The Old Bit Department: Tribe Offense Fails in loss to Red Sox
April 28, 2009An Open Letter to Antonio McDyess
April 28, 2009
I wrote last week that the draft should at least give us some kind of indication as to where this Browns team is in the mind of our new coach and GM. Are they in full rebuild? Do they think the key pieces are in place? Is this a two-year plan or a five-year one? Well, the draft is over, and I don’t think we are any closer to the answer. This is perhaps most evident at the quarterback position.
Had the Browns selected Mark Sanchez, we would have had our answer. Sanchez would be groomed to be the franchise and the rest of the team would be built to match his skill set and that would take a little while. No Sanchez should mean a clear path for Quinn right? Sure, Mangini said there would be an open competition, but nobody really expects Derek Anderson to unseat Brady do they?
But something strange happened. The Browns – with Quinn, Anderson and Richard Bartel already on the roster (side-note- Bartel could be the first player cut from this team) – traded with the Jets, and made sure that Brett Ratliff was part of that deal. Now, I figured that Ratliff was merely going to be a guy that Mangini brought here to carry a clipboard and help the other QBs understand the system. Ratliff went through training camp with Mangini last year, so he certainly would know what Mangini expects. But it turns out that Mangini could have other plans for his former QB.
There is a video on the PD website that suggests Mangini could have been ready to go to battle in New York with Ratliff as his starting QB over Kellen Clemens. TheJetsBlog.com has several pieces detailing the QB competition since Favre’s retirement. Here’s a recent excerpt–
“Don’t get me wrong, I like Ratty a lot, and I know some in the organization have big hopes for him. Ratliff is the understudy, so he’s going to get more slack when he makes mistakes, but it’s going to be important to see how he adjusts from here. That’s going to be the key to his success and winning of the job.”
Now, we also have former Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell. That makes five QBs on the roster (or at least invited to try out) – none of whom are over 26-years of age.
Derek Anderson is the grandpa of this group with his four years of NFL experience. Does this spell the end of Anderson’s career in Cleveland? Could there be another deal made, or will the Browns end up letting the former (cough) pro-bowler go?
So maybe we learned something after all. Maybe Mangini got the quarterback he wanted with the fifth pick afterall.
28 Comments
I highly doubt Ratliff is the answer. I know Anderson isn’t the answer. Give Quinn the starting job and see what he can do.
Ratliff is the new Ken Dorsey. He’s here because Mangini trusts him and he knows the system, similar to Dorsey’s relationship with Chud. It’s one thing to compete with Kellen Clemens, but he’s not going to beat out Quinn and DA. If he does, then the Browns are in a world of hurt.
Regardless… cue the circus music.
Brady Quinn is dreamy. He will stop other defenses in their tracks by looking deeply into their eyes. They’ll be so transfixed by his charm that they won’t even realize he’s thrown the ball 35 yards to Robo, who catches(!!!!) it and takes it in for 6.
I agree with Rock. Ratliff is going to be the second or third string QB. Like Rick said, Bartel is going to be the first to get the boot. I think ManKok understood early that DA was not going to garner any significant draft picks. Now that the draft is over, what he may be traded for are some reasonably solid role players, perhaps some veterans on the defensive side.
My take is this:
DA will be traded for one or two defensive players (hopefully one will be a starter)
Quinn, Ratliff and Harrell will supposedly “compete” for the starting job
Quinn will end up starting
the 2 and 3 QBs will be a toss up between Ratliff and Harrell, but Ratliff will be educating BQ on the system regardless which spot he ends up at.
My guess the depth will end up being Quinn, Ratliff, Harrell. Honestly, i think that’s a fairly good lineup. Quinn is obviously the golden boy, so he’ll get his fair shot. And if that doesn’t work out or he gets injured, we have a number two in Ratliff who although probably isn’t starter material, can at least give you an average or above performance. And then in the 3 spot, you have a young rookie with some great numbers who after a year or two with the clipboard, may turn into a starting caliber QB.
I really can’t see them giving DA another shot at starting. He failed miserably. Fans cheered when he went down with an injury. There is no way he has the confidence and temperament to start, at least not in Cleveland. I guarantee he and his agent are asking for a trade. He’d be insane to even want to play here after how the fans treated him.
Don is right. Send in the clowns sometime in August.
why is brian robiske Robo? shouldn’t it be BriRo? or Briski? or B-Ski?
don’t get me started on MoMassa – Mohamed Massaquo
Ken Dorsey ain’t walking through that door… and if he does, he’ll be old and gray…
They’ll be so transfixed by his charm that they won’t even realize he’s thrown the ball 35 yards
While setting a career record for longest pass thrown (before the catch)
DA All the way. Once a Pro-Bowler always a Pro-Bowler
As soon as that trade happen, my assumption was that the Browns are trying to move DA, especially if you factor in the Robiskie pick, which is a guy that simply works great with Quinn, okay with Ratliff, and not at all with DA.
I still wouldn’t be surprised if the Browns wait around until some team loses a QB during camp or realizes how badly they need one, then trades DA for more depth or picks next year.
“…especially if you factor in the Robiskie pick, which is a guy that simply works great with Quinn, okay with Ratliff, and not at all with DA.”
Could you get me a link that has some game film of DA and Robiskie playing on the same team?
It’s a little presumptuous to say that they don’t compliment each other if you’ve never seen them in action together. We don’t even really know what the offense will look like, we just have an idea of what they might run.
And from some reports I’ve seen, the organization is leaning more towards the style which fits DA best. Wouldn’t be shocked (or sorry) to see Quinn traded.
Mimosa?
I think Joe J had a good year with DA at the realm in 07. Robiske is s’posed to be a Joe J type receiver by being the possession guy, so I wouldn’t rule out any QB just yet. I think Ratliff is a guy Mangini likes, and sure he can be thrown into the competition, but I doubt he will out play DA and BQ.
I tend to agree with Cribbage too.
Saying Ratty will be the starter is quite a stretch. I think Magini is just being like old Bill who was smart enough to alway make sure he has a talented young backup QB. You never know when a Bledsoe, Brady, or Quinn will get hurt.
Between Harell, DA, and Ratty, I think one of them will fill that role. What happens to the other 2 isn’t so important.
@ #15 – remember last year? Having a starter and a “talented young backup” fared pretty well then too. Though the O line should hopefully be better, leading to less QB injuries.
I kind of think DA will be traded or cut now. It could be a little dangerous to go with three QBs without nearly any NFL regular game experience, but I think that is what could they do. Anderson was awful last year, but so was the rest of the offense. If Mangini gives us a more balanced attack, we run more with Jamal, our new draft pick, and hopefully Harrison, we might get away with young QBs running the plays.
man If DA gets the job I’m done rooting for the browns
Why has it never — ever — been said that no QB, not one, could have any degree of real success with the Browns last season. The receiving corps had one legitimate receiver, and that guy dropped a third of the passes that came his way.
There was no running attack, and the protection was average at best. But you’re right, D.A. failed miserably. It was all on him.
Once again, say it with me, the Brady Quinn phenomenon is the strangest chapter in Cleveland Sports history.
I see us carrying 4 quarterbacks (with practice squad) till some contending team blows up a few quarterbacks and then we will dump DA for our price.
@20…
I don’t hear the chorus you’re calling for. What’s strange about Browns fans pulling for a guy who was outspoken about wanting to play in Cleveland? He’s a guy who had a pretty decent collegiate career at Notre Dame and is thought by many nfl observers to have sufficient talent to be a starter in the league. I don’t hear anyone saying that he’s the next coming, but simply urging that he be give a legitimate shot. I don’t think this qualifies as a phenomenon. Most Browns fans who don’t want to see DA under center will cite their reasons, like bad decisions (my personal favorite), or unable to move out of the pocket, or no touch on short throws…. But what is the empirical knock on Quinn???? Like most of us, I don’t know whether he will be a star or a dud, but until we know for sure, I’ll be pulling for him. If you’re a Browns fan too, I think the “stangest chapter in Cleveland sports history” would be to do otherwise.
QUOTE: # 19 steveo Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
“man If DA gets the job I’m done rooting for the browns”
Oh, such drama. You gotta love these drama queens.
My favorite reason to not want DA is his inability to disguise the targets of his passes. You might as well call DA Samuel Morse because he TELEGRAPHS EVERYTHING!
C’mon, Craig…. Bring it up to date. He “Twitters” ’em!
“About to run a sweet play action to J Lew. Hit ’em deep, watch ’em cry!!! <3 D-Rock”
i don’t think this team is leaning towards being fit for anderson.
i actually think it’s the opposite…
they’re going ball control. we all know quinn comes from the school of weis, which is similiar.
we dump our non-blocking but great at catching tight end, and sign a guy who can’t catch but can block…
we sign john st clair, who can run block, but can’t pass protect to save his life…
we bring in receivers like massaquoi and robiskie, who aren’t big play threats but fit more of an offense geared to running the ball.
not to mention we drafted a center with our first pick, and from what i have read, this guy is a mack truck when it comes to run blocking.
which again leads me to believe they are setting this up for quinn, like it or not.
and i can’t blame the organization for doing this. they realize that this division now is the most physical division in the nfl, the 2 best defenses reside in the afc north. both 3-4 defenses. we are going to have to deal with haloti ngata for many years to come. i honestly believe the mack pick was to counter that.
you’re never going to get out of this division chucking the ball around. cincinnati tried it for a year and lucked out (and yes i know, who knows if palmer doesn’t get his knee destroyed) and we also had some success in 2007. but you gotta be able to dominate at the line of scrimmage in this division. you gotta run the ball. you can’t have your qb out there to get killed by these defenses.