For those of you who missed Brady Quinn’s NFL pre-season debut Saturday night, the Browns rookie was pretty impressive. Quinn entered the game down 23-7 with just a shade over 9 minutes remaining and ended up rallying his troops to two fourth quarter scores. Quinn’s performance wasn’t enough to secure a win for the Browns, but his play has received a lot of praise from around the NFL.
Quinn’s final stats were 13 of 20 (including 3 spikes to stop the clock) for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Now, before you say, “yeah, but it was against guys who won’t have a job in a couple weeks”, remember that the guys blocking for Quinn and the guys Quinn was throwing too are likely in that same boat.
Here’s some reactions from around the web.
Despite being on the other end of the chants, Frye said he was happy for Quinn, who completed 13 of 20 attempts for 155 yards and two touchdowns. What’s more, four of his incompletions were spikes.
“When [the fans chanted for] me when I was on the field, I was excited,” Frye said. “For his first game for the crowd to be excited that he’s in there, I think that’s good for him.”
He said Quinn showed good poise.
“He took what the defense gave him and showed a little bit of his athleticism when he got out of the pocket and hit Efrem Hill on the sideline,” Frye said.
The News-Herald
“I think Brady came in, and with the plays he had to execute, he did a good job,” Coach Romeo Crennel said.
Quinn did something neither of the other two quarterbacks was able to do. He reached the end zone.
He might be lagging behind the others in his coach’s eyes because of his prolonged holdout. But it’s only a matter of time before he plays. He appears to have more talent, composure and leadership qualities than the other two. Anderson and Frye are simply keeping the position warm for Quinn.
The first-round pick from Notre Dame could do no wrong.
“It was nice to be back on the field again, but the end result was we lost,” Quinn said. “You’re never happy when you lose.”
A 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions couldn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm. A number of fans wore No. 10 jerseys and many stayed through a dreadful first half just to catch a glimpse of Quinn in the fourth quarter.
The Plain-Dealer
Yes, this was mop-up time against several players who won’t make Detroit’s roster. And, yes, the Lions played a “prevent defense” that allowed Quinn to pick up easy completions underneath their deep coverage.
But there was a discernible energy brought by Quinn. You could feel it as flashbulbs lighted Cleveland Browns Stadium like fireflies as Quinn’s career as the franchise’s hopeful savior got under way.
The “frisky colt” whose reins have been so tightened by coach Romeo Crennel made the derby contenders look like mules by comparison.
Afterward, Crennel poured cold water on the inevitable calls for Quinn to start ahead of Frye and Anderson.
“I can sit here and say he had a limited offense, but they’re going to be encouraged by what they saw,” Crennel said of fans. “Their best guys weren’t in there, but ours weren’t either. Let them get excited, but we still will do what we feel is best for this team.”
The Plain-Dealer
“I think my timing could have been better,” Quinn said. “There were a lot of things, detailed things that I can work on – technical, fundamental things.”
Even if Quinn was not ready to praise his own performance, he was relieved just to see game action following his tumultuous 16-day holdout.
“I’ve been holding a clipboard now for about a game and three quarters, so you get excited when you know you are going to get in and you’re just not sure when,” Quinn said. “You kind of get writer’s cramp over there taking down all those plays.”
Sure, many Lions on the field during Quinn’s exposure soon will embark on other careers and the coverage was rather loose, but the crowd unapologetically seized the moment, painfully aware of how much had gone wrong earlier.
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