The Cleveland Browns are going with Derek Anderson over Brady Quinn this weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals.  Anderson completed 11 of 19 passes (57.9%) for 92 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs (30.9 QB Rating) against the Ravens last week.  But, Anderson did make the Pro Bowl in 2007 and he has a much stronger arm than Brady Quinn.  He does need to throw the ball away more often but the offense should be able to open up more with Anderson under the center.  Brady Quinn started the first three games of the season for the Browns this year and he completed 45 of 74 passes (60.8%) for 400 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs (62.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 7 times for 34 yards (4.9 ypc) so far this season.  The Browns will likely look to Brett Ratliff next if Anderson doesn’t pan out.  After all, he is a ex-New York Jets player and that means a lot to head coach Eric Mangini.

This was a ugly game for the Browns who looked like they shouldn’t have even been on the same field as the Ravens yesterday.  The Browns fell behind 20-0 at the half and that’s when Eric Mangini decided to yank Brady Quinn and replace him with Derek Anderson who didn’t do any better.  Brady Quinn completed 6 of 8 passes for 34 yards with 1 interception in the first half.  Anderson led the Browns to the only score they had but that’s not saying too much.  He completed 11 of 19 passes for 92 yards with 3 interceptions.  Jerome Harrison was the only “skill” player that showed up for the Browns in this game as he carried the ball 16 times for 52 yards (3.3 ypc) and he caught 5 passes for 33 yards (6.6 avg).  The Browns finished up this game with only 186 total yards of offense (71 rushing, 115 passing) in this game.

The “defense” was led by LB D’Qwell Jackson (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and safety Abram Elam (10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss).  The Browns allowed a stunning 479 total yards on offense (142 rushing, 337 passing) in this game.  The Ravens threw a 72-yard TD pass on the play after the Browns kicked their field goal making the score 34-3 in the 4th quarter!  The Browns are now 0-3 on the season.

The Browns have signed 29-year old kicker Billy Cundiff who will take over for the injured Phil Dawson (calf) this week and maybe longer.  He last played in the NFL during the 2006 season with the Saints.  He has now played in 58 games in his NFL career and he has connected on 60 of 83 field goals (72.3%) and 100 of 101 extra points.  He has scored 280 points (4.8 points per game) in his NFL career.  Phil Dawson has made all four of his field goal attempts and both of his extra points attempts for 14 points this season.

The Browns don’t match up too well with the Ravens.  Last season the Ravens swept the Browns but a combined score of 65-37!  For the Browns to have any chance in this football game they need to forget the run and come out throwing the football.  The Ravens are allowing 290.0 yards passing per game this season and they have been vulnerable downfield.  Braylon Edwards has the size and speed to exploit the Ravens’ secondary but the issue here is time for Brady Quinn to throw the football.  He has been sacked 9 times in the first two games of the season and the Ravens like to blitz.  LBs Jarrett Johnson and Terrell Suggs both like to blitz coming off the team bus so the offensive line will have to do a good job of keeping them out of the backfield.

The Baltimore Ravens will likely attack the Browns with a balanced attack although they will be tempted to just pound the ball with the running game against them.  After all, the Browns are allowing 205.5 yards rushing per game (5.6 ypc) so far this season.  Ray Rice (144 yards rushing) and Willis McGahee (123 yards rushing) have shared the load in the running game for the Ravens and that will likely continue this week with both players wanting 100 yards.  One of the things making QB Joe Flacco so effective this season has been the fact that he moves the ball around to different receivers in the passing game.  7 different players have five or more catches for the Ravens already this season.  That poses a problem for the Browns as they will likely have to play single coverage on everyone.  The Browns must get back to blitzing on passing downs as they had 4 sacks in week #1 and none last week.  Still, Flacco has only been sacked two times this season so getting to him will be tough.

PREDICTION:  BALTIMORE RAVENS 27, CLEVELAND BROWNS 13

It’s easy to point the finger at the QB when the offense isn’t clicking.  A closer look at the Browns reveals that the offensive line has been the real problem so far this season.  Brady Quinn has been sacked 9 times already this season and the Browns are only averaging 71.5 yards rushing (3.5 ypc).  So it appears that rookie center Alex Mack, RG Pork Chop Womack, RT John St. Clair, LG Eric Steinbach and LT Joe Thomas need to pick up the pace.  There is no excuse for how poorly the offensive line has played so far this season and the offense will not improve until they start blocking better.