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 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.

Usually by now a team would annouce who the starting QB is but the Browns are waiting until some time after the final pre-season game tonight against the Bears.  Brady Quinn appears to be in the lead for the job as he has completed 21 of 31 passes (67.7%) for 225 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (86.1 QB Rating).  Derek Anderson has not played as well as Quinn as of yet as he has completed 15 of 26 passes (57.7%) for 207 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (51.3 QB Rating).  Anderson was in the Pro Bowl just two years ago and he has a stronger arm than Quinn but he’s also prone to throwing pickoffs.  In the end I’m predicting the Browns will finally name Quinn the starting QB.

The Browns played a solid all-around game against the Titans Saturday Night and they were rewarded with a win.  Brady Quinn was very sharp in this game as he completed 11 of 15 passes for 128 yards with 1 TD pass.  Derek Anderson followed him in the game and he completed 7 of 11 passes for 77 yards.  Richard Bartel finished up for the Browns at QB by completing all 3 of his pass attempts for 40 yards.  Rookie RB James Davis led the Browns in rushing in this game with 28 yards on 5 carries (5.6 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 27 yards (6.8 avg) in this game.  Jamal Lewis was also busy carrying the ball 10 times for 23 yards (2.3 ypc) and catching 4 passes for another 36.  Braylon Edwards was the leading receiver for the Browns in this game with 51 yards on 3 catches including a TD.  The Browns finished up this game with 312 total yards on offense (75 rushing, 237 passing).

Safety Michael Adams led the way for the Browns in this game with six tackles.  But it was OLB Alex Hall who was the standout as he made 2 tackles and intercepted a Vince Young pass that he returned 11 yards for a TD.  The Titans finished up with 355 total yards in this game (83 rushing, 272 passing).

The Browns pushed the Lions around last Saturday Night in Cleveland.  The Browns raced out to a 20-0 lead behind the QBing of Derek Anderson.  Anderson completed 8 of 13 passes for 130 yards with 1 interception in this game.  Brady Quinn followed D.A. and he completed 3 of 5 passes for 29 yards.  Brett Ratliff had a night to forget for the Browns in this game as he only completed 1 of 4 passes for 7 yards and he lost a fumble.  Rookie RB James Davis was the star of this game for the Browns as he rushed for 116 yards on 12 carries (9.7 ypc) with a 81-yard TD run.  Jamal Lewis added 23 yards on the ground on 7 carries (3.3 ypc) with a TD scamper.  Braylon Edwards led the Browns in receiving in this game even though he only caught 1 pass……for 34 yards.  The Browns used 9 different receivers in this game with not one of them catching more than 2 passes.  The Browns finished up this game with 348 total yards (194 rushing, 154 passing).

Linebackers Kamerion Wimbley and Kaluka Maiava led the way for the Browns in this game with 6 tackles apiece.  The Browns held the Lions to 288 total yards of offense (102 rushing, 186 passing) in a solid all-around effort.  They also played well on special teams as Joshua Cribbs returned a punt 84 yards for a TD.

The Cleveland Browns looked awful in this game.  Brady Quinn looked the best of the Browns’ QBs in this game but that isn’t saying much as he completed 7 of 11 passes for 68 yards with 1 interception.  Derek Anderson’s appearance in this game was very brief as he threw 2 incomplete passes (one of which was a pickoff).  Brett Ratliff finished up this game completing 7 of 13 passes for 84 yards with 2 pickoffs.  Josh Cribbs led the Browns in rushing in this game with 29 yards on 1 carry.  He also caught 2 passes for 30 yards (15.0 avg).  TE Aaron Walker led the Browns with 3 receptions for 48 yards (16.0 avg) in this game.  The Browns only had possession of the football for 20:04 of this game and that’s simply pathetic!  They only had 191 yards of total offense (59 rushing, 132 passing) against the Packers last Saturday Night.

Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson led the way for the Browns’ defense in this game with 7 tackles.  DE Marcus Benard also had a solid game with 6 tackles and a sack.  Rookies Coye Francies (CB) and OLB/DE David Veikune each picked off a pass apiece.  The Browns allowed 392 yards (230 rushing, 162 passing) and that is totally unacceptable!

The Browns appeared to be sleepwalking last Thursday Night at home against the Bears.  Brady Quinn got the start and he looked much better than he did against the Lions the week before as he completed 7 of 9 passes for 65 yards.  Ken Dorsey finished up again for the Browns and he didn’t look too good completing 10 of 20 passes for 92 yards with 1 interception.  RB Travis Thomas led the Browns in rushing against the Bears with 70 yards on 11 carries (6.4 ypc).  Jason Wright was also busy with 41 yards rushing on 9 carries (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 13 yards.  Jerome Harrison was also very effective when he was on the field as he rushed for 35 yards on 7 carries (5.0 ypc) with a 1-yard TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 22 yards against the Bears.  WR Travis Wilson led the way for the Browns in the passing game with 6 catches for 57 yards (9.5 avg).  The Browns finished up with 161 yards rushing on 32 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 29 passes for 150 yards.

The defense did not play that great despite the fact that the Bears only put 16 points on the board.  CB Gerald Lawson and linebackers Leon Williams and Kris Griffin led the Browns in this game with 7 tackles apiece.  CB Travis Key also had a decent game with 5 tackles and a interception.  Starting CB Brandon McDonald pitched in with 3 tackles and a interception in this football game.  The Bears finished up this game with 117 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 31 passes for 225 yards.  The Browns finished the preseason 0-4 and they looked pretty bad doing it.

The Cleveland Browns played horrible on both sides of the ball against the Lions on Saturday.  Brady Quinn got the start at QB for the Browns and he didn’t look too good.  Quinn completed 14 of 24 passes for 106 yards without a TD pass or a interception.  Ken Dorsey finished up the game by completing 13 of 22 passes for 94 yards for the Browns.  Jason Wright led the Browns in rushing on Saturday with 42 yards rushing on 8 carries (5.3 ypc).  Jerome Harrison was also busy as he carried the football 4 times for 11 yards (2.8 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 28 yards (7.0 avg).  Donte’ Stallworth led the Browns in receiving yards against the Lions with 34 on 4 grabs (8.5 avg).  TE Kellen Winslow pitched in with 4 catches for 26 yards (6.5 avg).  The Browns finished up with only 55 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 46 passes for 195 yards.

The defense was also pretty bad for the Browns but some players did show up.  DE Melila Purcell, NT Shaun Rogers and OLB Kamerion Wimbley led the Browns’ defense with 5 tackles apiece against the Lions.  Safety Nick Sorensen was also all over the football field with 4 tackles and a interception.  The Lions finished up with 129 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 31 passes for 257 yards.  I know it’s just the preseason but the Browns better show up against the Bears on Thursday Night in Cleveland.