The Browns expect much more out of WR/KR Joshua Cribbs than any other player on the team.  His strength in on special teams but his role on the offense in expanding.  Cribbs returned 6 kickoffs for 140 yards (23.3 avg) and 3 punts for 67 yards (22.3 avg) including a punt return for a TD right before halftime to give the Browns a lead.  Cribbs also is the Browns’ QB in their version of the Wildcat and it’s only a matter of time until he starts throwing some passes out of that formation.  Cribbs carried the ball 3 times for 6 yards (2.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 10 yards (5.0 avg).  Look for the Browns to start getting the ball in Cribbs’ hands more often on offense starting this week against the Broncos.

The Browns have released 26-year old linebacker Leon Williams.  Williams played in 14 games for the Browns last season and he made 38 tackles.  In three years with the Browns, Williams played in 46 games in which he made 164 tackles, defensed 5 passes, had 5 sacks and he forced 1 fumble.  The Browns might have given up on Williams a tad too early.

When Joshua Cribbs returned a punt 67 yards for a TD with 1:30 left before halftime giving the Browns a 13-10 lead….things were looking good.  But, things turned sour in the 3rd and 4th quarters for the Browns.  Brady Quinn did not look good in this game as he completed 21 of 35 passes for 205 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc) but he lost a fumble that really hurt the Browns.  Quinn will have to improve if he wants to keep the starting QB job because most of his yards came in garbage time.  Jamal Lewis was one of the few offensive players who came to play as he carried the ball 11 times for 57 yards (5.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 47 yards (15.7 avg).  TE Robert Royal led the way in the passing game for the Browns today as he caught 4 passes for 60 yards (15.0 avg) including a 26-yard TD reception from Brady Quinn with 28 seconds left in the game.  It was the Browns first offensive TD in almost 7 games!  Amazing!  The Browns finished up with only 268 total yards on offense (89 rushing, 179 passing) and only had possession of the ball for 26:38. 

The defense gave a good effort until they got tired which just so happened to be when Adrian Peterson was getting stronger.  LB D’Qwell Jackson (10 tackles) and safety Abram Elam (9 tackles, sack) led the way for the Browns D in this game.  OLB Kamerion Wimbley, S Brodney Pool and NT Shaun Rogers each had a sack in this game as the Browns finished up with four of them.  The Vikings finished up with 310 total yards in this game (225 rushing, 85 passing). 

Don’t believe what you’ve been reading in newspapers about this game being a blowout because it won’t be.  Sure, the Vikings have Adrian Peterson but I fully expect the Browns to bring an extra man into the box and dare 40-year old Brett Favre to beat them throwing the ball.  Of course, Peterson could still beat a 8-man front as he was facing them almost all of last season.  The Browns really need a great effort out of the LBing corps if they are to win this football game.  I still look for Peterson to get 80-100 yards rushing……if he has a bad day.  If he has a great day he might go for the NFL record against a Browns defense that allowed 151.9 yards rushing per game last season.  Favre could be deadly on play action against the young corners of the Browns but he has to be careful because Brandon McDonald and Eric Wright are pickoff artists.

The Cleveland Browns should come out passing the football early to try to get the lead before attempting to run the ball.  WR Braylon Edwards is in his free agent walk year so don’t look for him to be dropping too many passes.  Still, Brady Quinn will have to be careful of knowing wherever CB Antoine Winfield is as he’s a big time corner.   Look for Quinn to set up quick and get rid of the football as the Vikings have a pretty good pass rush.  The Vikings have one of the best run defenses in the NFL so don’t look for Jamal Lewis or rookie James Davis to be rolling up big numbers tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  MINNESOTA VIKINGS 20, CLEVELAND BROWNS 17

It appears that a decision has been made, and it was the decision most have been expecting. Even though head coach Eric Mangini tried to keep it a secret, league sources have said that Brady Quinn has won the quarterback competition and will start against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Brady Quinn had a slightly better preseason than Derek Anderson and showed flashed of why he was a first round pick last season. Hopefully, this season he will get a little more help from his receivers and he can lead the Browns to a better season.

Now that the Cleveland Browns have played their final preseason game, it’s time for them to choose the regular season’s starting quarterback. And the winner of the QB derby is… we still don’t know. Why head coach Eric Mangini is dragging this competition on for so long is a mystery to me. We all know they will eventually promote Brady Quinn to QB1, regardless of whether or not he actually deserves it. The unwritten rule, at least among inept franchises, is that the first round pick gets the benefit of the doubt until it’s clear he’s a bust. Quinn can be a quality quarterback in this league, but so can Derek Anderson. The same Derek Anderson who went the Pro Bowl in 2007. Unfortunately, he’s also the same Derek Anderson who completed a pathetic 50% of his passes and finished with a QB rating of 66 last season.

Both are young, Anderson is 26 and Quinn will be 25 in October; both are a good size, with Anderson standing at 6’6″ and Quinn at 6’3″; both have strong arms; and both have been inconsistent when given the opportunity to show their talent. The regular season starts next week and the other teams with question marks at quarterback chose their starters BEFORE the final preseason game. What is “Man-genius” waiting for?

Cleveland is in a rebuilding year so no one is expecting the quarterback to lead them to a .500 season, let alone a playoff berth. But for this team to head in the right direction as soon as possible, the leader of the offense needs to be chosen. Quarterback is the most important position in football, and arguably the hardest position in all team sports, and an offense knowing who the starter will be and developing a rhythm with that starter is integral to the success of that offense. But here are the Cleveland Browns, playing catch up as usual.

I hope Mangini knows what he’s doing. I’ve lived in Cleveland and it’s a wonderful city that loves football and deserves to see their team succeed. So pick a quarterback already. Please.

One thing that Eric Mangini learned from Coach Belichick is that you don’t play your #1 or #2 QB during the last pre-season game.  Brett Ratliff started this game and he completed 8 of 20 passes for 71 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Richard Bartel finished the game strong completing 12 of 14 passes for 137 yards with 0 TDs and 0 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 6 yards (3.0 ypc) and scored a TD.  Chris Jennings was busy for the Browns in this game as he carried the ball 17 times for 59 yards (3.5 ypc) and caught 6 passes for 42 yards (7.0 avg).  James Davis was impressive again in this game with 5 carries for 37 yards (7.4 ypc).  David Patten led the way for the Browns in the passing game with 45 yards on 3 grabs (15.0 avg).  The Browns finished up with 282 yards on offense (103 rushing, 179 passing) in this game.

CB Coye Francies led the way for the Browns in this game with 7 tackles.  DE Brian Schaefering was a standout on D with 6 tackles and 2 sacks in this game.  The Bears finished up with 99 yards rushing (3.7 ypc) and 239 yards passing in this game.  The Browns finished the pre-season with a 2-2 record.

The Browns have placed 31-year old guard Fred Weary on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.  Weary played in two pre-season games for the Browns this season.  He last played in the NFL in 2007 with the Texans.  Weary has played in 63 games (43 starts) in his NFL career so far.  The Browns will give him a shot to make the team next season.

The Cleveland Browns will likely be using Josh Cribbs a lot of offense as well as special teams this season.  He has carried the ball 2 times for 35 yards (17.5 ypc) and he has caught 5 passes for 81 yards (16.2 avg).  Cribbs was a QB in college so expect the Browns to let him throw a few passes this season out of the Wild Cat formation.  Cribbs is off to a fast start returning kicks already this season.  He has returned 2 punts for 88 yards (44.0 avg) and 5 kickoffs for 134 yards (26.8 avg) this pre-season.  Look for Cribbs to be the MVP of the Browns this season as he will be all over the football field this year.

It appears that Jamal Lewis is in danger of losing his roster spot.  He has carried the ball 24 times for 63 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run this pre-season.  He has also caught 5 passes for 35 yards (7.0 avg).  To get rid of Lewis would be a short sighted move by the Cleveland Browns as he has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two years.  Lewis has carried the ball 577 times for the Browns in the last two years for 2,306 yards (4.0 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He has also caught 53 passes for 426 yards (8.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs for the Browns.  James Davis was a 6th round pick last April for the Browns out of Clemson.  Davis has really bursted onto the scene this pre-season for the Browns as he has carried the ball 19 times for 149 yards (7.8 ypc) with a TD.  He has also caught 7 passes for 44 yards (6.3 avg) this pre-season.  I see no reason for the Browns not to keep both Lewis and Davis this season.