5 Cleveland Browns quarterbacks who were not as bad as we thought

Derek Anderson went 10-6 with the Browns

How could a bad quarterback go 10-6 with the Cleveland Browns and go to the Pro Bowl? The answer is, it is not possible. Derek Anderson was a good quarterback who played 13 years in the NFL, mainly as a backup for the Carolina Panthers, but in 2007 Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards were dangerous receivers and Jamal Lewis was awesome on the ground, running behind the likes of rookie Joe Thomas on the left side of the line.

They also had fullback Lawrence Vickers blowing up holes in opposing defenses.

However, the Browns had sown the seeds of Anderson’s destruction by trading away a future number one draft choice for Brady Quinn, so Quinn was going to play no matter what.

The 2008 Browns compounded their error by trading away their second and third-round draft picks, too, thinking they were now a veteran team making a Super Bowl run. Who does stupid stuff like that?

So the idea was that they were going to have a super team that the young superstar would inherit from Derek Anderson (sit down, Mr. Anderson) and win the Super Bowl. It was a desperate move, and the wheels just fell off that team. no matter who played quarterback, and it turned out that Brady Quinn was not even an average quarterback. He truly was a draft bust.

Winslow had a staph infection as a side effect of treatment for a knee injury, part of a series of staph infection problems that ultimately resulted in the Browns changing their health care provider. Edwards tailed off dramatically as he started to drop passes at an alarming rate and started to develop a reputation as a head case. Lewis was not getting any younger. The expensive linemen the Browns had acquired for draft picks were not enough.

So…fire the coach. Out with Romeo Crennel, in with Eric Mangini. Mangini was not able to fix the dysfunctional quarterback situation either. Anderson went on to a long career as the backup for Cam Newton. Quinn just did not have the accuracy to succeed in the NFL. He seemed to have the smarts and the ability to work hard, he just could not find the strike zone with his fastball.

Anderson’s career stats with Carolina bear out the notion that he was good enough to win, though he was not a premier quarterback comparable to Cam Newton in his prime. In seven seasons, he threw more touchdowns than interceptions, won two games and lost two as the starter, and had a passer rating of 90.0. Cam Newton was 68-55-1 over roughly the same period of time with a passer rating of 86.1.

Of course, Newton added the dimension of running to the position as well, so let’s not get carried away with Anderson’s ability.  Newton deserved to be the starter, but Anderson was good enough to start and could help a good team win football games when given the opportunity.

The 2007 Browns were a good team, but in 2008 and beyond the front office made several serious mistakes and the talent level was not up to standards. There’s no evidence that Anderson’s game deteriorated, but it is very clear that the team around him was falling apart.