Quinn Shines With 2 TD’s as Browns Fall to Lions

By Matt Leode: SPM Contributing Writer
Posted Sunday, August 19, 2007

Maybe it’s time the Cleveland Browns simply throw caution to the wind and throw number one draft choice Brady Quinn in at the quarterback spot. That is the overall feeling that came out of Cleveland Browns Stadium it seemed like on Saturday night, as the Browns fell to the Detroit Lions 23-20. That loss cannot be pinned on Quinn, who played two series, and led the Browns to their only two touchdowns of the game.

Playing against the Lions backups, the Notre Dame rookie seemed cool under pressure, going 13-for-20, which included three spikes in a two-minute drill, for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He hit rookie Edrem Hill for his first NFL touchdown that made it 23-13 Detroit in the 4th quarter, then getting the ball back at their own 8-yard line with 1:52 left, Quinn nicely drove the Browns down the field, and threw a lot of underneith stuff against the Lions prevent but did finally get the Browns in the end zone with a TD pass to RB Jerome Harrison to make it 23-20.

The decision now for coach Romeo Crennel will become even more tough to keep Quinn off the field, as the QB “battle” between Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson is becoming more and more of a joke each week. Frye was 5-for-10 for 42 yards and threw a pick, and Anderson was 6-for-8 for 65 yards with a fumble and pick. Neither QB was able to get the Browns in the end zone, and the boo birds were out at Browns Stadium early as the team trailed 16-0 at the half and 23-0 at the end of three quarters.

The play of Quinn finally gives Browns fans some hope for the future. Sure, he’ll make his mistakes and even next week vs the Broncos he might not look as good. But at this point it appears that coach Romeo Crennel might just want to bite the bullet and start giving Quinn a lot more looks before it’s too late and he is out on the street looking for another coaching job because he went with Frye or Anderson as the teams starter.