Cleveland's Quarterback: Jake Delhomme (UPDATE)

"What's Brady Quinn started? Twelve games? How can we know if he's the guy?" - Mike Holmgren to Peter King, circa 3/1/10

It's not necessarily inconsistent to be unsure that Brady Quinn couldn't be the guy here in Cleveland, but also unsure enough that he could be to conclude that the best option is just to give everyone a fresh start, especially with a suitable replacement available.

Quinn certainly gave the Berea Brain Trust some ugly tape to look at, even if it was only twelve games.  Maybe it's even easy enough for a quarterback guru to look at the muscle-bound Quinn and say, "I've never seen a good quarterback with a body like that."  Two season-ending injuries couldn't have helped on that front.  So maybe all that, combined with Quinn having been scarred by the historic instability and uncertainty that plagued his tenure in Cleveland, was plenty to conclude that the best thing was just to send him somewhere else.  It's certainly refreshing to be rid of another piece of Phil Savage's legacy, anyway.

And maybe it all depended on the Browns' ability to secure someone "as good as" Jake Delhomme, a notion that might not be as laughable as folks seem to think.

In an attempt to look past Delhomme's numbers since his 2008 playoff meltdown to find reasons why we might be optimistic about the signing, I reached out to the writers of preeminent Carolina Panthers website, Cat Scratch Reader, who've responded with some encouraging words about our new quarterback. 

We'll start with James Dator, who also writes for realbitsofpanthers.com:

Let's start at the end of 2008, [coming off the horrendous playoff loss]. Fans were calling for Delhomme's head over the playoff performance and despite a solid 2009 preseason he happened to turn in an equally poor performance against Philadelphia in week one. This turned the entire fan base against Jake and put him in a position he hadn't been in before. By his own admission Delhomme started to play 'like he didn't want to make a mistake' rather than playing from a place of confidence. Anyone who has seen Delhomme play extensively knows that it's his confidence and gun-slinger mentality that brought success to Carolina for so many seasons. With this reward comes risk.  He plays a lot like Brett Favre in this way.

Essentially what it comes down to is:

A. Do you believe that Delhomme's confidence can return?
B. Do you believe he still has something left in the tank?

The answer to both questions as far as I'm concerned is a resounding 'yes'. His true value, however, comes in his ability to relate, forge relationships and be a vocal locker room leader. From my perspective this is the biggest issue the Browns have at the QB position right now. To me (as an outsider looking in) neither Anderson nor Quinn could command the locker room.  Jake will do that for you. If Holmgren's master plan is take Jimmy Clausen (or another QB) I promise you there is no veteran in free agency who will be a better mentor to teach a young player about leading a locker room, calling an audible or performing a 2 minute drill; these are all things Delhomme excels at. . . .

Bringing in a new young QB and sitting him behind Delhomme will be a perfect scenario to teach a young player about leadership. The Panthers are handing the keys over to Matt Moore now because he had an opportunity to sit and learn leadership from Delhomme for three seasons. Furthermore, if there's anyone who knows how to use a slightly unconventional skill set at WR it's Jake Delhomme (re: Josh Cribbs). Steve Smith was barely a blip on the radar before Delhomme forged a relationship with him.

In the end, I think there's a lot to be optimistic about regarding the Delhomme signing  . . .

Revshawn of Cat Scratch Reader reassures us by calling 2009 "one bad year" for Delhomme: 

It's easy to have a kneejerk reaction. It's easy to say, "There is no hope." . . . Call it confidence problems. Call it Jake "Being Done." In reality, he just had a bad year. All those reports about Jake having less arm strength, you can pretty much toss out the window. His main problem was his accuracy and bad decisions . . . 

[In Cleveland, he'll be] coming into a new atmosphere against a team that he hardly ever plays against and . . . will probably throw all of his effort into becoming the starting QB of the Cleveland Browns. My guess is that he will get it, and you guys will be pleasantly surprised.  . . . Jake Delhomme is a natural pocket passer. He's not going to move around much. As long as they can hold their blocks, he has a pretty decent chance of bouncing back and giving you the temporary starting caliber QB you need . . . 

Last, but not least, Ben Ellington supports the analysis of his Cat Scratch colleagues by blaming Delhomme's offensive coordinator for the infamous meltdown, and underlining Dator's point about Delhomme's leadership:

It all started with the playoff game versus Arizona.  The Cardinal defense was inspired, but the coaching staff inexplicably abandoned the run early and put the game on Delhomme's arm.  Even in his Pro Bowl year, he wasn't the type of quarterback who could handle that load.  Personally, I think offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson completely mismanaged Delhomme, and ruined a pretty good quarterback.

Then when the regular season started, the same sort of thing happened against the Eagles, and you could just see it getting into his head.  He's never had an exceptional completion percentage, nor has he protected the ball reliably.  But this was different--he looked desperate on long throws a lot of the time and his accuracy was just shot.  Don't listen to comments about his lack of arm strength, he has plenty.  What he doesn't have is confidence, but that can change.

So now that you have him, you're faced with a big if.  If your OC asks him to be a game manager who distributes the ball on a lot of short, high percentage throws, then you're going to be amazed that we let him go.  Because what you'll see is his amazing leadership and presence on the field.  Few quarterbacks have the "it" factor that Jake brings, particularly in late game situations.  If he just plays conservative through the first three and doesn't get forced into throws outside his comfort zone, he'll become Peyton Manning in the fourth.  But if the OC sends him out there to win in the first quarter, then you're doomed.

Jake when healthy (and mentally healthy) is one of the better quarterbacks in the league.  What's more important, he can bring a sense of winning to the locker room. You're lucky if you get that.  He's really got the intangibles you need to turn a loser into a winner.

I don't know about you folks, but I'm feeling better already.  It would have been easy enough for these folks to say "good riddance" and join the national media chorus in calling it a head-scratcher for Cleveland, but none of them did. 

At the very least, the Browns now have a quarterback who has started a Super Bowl and two conference championship games, and whose arm strength, ability to mentor young quarterbacks, and status as a locker room leader do not look to be in question.  Whatever else about Quinn, this is certainly more than we can say for him at this point in his career.

Of course, every decision won't go exactly as hoped for or planned, but as Coach Mangini has always said, what's important is having good reasons for the decisions that are made.  Given the uncertainty surrounding Quinn, and the appeal of a new direction given all that's happened in Quinn's time here, it's easy enough to understand the decision to go with a quarterback with Delhomme's attributes.

Best of luck to Quinn in Denver.  Welcome to Cleveland, Jake Delhomme.  You're gonna love it here. 

Many thanks to the guys at Cat Scratch Reader for the responses.

Back later with a response to Holmgren's afternoon press conference and who knows what else. 

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Also, sayonara Kamerion Wimbley.  As a general matter, heading into a period of uncertainty over the salary cap, it doesn't seem like the worst idea to shed expensive but inconsistent talent to stockpile picks in a talent-rich draft.

UPDATE:  Good stuff on the Holmgren/Mangini press conference at the OBR and WFNY that should make one feel even better about the Delhomme signing.  I'll post my take in the morning. 

Jake Delhomme? (UPDATE (2): Quinn Traded to Broncos)

I can't help but wonder about the timing of the announcement that the Browns have agreed to terms with quarterback Jake Delhomme; late on a Saturday, away from the weekday news cycle.  And on the weekend we turn the clocks ahead, no less.  One fewer hour to think, talk, and type about the deal, all the better?   

Hey, at least we know now that Seneca Wallace wasn't brought in to be the starter.

No doubt the Berea Brain Trust knew the Delhomme signing wouldn't be a popular move in Brownstown.  It's hard enough to be optimistic about your team bringing in any 35-year old eleven-year veteran quarterback.  But especially hard when that quarterback was last seen in the playoffs turning the ball over six times (five interceptions, one fumble) in a game that his team was favored to win by ten points.  Harder when that playoff meltdown is followed up with an eleven game stretch where the quarterback leads his team to a 4-7 record, throwing for 8 touchdowns, 18 interceptions, and a 59.4 rating, and worse when his replacement steps in to go 4-1 with 8 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions.    

Has a 35-year-old quarterback ever been able to reverse such a disastrous turn?  Has any quarterback ever suffered such a disastrous turn?  If the former question was ever going to have to be answered, wouldn't it just have to be in Brownstown?

We're told that "Delhomme is scheduled to make $7 million [from the Browns] this season, including just under $900,000 in base salary."  We could feel better about this if the remaining $6 million is incentive-based, and not a guaranteed signing bonus.  Is there a chance that this is the case?  We do know that Delhomme is set to earn $12 million of guaranteed money from the Panthers this season ($12 million to be gone), so he might have agreed to an incentive-heavy deal in return for the chance to start in Cleveland.

But nobody's reporting anything about incentives, and Mike Florio thinks that Carolina owner Jerry Richardson should send Randy Lerner a ham for taking so much of Delhomme's salary off his payroll. 

I want a ham too.

Assuming Delhomme is guaranteed $7 million from the Browns this season, conventional wisdom says that Brady Quinn is on his way out.  If this is so, we've taken in a guy who's unquestionably on the downside of his career who might be able to reverse a precipitous decline to restore his status as a serviceable NFL quarterback for a two-year rental, at the expense of a first round draft pick who might have been a long term answer at the position but simply never had a chance here. 

If this is the case, we're left to wonder, even if the Browns are targeting a quarterback in April's draft, what the harm would have been in leaving Quinn at the helm, for the first time in his career, of an offense with some semblance of stability.  "After all Brady had been through in Cleveland, we felt it was best for all parties to go in different directions" doesn't cut it here.  Nor does, "we had a chance to get Delhomme."   

If Quinn is on his way out of town, it's hard not to conclude that he's been judged based on something other than his on-field performance.  As Holmgren himself has said, it's hard enough to judge a quarterback after only twelve career starts.  How much harder is it when those twelve starts come for what's essentially three different teams, each plagued either by massive instability, or a set of pass-catchers that's been conclusively proven to be the worst of any team in modern NFL history?  All while looking over his shoulder, haunted like the rest of us by the worst of Phil Savage's failures as Browns GM.  

We'll cling to our hope that Delhomme's contract with the Browns is incentive-heavy, or that Quinn might otherwise have a chance to compete with him for the starting job.  Quinn is signed on for two more years, at salaries of $700,000 and $700,000, with a $5.9 million escalator for 2011 that will be triggered only if he takes 70 percent of the snaps in 2010.  If he competes and succeeds in Cleveland in 2010, Delhomme could be cut in 2011, and the Browns will never paid more than $8 million for the two in either season.  There's at least a chance that Delhomme was brought in as a one-year insurance policy with some upside. 

We'll also cling to our memories of Quinn's performance in the one game he's ever played healthy with a set of viable pass-catchers. 

Of course, if Delhomme's the guy, Delhomme's the guy.  Maybe he could be like Kurt Warner in Arizona.  Maybe there's a good reason for what went wrong for him in Carolina that will allow him to return to 2008 (regular season) form.  He certainly has to be greatly motivated to do so.  There's at least some chance at realizing a significant upside here, if only in the short term, and, as hard as this might be to see, maybe the chance at short term upside with Delhomme is so much greater than the chance at long term upside with Quinn. 

But if it starts to fall apart for Delhomme here, the boos will come fast, and they'll come with force.  Not because Browns fans are "ruthless," but because Browns fans, like most people, just want things to make sense.

Holmgren asked the question himself.  "What's Brady Quinn started? Twelve games? How can we know if he's the guy?"

If this is to be taken at face value -- and there's no reason why it shouldn't be -- we might conclude that the Browns' front office is expecting big things from Jake Delhomme here in Cleveland.

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We'll stay tuned for Berea's official announcement about Delhomme, as well as any further details about his contract.  Another hell of a week around here, for sure . . .


UPDATE: Here's a good read from the folks at The OBR (who also find the timing of the Delhomme announcement to be suspicious) on reactions to the Delhomme signing.

The following from ESPN's Chris Mortenson is a real eye-catcher:

Ah, the Browns. Somebody can get a bargain in Brady Quinn. Look at his tape in '08 before he hurt his hand. Has every intangible, too…. I just called (Ron Jaworski) and he absolutely concurs that Quinn should be starting somewhere compared to some guys starting in NFL...Sean Payton already had Brees but after spending 2 hours on flight with Quinn, Payton said, "I love that kid. Football's important to him."

Read the rest here, from Peter King ("insane"!), Andrew Siciliano ("shocking"!) and more. 

UPDATE (2):  Looks like somebody did get a bargain in Brady Quinn, who's been traded to the Broncos for fullback Peyton Hillis, a sixth-round pick in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012.  Much more on this tomorrow. 

The People in Your Neighborhood: MAC Tournament Time (UPDATE (2))

While Kent's unceremonious exit from the 2010 MAC Tournament might have been a bit too early (way too early?) for us to realize our dream of seeing both Akron and Kent making the big dance this season, the fact that we could have the dream at all is still special. 

Kent St. coach Geno Ford couldn't have been talking about us when he said this last week:

"I don't think people fully appreciate how unique it is to have two schools in the same conference about 10 miles away playing at such an elite level," said Ford. "Neither of us have the best facilities. In fact, they are some of the oldest in the league. But we've been able to put together something special."

It's interesting though probably not surprising that the rise of both programs in this way corresponds with the LeBron James Era.  When people do great things in the neighborhood, people in the neighborhood start to expect more great things from themselves and others.  St. V. mens hoops new status as a perennial state contender is similarly interesting and probably unsurprising. 

Which is all, I suppose, to say, hey ...  go neighborhood!  Why not us?

And why not see some neighborhood tonight down at the Q for the MAC Tournament semifinals?  It won't be too crowded, and everyone will be there.  

At 7:00 it's Akron vs. Western Michigan:  With Kent out of the way, and after having escaped last night on a game tying three-pointer with six seconds left in overtime against Eastern Michigan, the Zips ought to be feeling like something of a Team of Destiny already.  It's hard to imagine Keith Dambrot won't have them focused tonight against the Broncos and MAC Player of the Year David Kool, who might have benefited themselves last night from an officiating crew that wanted to keep a game close when it was turning into a Central Michigan blowout. 

From the Plain Dealer's Mike Pettica:

A couple times, Kool appeared to get away with an extended forearm to create space, prompting Central Michigan coach Ernie Zeigler to say, with sarcasm, "It probably was one of the best officiated games I've ever been in." 

Not kool.

It seems doubtful that Akron will be affected by having had to play two extra overtime periods (especially with so many key players in foul trouble last night (four fouled out)), and perhaps most dangerously for Central Michigan, finally, there's been a Zeke Marshall sighting.  Remember the 7'0 freshman, all time best MAC recruit?  Some timing for him to log season highs in points (13) and blocks (6) while pulling down 9 boards.

Gotta love the Zips to keep it going tonight:  Akron -3.5 over Central Michigan (3 units).

As for the 9:00 match, Miami vs. Ohio University, it's hard to say much except that the crowd will be into it (typical on the ESPN Conversation board here).

The involvement of Mark (Hangin w/ Mister) Cooper and D.J. Tanner's love child makes Ohio an intriguing play, but the OU student section ruined it for us by chanting "N-I-T! N-I-T!" at the Kent State players and fans last night.  That's just the opposite of the right attitude.  This merits a small play on Miami +1.5 over Ohio (3 units). 

Finally, the Cavaliers are in Philadelphia tonight, with a rested LeBron.  Browns decision to rest LeBron on Monday against the Spurs was a beautifully inspired thing, as was the Cavs win over the Spurs without the superstar.   No question the good mojo continues in Philly tonight, where things are so bad for the home team that seventh row seats are available for $50 per, even with LeBron in town.  Sometimes they look too easy and they are.  Cavs -8 over Sixers (7 units).   

Hope everyone's weekend gets off to a good start.

UPDATE: Should be another great game at the Q tonight between Akron and OU for the automatic bid.  Ohio U. will be a tough out for the Zips tonight.  The Bobcats play excellent defense under former Thad Matta assistant John Groce, who helped land Mike Conley and Greg Oden in Columbus and is having recruiting success in Athens as well.  OU star Armon Basset is a former Indiana recruit who transferred in the wake of the Kelvin Sampson scandal.  In the end, I think the combination of the Zips senior leadership, their tournament experience, and Zeke Marshall's emergence in the middle will be too much for the young Bobcats.  I won't be surprised to see these two teams in the finals again next season.  Akron -1 over Ohio (5 units).

UPDATE (2): Like I said, OU will be a tough out for the Zips, another great game. Whoever they play on Thursday, OU is a lock. 

Free Agency Frowndup with Ben Watson, Ruffled Feathers, and Still More on Brady Quinn

It wasn't so long ago that we heard so much wailing about the Pro Football Talk report that "agents were steering players away from the Browns," and that "the Browns likely will be required to overpay free agents in the offseason."  Florio cited "ruffled feathers" over The Bus Ride and Cribbs' contract (and this was at the very beginning of Cribbs' historic 2009 season).

Now the Browns have added a third solid starter via free agency in tight end Ben Watson in what's unquestionably "a thin year for free agents," and nobody's saying they've overpaid.    

Could Florio have possibly been wrong about the Browns and free agents?  Was it more from the Pro Football Talk Manufactured Intrigue Department?  Or is it just that the agents who were steering players away from the Browns are just the kind of agents who we'd like to see steer clear from the Browns?

Probably both.

Anyway, Watson and Evan Moore leave the team with legitimate depth at the tight end position.  Watson can block and catch, and managed to score five touchdowns last season in a Patriots offense "that's been downright unfriendly to the tight end position."  Another clear upgrade for the Browns.

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While we're talking manufactured intrigue, I'm not sure what else I can say about the plight of Brady Quinn who's apparently been seized by the angry mob as a replacement for Coach Mangini and has taken a remarkable beating this week at the hands of bad logic (it gets better/worse in the comments).

Amazingly, I find myself attacked for "defending" Quinn, much like I was attacked for "defending" Mangini, so I suppose it's worth repeating:  I've criticized Quinn's play here plenty here in the past, and I'm not saying he's necessarily the best man to lead the Browns in 2010 or beyond.  What I am saying is that there's still a reasonable possibility that he might be, and, much like Mangini, the treatment he's received in the media and by certain fans recently has been terribly unfair.

Once again, Quinn's twelve career starts have essentially come in three different seasons with three different teams.  Two of these teams -- one at the end of an old and one at the beginning of a new regime -- were plagued by massive instability (and Quinn having to look over his shoulder at every turn -- contrast with Mark Sanchez' situation, among others).  The third, for which half of the twelve starts came, was a team that's been conclusively proven to have had the worst set of pass catchers of any team in modern NFL history.

To compare Quinn's stats over his first twelve games (a few each with three different teams) with those of any quarterback without accounting for the circumstances in which those quarterbacks played is simply useless (though I guess it does tell us that Quinn is as good as Eli Manning and Donovan McNabb).  To pretend that a quarterback's completion percentage isn't a function of his receivers being open is absurd.  As noted in the comments to the above linked post, to write things like:

"Bulger had legitimate weapons in Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt and Marshall Faulk. Two of those three are on the hall of fame level. However, the fact remains Bulger still had to deliver the ball and deliver it accurately."

Is a lot like writing something like this: 

"Sure LeBron is a 6'9 with a 75-inch vertical and Frowns is 6'0 with two broken ankles.  However, the fact remains LeBron still had to throw it down through the rim."

That this passes for analysis at respectable forums suggests, if anything, that Quinn will in fact end up the starter here in 2010, if only because, if anything, it suggests that the Browns won't be able to receive value in return for him, or anything better than what it's worth to give Quinn a year at the helm of a Cleveland Browns franchise with some semblance of stability. 

Yes Quinn has had some very bad games at quarterback for the Browns, but why not chalk it up; first, to inexperience, just like anyone judging any other first-round quarterback in NFL history has been willing to do with respect to any other first-round quarterback's first twelve games as a starter, and; second to the historic instability of the Browns in Quinn's tenure here and the corresponding historic lack of surrounding talent.  He might still end up no good, but at least he'll have had a real chance.  Let's hope for the best, and let's not forget how good Quinn looked in his first career start, back when he had a few guys to throw to. 

Brady:  If you're reading, please do us all a favor.  Much less weightlifting, and much more you know what.  See detailed instructions to Joe Haden here.  You won't go wrong following them, I promise.  This could hardly be more important. 

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So Brodney Pool signs with the Jets.  By all accounts, a good guy who was cut by the Browns because he's had four concussions thus is in no shape to play football.  Is anyone surprised that the same brain trust who we have to thank for giving us Mangini and taking Braylon away would be the same brain trust that would put 2010 Muhammed Ali in the ring with 1986 Ivan Drago?  Sad.  Here's hoping for the best for Pool. 

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Finally, we still need a legitimate veteran wide receiver.  Torry Holt still needs a job.  If we're going to "overpay" for anybody, can we please overpay for Torry Holt? 

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Back later with a Frowndup, including a preview and picks for tonight's MAC semifinals at the Q, as well as tonight's Cavs/Sixers tilt in Philly.  A little Frownie for a Friday morning, I know.  Hopefully things clear up soon and that everyone has a decent one. 

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Photo via Jaki Good's fetching flickr stream. 

P.M. Frowndup

Not so much to Frownd up this afternoon.

Not difficult at all to stay away from tonight's hoops slate.  Tomorrow's MAC semifinals at the Q are another story, and I'll get to that in the morning.

Until then, enjoy:

This excellent interview with Ohio State's Mark the Shark Titus to get you warmed up for what's sure to be a special March Madness run (Really, why not the Bucks?);

The fact that today's Brady Quinn headlines read something like this one:  "Browns ... maybe dangling Quinn."  Maybe!  And this is progress.  (See the updates to yesterday's Quinn post here, if you haven't yet.)

And if you missed it in the comments below, more on Quinn from our old good friend Mike Lombardi:

The year Quinn was drafted, there was concern around the NFL about his overall accuracy on every level — short, medium and long. In fact, his workout was not very impressive, and the reason he slipped in the first round was because of his lack of accuracy. Quinn finished his college career with a 58-percent completion rate, which improved the last two seasons under Charlie Weis’ tutelage. In college, the completion percentage for quarterbacks should high because of the famed bubble screens that are prevalent since linemen can be downfield on forward passes. So no quality college quarterback should ever be below 65 percent.

Never ever ever.  Except that 35 seconds of research tells you that Peyton Manning (62%), Matt Ryan (59%), Carson Palmer (59%), Joe Flacco (64% -- at Delaware), and, of course no surprise, but still, Chad Henne (59%) all had completion percentages below 65 percent in college...to name just 35 seconds of research worth of guys.

Happy Thursday, folks.  See you in the A.M.

Jake Delhomme, Brady Quinn, and Eric Berry . . . and Colt McCoy . . .and Dan Lefevour . . .

In a mere 72 hours, the Browns starting quarterback position has gone from a 5'11 8th year career backup worth a 7th round pick to his former team to a 35 year-old basket case who's career has been in a "tailspin" ever since he was last seen in the NFL playoffs throwing five interceptions in the divisional round in '08. 

That's right.  "Former Panthers Pro Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme is in town and Brady Quinn could be on his way out."

Could be.  Could be.  Think of all the things that could be.  

"It sure seems right now like the Browns aren't sold on Quinn," writes Ms. Cabot for the Plain Dealer.

Sure does!  But who would be sold on Peyton Manning if he had to start the 12 games that Quinn started at quarterback for the Browns? 

It couldn't hurt to have two veteran quarterbacks on the roster instead of just one with no telling what's on the horizon in 2011, could it?  And Delhomme couldn't be very expensive, could he?

More importantly, think of how advantageous it is for the Browns to have everyone thinking they're major players in the quarterback market.

Start with that seventh pick.  No more than three teams selecting ahead of the Browns are in the market for a quarterback.  The Lions (#2), Bucs (#3), and Chiefs (#5) are not.  The Rams (#1), Redskins (#4), and Seahawks (#6), theoretically, are.  Of course, this could play out in a number of ways, with a good chance that at least one of the two quarterbacks thought to be worth selecting in the top seven (Bradford and Clausen) will be available when the Chiefs are up for the fifth pick.  So if you're a team -- like, say, the Broncos, or better, the Vikings -- that might have an eye on one of the two big name quarterbacks, even if you think you have a good idea of where the Seahawks are going, you'll still have to account for the Browns.  The Browns become even much bigger players if both quarterbacks are available at #5.

The point:  Teams trade up in the draft for potential franchise quarterbacks all the time.  The more the Browns are thought to be players in the quarterback market, the more likely a team is to trade above the Browns to draft a quarterback this April, and the more likely it is that this happens (especially if it's the Chiefs who are trading down (doesn't Scott Pioli love to trade down?)), the more likely it is that future best of all time safety Eric Berry falls to the Browns at #7.

If you were an NFL head coach with a special eye for future all world defensive backs and a team with a throbbing need for one, how much would you be doing everything you could to help make this happen?

How much would you want the beat writers that cover your team to write things like, "it sure seems right now like the Browns aren't sold on Quinn"?  How much would you want everybody saying things like that? 

What could it possibly hurt?  

Of course a similar situation could play out at the top of the second round, third round, etc.  Who's crazy for Colt McCoy!?

So let's not get too crazy about Jake Delhomme here.  I'm trying not to get too crazy about Jake Delhomme here.

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Back later with a Frowndup.  MAC Tournament action today, and more. 

Adam Schefter "Reports" on Brady Quinn Deal (UPDATE (3))

As you might have heard by now, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted this afternoon that "the Browns have discussed dealing Brady Quinn to other teams."

This tweet, of course, only 'reported' what everyone in Cleveland and everywhere else already knows, which is that Brady Quinn isn't an untradeable asset.  Of course the untested QB could be had in the right deal.  Not news. 

Around the same time, Schefter published an ESPN report saying that, per anonymous league sources, "Cleveland has offered Quinn to other teams."  At this point we were left to wonder if Schefter wasn't playing telephone with himself here, and of course, what "offered" might mean.

One thing that "Cleveland has offered Quinn to other teams" could quite technically mean is that "Cleveland has discussed the possibility of dealing Brady Quinn to other teams," which, again, can't be news, and is something we should keep in mind as the telephone game continues.

Because now :

It "[s]eems like New Browns president Mike Holmgren is looking to clean house at the quarterback position;" (SB Nation)

"The Browns are shopping Brady Quinn;" (The Plain Dealer)

"Quinn [has been 'dangled'] in trade offers to other teams";  (The Sporting News)

And "Mike Holmgren isn't done making changes at the quarterback position yet."  (Who else but PFT)

So we really are talking about "a real life soap opera unfolding right before [our] eyes." (WFNY)

All because a "league source" told Adam Schefter that Brady Quinn could be had for a price.?*

Pageviews for everybody, news for nobody. 

So back to papering our rooms with the Seneca Wallace posters.

UPDATE: The Plain Dealer headline to the above-linked piece now reads "Reports [sic.] Says Browns are Shopping Brady Quinn" where it used to say "Browns are Shopping Brady Quinn," and the story has been updated with the following from Mary Kay Cabot:  "A league source told the Plain Dealer today that the Browns have not 'actively tried to trade' Quinn or anyone."

Responsible Journalism'd.  A tip of the cap to Ms. Cabot.

UPDATE:  And to the folks at SB Nation, who've removed the "Holmgren is looking to clean house at quarterback" line from their piece.  

Back to Seneca Wallace.  And now Jake Delhomme.  More on that in the morning.

*UPDATE (3/15):  The Browns have signed Jake Delhomme and traded Brady Quinn, which proves that Quinn was available for the right price, especially if the Browns were able to secure a suitable replacement at quarterback, but still doesn't make that "news."

The point wasn't to criticize Schefter's sources, but rather was to criticize this particular "report."  Had Schefter reported that Quinn trade talks were "heating up," or something similar, it would have been another story, but then, I'd have never written this post.  Maybe I should have assumed from Schefter's report that he meant that Quinn talks were in fact heating up (as others apparently did), but, then, why couldn't he just have written as much?

We'll continue to keep a close eye on the NFL rumor mill and the related telephone game here.