Hey DA: 36.2???!!!

We were going to take this bye week as an opportunity to be vengeful against those Anderson-lovers who made their views well known on this site in an effort to swing the quarterback debate in Derek’s favour, but being spiteful is a waste of energy.

All we can say is:  36.2.  THIRTY SIX!!!  That is Anderson’s quarterback rating at week 9 of this NFL season.  THIRTY SIX!!!  That is by far and away the worst in the League.  In fact, there is only one other starter in the entire NFL who is under 50, and just barely:  JR in Oakland at 48.3.  If you review statistics of starting NFL QBs over the last two decades, you will develop an argument that Derek Anderson’s current numbers are some of the worst ever in modern history.  Out of every four passes, this guy completes just one, on average – nearly the worst in the League.  Derek has thrown for the third fewest total yards of any starter in the NFL.  His average yards per completion, less than 4.5, is the lowest in the League.  His average yards per game is the worst in the NFL except for Seneca Wallace (who the hell is that?? – apparently the QB for the Seahawks).  Derek has thrown FOUR TIMES as many interceptions as touchdowns.  And he has been sacked nine times. 

Relatively speaking, this is quite simply the most miserable quarterback performance that I have ever witnessed at any level of football.  There is no debate.  Anderson had a very good year in 2007.  He has been vomit awful ever since.  Blame it on dropped footballs and Brayon Edwards all you want.  Who is to blame now?  Everyone but Derek?  Gimme a break.  The guy could not hit the broad side of a barn from 10 feet away.

When he was named the starter by Mangini, I said that I would support the decision to rally around Anderson, even though I strongly advocated for Brady to start the season and thought that he was pulled too early.  I cannot stomach it any longer.  Brady should start the next game.  If not, Ratliff should start.  If not, Womack should start.  If Pork Chop is feeling blue, then and only then should Anderson see the grass.  This is Monday Night Football.  It is time to throw out the baby with the bath water.  It cannot possibly get any worse.  To compile a QB rating less than 36 over the next few games would require a level of incompetence never seen before in professional football.  Say what you want about Quinn over the first couple of games of the season, there is no doubt that he can pass that threshold.

I applaud the firing of Kokey.  I actually had forgotten that he was the GM.  “Brain” Daboll needs to return to the Canadian Football League where you get three downs and the field is about 500 yards wide.  Ryan is a gem without any talent;  he gets to stay.  Mangini will be gone as soon as Lerner can lure a big-name to Cleveland.  We have consistently stood up for Lerner over the years and on this website, much to the dismay of our fellow die-hards.  Randy is extremely rich:  plus.  He is hands-off:  plus.  He spends money:  plus.  He has a connection to Cleveland through his late Father:  plus.  He gives a ton of money to the Cleveland community:  plus.  He knows as much about football as the lady whose season seats are in front of me at CBS and who keeps referring to “Matthews”:  bad.  That leads to terrible hiring decisions.  But the bad can be easily overcome if Lerner would find someone that he can really trust to help him with hiring decisions.  Jim Brown is a great special advisor, but he is too out of the loop.  Bernie Kosar is music to my drunken ears, but again he has little managerial experience (except for his defunct steakhouse which was very tasty).  Lerner needs someone who does not want to be a GM himself or a head coach but who wants to be Randy’s right-hand man.  Someone like Marty if he was interested.  Believe me;  we could do a lot worse than Randy Lerner.  We could have a cheap son of a bitch like my buddy has in Buffalo, or a maniacal lunatic like big Al in Oakland.

The Bucs beat the Packers today in a stunner by 10 points.  That means that no team is winless.  Good for the League.  Bad for Cleveland.  I know that finishing last gets us a chance at gold in the Draft, but pride still counts for something in my book.  We are now in a battle of heavyweights, likely with the Bucs, Rams and the Chiefs, to avoid the basement.  The longer Anderson stays on the field, the greater the chance of us losing that battle.  How can anyone argue otherwise at this point?  36.

Throw the football to Massaquoi, Robiskie, the tight-ends and Vickers.  Just let the other guys run around the field.  Leave Cribbs to special teams and the wildcat.  I love him, but he is not ready to play receiver full-time.  Use Jamal sparingly – I admire his leadership, but his legs are really tired.  And play some more zone defense on deep routes – it seems the only way we do not get creamed in the secondary (ala the Packers’ game).

I will be there Monday night.  Wouldn’t miss it.  The definition of insanity is doing something the same way over and over while hoping for a different result.  I am insane.  The Browns don’t have to be.  GET ANDERSON OFF THE FIELD.

Go Brownies!  Cheers.

-Clayton