Here is an entry from WaitingForNextYear...it is funny because he concisely mentions ALL the theories we have already espoused here on the board:
Cleveland Browns QB Conspiracy Corner
October 01, 2009 By: DP Diesel Category: Cleveland Browns
conspiracy
Moderate Props to Chuck for the Photoshop
This is a new feature of mine. It will run this one time. Then it will be gone. Until it comes back.
When I started writing my piece yesterday about the QB Break Down (double-entendre alert!), I never had an honest thought in my head that by the time I was done DA would actually have been named the starter. Call it wishful thinking; call it naiveté; call it whatever you must. The fact is, I never dreamed that after only 2.5 games anyone would be willing to say they’d seen enough of Brady Quinn to know he had no future with this team.
Alas, I was wrong.
But, I don’t think it’s that simple. As Keyser Soze once opined, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” So, while some may choose to believe that Brady Quinn got hosed, and that Eric Mangini is merely trying to net some offense to stave off the wolves at the door for awhile at the expense of long-term development, I think the answer has been hiding right in front of our faces all along.
1. Brady Quinn’s contract is laden with incentives.
As Deep Throat (the Nixon guy, you pervs) once stated, “Follow the money!” It’s not a secret that Quinn’s deal has escalators that kick in after he plays a certain percentage of the team’s snaps as well as anything stats-related. It’s not a secret that the lion’s share of DA’s money has already been paid out in bonus form. By pulling Quinn in favor of Anderson after such a short period of time, Mangini has all but guaranteed that Quinn cannot reach those escalators, and will cost much, much less against the salary cap, and will also make him more tradeable.
2. Eric Mangini never wanted Quinn as his starter to begin with.
Why else would this competition have gone on so long in the pre-season? Why else would Anderson–a guy we already have quite an extensive tome on with respect to his strengths and weaknesses as a player–keep getting so many chances? Why else would Mangini insist that Brett Ratliff be included in the trade with the Jets on draft-day?
3. Mangini wanted an excuse to get rid of Quinn.
Following up on #2, Mangini knew that it would be a mistake simpy to cut Quinn, which would basically tell the fan base, “Look, we’re going to suck on ice for the next two years, so we’re just going to with the guy who’s under the expensive contract and will keep the seat warm until I can get more of my guys in here on both sides of the ball to be ready for a new QB of the future.” To do so would be a PR suicide. Browns fans are nothing if not willing to forget things in the short-term and go into almost every season with some kind of blind optimism. Why urinate on that before the season even started?
4. Mangini set Quinn up to fail.
Because of #2 and #3, Mangini pre-orchestrated a plan to give Quinn a minscule shot so that he could say to the fan base, “See? We tried. It didn’t work. Time to move on to Plan B-as-in-’Blow Up’ folks,” and at the first sign of struggle would then jettison the Golden Domer in favor of Anderson to ride out the next two years while DA’s still under contract. Why else would we have such crappy play-calling game-in and game-out? Why else would the playcalling open up somewhat once DA was inserted in the third quarter on Sunday? Why else would Josh Cribbs be the starting #2 wide receiver when he hasn’t showed enough to merit that continued opportunity?
5. The Smoking Gun: Brian Robiskie will not only be active on Sunday, but will start opposite Edwards.
Mangini will announce that Robiskie made great strides in practice this week, and not only will he be active, but will start and make an impact. Cincinnati’s secondary is by far their weakest area, and Mangini will set Anderson up to look light years better than Quinn in an effort to justify moving Mr. Myoplex at the trading deadline for additional draft picks.
It’s all part of the master plan, folks. Mangini played us all like fiddles in an effort to get Quinn out of here and buy some time to build a team for his own QB in 2011, whether it be Ratliff or someone else not yet on the roster.
And, in a final move, Quinn will rip off his Browns jersey on Sunday to reveal a Dolphins jersey underneath, will hit Mangini with a folding chair, and then climb to the top of the benches and deliver one last flying elbow to the lumbar region, marking the end of this clowny chapter in Browns QB history.
I swear...if Robiskie plays today I am going to have beer coming out my nose!!!
O
