Posts tagged DerekAnderson at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Now that Joe Jurevicius might not be ready for the start of training camp, thanks to knee surgery No. 4 this offseason, the discussion turns to who will man the No. 3 wide receiver position in his absence. Pro Football Weekly writes that Joshua Cribbs could be one alternative, although they admit that he struggled with drop passes during minicamp.

There are also rumors that the Browns are interested in trading for Chargers wideout Eric Parker, and some fans wonder if Eddie Kennison or Joe Horn are viable options (yes, no and no). Perhaps the most intriguing alternative is the suggestion that the Browns could move tight end Kellen Winslow to receiver in certain passing situations. The Orange and Brown Report's Lane Adkins quickly nixes the thought:

Winslow does line-up wide often as part of the offensive scheme, but there is absolutely no desire on part of the Browns to move him to the WR spot and basically rip some of the fabric from the scheme.

Joe Jurevicius has said this will be his final NFL season, and the Browns' No. 3 receiver might miss the start of '08 while he recovers from a knee injury. The Browns have Braylon Edwards, Donte' Stallworth and tight end Kellen Winslow, but have very little experience after that.

The team has given J.O.A.T.s Joshua Cribbs some work at wide receiver, and are pleasantly surprised with Travis Wilson's progress, but the front office could still make some moves prior to training camp.

The Chargers' Eric Parker could be that guy. San Diego signed return dude Mark Jones yesterday, which, as the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee notes, "isn't a big deal in and of itself," but it could spell the end of Parker's career in San Diego. Apparently, the Chargers are willing to deal the 29-year-old wideout, and if the can't, they'll release him before training camp.

Enter Cleveland:

The Cleveland Browns, whose offensive coordinator is former Chargers tight ends coach Rob Chudzinksi, are among the teams that have shown interest in Parker. The Chargers are believed to be asking for a draft pick somewhere in the final three rounds.

Eh, something less than a third-round pick seems kinda steep, but the Dolphins got a second-rounder from the Chargers for Chris Chambers, so who knows sounds about right. Plus, if Parker is completely healthy and can contribute as the No. 3 receiver for three or four seasons, then maybe it's worth it.

That would be good news for Derek Anderson (scrub!) and the Chargers' Malcom Floyd. Kassim Osgood, however, is still bummed.

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.

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.

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.

When the Ravens drafted Joe Flacco in the first round of the NFL Draft, it was with the understanding that he would be the team's franchise quarterback. The only question was how long until he would be thrust into that role.

Ideally, Flacco would have an opportunity to "learn by watching," but sometimes circumstances (and large sums of money) dictate otherwise. For now, Kyle Boller and 2007 fifth-rounder Troy Smith are battling for the starting gig. Both are considered temporary replacements while Flacco learns the offense, adjusts to life in the NFL, so on and so forth.

NFL Network's Adam Schefter writes that Smith, a former Heisman Trophy winner, might be more than a Flacco stand-in. In fact, he could be ... Derek Anderson? Some context:

[In Flacco,] Baltimore firmly believed it had drafted its quarterback of the future. And maybe it has. But this spring, Baltimore's backup quarterback, Smith ...has done his best Derek Anderson impression, surprising coaches while vying for the starting job.

There are those in Baltimore who now believe Smith has a legitimate chance to beat out Kyle Boller and Flacco to win the starting job.

You know, I'm not completely surprised. Boller's a competent backup, but I think he's shown he's not much more than that. Plus, Smith always got high marks for his leadership skills, but his draft stock allegedly plummeted because he's only 6-0.

It would be pleasantly surprising if Smith had an Anderson-esque season, but I'm guessing the Ravens would just settle for some consistency at this point.

Hat tip: Shutdown Corner

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?