And as we know, rats flee a sinking ship.

But what is the one thing dragging the ship down?  That’s right. The heavy-set… anchor, Eric Mangini.

First, I have to get this off my chest. Brady Quinn was not dissed at a recent concert by rapper Common. A ‘dis‘ is to disrepect someone and if someone disses you, they don’t come back and say, “It’s all good,” seconds later. And two, even if Brady was dissed, EVERY BLOG AND ARTICLE I HAVE READ forgot to mention precisely what was said about Derek Anderson… The actual quote and concert (click on it):

“C-to the O-double M-O-N and I won’t mess up like Brady Quinn or better yet Derek, Derek Anderson. It’s all good Brady!!”

Or better YET (implying there is even further messing up) to Derek Anderson. So shove it.

Alright, next we have Braylon Edwards fleeing this sinking ship, or rather he was thrown off. It wasn’t because of the incident where he slugged another Cincinnati guy. (He got in a fight on the field during Sunday’s game too.) Oh no, that was icing on the cake. There is a whole host of reasons. Some of which I did not know:

1. He was drinking with receiver Donte Stallworth the night of Stallworth’s tragic DUI accident. Braylon bought thousands of dollars worth of alcohol that night. I certainly wouldn’t want him to be my designated driver. [For the record: I don't consider it an "accident." You drink, you drive, you have marijuana in your system, you don't have the reflexes {although he was a wide receiver} to stop your car in front of some jaywalker, and then kill him? That my friends is MANSLAUGHTER. Psst. It's ok though. He only spent 24 days of his 30 day sentence in jail. WTF?!]
2. Braylon missed several training camps because of an injury he got playing some stupid pickup basketball game. The same Braylon who likes to go tiptoe barefoot through the tulips and cut open his heel à la the ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ regime of Romeo Crennell preseason 2008.
3. He was an infrequent participant in Mangini’s offseason program.
4. Braylon missed several practices in the offseason.
5. He got into this recent (and seems serious) scuffle with a Cincy player.
6. Said he would, “…love to play for New York.”
7. He’s a baby when the spotlight is not on him.
8. And oh, he cannot catch the ball.

But what really has gotten me lately is the fact that our man, Brady Quinn, is getting a very raw deal. Erin McLaughlin, who has written almost 200 articles for the Bleacher Report focusing on Notre Dame and Cleveland sports, was fed up too. His article is well written and worth the full read. Excerpts that rang with me:

Yes, I am a Brady Quinn fan, and always will be no matter what he does in the NFL. Quinn was a great quarterback at Notre Dame. Whatever he does in the NFL is a bonus. I’m okay with him failing as long as he gets a fair chance and the failure is without excuse.

What has happened this year is anything but fair in my opinion. For one, you have to give a guy more than two-and-a-half games to develop. When I see a coach pull the plug that quickly, it makes me thankful for the patience of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis.

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen was awful his freshman year. Two years later, he is a legitimate Heisman candidate. Quinn, right now, reminds me of Clausen in his freshman year. He had poor line-play and a lack of playmakers. To me, no quarterback can produce consistently on a team like that. That is why JaMarcus Russell has looked awful in Oakland and Matthew Stafford has had his struggles in Detroit. Therefore, I don’t think a couple of games is a fair chance.

I’ve heard a few things about what went on behind the scenes [in Cleveland]. The more I hear, the more I think that Mangini deliberately set Quinn up to fail. I know some will shake their heads when they hear this. But to me, there are some things that just aren’t adding up.

Where do I begin?

Some have claimed they had inside information that said the coaches knew before the first preseason game that Quinn would start the season. This was evidence that Mangini wanted Quinn to succeed. All it tells me is that he knew he would have to give in to public pressure. Since he didn’t really want Quinn out there, Mangini would never give him the vote of confidence as “the guy.” The team never gravitated toward him because they didn’t know who “the guy” was. Quinn had to split reps in training camp and was never able to develop chemistry with his receivers. Then Week 1 comes and Quinn starts, but Mangini tried to keep it a secret. He never publicly said that Quinn is the guy the team will rally around. It created more doubt about whether Quinn really was going to be the guy all year.

In case you’re not buying this, take a look at the games last year.

When it was announced that Quinn would start, former coach Romeo Crennel did give him the vote of confidence and the team did rally around him. The team looked like a well-oiled machine. Of course, Quinn had his security blanket in Kellen Winslow who Mangini conveniently traded away.

If he [Mangini] wanted Quinn to succeed, why would he do that?

On Wednesday, Mangini named Anderson the starter and the team rallied around him because the coach gave him the vote of confidence that he never gave to Quinn. After the game, Cribbs said that Mangini gave his most inspirational speech before the game.

This year, Quinn looked a lot less sure of himself. In all my years watching him, I have never seen him like this. That tells me that there is probably something going on behind the scenes with him and Mangini that just isn’t right.

People are wondering why Quinn looks afraid to go downfield with the ball. There are a lot of factors. For one, Cleveland’s pass protection hasn’t been great and the quarterback often has to check down due to lack of time. Another thing that stood out was the extended opportunity and great performance of rookie wideout Mohamed Massaquoi. Why wasn’t he playing when Quinn was in? Finally, Brian Daboll started to call some real plays, unlike the conservative crap he was calling when Quinn was in.

Yes, Quinn struggled. But he was set up to fail by his coach.

Whether it was with malicious intent or simple incompetence, it doesn’t matter. There have been reports of questionable actions from Mangini before in New York and Cleveland. Proven coaches are going to bat for Quinn while an unproven coach in Mangini has lost confidence in him.

Erin goes on to say, as we hear at Brady Quinn fan have been saying, he hopes Brady goes to a team that will see his talent, nurture it, and grow one helluva quarterback. He is so adamant, as other Brady Quinn fans, he has decided to stop writing in the Browns section of the Bleacher Report.  (Personally, I think he should continue writing to keep the Brady-haters at bay with wisdom and talent. At least until Brady leaves.)

Finally, that brings me to that chunky anchor holding not just Brady down but the whole Browns. The man is getting desperate to prove his worth. Those shimmering numbers of 0 – 4 in the waters of the sinking ship may just be from Davy Jones calling to Mangini to sink or swim.

Similar Posts:
 MNF: Browns vs. Giants
 Sorry Charlie: Weis Fired From Notre Dame
 Brady Quinn on Season Ending Injured Reserve
 Brady Quinn’s 2009 Year in Review
 Brady in Cleveland Magazine