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By George M. Thomas Beacon Journal sportswriter
POSTED: 08:56 p.m. EST, Dec 30, 2007
CLEVELAND: Derek Anderson wasted a spectacular Joshua Cribbs punt return by throwing an interception, but the Browns quarterback said he wasn't about to flash back to last week's four-interception nightmare against the Cincinnati Bengals.
''It happens. If I throw the ball a foot higher, Kellen (Winslow) probably catches it for a touchdown,'' Anderson said of the first-quarter turnover. ''I didn't put enough air under it, but I had to move on. You can't dwell on it. You just got to keep playing (so) things turn out all right.''
The Browns went on to beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-7 in the team's season finale at Cleveland Browns Stadium, leaving them to do nothing but wait the outcome of the Tennessee Titans-Indianapolis Colts game Sunday night.
This game was more than the cap on the Browns' best record (10-6) in the regular season since returning to the National Football League.
The game featured the beginning of the Brady Quinn Watch when Anderson left the game with an injured finger after hitting his hand on helmets on two successive plays.
Quinn made his regular-season debut at 3:11 in the second quarter, and he promptly directed the Browns offense to a field goal on an 11-play, 57-yard drive. He said he felt as if he were working in cement when he initially went into the game, missing on his first two pass attempts. That eventually faded, however.
''It felt good. Obviously that's something I've been waiting on all season — get in, get some reps with the guys,'' Quinn said, ''especially at this point in time of the season — especially if we make the playoffs.
''It's different in that it's faster. The funny thing about it is that things are more clear and kind of defined,'' he said. ''There's not as much of a gray area and everyone knows what they're doing on each side of the ball and they're both trying to accomplish that task.''
Quinn completed 3-of-8 passes for 45 yards on his first and only drive, but he threw passes on back-to-back plays that should have been caught by Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, respectively, for touchdowns.
''The young kid, I don't know if you know who I am talking about, he did get in the game,'' coach Romeo Crennel joked. ''I told him a long time ago, earlier this year, he was one play away. And today is that day, and he went and represented himself very well.''
Quinn's debut would have looked more impressive with a touchdown pass on the stat sheet, but he shrugged off the drops.
''We just talked about it. The one on Braylon, I thought the guy was holding his arm,'' he said. ''I thought it might be defensive pass interference. In Kellen's case, I thought it was going to be a tight throw, but that's just the way the game goes.''
Quinn took satisfaction that the Browns didn't change their offensive philosophy while he was in the game — allowing him to throw over the middle and to be aggressive.
''I think the ball got tipped or something, then I dropped the ball,'' Winslow said. ''He looked perfect in there. He was very calm.''
''He handled himself real well. He made some nice throws, including one to myself that the DB got his hand in on, but I still think I could have caught it,'' Edwards said. ''He came in there and did a good job.''
Quinn's fun proved short-lived, however. Anderson (11-of-20 for 152 yards with a touchdown and an interception) returned to complete what he started. He led the Browns to another field goal in the second half and eventually to the win.
''They said, 'What do you want to do?' And I said, 'Play,' '' Anderson said of his second-half return. ''If that was going to be our last game together this season, I wanted to be out there with those guys regardless if it was broken or whatever.''
Despite Quinn's showing, Crennel dispelled any notion that there is a question of who is the Browns' starting quarterback.
''There is no quarterback controversy,'' he said, ''(and) no need to start one.''
CLEVELAND: Derek Anderson wasted a spectacular Joshua Cribbs punt return by throwing an interception, but the Browns quarterback said he wasn't about to flash back to last week's four-interception nightmare against the Cincinnati Bengals.
''It happens. If I throw the ball a foot higher, Kellen (Winslow) probably catches it for a touchdown,'' Anderson said of the first-quarter turnover. ''I didn't put enough air under it, but I had to move on. You can't dwell on it. You just got to keep playing (so) things turn out all right.''
The Browns went on to beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-7 in the team's season finale at Cleveland Browns Stadium, leaving them to do nothing but wait the outcome of the Tennessee Titans-Indianapolis Colts game Sunday night.
This game was more than the cap on the Browns' best record (10-6) in the regular season since returning to the National Football League.
The game featured the beginning of the Brady Quinn Watch when Anderson left the game with an injured finger after hitting his hand on helmets on two successive plays.
Quinn made his regular-season debut at 3:11 in the second quarter, and he promptly directed the Browns offense to a field goal on an 11-play, 57-yard drive. He said he felt as if he were working in cement when he initially went into the game, missing on his first two pass attempts. That eventually faded, however.
''It felt good. Obviously that's something I've been waiting on all season — get in, get some reps with the guys,'' Quinn said, ''especially at this point in time of the season — especially if we make the playoffs.
''It's different in that it's faster. The funny thing about it is that things are more clear and kind of defined,'' he said. ''There's not as much of a gray area and everyone knows what they're doing on each side of the ball and they're both trying to accomplish that task.''
Quinn completed 3-of-8 passes for 45 yards on his first and only drive, but he threw passes on back-to-back plays that should have been caught by Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, respectively, for touchdowns.
''The young kid, I don't know if you know who I am talking about, he did get in the game,'' coach Romeo Crennel joked. ''I told him a long time ago, earlier this year, he was one play away. And today is that day, and he went and represented himself very well.''
Quinn's debut would have looked more impressive with a touchdown pass on the stat sheet, but he shrugged off the drops.
''We just talked about it. The one on Braylon, I thought the guy was holding his arm,'' he said. ''I thought it might be defensive pass interference. In Kellen's case, I thought it was going to be a tight throw, but that's just the way the game goes.''
Quinn took satisfaction that the Browns didn't change their offensive philosophy while he was in the game — allowing him to throw over the middle and to be aggressive.
''I think the ball got tipped or something, then I dropped the ball,'' Winslow said. ''He looked perfect in there. He was very calm.''
''He handled himself real well. He made some nice throws, including one to myself that the DB got his hand in on, but I still think I could have caught it,'' Edwards said. ''He came in there and did a good job.''
Quinn's fun proved short-lived, however. Anderson (11-of-20 for 152 yards with a touchdown and an interception) returned to complete what he started. He led the Browns to another field goal in the second half and eventually to the win.
''They said, 'What do you want to do?' And I said, 'Play,' '' Anderson said of his second-half return. ''If that was going to be our last game together this season, I wanted to be out there with those guys regardless if it was broken or whatever.''
Despite Quinn's showing, Crennel dispelled any notion that there is a question of who is the Browns' starting quarterback.
''There is no quarterback controversy,'' he said, ''(and) no need to start one.''
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