Browns’ QB competition to last into preseason
So who will be the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback when they open the NFL season against the Minnesota Vikings?
Well, new Browns coach Eric Mangini isn’t going to make that decision until late in the preseason, although it hasn’t stopped oddsmakers at WagerWeb.com from posting Cleveland as a 2.5-point underdog for Week 1.
The Browns wrap up offseason workouts next week, and Mangini says he is content to go through training camp and at least part of the exhibition season before choosing between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.
“I want to go through the whole process, evaluate each phase, see it against other opponents” Mangini said Thursday. “It’ll be pretty clear as to who should have the spot. It just has to reveal itself.”
It also helps that the Vikings can’t exactly prepare for a guy.
“One of the things that’s tough defensively is not knowing who the starting quarterback’s going to be,” he said. “That’s always a huge problem defensively. I hated when I didn’t know who the starting quarterback of the other team was. A huge, huge headache.”
Mangini added that once he names a starter he plans to stick with the guy and won’t have a quick trigger.
His time with the Jets seems to indicate Mangini is truthful with that, although he did pull a struggling Chad Pennington one season.
Reportedly both QBs have struggled this offseason. Anderson was the unquestioned starter heading into last season following a Pro Bowl in 2007 but struggled mightily as the Browns started 3-5. Quinn came in and had a terrific debut against Denver, but things went downhill in the next two games, culminating in a season-ending injury. Anderson came back for a game-and-a-half and was just as bad as the first time and then got hurt himself.
“A big one for me is huddle presence and the ability to run the offense” Mangini said. “Who can most effectively run the offense? Who can look at the defense, understand what the coverage is and throw to the right place?”
Most close to the team believe that Quinn will win the job even though he doesn’t have the arm strength that Anderson does.
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