Cleveland Browns (2007 & prior)

[kartaron]

With their remaining schedule, they should win at least 7 games this season.

Now the big question is if Anderson keeps on playing like he did yesterday and doesn't make stupid mistakes when will Brady get a chance? Or will he.

They pointed out during the Monday Night game that Derek Anderson is a free agent at the end of the year. If he keeps playing well they may not be able to afford to pay Anderson and keep Quinn. And if Anderson keeps playing well they may not get a good idea of Quinn's potential before they have to make a decision.

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

Quarterback Anderson continues to amaze

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By Sean McClelland
Staff Writer

Tuesday, October 16, 2007
BEREA ? Five weeks ago, the Cleveland Browns had three quarterbacks, but they really didn't have any.
Now they have what could be their quarterback of the future and, amazingly enough, it's not necessarily Brady Quinn.


In case you've been away, or mourning the demise of the Bengals, the Browns are averaging 32 points per game in the five games quarterback Derek Anderson has started. They are 3-2 in those games and 3-3 overall heading into their bye week.



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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Bye-week agenda for Browns: defense Team on pace for season record of yards allowed
By Marla Ridenour Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Tuesday, Oct 16, 2007
BEREA: His team holds a surprising 3-3 record at the bye and is averaging 32 points a game with quarterback Derek Anderson as the starter.
But Browns coach Romeo Crennel probably feels as if he's got a splinter in his finger. Or a small oak.
Crennel has spent 27 of his 37 years in coaching working with defense. He has to be dismayed that the Browns are giving up 413 yards a game. That's on pace for a total of 6,608, which would shatter the team record for most net yards gained by opponents (6,046 in 1999).



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[osugrad21]

CPD

Derek Anderson's strong start calms QB debate for Cleveland Browns


Tuesday, October 16, 2007Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
Browns quarterback Derek Anderson has played well enough over the first six games to prevent the bye week from becoming his goodbye week.
This is the week folks expected Anderson to step aside, hand the ball to Brady Quinn and take over the rookie's clipboard. Instead, he's 3-2 as a starter this season and would be 4-1 if not for a blocked field goal in Oakland. The Browns are averaging 32 points per game with him under center and he's right up there with some of the NFL's best quarterbacks in several categories, including:


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[osugrad21]

Canton

CRENNEL ANALYSIS
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
BY STEVE DOERSCHUK

Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel has coached in six Super Bowls, five of them wins. Beating winless Miami to get to 3-3, he indicated, is not quite on that level. "I don't want them to think that 3-3 is all that good," Crennel said on the Monday after a 41-31 win. "Really, it's .500, and .500 doesn't usually get you anywhere in this league. It doesn't make the playoffs." Yet, he appreciates the progress, given the fact the Browns were 1-5 at this point in 2006. Heading into an open week, he touched on assorted issues the team must work through before an Oct. 28 game at St. Louis:

Issue Derek Anderson is doing well enough to have won three of his five starts, but not so well that anyone forgets first-round pick Brady Quinn needs to be groomed at some point.

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[osugrad21]

MJ

Anderson's rocket arm also his kryptonite
JEFF SCHUDEL, Morning Journal Writer
10/16/2007




BEREA -- Every once in a while Derek Anderson still thinks he's Superman in shoulder pads, a quarterback who could throw a football through a pane of bulletproof glass.


That's when he gets into trouble.

Last week, he threw three interceptions against the Patriots. His right arm was hit as he was throwing on one of the picks. That one wasn't on him, but the other two were deflected by one defender and intercepted by another when he tried rifling the ball through traffic. Such passes make it difficult for coaches to endorse Anderson and link him to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who like Anderson entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft choice.


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[osugrad21]

MJ

Crennel wants playoffs, not .500
JEFF SCHUDEL, Morning Journal Writer
10/16/2007

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BEREA -- Most of the Browns are excited about beginning the bye week with a .500 record.


''Going 3-3 into the bye is great,'' punter Dave Zastudil said yesterday.

A 3-3 record is a significant improvement over the 1-5 record the Browns had after six games last year, but coach Romeo Crennel has a message for his players. If they are still .500 at the end of the season they, will be heading to their winter homes one day after the final game on Dec. 30.

''It still is a long season and I don't want them to think that 3-3 is all that good because really ... it's .500,'' Crennel said. ''It's what it is and .500 doesn't usually get you anywhere in this league. It doesn't make the playoffs or anything like that.

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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Browns: Anderson excels, quells Brady chants

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 3:29 AM




BEREA, Ohio -- Those chants for rookie quarterback Brady Quinn to play have gone from screams to whispers. Derek Anderson has settled everything down for the Cleveland Browns.



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[Mike80]

with that schedule in the first 6 games, I don't think anyone here thought the Browns would 3-3 and even then that might have been the best case scenario.

Look at the AFC right now.

New England, Pittsburgh, Indy and KC are the division leads....

Baltimore (who Cleveland beat) is 4-2 and Jacksonville is 4-1. Those are the WCs right now....

Seriously....Cleveland is a missed Phil Dawson FG in Oakland away from holding a playoff spot after 6 weeks into the season. To someone who wants the Browns to win, but didn't think they had anywhere near the personnel to pull it off, I have to say I was really really wrong, no matter what happens afterward.

There is a lot of football left, but if the Browns were 1-5 right now, the pressure on this team and coaching staff would be tremendous. Maybe a collapse will happen, maybe not, but it's nice to be going into the bye week without having to look towards next year already.

I could start a poll, but I think it's obvious what has fueled this turnaround - the offensive line. With the notable exception of the Steelers game, the O-line has given the QBs time to throw and has opened some holes for the backs to run through. Derek Anderson has been a bit of a surprise and I think that takes the pressure off of Brady Quinn to be the franchise savior.

 

[AKAK]

I think it would be more of a Brees/Rivers thing. Anderson would have to really screw up to lose the job this year. If coaches/management still think that Quinn is the long term solution after this season you try to trade Anderson for a late first early second rounder or a good DL. If they aren't sure or can't get a good deal you keep them both for another year and let them fight it out. If Quinn hasn't beat out Anderson by the end of next season then Quinn will likely be the one to go.

Yeah...This is more or less what I meant... I think you could get good value for DA because he doesn't have a big contract. (Though, I have no idea what his contract situation is after this season, so... it may be moot.) Anyway... yeah... he's looked good, and... I don't really know for sure what he'll be worth at the end of the year... but... likely more that Frye... its safe to say.

 

[LitlBuck]

They pointed out during the Monday Night game that Derek Anderson is a free agent at the end of the year..

Yeah...This is more or less what I meant... I think you could get good value for DA because he doesn't have a big contract. (Though, I have no idea what his contract situation is after this season, so... it may be moot.) Anyway... yeah... he's looked good, and... I don't really know for sure what he'll be worth at the end of the year... but... likely more that Frye... its safe to say.

DA is a RFA after this season. He will command a pretty big salary after his performance this year. So, it will be interesting to see if they .

tBig difference between being a "free agent" and unrestricted free agent

 

[kartaron]

tBig difference between being a "free agent" and unrestricted free agent

National Football League, a restricted free agent is one with three accrued seasons of service. He has received a "qualifying" offer (a salary level predetermined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and its players) from his old club. He can negotiate with any club through a certain date. If the restricted free agent accepts an offer sheet from a new club, his old club can match the offer and retain him because it has the "right of first refusal." If the old club does not match the offer, it can possibly receive draft-choice compensation depending on the amount of its qualifying offer. If an offer sheet is not executed, the player's rights revert to his old club the day after negotiations must end.

In 2007, a second-round tender offer was added. The four tender amounts were as follows:

• Low tender -- $850,000
• Second-round tender -- $1.3 million
• First-round tender -- $1.85 million
• First- and third-round tender -- $2.35 million

Each player that signs their tender receives the one-year salary that corresponds with the tender level. Teams which choose not to match an offer on a player with a low tender receive a draft pick corresponding to the round in which the player was originally drafted. (For example, a former seventh-round pick requires a seventh-round pick in compensation is signed away in restricted free agency). Undrafted players require no draft-pick compensation on a low tender, meaning teams with a valued undrafted player are taking a notable risk if they place a low tender on them.
wiki


The Browns will have to offer 2 mil per year to get a 1st rd pick if he gets a better offer and turns Cleveland down. Remember, Jeff Garcia had 6 good games as a backup last year and makes 3.5 million per year now in Tampa. The question is can Cleveland make an offer to Anderson while paying his backup around 4 million per year. Apparently before the draft they had the second most salary cap room of any team.

 

[buckiprof]

The Browns will have to offer 2 mil per year to get a 1st rd pick if he gets a better offer and turns Cleveland down. Remember, Jeff Garcia had 6 good games as a backup last year and makes 3.5 million per year now in Tampa. The question is can Cleveland make an offer to Anderson while paying his backup around 4 million per year. Apparently before the draft they had the second most salary cap room of any team.

I think that the Browns could handle that for another year. Green Bay drafted Aaron Rodgers in 2005 (1st round #24) and he is still waiting. Rodgers contract was 5 years $7.7 million deal that included $5.4 million in guaranteed money and could pay him as much as $24.5 million if all the incentives and escalators are met. Quinn, (1st round #22), contract is five-year deal worth a reported $20.2 million, with $7.5 million guaranteed and could pay him up to $30 million with incentives.

 

[LitlBuck]

CPD

BROWNS INSIDER
Cleveland Browns delay return to practice of center LeCharles Bentley
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Mary Kay CabotPlain Dealer Reporter

The Browns will wait at least another week before allowing center LeCharles Bentley to begin practicing with the team.
Bentley, recovering from a torn patella tendon and complications that required a total of four surgeries, was eligible to begin practicing this week under the rules of the physically unable to perform list. But the Browns have three weeks in which to open that practice window - and then another three weeks to evaluate him in practice before making a decision on whether to activate him, release him or place him on injured reserve

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[osugrad21]

DDN

Not panicking key to Browns' turnaround

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Associated Press

Thursday, October 18, 2007
BEREA ? Randy Lerner pulled up a chair at the mammoth conference table, folded his arms across his chest and smiled.
These days, owning the Cleveland Browns isn't much of a burden.



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