwing passes in his general vicinity.

It's worth pointing out that Koren Robinson (2001) and Reggie Williams (2004) were also in the running, but somehow Ginn was deemed a bigger bust. Oddly, Arkush admits that "the verdict is definitely still out on Ginn," but calls him a bust anyway because "draft experts far and wide continue to question the wisdom of his selection in last year's draft over Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn."

Really? Draft experts, show yourselves! Look, I admit to being puzzled by the choice of Ginn over Quinn on draft day, but I'm over it. And as soon as Quinn can beat out a former sixth-rounder cut by the team that drafted him, maybe I'll reconsider.

Arkush also concedes that Robinson merited consideration bout "he had his moments during his time in Seattle..." and for Williams, "it appears the light might have finally gone on for him last season."

The Palm Beach Post's Tim Graham writes that Arkush's reasoning "is sound." If "sound" means "flimsy," then, hell yeah. Otherwise, why don't we wait for Ginn to actually get a chance to prove himself before we say he's worse than Robinson or Williams. Or Quinn for that matter.

Well, this is great news: the Orange and Brown Report's Brent Sobleski writes that Cleveland's second-year cornerback Eric Wright had an outstanding minicamp ($):

Wright was arguably the best player on the field throughout the mandatory mini-camp. The second year cornerback got his hands on plenty of balls and was a consistent presence in the secondary.

Given the Browns' recent injury woes at the position, Wright's going to have play at a pretty high level, particularly since the defense is the primary reason the team didn't make the postseason last year.

Actually, the starters are set (sorta): barring a trade, Brandon McDonald, the guy tasked with filling the enormous void left when Daven Holley was lost for the year with a knee injury, will join Wright at cornerback. And some combination of Sean Jones, Brodney Pool and Gary Baxter will man the safety spots.

The problem, though, is depth.

The quarterback position is solidified, at starter and backup, but the news out of minicamp is less encouraging:

Ken Dorsey is currently the Browns' most consistently accurate quarterback on the roster. Unfortunately for the team, the Miami product is entrenched as the third-string quarterback and his trait does not appear to be rubbing off on the team's first or second choice at the position.

Well, common sense dictates that Romeo Crennel should name Dorsey as the starter. Okay, that's a tad reactionary, and it's June; there's plenty of time to work out the kinks. Derek Anderson did struggle with accuracy last season, but it's going to take more than a few early-season interceptions to see Dorsey on the field. Brady Quinn, however, could be a different story.

I don't know if Jared Gaither suddenly becomes an answer to a Trivial Pursuit: the Baltimore Ravens Edition question, but he'll get first crack at the left tackle job vacated by Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden when he announced his retirement earlier this week.

Gaither, a fifth-round supplemental pick last July, entered the NFL amid all sorts of questions, both good and bad. On the upside, he's 6-9, 320 pounds and has plenty of quickness for a big guy. But he also failed out of Maryland, and only managed 15 reps of 225 during his Pro Day workout (Brady Quinn, by comparison, does 15 as part of his pre-warmup routine).

Gaither started two games last season, and the Ravens front office is intrigued by his potential. Of course, it's not clear if Gaither is truly dedicated to football, which is kinda worth knowing before giving him the job of protecting the quarterback's blind side.

Baltimore featured one of the youngest offensive lines in the league last season, and the inexperience showed. That said, this unit could evolve into a very competent group, which should make Joe Flacco very happy. In the meantime, Kyle Boller will have to pay the price for progress, in the form of a crapload of sacks. Thanks, dude.

If not for Todd Hamilton, Ben Curtis would probably be the most unlikely major championship winner in a long, long time. Instead, he's mostly remembered as "that guy who wears NFL gear during tournaments" who also has his name on the Claret Jug.

Curtis teed it up at this week's U.S. Open, but missed the cut, finishing 9-over. Before his Torrey Pines adventure, though, he played a less stressful round of golf back in his home state of Ohio against Browns starting quarterback Derek Anderson:

Curtis carded a 66 on [Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon] the 7,127-yard, par-72 Tom Fazio layout, which is ranked 60th on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 greatest courses for 2007-08. Meanwhile, the 6-foot-6 quarterback shot 78 and said that included a trio of 3-putt bogeys.

The Akron Beacon Journal's Maria Ridenour writes that Tony Romo, who fired a 84 at Torrey Pines last week, has nothing on Anderson's 78. Well, other than the fact that one course was in U.S. Open condition and was playing 500 yards longer. But otherwise, yeah, Tony Romo is golf's version of Brady Quinn.

Curtis and Anderson have been friends since 2006, which help explain his allegiances:

[Curtis, a longtime Browns fan, was asked] whether he was a Quinn or an Anderson guy, he said Anderson. ... ''He was a pro bowler last year,'' Curtis said of Anderson. ''He had a great year; he had maybe one or two suspect games. You can't fault the guy. He played great.''

If it's any consolation, Brady, Curtis thinks you're better than Charlie Frye.

Dolphins' second-round pick Chad Henne doesn't want to miss an opportunity to have fans "cursing at him and throwing ice at him" (Ice? What, is Parcells going to make him work the concession stand?) during the preseason, which is why he has no plans to holdout.

"I know my agent approached them probably about two or three weeks ago...to get it started," Henne said. "I'm sure they're going to get it done before training camp, because they want me in camp and I anticipate being in camp."

The quarterback job is wide open, so there's no benefit to not signing as soon as possible (in fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of a time when holding out makes sense). If Brady Quinn had been in Browns' camp on time, he'd be the team's starting quarterback right now. As it stands, he's Derek Anderson's backup. Indefinitely. Hope the extra dough was worth it.

And similar to Quinn's situation last year, the Dolphins don't have a clear-cut starter. Second-year player John Beck, free-agent acquisition Josh McCown, and Henne are all in the mix, and apparently have equal shots to win the gig.

I'm guessing Henne's in camp on time, partly because he wants to play, and partly because he'd look ridiculous holding out as a second-round pick with the first-overall pick under contract since April.

In this edition of Answers to Questions Nobody Asked, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi writes that the Browns and Cowboys aren't working on a trade that would send one of the myriad cornerbacks on Dallas' roster to Cleveland to fill the gaping (but slow developing) hole left by Kenny Wright.

Apparently, the two front offices have a wonderful working relationship due in part to last year's Brady Quinn deal, so with that in mind, Grossi asks, "what's the holdup on sending one of those cornerbacks the Browns' way? He then answers his own question:

First, the Cowboys are not yet comfortable counting on [Pacman] Jones. Although they are protecting him from getting into more trouble with a squadron of security people working round-the-clock, they don't want to risk totally depending on him. And [2007 first-round pick Mike] Jenkins, after all, will be a rookie, so they don't want to rush him into the starting lineup.

They also have plans on moving [Anthony] Henry to safety in certain packages as a precursor to an eventual permanent position switch.

While the Dolphins take the next three months to sort out their quarterback situation, the team is wasting no time in trying to improve the wide receiver position. Last April, to the consternation of just about everybody, Miami passed on Brady Quinn and selected Ted Ginn.

It's still too early to tell if Ginn was the right choice (or if Quinn will be anything more than Derek Anderson's high-priced backup), but the Dolphins' current front office isn't spending a lot of time worrying about personnel decisions made by the previous administration. Water under the bridge and all that.

As far as mandatory minicamp goes, the coaching staff seems pleased with the progress of Ginn and 2006 third-rounder Derek Hagan, two young players the Dolphins could stand to have breakout years in '08.

[A]lthough May/June performance shouldn't be overstated, their offseason development has the team encouraged. Ginn's ''release off the ball has gotten a lot better,'' cornerback Andre' Goodman said. ''He's a lot more assertive,'' Will Allen said.

[New wide receivers coach Karl] Dorrell told Ginn he must ``run at the same speed all the time so they can't tell if you're trying to run by them or you're running something shorter. He's doing a real good job trying to look fast with everything he does.''

After a one-win effort in 2007, any news is good news. Now all that's left to do is to make sure all the young players are married before preseason.

This is what happens when there isn't much to talk about during quite possibly the slowest point of the NFL offseason: any comment, no matter how innocuous, is scrutinized for hidden meaning. Today's example is courtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi, who has a report from the Browns' last voluntary offseason workout open to the public:

Regarding the quarterbacks, coach Romeo Crennel made a comment that will spur forum chatter. Speaking about Derek Anderson's increased confidence in his second season as the starter, the coach said, "There's no real competition he has to worry about."

Grossi notes that Brady Quinn happened to walk by as Crennel made the pronouncement, and promptly broke down, bemoaning his fate, before leaving the facility in his Volkswagen Cabriolet.* Actually, and Grossi says as much, Crennel was just pointing out what everybody knows: Derek Anderson is the team's starter and there's no "open competition" for the job, as there has been the previous few offseasons.

The bigger question, though, is what will happen to Quinn going forward. Obviously, it depends on Anderson: if he has another solid season, you'd have to think the team would consider trading Quinn next spring; if Anderson morphs into Charlie Frye, Crennel would announce another open competition for the starting gig for 2009, wink, and basically give the job to Quinn. To Quinn's credit, he's been the consummate teammate, and I'm sure winning has a lot to do with his sunny disposition.

In other news, the Browns successfully completed a practice without losing another cornerback.

* complete fabrication

It seems like it only a year ago that nobody wanted Jamal Lewis. Just released from the Ravens, the team that drafted him in the first round in 2000 and proceeded to run him into the ground for most of the next seven seasons, Lewis ended up signing a one-year deal with the Browns.

Such moves are usually considered last-ditch efforts to stave off the inevitable end-of-career declines, and have about as much chance for success as a Charlie Frye pass traveling more than 10 yards and finding its intended target.

A funny thing happened on the way to forced retirement: Lewis had a resurgence of sorts, rushing for 1,304 yards last season, and playing an integral part in the Brown's 10-win season.

And now, after signing a multi-year deal, he has big plans for 2008:

A writer threw out some numbers Lewis might shoot for in 2008: 1,500 yards, 4.5 per carry, 10 touchdowns. His 2007 numbers were 1,304, 4.4 and nine.

"I think 1,400 or 1,500 yards is an understatement," Lewis said. "I'd like to get more than that. I think I can get more than that. Missing two games ... I could have gotten more than that last year."

On the face of it, 1,500 yards seems a bit optimistic, but Lewis makes a good point: he managed 1,300 yards while missing two games. Plus, the Browns hadn't really established an identity early last season; heading into 2008, the offense is set -- assuming Derek Anderson doesn't suddenly become overwhelmed and regress into a puddle (upside: more Brady Quinn for everybody!).

I don't see Lewis racking up 1,500 rushing yards, but weirder things have happened. Like Cleveland coming out of nowhere to almost make the playoffs last season.

All that stands between Brady Quinn and a starting job is Derek Anderson. And barring an injury at some point next season, nothing will change anytime soon. But that doesn't mean Quinn isn't ready to lead should he finally make it on the field.

The Canton Repository's Steve Doerschuk describes Quinn as "patiently optimistic," and head coach Romeo Crennel seems unconcerned about his backup quarterback's current mental state:

... Crennel said the thing that most impressed him about Quinn as a rookie was his ability to lead - whether with backups in the preseason or as the "scout team" QB, often giving the No. 1 defense fits.

To be fair, worse quarterbacks than Quinn gave the Browns' defense fits during the 2007 regular season, so I don't know if that means much. That aside, everybody in the organization is still happy with the choice to trade up in the 2007 draft to take Quinn.

Once-promising seasons can be lost along with the starting quarterback, which makes having a competent backup pretty important. That Quinn has grudgingly embraced the position is good news, and depending on how the upcoming season unfolds, the Browns could either look to trade Quinn, or, if Anderson struggles, give Quinn a chance to win the job in 2009.

Whatever happens, Cleveland doesn't have to worry about its quarterback situation for the first time since, what, Bernie Kosar was unceremoniously released by Bill Belichick?