Debate Series: Brady Quinn vs. Derek Anderson

August 4, 2009 @ 01:01:07

By Cory J. Bonini
Edited by Tim Heaney

The Cleveland Browns aren't viewed as a wealth of fantasy talent, and rightfully so. The impact of their quarterback battle in training camp is probably farther reaching than most people realize, so join us for our session of compare and contrast to see which player best suits fantasy owners.

Brady Quinn

Pros

• Quinn's size (6-foot-3, 235 pounds) and a muscular frame should allow him to take a beating.
• Intelligence: One of his strongest attributes is Quinn's ability to digest a playbook and understand what everyone on the field is responsible for.
• The coaching staff prefers a short-passing game, which fits his style of play the best. 

Quinn works the short-passing attack

Cons

• Quinn didn't exactly light the world ablaze in his three starts last year, completing only 50.6 percent of his passes and throwing an equal number of interceptions as touchdowns (two).
• With only four games played (three starts) in his career, Quinn sorely lacks in the experience column.
• He doesn't have a particularly strong arm and is best suited to play in a West Coast offense. 

Derek Anderson

Pros

• At 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, Anderson has more than the necessary size to play the position.
• His arm strength is undoubtedly better than Quinn's and promotes a vertical passing attack, which opens up the rest of the offense since defenders have to play back.
• Production: Anderson threw 29 touchdown passes in 2007 for the Browns.
• He has more experience as a starter and more with the Browns' No. 1 receiver, Braylon Edwards.

Anderson's biggest plus: his arm

Cons

• Anderson is coming off a miserable season that was cut short by injury. He completed 50.2 percent of his passes and threw nine touchdowns to eight picks.
• Since the Browns want to go with a conservative passing game, Anderson's arm strength could work against him.
• Anderson's productive year in 2007 could mean he was simply a one-year wonder since he wasn't productive before and hasn't been since.

The verdict

We would like to see Anderson win the job since his arm strength allows for more running lanes for the backs and provides the offense with more ways to create plays. That would increase the fantasy value of most of Cleveland's key players. If Quinn wins the job, look for a lot of dink-n-dunk passing, which benefits the tight ends, running back Jerome Harrison and rookie wideout Brian Robiskie at the expense of Edwards, a true deep threat. 

Winner: Despite our preference for Anderson to win the job, we fully expect Quinn to be named the starter in training camp. 

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Cory J. Bonini

Cory J. Bonini is a senior editor at KFFL. In late 2002, Bonini joined the KFFL staff as a research analyst. He vaulted himself into one of the industry's leading fantasy analysts.

Bonini has been involved in fantasy sports since 1996. A member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association as well as Fantasy Sports Writers Association, he has been featured in print, on the radio and is also a published writer on scores of sites. Bonini co-hosted Big Lead Sports on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio from 2011 to 2012.

Bonini was recognized with the 2010 Best Article in Print Award from the FSWA and was a finalist for the same award in 2011. In '11, he finished first overall in the FSWA NFL experts challenge that featured 60 of the industry's best competitors.

Follow him on Twitter @CoryKFFL

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