Benching Charlie Frye: Makes no sense to me…
OK, bear with me. I realize that fantasy football owners probably could care less whether Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson are at the helm of the Browns because neither are going to see the light of day in 10- and 12-team fantasy leagues. But the starting QB situation is germane for several obvious reasons:
- Braylon Edwards — Drafted as a top 20-25 wideout in most leagues
- Kellen Winslow — Drafted at a top 5-8 tight end in most leagues
- Jamal Lewis — Drafted as a top 20 RB in most leagues
While no one should be surprised the Browns got waxed by the Steelers in the Week One opener, as a football fan I was baffled at Romeo Crennel’s decision to bench Charlie Frye in the middle of the 2nd quarter. I get that Charlie Frye has no business being an NFL starting QB. I also get that on the margin, Derek Anderson appeared to play better. All that said, I found the decision to pull Frye just incredulous. I mean, Crennel and Chuds spent the entire offseason vacillating between Frye and Anderson. Then when it looks to everyone that Quinn should probably be thrown to the wolves because a green, rookie Quinn is better than either, Crennel and Phil Savage go out of their way to “teach the kid a lesson” and keep him out of the starting lineup.
But the point is, they supposedly spent all preseason evaluating Frye and Anderson. Then, after one half of the first game against a dominant defense/division rival; they change their minds!?!?? To me that sends such a strong message that the coaches are flying blind; that they have no clue and they themselves are incapable of evaluating the QB position on their own team. Pulling Frye like that essentially makes him a eunuch. How can they possibly justify putting Frye into another game at this point? They can’t. So why not just trade/release him?
We’re having an interesting discussion about this in the Shark Pool today. While many see my point of view, others think it was a move Crennel had to make.
Did you watch the game? The guy looked absolutely lost out there. I didn’t see a single pass that was on target and he had worse pocket awareness than Grossman vs. SD. Clev had 35 yds of total offense in Frye’s 7 drives and 2 turnovers, 1 Int (which was god awful) and 1 fumble. They were down 17-0 on top of it. Sometimes bringing in a fresh QB sparks up the offense. In Anderson’s 1st drive, he took Clev 45 yds down field (this was the 1st time the even crossed mid field!) and put them in scoring position until he was sacked for a 10 yd loss and fumbled. So, it appears it was not a bad decision.
Nxmehta sees eye-to-eye with me, and further elaborates on what this benching might do to the Browns already fragile locker room:
What really scares me is the effect this move will have on locker room morale. I mean the Browns already have a hard enough time convincing themselves that they can win, but when the leadership shows that they can’t steer the ship in the first minutes of the first game, then how are the players supposed to believe that they can win? If you look at the postgame interviews from the official site you can see it all over their faces. Braylon Edwards was asked straight up if he thought that the team had the mental toughness to bounce back for next week. He started out saying well, “if you asked me last year i would say we’re really fragile and no, but this year we have new guys.” You could clearly that he was shaken. Charlie Frye’s interview was even worse- he looked more lost and fragile than he did on the field.
What’s your opinion? If Anderson gets the start in Week Two and stinks up the joint, can the Browns go back to Frye without completely losing the team? Do they have to go with Quinn if/when Anderson struggles? Would putting Quinn in this early be the wrong move even if he’s the team’s best QB?
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