BEREA, Ohio -- Brady Quinn's strong debut wasn't enough for him to muscle into Cleveland's quarterback competition yet.
If you're still asking and wondering about the Browns' quarterback situation, you might still be asking and wondering in two weeks.
And because "you" includes the Steelers, Romeo Crennel might be content to keep his thoughts to himself. **Full story ...**
Although he impressed Browns coach Romeo Crennel, Quinn will follow Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson onto the field for Saturday's game at Denver.
Charlie Frye will start against the Broncos in Cleveland's third exhibition, a preseason game most teams view as a dress rehearsal for the regular season. Crennel said Anderson will be Frye's backup, perhaps a signal that Frye has taken the lead in the battle to be the Browns' starter for the Sept. 9 season opener against Pittsburgh.
Crennel referred to Quinn as "the young kid" and the "young quarterback" following practice on Monday.
After entering the game with Browns fans chanting "Bra-dy, "Bra-dy," the former Notre Dame star finished 13-of-20 for 155 yards and two TD passes -- a performance that dwarfs anything either Frye or Anderson has done in two games.
Still, Crennel wants to stick with his plan of staging a fair fight between Frye and Anderson while remaining patient with Quinn, who missed 11 days and 16 practices of training camp in a contract holdout.
"We're going to keep working with him and bringing him along," Crennel said. "He showed enough poise and execution in the game to feel good about, but he still needs work. He still has work to do and we're not going to rush him in just because he looked good at the end of a game.
Quinn played mostly against Detroit's third- and fourth-team defenses, a fact the 22-year-old quarterback pointed out after the game and one Crennel brought up again.
"Like he told you guys after the game, any other quarterback could do what he did in that situation versus the defense he saw," Crennel said. "But he did do a good job and showed some poise. For the first time under the lights, I thought he handled himself very well."
Crennel had hoped to have his starting quarterback situation ironed out by now, but Quinn's play as well as Frye and Anderson's continued struggles, have produced an unexpected wrinkle.
Frye has played slightly better than Anderson in Cleveland's first two exhibitions and would appear to be the favorite to face the Steelers in less than three weeks. But a depth chart can change at a moment's notice in the NFL.
"We reassess every day, and we reassess after every game," Crennel said. "Nothing is written in stone. It's competition, and every day they have to compete for their jobs. A guy can get cut any day of the week."
Crennel didn't rule out the possibility of Quinn moving up in the near future, and perhaps by the opener.
"I don't know if he can catch up or not," he said. "We'll just have to see. We're going to give him chances. We'll work with him and if he shows us he can do it, the more we'll give him to do.
"And when he's ready to play, we'll play him."
Crennel chose his starter for the exhibition opener with a coin toss won by Frye. Anderson got the nod against the Lions, but had the ball stripped from him on the first play and finished 6-of-8 for 68 yards and one interception.
Frye was 5-of-10 for 42 yards. He said knowing he will start against the Broncos should help him prepare for this week's game.
And as for Quinn, the first-round pick who will likely replace him at some point, Frye doesn't see him as a threat.
"I really don't look in the rearview mirror," Frye said. "The competition is pushing everybody to do a little extra, whether it be on the field or staying a little longer (after practice) or do two more curls, whatever it is.
"Everything is a competition. It's making us better and it's making me stronger mentally, being able to handle this whole situation."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
