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QB Derek Anderson, Cleveland Browns

HT: 6-6, WT: 240, Born: 6-15-1983, College: Oregon State, Drafted: Round 6

2009 Projections

Outlook

Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn will go into training camp battling each other for the starting job. Whoever wins will spend time looking over their shoulder, and each could see the field for several games this season.

Relevant Articles

Latest News

Browns | Quinn holds slight edge in QB competition (Fri Jun 26, 11:09 PM) - John Taylor, of TheOBR.com, reports that Brady Quinn will enter training camp with the "slightest of edges" over Derek Anderson, mainly because Quinn will continue his training regimen during the time between now and the open of camp and Anderson won't. Taylor also reports that both quarterbacks struggled enough in OTAs to raise "concerns and eyebrows".

Our View: Taylor hints that Anderson has one backer within the organization that has a lot of clout, and that Eric Mangini wants a true competition, so don't expect a winner to emerge until a few preseason games have been played. He also said Anderson's problem is consistency, and that it is definitely not "Quinn's job to lose". No matter who wins, this offense will face an uphill battle all season, so the eventual winner should not be counted on as more than a desperation bye week/injury QB.
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Browns | OC says Anderson v Quinn is an open competition (Sun Jun 21, 06:22 PM) - Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator for the Browns, says "Both of them have been in early and out late. They're working extremely hard. They're competitive with one another. They're learning the system the best they can. There's some mistakes out there and some other days they're doing really well. Right now it's an open competition. The best player is going to win."

Our View: We've seen reports like this before, and we've also seen some that proclaim Brady Quinn has a slight edge in the competition. The bottom line is we will have to wait until a few weeks into training camp before a starter is named. Anderson has been banged up this offseason, but if he regains his confidence it could be a closer race than some people think.
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2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Derek Anderson was under pressure by the Cowboys front seven for most of the game. He was not sacked but was pressured into making throws early and finding his secondary receiver. Anderson did show some rust and timing problems with his receivers that were probably an effect of his missing time in the preseason due to a concussion suffered three weeks prior. The timing problem was evident on the opening drive when he fumbled the ball while pulling back from the center on a third and one. The Browns recovered the ball but an excellent opportunity was wasted and they were forced to punt. He was also unable to connect with Braylon Edwards on some passes, with Edwards dropping some catchable balls.

Week 2 - Anderson was extremely streaky. He would look like an all pro for two or three plays at a time, then regress back and make a bad decision or bad throw for a couple of plays. He was only sacked two times but was pressured very often on the night. Whenever he was pressured he seemed to have complete trust in Kellen Winslow and would go to his route almost blindly.

Week 3 - Anderson looked awful against the Ravens. He was unable to get anything going against the swarming Baltimore defense. He was sacked four times, had many passes tipped at the line, and inaccurate on throws when he did have an open receiver. Through three weeks, it has looked like Anderson has regressed from last seasons' midseason breakout.

Week 4 - Anderson struggled early, but pulled it together in the second half. He calmed down and started stringing together a few receptions which led the Browns to victory. He was completely ineffective in the first half, as he was unable to hit wide open receivers on multiple occasions. It seemed like everything shifted back from stress to fun once he ran for 11 yards and a first down in the third quarter.

Week 6 - Anderson had by far his best game of the season as he showed poise in the pocket and made good decisions. He had an excellent first half going 11 for 18 for 225 yards and one touchdown. Anderson hooked up with Braylon Edwards for 49 yard gain on a short pass that he took down left side line after breaking a tackle. It was by far Anderson longest pass play of the season to this point. But Anderson would go back to Edwards for even a longer pass in the second quarter when he hit him deep for a 70 yard gain when Edwards got behind the defender. The pass was a little underthrown and probably would have been a touchdown if Edwards didn't have to slow up to catch the ball. Anderson got his first touchdown pass on 22 yard pass to backup TE Darnell Dinkins late in the first half after leading his team on a 77 yard drive. Anderson overthrew WR Donte Stallworth on short pass from the Giants eight yard line early in the second quarter on what could have been a potential touchdown. Anderson did get a second touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to Edwards on a nice roll out for 11 yards. Anderson played with confidence in this game and made accurate passes throughout the game. He looked more like the quarterback of last year, rather then the one who has struggled this year and had a QB rating of 57 coming into this game.

Week 7 - Anderson was ineffective for most of the game. Part of his challenge was the Redskins' pass rush, and dropped balls by some of his receivers, but he missed open receivers 11 times during the game. He seemed unsure of himself for most of the game, and did not get into any rhythm until the last two drives, when he threw with confidence and hit his receivers in stride to lead his team to within three points. Overall though he was inconsistent and did not appear confident in his decision-making or his throws. The only receiver he developed any rapport with was Braylon Edwards, but that was late in the game. Despite targeting Edwards 13 times, he only connected on four passes.

Week 8 - Anderson was solid in this game. He made good decisions in terms of who to throw to, and although he did not attempt many deep passes, showed good touch on intermediate throws, hitting his receivers in stride and enabling them to gain yards after the catch. He tended to be inaccurate when faced with pressure from the Jaguars' pass rush and missed some receivers as a result. Once given time, he delivered the ball with velocity and improved accuracy.

Week 9 - Anderson struggled to string together catches against the Ravens. When he did, he looked amazing; however he was not able to maintain momentum throughout the game. Anderson had a really nice deep pass to Edwards but it was dropped, and it seemed like he lost confidence after that. He threw a bad interception on a broken screen play shortly after that was returned for a touchdown.

Week 12 - Anderson came in for Brady Quinn at the end of the third quarter due to Quinn failing to lead the offense successfully. Anderson was not much more successful, though, as he only completed five of 14 pass attempts and threw behind Jason Wright on a dump off causing it to get intercepted. Anderson still was in the habit of forcing the ball into good coverage, but he did make a couple of great throws that were not able to be brought in by Braylon Edwards.

Week 13 - Anderson sprained his MCL late in the game. He was leading the Browns through a lulling victory type of game plan until he had the football knocked out of his hands -- leading to a touchdown return for the Colts' defense. Anderson looked accurate on all of his short throws but he really did not try many passes down the field. He seemed particularly focused on not turning the ball over with his arm.