The final four games of this season were supposed to serve as an audition of sorts for Derek Anderson, the Browns quarterback who came out of nowhere in 2007 to lead the team to 10 wins before getting benched earlier this month.
Brady Quinn, Cleveland's latest submission for franchise quarterback, was shut down for the year after doing more damage to the broken index finger on his throwing hand during the Week 12 loss to the Texans, which opened the door for Anderson to get another shot at the gig.
Through the first three quarters against the Colts this afternoon, Anderson was actually serviceable; he completed 16 of 26 passes and didn't throw an interception. Of course, he fumbled on a Dwight Freeney sack early in the final period and Robert Mathis rumbled 37 yards to give Indy a 10-6 lead.
With just over a minute to go, Mathis sacked Anderson, but not before Browns offensive lineman Kevin Shaffer was pushed back into the quarterback's knee, likely ending Anderson's season. According to ESPN.com's James Walker, Anderson suffered an MCL injury to his left knee and the recovery time is 3-4 weeks. Which means curtains for Anderson in 2008, and quite possibly his Browns career.
"It didn't look good with him coming off,'' Browns coach Romeo Crennel said after the game. "I'm not encouraged by the way he came off the field." ...The bad news keeps on coming, via NFL.com:
"It's always hard to see any guy come off the field like that,'' [backup Ken] Dorsey said of Anderson. "Injuries are part of the NFL, but you hate to see it anytime it happens."
The Browns also lost Winslow to an apparent lower left leg injury on the first play of the third quarter. Winslow was blocking when his left leg was hit from behind and his ankle was caught underneath another player, causing his leg to buckle. He was able to leave the field under his own power and was checked by trainers on the sidelines before later walking to the locker room.On the upside ... okay, there is no upside. Those players who aren't injured probably wish they were, the head coach and general manager appear to have checked out, and the fans can now fully devote their attention to what LeBron James will do after his current contract expires in a year and a half. Welcome to Cleveland.
Winslow, who did not return to the game, declined interview requests after the game, according to the AP.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-30-2008 @ 11:08PM
Jesse said...
You do you expect it's Cleveland....we suck!
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11-30-2008 @ 11:08PM
Cindy said...
Sigh... I love my Browns.. but can it get any worse??
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11-30-2008 @ 11:08PM
Yohncc said...
It could. Look at the Lions.
Reply
12-01-2008 @ 11:46AM
Van Hamlin said...
Hey, the Browns suck because the management sucks! Cleveland has great fans but management hasn't put together the right players and compatible coaches. No good coach is going to want that job after management has stabbed Romeo Crennel in the back publicly. The Browns will end up with a looser like Mularkey or a college coach who really wants to come to the NFL.
Cleveland deserves better!
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12-02-2008 @ 9:13AM
A.J. said...
All right, guys.
One quarterback goes out for the year - freak accident.
Two quarterbacks go out for the year - well, at that point, I don't know, but you might want to look up front and see if your quarterbacks are getting hit more than they should be. Joe Thomas is solid on a bad day, dominant on a good day. But the interior line could probably use some work.
I also think that Braylon Edwards would benefit from having a solid, consistent #2 guy on the other side of him. Neither Stallworth nor Jurevicius can stay healthy. Josh Cribbs and Syndric Steptoe (WTF?! Is it just me, or do only athletes end up getting names like this?) are talented but raw. I'd pick up a solid free agent acquisition if there is one - I've found that the best #2 guys tend to be very experienced and very savvy.
I'm going to be brutally honest about this. The 2008 Browns faced two things that the 2007 Browns didn't have to deal with, and handled neither of them very well. The first was having expectations of actually getting to the postseason. The second was having a schedule filled with winning franchises outside of the division.
(Oh, and the fact that Joe Flacco and the Ravens came out like a house on fire probably didn't help either.)
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