Tag: Derek Anderson (Page 10 of 12)

Keep the bench warm Brady – Derek Anderson is on fire

Derek AndersonThey’ve only played one half of football in Cleveland, but so far Derek Anderson is rewarding Romeo Crennel and the Browns for sticking with him as their starting quarterback. DA is 11 of 16 for 225 yards and a touchdown at the half, and outside of a couple of misfires on their first drive of the game, he’s played flawless.

Anderson found Darnell Dinkins for a 22-yard touchdown pass before half and Cleveland has built a rather shocking 17-14-halftime lead. The deficit should be more, but the Browns continue to shoot themselves in the foot with penalties, including one that negated a fumble recovery that eventually led to a Plaxico Burress 3-yard touchdown reception.

One thing to note is how well Cleveland has played defensively to this point. Shaun Rogers has been a beast in getting pressure on Eli Manning, while Brodney Pool came up with a huge interception when New York was driving for a score in the first quarter.

It’ll be interesting to see if Anderson cancels out his first half performance with a second half collapse as Cleveland fans cry out for Brady Quinn. If the Browns can’t hold on to the lead, surely Crennel will have played into it somehow.

Browns beat Palmer-less Bengals for first win

Jamal LewisThe Browns weren’t overly impressive, but they beat the Bengals 20-12 to notch their first victory of the year.

With the threat of being replaced by Brady Quinn as his motivation, Derek Anderson led Cleveland to the win but didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet. He did complete 15 of 24 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, but also threw an ugly interception. (Although hey, all interceptions are ugly.) Jamal Lewis rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown, while TE Kellen Winslow Jr. continues to be the Browns’ best offensive weapon, hauling in five catches for 54 yards.

Ryan Fitzpatrick started in place for the injured Carson Palmer and played like a backup, tossing three interceptions in the loss. He did out-rush Chris Perry 41 to 28, but obviously that’s not a good thing. For a team that gave the defending champion Giants hell last week, the Bungles once again looked brutal.

What a nasty game. Both teams combined for seven turnovers and at one point, the Browns started fighting with each other on the sideline. Hopefully the players were arguing over how bad Braylon Edwards’ guitar-playing touchdown celebration was.

NFL News & Notes: Giants suspend WR Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Burress– The New York Giants have suspended WR Plaxico Burress one game because of insubordination. Burress didn’t show up for a team meeting on Monday and then wouldn’t answer his phone Tuesday. The Giants are on a bye this week and Burress will not play next Sunday in Seattle. (FoxSports.com)

Update: Burress has filed a grievance against the Giants for docking him two weeks of pay.

– The Rams released starting CB Fakhir Brown. Less than a week ago Brown had replaced Tye Hill in the starting lineup, so the news of his release is surprising. Although at this point, nothing should surprise any of us about the Rams. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

– The Bears cut former second round draft pick, Mark Bradley. The former Oklahoma product was productive early in his career but after tearing his ACL, Bradley just never recovered. (ChicagoBears.com)

– It’s official: Browns’ head coach Romeo Crennel will stick with QB Derek Anderson this week when the team travels to Cincinnati. Anderson lit up the Bengals last year, but he’ll be on a short leash this week. Brady Quinn is warming up as I type. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

NFL News and Notes: Rams bench QB Marc Bulger

Marc Bulger– After stumbling to a 0-3 start and looking atrocious while doing so, the St. Louis Rams have decided to make a change. Veteran Trent Green will reportedly start at quarterback this weekend against the undefeated Buffalo Bills as the Rams have decided to bench Marc Bulger. (NFL.com)

– Willie Parker will miss Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens after spraining his knee in last week’s loss to the Eagles. Rookie Rashard Mendenhall is expected to make his first NFL start. (NFL.com)

– Packers’ CB Al Harris could be lost for the entire season with a ruptured spleen, which was the same injury that knocked out former Bucs’ QB Chris Simms for the entire 2006 season. Tramon Williams, a second-year undrafted free agent, is currently Harris’s backup at left corner. (National Football Post)

– RB Brian Westbrook reportedly suffered a high ankle sprain during the Eagles’ win over the Steelers Sunday, a game in which “Westy” had to leave the game in the first half. His status for this Sunday’s game is still up in the air, but Westbrook expects to play. (Rotoworld.com)

– Struggling quarterback Derek Anderson is expected to start in Week 4 for the Cleveland Browns, but the team is prepping second-year backup Brady Quinn to play. Anderson could have a quick hook if he struggles Sunday against Cincinnati. (ESPN’s Chris Mortensen)

– Despite his poor performance in Tennessee last Sunday, Matt Schuab will reportedly keep the starting quarterback job in Houston. Unfortunately for Schaub, things don’t get any easier against Jacksonville this Sunday. (Houston Chronicle)

– After destroying the Patriots with it last Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will keep the ‘Wildcat’ package in their offensive. RB Ronnie Brown shredded New England for over 100 yards and four touchdowns while lining up predominately in that formation last Sunday. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)


Obviously, the Bulger news is big, but I doubt there were too many owners starting him last week. His numbers are down and I think most of us were expecting him to eventually turn it around and finish somewhere in the top 15. Scott Linehan is apparently desperate and feels like he’s on the verge of getting fired. Trent Green is old, but STL has some weapons so he could be a decent spot starter if he can get in the groove…As for Westy, Correll Buckhalter looks like the primary backup despite all the preseason talk about Lorenzo Booker…Rashard Mendenhall will be a hot pickup this week, but don’t break the bank in Blind Bidding leagues. He faces a tough Ravens defense and Parker could be back as early as next week. But if you can add him cheaply, do so, as you never know with knee sprains…Brady Quinn is a guy to target in larger leagues. The “Bench Derek Anderson” talk seems to be getting louder and louder and Quinn has a chance to be good with all the weapons in the Browns’ offense.

Derek Anderson, Browns brutal in 28-10 loss to Ravens

After winning 10 games in 2007, the Browns just can’t get it together this year. Cleveland dropped to 0-3 on the season after division rival Baltimore handed them a 28-10 loss on Sunday.

Romeo CrennelIt was over when…
The Ravens, leading 28-10, went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Cleveland 29 in the fourth quarter to keep alive a drive that would drain the clock and prevent the Browns from attempting a comeback.

Game balls
The Ravens’ defensive backs broke the game open for the Ravens in the third quarter. First Chris McAlister intercepted Derek Anderson’s pass and ran the ball back to the 12 to set up the Ravens’ go-ahead TD; On the next Browns’ drive, speedy safety Ed Reed picked off Anderson and dashed 32 yards to the end zone.

Key stat
The Ravens held onto the ball nearly 15 minutes longer than the Browns. Half of Cleveland’s possessions lasted less than one minute while the Ravens had one 14-play drive last more than nine minutes.

Noteworthy
Baltimore Strong Safety Dawan Landry was injured late in the second quarter while making a tackle on Jamal Lewis. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and taken to a hospital. … The Browns have just two offensive TD in 33 possessions this season. Dating back to last season, the Browns have just five offensive TDs in their last six games (1-5 record). … The last time the Ravens were 2-0 was in 2006 when they started 4-0.

Is it time for the Brady Quinn era to start in Cleveland? He didn’t look good in preseason, but he has to be a better option than Derek Anderson (125 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs) at this point, right? I was a big supporter of Anderson and felt the Browns were wise to hang on to him in the offseason, but he’s been awful. And he hasn’t gotten much support from WR Braylon Edwards, either.

And what do we make of the Ravens? Is their defense that good or are the offenses they’ve faced (Cincinnati, Cleveland) just that bad? Next week they play Pittsburgh, but with Ben Roethlisberger banged up, the Steelers might not be a great test for Baltimore next week, either. Regardless, rookie QB Joe Flacco (129 yards, 2 INTs) is 2-0 as a starter and RB Willis McGahee (15 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD) looked good in his first action since having an offseason knee procedure.

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