Browns’ Quinn looked good, but defense did not

By Neal Coolong  |   Friday, November 07, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Cleveland Browns
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn made his NFL debut Thursday night, but it was Jay Cutler who had fans thinking of a playoff push.

The Denver Broncos trailed the host Browns by 13 points in the fourth quarter before Cutler threw three touchdown passes and racked up 204 passing yards in the final 15 minutes to pull off a 34-30 win.

Quinn? A terrific 23-for-35 with two touchdowns (both to tight end Kellen Winslow) and 239 yards. In the end, though, regardless of who is at quarterback, defense is key. And now, the Browns are 3-6 and have had defensive meltdowns in each of their past two games.

Commentary: In Week 9, Baltimore Ravens running backs Ray Rice and LeRon McClain shredded Cleveland down the stretch, helping cement a 37-27 win. As a team, Cleveland gave up 195 yards rushing. Thursday night, Denver was without a healthy halfback; thus, Cutler operated with an empty backfield, and Cleveland could not cover the multiple-receiver sets.

In the middle of both of these defensive collapses is the fact the Browns' offense could not maintain possession long enough to give the 'D' some rest. Quinn's debut showed more of an excellent job by Cleveland's coaching staff in preparing him to succeed, but Quinn never made a big throw. There was, however, a critical fumble from Winslow, who also dropped a fourth-and-1 pass on the Browns' last drive.

Ultimately, Cleveland's decision to bench Derek Anderson in favor of Quinn seems to be a good one. Though, until the team addresses the fact that it's given up 993 yards of offense against two fringe AFC playoff teams, it's going to struggle.

Fan Pulse: Cleveland fans are dissecting Quinn's performance in wake of Thursday night's loss on The Browns Board.

Fantasy Football Impact: After the internal battles over the past two weeks, Winslow proved he's one of the top producing tight ends in the game. Despite Winslow's miscues, he and Quinn looked in sync. Winslow finished with 10 catches, 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Injury Watch: Browns guard Eric Steinbach did not play Thursday night.
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About Neal Coolong

Neal Coolong is a freelance sports writer with contributions to Scout.com, AOL and Steelers Live. He lives with his fiance in St. Paul, Minn., and saves every dime (that she knows about) for their wedding next June. He's already made the prediction that the Steelers 2007 draft class will be one ...
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