Posted on 8/23/2007 5:30:26 PM

Brady Quinn Looks Mighty Mighty In Cleveland

By Betus Staff

The NFL betting universe is ready to embrace Brady Quinn. But will the Cleveland Browns feel the same way anytime soon?

The Dawg Pound was barking its approval last week as Quinn took the field for the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions. And what a debut it was: 13-for-20 for 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but not quite enough to prevent a 23-20 loss as 3-point favorites.

The fans expect to see a lot more of Quinn. According to the NFL odds, so do bettors. Check out the Cleveland Browns special on the futures market, and you’ll see Quinn listed at –240 to record more passing yards this year for Cleveland than Derek Anderson (+180) or Charlie Frye (+350).

Chalk seems to follow Quinn wherever he goes. He was the focal point of the hype surrounding last year’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad, which went 5-7 against the spread (10-3 straight up). Now he’s been proclaimed the fans’ choice to start for the Browns after one quarter of action against the third-stringers of the Lions.

Quinn could very well have already won that starting job had he not engaged in a protracted holdout. He didn’t sign until Aug. 7, missing 10 valuable days of training camp in the process. And some of the time that he did spend in camp was taken up with the scout team while Frye and Anderson worked with the top units.

There is no question that Quinn is the Browns QB of the future. But it appears at this point that Frye will be the starter in Week 1, and until he honks a game or two, Quinn will have to be content with holding a clipboard.

Which could happen sooner rather than later. According to Football Outsiders, Frye had a Defense-adjusted Points Above Replacement (DPAR) value of minus-17.5 last year, the third-worst in the NFL among QBs with at least 100 pass attempts. Anderson was only three spots better in the DPAR rankings at minus-8.5.

The Browns do have the luxury of playing three of their first four regular-season games at home. However, check out those three opponents: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Baltimore, their AFC North rivals and all with designs on winning the division. That road game in Oakland won’t be a gimme, either – the Raiders had the fifth-best pass defense in the league last year in terms of efficiency. Frye’s chances of running this gauntlet don’t look too good.

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