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Do IT this week: Layering
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 09:14 p.m. EST, Nov 22, 2009
In a bizarre finish that put the lie to one of Yogi Berra's most quoted malaprops — ''It ain't over till it's over'' — Quinn's mates managed to hand the Detroit Lions a 38-37 victory after the clock read 0:00. The game was over, but it wasn't.
For a change, Quinn was Teflon Man in the final chaotic seconds. He wasn't even on the field. When he was, particularly early in the game, he turned in the performance of his professional life.
Of course, he didn't see it that way, saying, ''We didn't win, so you're never happy when you don't win.''
Happy or not, Quinn amassed 37 percent of his season's yardage in only one game, throwing for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Moreover, he did not complete a pass to the opposing team.
This was anything but vintage Quinn, at least not the Quinn that Browns coach Eric Mangini has been presenting to the world.
In his previous four 2009 starts, Quinn was limited to throwing dinks and dunks, lobs and flips — it would be a stretch to call them passes — no more than five yards downfield, and never mind the two desperation heaves he delivered out of bounds at the end of last Monday night's loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The conventional wisdom held that Quinn couldn't throw deep, and not just deep. That he couldn't deliver a 20-yard pass whose trajectory was straight as a string.
For whatever reason — probably because the Lions' pass defense is at least as woeful as that of the Browns — Mangini decided to remove the handcuffs from his quarterback.
Quinn responded with a 59-yard touchdown bomb to Mohamed Massaquoi with 8:56 left in the first quarter. He followed up with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey less than five minutes later.
By the time the first quarter was over, Quinn had thrown for 151 yards. He didn't come close to matching that number in a subsequent quarter, but the point had been made: He is not unlike most NFL quarterbacks. He can successfully execute an array of plays.
Of Quinn's 21 completions, 14 gained 10 or more yards. That is not an earth-shaking statistic for most quarterbacks, but for Quinn it is something of a revelation. Granted, his receivers sometimes made significant yards after a catch. Joshua Cribbs turned a five-yard throw into a 35-yard gain in the third quarter, for example.
As might be expected of a quarterback who already has lost his starting job once this season, Quinn was not about to give a candid recitation on the reasons his coach expanded the parameters of his assignment.
''Again, I think going into every week, we're going to try and do what we think we can accomplish and execute there on the field,'' he said. ''I knew that they like to load the box sometimes and shots down the field might work.''
Mangini wasn't exactly bubbly over Quinn's showing (after all, he had just suffered an excruciating defeat), but he gave the quarterback his due.
''I thought he played well throughout the game,'' Mangini said. ''I felt good about the way he threw the ball the whole game.''
What does all of this mean for Quinn's future? One game doesn't make a career. And even though Quinn doesn't have to worry about losing his job for at least a week or two, there is no reason to believe Mangini thinks the quarterback is the second coming of Brett Favre or even Brian Sipe. He made that clear when he yanked Quinn in the middle of his third start of the season.
Then again, Mangini's future is hardly secure. If he were to be axed at the end of the season or sooner, what would the Browns' next coach think of Quinn? And how many more games will it take for Quinn to confirm he is a competent starting quarterback?
Though it would be foolish for Quinn to believe his own words, he followed the example of most athletes, saying, ''I don't feel I have to prove anything to anybody. Everybody in this locker room knows what they can do. All of us are in the NFL for a reason.''
In fact, until Sunday, Quinn had operated with so many constraints, it was impossible to make a judgment about his aptitude as an NFL quarterback. After his performance against the Lions, we know more. A little more.
It would be in the Browns' best interests to give Quinn the room to succeed or fail on merit, which means giving him the freedom to make plays, all kinds of plays.
But just because it makes sense doesn't mean it will happen.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
In a bizarre finish that put the lie to one of Yogi Berra's most quoted malaprops — ''It ain't over till it's over'' — Quinn's mates managed to hand the Detroit Lions a 38-37 victory after the clock read 0:00. The game was over, but it wasn't.
For a change, Quinn was Teflon Man in the final chaotic seconds. He wasn't even on the field. When he was, particularly early in the game, he turned in the performance of his professional life.
Of course, he didn't see it that way, saying, ''We didn't win, so you're never happy when you don't win.''
Happy or not, Quinn amassed 37 percent of his season's yardage in only one game, throwing for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Moreover, he did not complete a pass to the opposing team.
This was anything but vintage Quinn, at least not the Quinn that Browns coach Eric Mangini has been presenting to the world.
In his previous four 2009 starts, Quinn was limited to throwing dinks and dunks, lobs and flips — it would be a stretch to call them passes — no more than five yards downfield, and never mind the two desperation heaves he delivered out of bounds at the end of last Monday night's loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The conventional wisdom held that Quinn couldn't throw deep, and not just deep. That he couldn't deliver a 20-yard pass whose trajectory was straight as a string.
For whatever reason — probably because the Lions' pass defense is at least as woeful as that of the Browns — Mangini decided to remove the handcuffs from his quarterback.
Quinn responded with a 59-yard touchdown bomb to Mohamed Massaquoi with 8:56 left in the first quarter. He followed up with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey less than five minutes later.
By the time the first quarter was over, Quinn had thrown for 151 yards. He didn't come close to matching that number in a subsequent quarter, but the point had been made: He is not unlike most NFL quarterbacks. He can successfully execute an array of plays.
Of Quinn's 21 completions, 14 gained 10 or more yards. That is not an earth-shaking statistic for most quarterbacks, but for Quinn it is something of a revelation. Granted, his receivers sometimes made significant yards after a catch. Joshua Cribbs turned a five-yard throw into a 35-yard gain in the third quarter, for example.
As might be expected of a quarterback who already has lost his starting job once this season, Quinn was not about to give a candid recitation on the reasons his coach expanded the parameters of his assignment.
''Again, I think going into every week, we're going to try and do what we think we can accomplish and execute there on the field,'' he said. ''I knew that they like to load the box sometimes and shots down the field might work.''
Mangini wasn't exactly bubbly over Quinn's showing (after all, he had just suffered an excruciating defeat), but he gave the quarterback his due.
''I thought he played well throughout the game,'' Mangini said. ''I felt good about the way he threw the ball the whole game.''
What does all of this mean for Quinn's future? One game doesn't make a career. And even though Quinn doesn't have to worry about losing his job for at least a week or two, there is no reason to believe Mangini thinks the quarterback is the second coming of Brett Favre or even Brian Sipe. He made that clear when he yanked Quinn in the middle of his third start of the season.
Then again, Mangini's future is hardly secure. If he were to be axed at the end of the season or sooner, what would the Browns' next coach think of Quinn? And how many more games will it take for Quinn to confirm he is a competent starting quarterback?
Though it would be foolish for Quinn to believe his own words, he followed the example of most athletes, saying, ''I don't feel I have to prove anything to anybody. Everybody in this locker room knows what they can do. All of us are in the NFL for a reason.''
In fact, until Sunday, Quinn had operated with so many constraints, it was impossible to make a judgment about his aptitude as an NFL quarterback. After his performance against the Lions, we know more. A little more.
It would be in the Browns' best interests to give Quinn the room to succeed or fail on merit, which means giving him the freedom to make plays, all kinds of plays.
But just because it makes sense doesn't mean it will happen.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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Posted 09:59 PM, 11/22/2009
Quinn is a competant quarterback. End of story. Now then, I'm a Mangini fan and don't think he should be canned, BUT I might be a believer if he doesn't just let this guy do his thing, and lets see what happens. Make no mistake; this team is a bunch of non performers and that is a for sure! however, if we can find a couple of grapes among the raisins, what the heck? Lets rebuild around the grapes and see what the years to come yield.
akron, oh
Posted 10:00 PM, 11/22/2009
Let's see him do that outdoors. Chances are the ball is going to smack him right in the face.
Come on Quinn fans, tell me this loss was DA's fault.
Posted 10:18 PM, 11/22/2009
Quinn played a nice game...give him his due.
akron, oh
Posted 10:20 PM, 11/22/2009
what?!? You're judging Quinn on one good game?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Lorain, oh
Posted 10:32 PM, 11/22/2009
This was like a flag football game between 2 bad treams. Quinn played well, but he still made mistakes on easy throws where he threw behind and above guys. The one last td to the tight end was high but the guy went up and got it.
Quinn made some plays, but he needs to move the ball down the field against other teams to prove his worth.
Akron, OH
Posted 06:30 AM, 11/23/2009
In the 3rd quarter Quinn failed to open an OBVIOUS wormhole and travel back in time.
So until he can do that, and do it CONSISTENTLY, I'm not buying into it.
Cincinnati, OH
Posted 06:59 AM, 11/23/2009
The way these clowns are playing they don't deserve to make any more than league minimum. And they'd be overpaid at that!
Heck, either Ohio State or the University of Cincinnati could beat these frauds straight up.
Posted 08:35 AM, 11/23/2009
Observing Mangini's actions and treatment of Quinn all season, it is clear to me that he plain doesn't like Quinn. He also does not have a plan to help Quinn succeed as evidenced by the short leash he has had on him all season. If Mangini is around next year, he will trade Quinn for more draft picks and pick Colt McCoy in the draft. That is the only reason he is playing Quinn. he also likes Anderson more than Quinn which is also obvious.
Greenwood, IN
Posted 08:46 AM, 11/23/2009
Anytime someone says a college team can beat a pro team, they have no creditability.
akron, oh
Posted 12:19 PM, 11/23/2009
Oh boy, Quinn beat up on the Lions. Lets make it the second coming. Geez.
