Archive for September, 2009

“Disappointed.” That’s what Brady Quinn said when Derek Anderson was named starter for Sunday’s game against the Bengals.

“Disgusted.” That’s what fans of Brady Quinn are saying.

I’ve never flaunted to people that I know football. I can’t hold my own at the water cooler, and I only know some of the basics of the game. I have referenced NFL.com’s Beginner Guide to Football and questioned more knowledgeable people on the Brady Quinn Message Board about penalities and such. I also have never wavered from my conviction that I am a Brady Quinn fan first and foremost. This does not mean I am not a Browns fan which is a very close second. But Little Peggy March’s song, “I Will Follow Him,” is my mantra when it comes to Brady.

I’ll leave the stats, reasonings, rationale, logic, and interpretation to those experts on other websites and other couches on Sunday. That’s not me. I look at the ‘human factor’ of things. For instance:

• Why would the head coach of the Browns have such a prolonged quarterback competition during the summer only to change his mind so quickly and for someone who, apples to apples, isn’t much better?
• How would it feel to be promoted or elevated to a better position only to have it taken away from you (without warning) in less than a month?
• What is it like to work your ass off, devote your life to your craft, and not feel too appreciated? [some of us know this feeling...]
• Why would someone go back on their own pledge of staying with the quarterback they pick after only two and a half games?
• When a floundering team desperately needs a leader, why would the powers that be not choose more wisely?
• How would it feel to potentially lose millions of dollars even if you say it is not about the money?
• How can someone keep such faith and glass half-full attitude when jerked around on and off the bench?

That last one I can answer. You’re Brady Quinn.

We here at Brady Quinn Fan will also keep the faith. The truly loyal wish him very well and want him to continue to support his team. We’ll still call him out when things don’t quite go our way, and it may not always be with Cleveland, but as Peggy March says, “We will follow him.”

I am not apologizing for Brady’s performance at Baltimore. The boy obviously has not gotten into his groove with another turnover and another loss. We here at Brady Quinn Fan and The Brady’s Bunch have faith that IT WILL HAPPEN. I have my own Wag of the Finger to head coach Eric Mangini who last week said “No. No.” to the thought of replacing Brady with Derek Anderson. That obviously was a lie because he replaced Brady with Derek in the second half who did his usual stellar job of three more interceptions and the final score of 3-34.

Remember coach, the raven is a prophet, a harbinger of death and doom, a messenger, as well as being strongly associated with storms and floods. Since I don’t see a flood of wins your way, one can only assume it is another kind of flood. One that washes away poor decisions and the ones responsible for them.

Oh, and one touchdown, but who’s counting?

Ignore my little bon mot in the title of this post. Seems head coach, Eric Mangini, already has. I really don’t get this coach. One can surmise that he is stubborn and possibly bitter. He will not announce who the quarterback is even when directly asked if Brady is starting. He has even gone so far as to tell the other coaches to answer using “both QBs,” and not to reveal the starter. Hell, he even has Brady jumping through hoops making the man lie to reporters and keeping secrets from dear ole Ma Quinn and the family. What kind of control does Mangini have? You certainly can rule like a tyrant, but the townsfolk will not be happy if results aren’t seen. As for bitter? Well, that may be a stretch, but I bet he’s pissed at T.O. for blabbing “the secret.”

Which brings me to this. Today does indeed mark a new era in Browns football. I’m a new fan and I heard that this is nothing new with the Browns. A whole lot of QBs that didn’t amount to much. (The song High Hopes plays in my head.) That is why Brady has to do well.

We’ve heard of moms, coaches, teachers, etc. saying, “Good job,” but Brady has to do better than a good job. He cannot do “… the best you can.” I don’t expect the Browns to win today (Hey. I am not the only one. Even the REAL fans think so – or at least it looks like it on the Browns website poll. No pressure Dawson.) But everyone will be watching Brady in his first couple games. For the past three years all we have been hearing is that Brady is unproven. You cannot count the few handful of games played. Those games, although giving a pretty good idea, are inconsistent; and seriously think about the broken finger and a former coach who played favorites and jerked you around, “You’re in. No wait. Sit out.”

Brady needs to shine. This time I am going to say forget about the thick, luxurious hair, the rippling muscles, the intense brown eyes, and sculpted features. Yeah try to forget about them for a second and everyone focus on the playing. It is the only way we, as Brady’s number one fans, will shut all of them up. (Because seriously, if we all don’t have positive vibes, the already deflated and forgotten ugly stepsister waiting on the bench is just biding his time – BIDING HIS TIME.)

If you haven’t heard the good news, allow me to fill you in:

BRADY HAS WON THE STARTING QB JOB!

We, as fans, knew this was the logical resolution for this farse of a “competition”, but we weren’t entirely confident that Mangini would see it our way. After all, how long did it take RAC to finally pull DA and give Brady a chance? Exactly.

Well, the drama is now over. And here’s to Brady having a healthy and productive season this fall for the Browns!

FYI: We’ll add to this post as more info is available. Can’t wait for some quotes from Brady on his big win!

Brady. You fibber!!

At the locker room interview today, a reporter asked him how it would feel to play against Brett Favre. Brady said, “It would be fun to go up against him if indeed that is the case.” Keep in mind Mangini spoke to Brady and Derek individually Tuesday night on who the starting quarterback will be. When reporters asked who the starter is, Brady replied,

“He hasn’t said anything to us yet. He talked to us about it, but hasn’t told us anything about a final decision for us.”

He may still have been playing this charade in the quiter-than-usual locker room, but is it me, or can you sort of tell he was excited?

If Eric Mangini were my neighbor I would have tied him to the rafters in my garage with his feet in a bucket of salt water. I would then attach jumper cables to his chest and apply voltage from a few car batteries until he told me WHO THE FREAKING STARTER IS!

This is utterly fantastic and beyond comprehension. It is one thing to not let the Vikings know, but as our admin said in a previous post, what will the difference be? All we have been hearing during camp and preseason games is how close Brady and Derek are in competition, besides a few variances in style and technique – which are already known – what can Mangini attempt to gain by the stalling? Is the public waiting with baited breath? Maybe with the 2007 Browns, but no one outside of Cleveland and maybe inside the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome really care. I think the majority of us are tired already. Professional pundits and amateur couch critics alike give it to Brady, and woe to Mangini if he doesn’t choose him. I mean seriously, Derek?  The man has a tattoo of his own name ["D.A."] on his leg lest he forget who the hell he is. [And I have a whole hard drive of pictures of Derek sitting on his ass sacked on the field with that DUMBASS (what D.A. really stands for) look on his face after another thrown interception.

What I really don't get is why THE QUARTERBACKS THEMSELVES DON'T EVEN KNOW, at least to save them from a perforated ulcer. These are men with feelings, and no matter what they say to the press, you know they have to be anxious. Not sure about Derek, but I know Brady has millions tied up in escalators. I know he said that isn't the incentive and "...we get compensated well," but come on, even he would love that money to make his own charity, go back to Central America help kids with cleft palates, or make a church somewhere. Eric Mangini said himself it is difficult as a defensive coordinator to prepare for an offensive when the quarterback is unknown. How about the difficulty as a team to become cohesive and rally around their starting quarterback when that person is unknown. I bet that is difficult too!!

There is a very good public post from TheOBR that really puts it all into perspective; professionally, something I am not capable of. It is a good read, has Mangini's quotes, speculation on who's the best, as well as some observations on the field. (Hint: Derek mopes around a lot.) Definitely shed some light and lifted my spirits a bit. Check it out: QB Battle: We Have a Winner, But...

OK. I'm used to my admin's rants, this was mine. I'll take a play out of Brady's playbook and have faith that he will be named starter. If you look up "quarterback" in Google and check images you don't see Derek Anderson, but I do see Brady Quinn - TWICE. [Note of caution, there are some other "interesting" images there, like a very enthusiastic Roethlisberger fan.] Besides, I think Brady already knows he’s starting and shared some advice with Derek.

After tonight’s game, in which we didn’t see either Brady nor Derek take a snap, Mangini pretty much stated that he had seen enough in this QB competition. But of course, he didn’t show his hand. The Plain Dealer shared the following:

He did confirm, however, that the competition is now closed and will not extend into the first practice week of the real season.

I know there has to be a method to his madness, but I hope that reason isn’t “to make Minnesota gameplan for 2 QBs”. I can’t even begin to explain how weak that would be. Minnesota doesn’t care who the QB is and it’s not going to be hard for them adjust, based on whomever starts. They’re not going to be spending extra time in the film room to prepare for QB option #1 or #2. So, I’m just hoping this unnecessary delay is for a different reason.

Many feel that Mangini has known who the regular season starter would be for a while now. And maybe that QB knows too. Who doesn’t know? The fans and media. We really don’t need to know. Thing is, we want to know! I know he wasn’t here, but he has to know that we have all grown extremely weary of these annual QB competitions. Prolonging them, as he currently doing, isn’t winning him any fans. However, all the criticism goes away if the Browns win this year…

So, what’s really going on? The team put a claim waver on recently cut New England backup QB Kevin O’Connell. He ended up going to Detroit, but it begs the question, “what do the Browns need with another QB?” There are already 4 here with an undecided QB starter situation. Is the competition really over? Is the loser being shopped around? What on earth is going on up there?

At least we know that whomever the starter is, he’s going to get one solid week at the helm to prepare for the opener. Is that enough? I’ll reserve judgment until after game.

Oh, and the Browns ended up losing 23-26 to the Bears.