Sorry Obama and Hillary, you don’t even have a chance here. The biggest debate in Ohio rages among Browns’ fans about the quarterback position. You won’t hear the ‘candidates’ themselves firing salvos at each other, but their fans certainly will.
Check out any of the Cleveland message boards and see for yourself. The board I frequent is Browns 24/7, but you can go to the Browns Board, DawgBones, or the Orange and Brown report. It won’t take you long to find a post about Derek and Brady. On Browns 24/7 they had to start an ‘official’ Derek/Brady thread because no matter what the topic, the conversation found it’s way back around to the future of the QB in Cleveland. That thread is over 31 pages long now, but truthfully a good number of discussions still find their way back to the same debate.
Has there ever been a more divisive split among fans? When Bernie Kosar was cut there was tremendous outrage and probably more overall discussion, but most of that was venom towards Bill for cutting a fan favorite. There were some who said the hooded one was correct in his opinion that Bernie’s skills had indeed diminished, but they were certainly the minority voice.
With Anderson vs. Quinn the sides seem pretty even. Those in the Anderson camp point out the terrific season Derek had, and Quinn’s inexperience. The Quinn camp counters by saying Anderson head a superb first half, but showed little in the second half, including that disastrous Cincinnati game. The Pro Bowl didn’t help his cause either.
This debate certainly wouldn’t have reached it’s fever pitch had Derek Anderson not been a restricted free agent this year. Had he been under contract the Browns would have looked at both guys in camp and then the debate would be tabled until one was named the starter and then struggled. However, with Anderson demanding Romo type dollars, and a six-year deal many fans are willing to part with him. The Browns countered with a three year deal, and even that is enough to raise the ire of many fans. (cough, cough Rock, cough)
Terry Pluto published an article this afternoon claiming the Browns are in a win-win situation.
No matter who is the quarterback — Anderson or Brady Quinn — the Browns will never be an elite team until they have a defense capable of at least being mediocre against the run. In the past three years, they have ranked 29th, 29th and 30th in run defense.
If they keep Anderson, great. The Browns have gone from a year ago when they had no idea who’d be their quarterback to two very good options. Either way, the team will win on this deal.
True enough Terry, but in your article even you seem to take sides…
Anderson’s agents had their eyes on Tony Romo money, the six-year, $67 million package with about $38 million guaranteed from Dallas. If a team wants to drop that kind of cash on Anderson, so be it.
Don’t match the offer. Don’t take a massive bite out of the salary cap. Don’t worry that the restricted free agent may go elsewhere and become a star. Let him go.
This is not to call Anderson greedy or to blame Anderson if a team wants to pay him like the second-coming of Peyton Manning after only 18 pro starts.
What if Anderson is blossoming into one of the league’s best QB’s? Would it be wise to give up on that, especially for a franchise that has struggled at the QB position since re-entering the league? There are certainly more questions than answers right now, but one thing is certain- the debate isn’t going away soon!
