Browns head coach Romeo Crennel told the Akron Beacon-Journal that a coin flip would decide who starts at quarterback for the team’s preseason opener against the Chiefs on Saturday. Rookie Brady Quinn will not be a part of the fifth grade coin flip system; instead it will be between Derek Anderson and Charlie Frye to determine who will start.
”I think that (a flip of the coin) is the fairest way to those guys because no one knows who is going to start ahead of time,” Crennel said.
Come on – are you serious? I understand that this is only preseason and in the grand scope of things, it really doesn’t matter. I also understand how Crennel may want to put the two quarterbacks in, “surprising situations” and see how they react. However, this is where head coaches make the big boy decisions. You can do a coin flip in a flag football game with a couple of buddies, but this is the NFL. What happens when you have to make a decision in a month Romeo? Rock, paper, scissors time?
No, you grade either quarterback up to this point, determine who deserves to start and tell them to get prepared because this is his chance. Then you tell the other one that he’s close, but he’s got to go out and perform at a higher level. Whether it’s the first preseason game or the Super Bowl, no other team is doing a coin flip to determine the starting quarterback.