Alright, I realize that this isn't a sports blog. And I'm not planning on delving into sports all that often, but this was too good to pass up.
I just got the Cleveland Browns Newsletter (email) and the first headline I came across was "Anderson Ready for Sunday." I felt letting loose an Arnold Schwarzenegger-esq guttural scream (the kind that usually follows a hail of gunfire, a few explosions, a helicopter crash and a cheesy one-liner). Oscillating between terrified curiosity, and the desire to finally disown my football team after years of bitter disappointment I debated whether or not to read the rest of the article. The compulsion to know won out.
I followed the "Click Here for More" link in the email and arrived at the story's page on the Browns' web site. After reading the article I can now empathize with a prisoner at a parole hearing going horribly wrong. So here's the skinny - Quinn is out of the rest of the season, because the finger he broke apparently was not healing. (The Arnold scream finally escaped sometime around here).
At this point I started wondering if this was another one of the Brownies' quasi-shady Soviet style personnel moves - You know like the whole "Charlie Fry is our starter"... followed by pulling him in the second half of last season's opener, and trading him the following day. Or saying that Kellen Winslow didn't want the reason for his hospitalization disclosed in order to try and hush-hush their way out of the spotlight for yet another personnel staph infection (let me just say here that I don't necessarily agree with the way Winslow handled the situation either, and I'm not sticking up for him... I just find the Browns' motives slightly suspect). The cynic in me couldn't help but wonder if this was just a way for Premier Savage and Comrade Crenell to bench Quinn with dignity for the rest of the season - to clear up any and all quarterback controversy until they could come up with some kind of decision over the off-season, and present as unified a front as possible.
And Then I reached the final paragraph:
Yes! There it was, like a beacon of hope, a shimmering light offered to the city of Cleveland! Josh Cribbs is now listed as the third string Quarterback! Why would listing one of the NFL's best kick returners, who happened to play quarterback in college excite me? Simple: every time Cribbs is in he plays hard with an evident passion for the game, whether that is returning or covering a kick/punt, playing an offensive role, or as part of a trick play. In a season that has been filled with more debacles than a middle school talent show, Cribbs as well as a few other players have been the real reason I've kept watching the Brownies this year (#92 Shaun Rogers is another) - and I'll keep watching them. So when Anderson starts choking on Sunday, what will the crowd be chanting? "Cribs, Cribs, Cribs, Cribs..."
- Look, all joking aside. Do I really think we should jump to Cribbs as quarterback? No, of course not. The other two guys in front of him are paid to know that position, fill that position, and run the Browns offense. I may not be a big DA fan, but I don't think him playing is the kiss of death, and I do think that he can be successful somewhere if the right system for him is in place. Do I really think that there is a conspiracy type plot to bench Quinn? There's probably not one of those either, and if the injury is as bad as the article made it sound I'd be the first person to say that the priority should be getting medical treatment and not playing football (Although something about the whole situation smells like media spin). Seriously though, it is the right thing to do if it is a matter of injury... you don't want to be accused of treating your players like pieces of meat... they are human beings after all. In the end we Clevelanders may be a city of fans starving for a good season from our football team, we seriously need to remember that its just a game.
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