Anderson, who has long-been the bane of my existence, was due a $2 million roster bonus on March 12 and his salary this season would have been $7.45 million, which made him unattractive trade bait. The Browns didn't want to pay him the bonus, or his bloated salary, as they just traded for a quarterback in Seneca Wallace and have Brady Quinn and Brett Ratliff on the roster.
So DA goes bye-bye, and justifiably so for many, many reasons.
This is in no way, no way, a defense of Brady Quinn. I say this because there are certain people that bring up Brady Quinn's shortcomings as a QB whenever I bring up Derek Anderson's shortcomings. This is not a comparison of the two. This is not an analysis of Brady Quinn. For the record, I think Quinn deserves the chance to start for the Browns and play a full, 16-game season (barring that he is healthy). To this point, Brady Quinn hasn't shown much and there have been times when he has looked terrible. So there's my stance on BQ. Back to the topic at hand....- I have been a harsh, harsh critic of Derek Anderson's since he came on the scene in the 2007 season, when he put up good numbers against an easy schedule filled with bad teams. Yes, he won 10 of his 15 starts in '07 and threw for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also threw 19 interceptions, four of which came against the Bengals in game No. 15 in a situation where if the Browns won the game, they'd sneak into the playoffs. Yea, that didn't happen as Anderson tried to force balls into tight spots in a game where the wind was blowing at considerable speeds in Cincinnati. Don't forget, Browns fans, that part of the reason Anderson seemed so great in 2007 was the fact that the season began with Charlie Frye as the starter. That lasted all of one half as Frye was hammered in the opener against the Steelers and DA was given his shot at that point and the team never went back to Frye.
- Since that 2007 season, Anderson's career as been identified with too many turnovers, too much incosistency, too much inaccuracy and, at times, the inability to manage the game at a fundamental level and even call plays at the line of scrimmage. After that 2007 season, when he made the Pro Bowl after other QBs dropped out, then-GM Phil Savage didn't want to lose Anderson so he signed the QB to a three-year deal worth $24 million ($14M guaranteed). Keep in mind, if Savage wouldn't have panicked and threw a bunch of money at DA, the Browns could have put a first and third round tender on DA, which at the time he was a hot commodity and there may have been a stupid GM from another team who would have paid that price to get him.
- Another thing about that 2007 season: look at the weapons Anderson had around him. A focused Braylon Edwards and a healthy Kellen Winslow catching passes, a healthy Jamal Lewis running all over the place and Joe Jurevicius as a safety net as the possession receiver. Compare that to the offensive pieces the Browns had this past season. I think Anderson showed his true colors in the 2008 season, when his alarming inconsistencies really came to the front as his final QB rating was 66.5. He had one really good moment in 2008, the Monday Night Football win over the Giants. Call it an abnormality. He was even worse in 2009, posting a 42.1 rating with three TD passes and 10 INTs.
So after all of this, how does anyone defend the guy and claim he is a legit NFL QB?
- Are there worse QBs in the NFL? Yes. Plenty.
- Is he old and washed up? No. Anderson is 26 years old, relatively young for an NFL QB.
- Does have have the physical tools? Yes, he has a rocket arm and has the body size that appeals to NFL coaches and front office people.
- Does he have the mental tools? No. This is where my problem with DA lies. I am not an NFL scout, or a general manager. But I do know that physical tools are probably less than half of what you need to be a successful QB in the NFL, the hardest position to play. Reading defenses, reading coverages, recognizing blitzes, knowing when to stay in the pocket or leave it, memorizing the receiver's routes ...and much, much more. From what I've seen of Anderson, he does not possess the football intelligence necessary to become a good QB. Look at Drew Brees. He is all of 5-foot-9. You need much, much, much more than to be tall to succeed in the NFL.
As Tony Grossi points out in the article I linked to above, Anderson will most definitely get signed, possibly by Arizona, Seattle or St. Louis. Is there a chance he could resurrect his career and become a good starter? Crazier things have happened. But his flaws are documented on tape, his stats are in black and white and consider that he was just cut from a team in favor of Brady Quinn and Seneca Wallace. Hardly Tom Brady and Drew Brees there.
The fact that this new Browns front office (Mike Holmgren, Tom Heckert) knows that Derek Anderson is not the answer says volumes to me. Maybe sanity, sense and good football decisions are finally going to be seen in Berea after years of incompetence. For me, this is a huge step in the right direction.
*Photo courtesy of the Associated Press
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