"Browns' hierarchy seems to prefer Derek Anderson over fan-favorite Brady Quinn"

ballpeen

It's tough to really claim the locker room as a backup. They tend to be politicized and sometimes racially and/or offense/defense divided. Pretty white boys with endorsement deals don't always get love from black defensive tackles.
But Smith didn't go after Quinn because nobody likes Quinn

I don't disagree as evidenced in my statement it doesn't mean he can't or won't build the teams confidence. I also didn't say nobody liked Quinn, and if it came across as such, I am clearing the record.

Not talking about you so much here Shepster, but there seems to be a lot of reading what people want to read rather than reading what people say.

Riffer X

I think you are right. I think Brady hasn't exactly been accepted at this point.
That doesn't mean he can't or won't, but at this point I think there is something about the guy most of the players don't like as evidenced by him getting punched in the mouth.

I just can't see that as a one time thing that caused that. My feeling is some things had been brewing for a while before that happened.

Possibly BQ is trying a bit to hard to make it "his" team??

Yeah, how in the hell could anybody take these two quotes out of context.

don't disagree as evidenced in my statement it doesn't mean he can't or won't build the teams confidence. I also didn't say nobody liked Quinn, and if it came across as such, I am clearing the record.
Not talking about you so much here Shepster, but there seems to be a lot of reading what people want to read rather than reading what people say.

Then there is Roach's brilliant little swipe that started it all and you were so eager to agree with.

Anderson does have fans, and they're called teammates. The coach is no dummy.

So I guess this means that Mangini would never trade DA, it had nothing to do with the fact they couldn't get nothing for him.

Reading into what people aren't saying is going on, but that would be those who say that fans would never root for DA and only like Quinn because he grew up in Columbus. I gotcha.

I knew this kind of BS would go on here as long as DA didn't get moved, and it doesn't have to come from our Oregon State brethren either.

ballpeen

Yeah, how in the hell could anybody take these two quotes out of context.

I agree.

I never said people didn't like him. What I said is it is pretty unusual for a guy to to get his lips puffed up without something being behind it, and something that has been festering a while.

We aren't talking strangers here.

At ant rate, this is Q's opportunity to shine. He needs to put it to rest.

Riffer X

@shepwrite said:
Nice stuff, Riff. If somebody has a quote that indicates that the players love Anderson and hate Quinn, I've never seen it... and I read everything. All I've heard is that both guys are well liked but very different -- Anderson is laid back while Quinn is more of the leader type. He's the guy more likely to make it "his team" if he succeeds as a starter, whereas that's not Anderson's style.
As a QB junkie who read every bio of every QB ever written, I'm a believer in the QB as team leader. I think there's something slightly off on teams where the WRs boss the quarterback or the face of the team is a regular position player. Kind of a doughnut hole.

The closest to any kind of proof that the team majority backs DA and not Quinn has come straight from guys like Lum and his Oregon Trail buttboys, that is it. Quinn has had support of every team he's ever been on and is by all accounts a good guy with a driven penchant to succeed. I think DA is a good guy but not a leader, he is more of a golfing buddy type. I want a fiery leader who has "it" and can get in the faces of someone if need be, and we haven't had that since Garcia or Dildofer and they weren't long term answers.

I actually believe Smith and Quinn are friends and get along pretty well with one another, the punch thing was just Smith being the over emotional and reactionary buffoon that he is capable of being from time to time. I'd venture to say the whole thing would have never happened had they not liked each other, hence they wouldn't have been chickenshitting one another in the first place.

Fraley was brought up at times last year being pro DA and anti Quinn, with some going as far to say that Fraley was letting Quinn get hit after he took over. Most of that came from Lumnuts, but if indeed Fraley and DA are boys it doesn't mean that the rest of the team backs DA over Quinn, it just means that DA and Fraley were battery mates who happened to be buds, plain and simple. If you ever go to camp, you'll see that the first team QB and center will be together as will the second and third team guys, so naturally they develop a kinship with one another.

Don't be too quick to discount a black defensive tackle not liking a pretty boy backup QB with endorsement deals and an advanced pedigree. People like to surround themselves with winners on every level, it makes them feel good about themselves. Shaun Smith thinks he's the team voice anyway, so why would he want to alienate one of the team's most popular guys?

ballpeen

No proof the other way either.....most say what they think they should say, so some quote by somebody doesn't mean much.

Like i said, it will play out this year.

If you are confident, don't sounds like you aren't.

roach

@riffer-x said:
Then there is Roach's brilliant little swipe that started it all and you were so eager to agree with.

It wasn't a swipe, it was an observation. BTW, any post that i've made about Quinn has been positive and/or supportive.

PlaygroundLegend

@daddybull1 said:
IMO you ALWAYS give a 1st round draft choice the chance to prove himself in game conditions... This means him starting with the first unit for multiple games...
The popular opinion on this board is that RAC was an idiot, RAC was a doughnut eating baffoon, RAC was merely a coffee fetcher for other great coaches

However in reality, RAC is a highly respected football coach throughout the NFL and has more football knowledge than most monday morning QB's and fanatsy league players... This man has made a living in professional football and I would venture to guess he was paid way above minimum wage... He was put into a situation where he could not win, Vince Lombardi or Paul Brown would not have done better with all the circumstances considered... When healthy, RAC will once again surface in the NFL... Chances are it wont be as a head coach but does that justify all the venom being spewed forth at him just because he couldn't get it done as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns????

For whatever reason, during the past few years, Brady Quinn could not beat out Derek Anderson and was relugated to clipboard duty as a result... This was so because football people made football decisions based on what they saw, regardless of the fact that most fans want to see what we have in Quinn... Do you think for a minute that the coaches would risk losing their high paid jobs by playing an inferior player???? They must have seen something to convince them that Anderson gave them the best chance to win...

With all that said, however, I want to see what we invested a 1st round pick in by playing the kid... By his draft choice selection he deserves a chance to lose his job on the field rather than on the practice field.... I'm just not going to blindly predict that he is the one to lead us to the promised land based on where he played college ball, his marketability, his level of play in preseason against 3rd stringers, his level of play in 1 regular season game or whatever biased reasons used to justify these opinions...

As a life long Browns fan (and I'll continue to be a Browns fan long after Quinn & Anderson are gone from the Cleveland scene, God willing that is) I want whats best for my team and I can only trust those in charge to make the right choice..

Thats the way I see it and by the way, the real Drive Assasin last year was Braylon Edwards---he sucked the life out of the team.....

T.Dawg

Dude, BQ and DA have yet to have a camp battle, they diddnt duke it out last summer, DA was handed the job for going 10-6 and getting pro-bowl recognition. DA was going to start regardless of who was better in camp. This will be the first year BQ and DA actually compete

daddybull1

Dude ???? DA & BQ have been in camp together for the past few years---DA started and BQ did the clipboard thang... Therefore, DA must have looked better to the coaching staff as he was given the starting position.....

I'm just a plain ol' Browns fan and unlike you I don't have all this inside information telling me as to why player A is starting over player B... I can only assume that the coaching staff felt that DA gave them a better chance to win....

Now before you start ripping my head off let me say this very clearly---as a 1st round selection I feel that Quinn should be given every opportunity to start---this is what you do with 1st round selections.... The only fly in this ointment is that the current regime has no ties to Quinn, didn't draft him and has no face saving obligation to appoint him the starter...

Seems to me, though, that the Quinn supporters on this board have a deep hatred for Anderson yet pose a blind loyality for the untested Quinn.... I don't have any ill feelings toward either and would accept either as my QB if thats the direction the coaching staff decided... I think Anderson has a huge upside... Quinn on the other hand has shown me some good things in his game but truthfully I haven't seen enough to support a conclusion.....

I want to see Quinn play multiple games with the 1st unit and once he gets that opportunity I'll then form a final opinion..... With that said, however, who ever is under center will have my support....

T.Dawg

Riffer X

It may appear to be a bias for someone like you Daddybull that hasn't been around here in awhile and seen the posts for the last year. The fact of the matter is we have seen what DA is and not Quinn, plain and simple. DA is the league's worst ranked passer, hence wanting to see Quinn.

There has never been a QB competition between DA and Quinn, period. DA was crowned the starter last year the second he signed on the dotted line, and the year before Quinn wasn't even in camp until late. There is virtually no way the designated backup can beat out a coronated starter based on camp reps barring the starter completely crapping the bed. Most of the reps with the first team go to the starter and DA is a good practice player when there is no rush to be found.

Speaking of which, here is something from Grossi that I've been saying for quite awhile now.

Hey, Tony: Do you think splitting the reps between both QBs in training camp is a good idea? It seems to me they need go ahead and let one of them get all the reps to develop some chemistry with the line and receivers. It seems to me at this point they are short-changing both guys when it comes to practice time. Also, it seems we have seen exactly what Anderson is, but we don't yet know what Quinn brings to the table and it is time to find out. -- Gordon Rogers, Charlotte, N.C.

Hey, Gordon: I'm not in favor of open competitions at quarterback. I just don't think throwing in practice without a live rush and hitting shows anything. I think you make excellent points and I tend to agree with them.

Hey Tony Link

Lumbergh

@shepwrite said:
Nice stuff, Riff. If somebody has a quote that indicates that the players love Anderson and hate Quinn, I've never seen it... and I read everything.

Did you read about how Quinn pissed off the majority of the locker room by introducing McCain at the republican rally?

Yeah I'm sure everybody loved that. That's why RAC had to cut off political talk.

Riffer X

@lumbergh said:
Did you read about how Quinn pissed off the majority of the locker room by introducing McCain at the republican rally?
Yeah I'm sure everybody loved that. That's why RAC had to cut off political talk.

Lums, where you been man? You dropped the ball on this thread.

Solon16

Lest YE not forget...Oreo Crennel didnt play Quinn because of his freaky hate of rookies, , in my mind. To me just because the guy held out and DA played lights out first half of season he got, forgot. After the last half of season 2 years ago...we all saw it coming....I wont even mention the very worst and most embarrassing pro-bowl I've ever watched. Quinn should be named the starter from day 1....he's had two years to watch...throw him the FK in there!

Lumbergh

@solon16 said:
I wont even mention the very worst and most embarrassing pro-bowl I've ever watched.

Nice job not mentioning it.

And apparently you missed Cutler in the '09 Pro Bowl. And most other Pro Bowls.

Solon16

DA's performance made me wince...It was very pathetic but even worse was when DA threw 4 picks against Cincy in the most important game of his life and when i counted most! DA was a 1/2 season wonder at best!

hammertime

@lumbergh said:
Nice job not mentioning it.
And apparently you missed Cutler in the '09 Pro Bowl. And most other Pro Bowls.

DA at the pro-bowl hahahahahahahah, way to take the prestige out of it.

ndneighbor

@lumbergh said:
Did you read about how Quinn pissed off the majority of the locker room by introducing McCain at the republican rally?
Yeah I'm sure everybody loved that. That's why RAC had to cut off political talk.

Read what? What link? Why didn't you post it?

If it happened during the election it should be documented.

Post the link so we can read it.

ndneighbor

@lumbergh said:
Did you read about how Quinn pissed off the majority of the locker room by introducing McCain at the republican rally?
Yeah I'm sure everybody loved that. That's why RAC had to cut off political talk.

Is this what you meant?

http://blogs.cantonrep.com/2008/10/freshbr...inn-and-mccain/

Perhaps you’ve heard. Brady Quinn introduced John McCain during a Cuyahoga County campaign stop Wednesday.

We guarantee this stirs things up in conversations among Browns players.

Romeo Crennel addressed the issue in a team meeting:

“Their politics are their politics. As long as they don’t interfere with the team … that’s my main concern, that they don’t get on a soap box in the locker room and get it going back and forth about their candidate.

“As long as he keeps it outside the building and outside the team, that’s his choice.

“If you get on a soap box and make it an issue … I told them, ‘Your poltiics is your politics. Don’t let it interfere with this team. Don’t let it interefere with your preparation.’�?

Defensive captain Willie McGinest has been a conspicuous supporter of Barack Obama.

Joe Thomas attended the McCain speech with Quinn. Neither Quinn nor Thomas was available for comment today. When a writer asked Thomas on the latter’s way out to practice who he’s voting for, he smiled and kept moving.

Perhaps you have guessed that Crennel did not endorse a candidate.

“The team comes first,” he said.

Lumbergh

@solon16 said:
DA was a 1/2 season wonder at best!

Which 1/2 season do you speak of?

Was it the first half of the season with 5 multi-passing-TD games and 5 wins?

Or was it the second half of the season with 5 multi-passing-TD games and 5 wins?

Lumbergh

@ndneighbor said:
Is this what you meant?

Yeah that's when RAC banned political talk in the locker room

[in other words, RAC said "put a sock in it, Quinn"]

ndneighbor

@lumbergh said:
Did you read about how Quinn pissed off the majority of the locker room by introducing McCain at the republican rally?
Yeah I'm sure everybody loved that. That's why RAC had to cut off political talk.

Why don't you post the story you read so we can all read about the majority of the locker room being pissed off?