Read Sports Geek and Loyal Homer’s arguments on which position battles they feel will be the most interesting during the 2009 NFL preseason.
I feel like I’m stuck in line at Epcot right now, just having stepped off of the ‘Spaceship Earth’ ride where I’ve taken a journey through time, and am waiting to step into ‘Project Tomorrow!’
That’s what life has been like for a Cleveland Browns fan ever since their return to the league in 1999. The Cleveland faithful have been shown pictures and told stories of the franchise’s past, and they have been promised about the excitement that the future will bring, but for this moment? They are stuck in some sort of limbo, just waiting for the future to arrive.
Browns fans are upset, and with good reason! Things have already started off poorly for the Dawgs in 2009. Following an abysmal close to the 2008 season, the Browns once again have gone back to the drawing board beginning with team owner Randy Lerner’s purge of the front office. He fired general manager Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel, replacing them with George Kokinis and Eric Mangini, who officially becomes the fifth head coach for the Browns since their return, ushering in yet ANOTHER era of “rebuilding” for the city on the banks of Lake Erie.
“Mangenius” and the Browns have also fallen victim again to the alleged “Cleveland Curse” by losing wide receiver Donte Stallworth to a DUI manslaughter charge. Recently another wide receiver, Braylon Edwards, was also placed on the non-football injury list… and the hits just keep on coming (without even taking the field)!
More frustrating is the lack of any stability at the quarterback position. For a city that once proudly boasted the names of Otto Graham, Brian Sipe, and Bernie Kosar, 2009 will mark the beginning of yet another quarterback controversy. In fact, the Browns quarterback position has been so inconsistent and unstable that 14 different players have started at least one game at the position since 1999. A position, need I remind you, that is supposed to be manned by the on-field leader of the team.
So, why on earth do I feel that the Browns QB position battle will be the one to watch this year? I’ll give you two reasons.
First, it is really the only exciting thing worth watching if you are a Browns fan.
Second, it will finally allow the Cleveland organization and its fans an opportunity to put a face to the franchise.
When you think about the teams in football that have consistently performed well over the past decade, the one thing they have all had in common is stability and solid leadership from the quarterback position. You can look no further than the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning, or the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger as proof.
That has been the missing piece for Cleveland, but the Browns are FINALLY in a position where they can place the hopes of their franchise on the shoulders of a quarterback who may actually be able to take the reins of a franchise and be the leader for the foreseeable future.
This isn’t the same quarterback controversy that Browns fans have known for the past 10 years. The team isn’t choosing between Trent Dilfer and Charlie Frye, or Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb. Rather than being forced to take gambles between arguably substandard talent or a “veteran” who is likely on their last legs, the Browns finally have an opportunity to choose between two quarterbacks who (on paper at least) appear to both be capable of successfully leading the team for many years to come.
On one hand you have Derek Anderson. Despite a dreadful 2008 performance, Anderson is a Pro Bowl quarterback with tremendous arm strength. In his defense, many of Anderson’s woes last year can be blamed on downright pathetic receiving (that includes YOU, Braylon) and injury problems. Sure, there are questions that Anderson will need to answer – specifically around his accuracy – but he has nonetheless proven that he can succeed on the field.
On the other hand you have Brady Quinn. Quinn came in as a very highly touted rookie quarterback having led Notre Dame to a BCS appearance during his final year before being drafted in the first round by the Browns. Quinn was instantly labeled as the “quarterback of the future” for the Browns, but due to the surprising success of Anderson (and the entire Browns team) in 2007, followed by injury problems in 2008, many people still feel that Quinn is untested and unproven. When healthy Quinn has been able to demonstrate his natural talent as a passer causing many in “Believe-land” to still expect Quinn to be the man lining up behind center.
While there are doubts about both (otherwise there wouldn’t be a position battle, obviously), each has shown the potential to be a “franchise” quarterback. I think it is safe to assume that whoever Mangini chooses to take the field in September will be the quarterback of the Browns for many years to come. As for the “other guy?” My guess is that he’ll be suiting up in different colors.
