Browns Bench Quinn, Will Start Anderson

Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini has decided that Derek Anderson, not Brady Quinn, will be the starter when the Browns face Cincinnati this weekend.

Anderson was a Pro Bowler in 2007 as he led the Browns to a 10-6 record, in a year they barely missed out on the playoffs.

Quinn was named the starter after a long preseason battle between the two quarterbacks, and Mangini promised that he would not renege on his decision after it was made. However, after Quinn has only conducted one offensive touchdown for the Browns offense in three weeks, Mangini decided that changes must be made.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Anderson said. “We’re all competitors, we all want to play. I’m ready to go.”

Mangini believes the Browns have a better chance of moving the ball up and down the field with Anderson under center. Quinn was benched at halftime of the Browns 34-3 loss, after throwing an interception on the Browns’ first drive of the day.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 6:01 pm by bryan

Mangini Re-Opens QB Competition

Have the Browns lost faith in potential franchise QB Brady Quinn?

It sure seems that way, after Eric Mangini said that he would need a few days to name a starting QB for this weekend’s upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mangini benched Quinn, the third-year pro out of Notre Dame, at halftime of the Browns’ game against the Ravens on Sunday. Backup QB Derek Anderson, who led the Browns to a 10-6 record in the midst of his Pro Bowl season of 2007, came into the game in relief of Quinn… and tossed three interceptions in the course of the second half.

Mangini said that he’d announce the starting QB on Wednesday. Earlier in the preseason, he claimed that once he decided on his starting QB, he wouldn’t budge during the season, however; perhaps he wasn’t prepared for just how dire the straits are for the Cleveland offense.

“There’s nobody happy with where we are right now,” Mangini said Monday. “That’s across the board.”
The Browns have scored one offensive touchdown this season – during the final minutes of a blowout at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 6:00 pm by bryan

Browns embarassed by Ravens, 34-3

The Cleveland Browns turned the ball over on their first drive of the game, setting the stage for a 34-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Cleveland found itself trailing 20-0 at halftime and came back out of the locker room with a new starting quarterback.

However, only the number on the jersey changed as the play at the position was actually worse than we saw in the first half.

Derek Anderson threw three interceptions, completing almost as many passes to Ravens defenders as his own wideouts.

The Browns will host the Bengals next week as they still look for their first win of the season.

Monday, September 28, 2009 at 8:22 pm by steve

Cleveland gets embarrassed in Baltimore

Another game, another stinker for the Cleveland Browns.

The Baltimore Ravens spent their Sunday afternoon dismantling their AFC North rivals, embarrassing the Browns in a 34-3 win. It got so bad that starting quarterback Brady Quinn was benched after a first half in which he went 6 of 8 for just 34 yards and an interception, and he was Cleveland’s best quarterback on the day. Replacement Derek Anderson, who was engaged in a heated battle for the starting job in the preseason, blew his opportunity to possibly reclaim the role by throwing three interceptions.

The defense wasn’t any better, allowing second-year QB Joe Flacco to throw for a career-high 342 yards. When your offense can’t move the ball and your defense can’t stop the other team, that’s how you lose games by 31 points.

Eric Mangini doesn’t seem to have any answers and his players have already seemed to mail it in. It’s shaping up to be a long season in Cleveland.

Sunday, September 27, 2009 at 9:25 pm by Raj Sethi

RB Jamal Lewis Uncertain for Sunday

Browns’ running back Jamal Lewis missed practice on Wednesday, leaving his status for Saturday’s game against Baltimore in question.

The Browns need Lewis to go on Sunday, as the Ravens lead the AFC North at 2-0 and stand to create some separation from the Browns in the division. With the Browns starting a lifeless 0-2 under Brady Quinn and Eric Mangini, Cleveland fans are already getting listless.

With Lewis unable to go, James Davis would be in line to receive most of Lewis’ work as the team’s running back. Davis is also recovering from an injury of his own, one which has kept him limited the first two weeks.

Lewis is one of 24 running backs in NFL history to top 10,000 yards. He played for the Ravens for six years, from 2000-2006, before he came to the Browns in free agency.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 10:01 pm by bryan

Browns trounced by Broncos, 27-6

At this rate, it’s going to be an awful long season for the Cleveland Browns.

Visiting one of the worst teams in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns laid an egg in a 27-6 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Browns put together one of the worst offensive performances of any NFL team so far this season.

Running back Jamal Lewis ran for just 36 yards despite the fact that he had early success against a stingy Minnesota defense last week.

Meanwhile, the Browns defense had problems stopping the run, and it won’t get any better next week when the team travels to Baltimore.

Monday, September 21, 2009 at 5:00 pm by steve

Browns fall to Vikings, 34-21

The Cleveland Browns hung tough early against the Minnesota Vikings but simply didn’t have the horses to stay in the race in a 34-21 loss.

The Browns kept it close in the first half thanks to a strong defensive effort and a punt returned for a touchdown by the always electric Joshua Cribbs.

However, things fell apart in the second half, particularly defensively. The Browns simply had no answer for running back Adrian Peterson, who had 180 yards and three touchdowns on the day.

Offensively, quarterback Brady Quinn played well enough, but the lack of an established running game made it difficult to move the ball on a consistent basis.

It could be a long year for the Browns, who see destined for last place in the AFC North.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 4:22 pm by steve