(My Sportsbook) - In their top two quarterbacks, the
Cleveland Browns have a former Pro Bowl selection and a 2007 first-round pick. What they don't have? A 2009 victory or a clear-cut starter.
The Browns drafted Brady Quinn 22nd overall in the '07 draft in the hopes he could be their quarterback of the future. Derek Anderson wasn't ready to hand over the reigns, though, as he put together a Pro Bowl campaign that same season.
Despite his solid campaign, Anderson lost his starting job to Quinn last November, only to get it back when Quinn suffered a season-ending finger injury. The 24-year-old Quinn then got the nod to begin 2009, but didn't make it out of the first half in Sunday's 34-3 blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
An 0-3 start has some throwing the term "hot seat" Eric Mangini's way, but the head coach, who will likely never be mentioned in the same sentence as the word sweetheart, likely isn't going anywhere this year. That also appears to be true for the Browns.
Quinn completed 6-of-8 pass attempts for 34 yards with an interception in the first half of Sunday's game versus the Ravens. The former Notre Dame star, who has factored into Cleveland's only offensive touchdown in its last nine games dating back to last year, didn't return in the third quarter, giving way to Anderson.
However, the 26-year-old did little to separate himself from Quinn, taking over with his club down 20-0 before going 11-for-19 for 92 yards with three interceptions. It was Anderson's first regular-season action since November 30 of last year.
"Obviously I was excited to go in and play," said Anderson after the game, later adding he was a bit rusty. "Down 20, not really excited about that, but excited for an opportunity to play again. Obviously not really happy with the results."
Mangini said on Monday that he won't decide on a starter for this Sunday's home game against the Cincinnati Bengals until Wednesday, though don't be surprised if the coach plays it close to the vest with his choice until this weekend.
"What I'm going to look at is who I think gives us the best chance to win the next game," Mangini said. "That's the most important thing. I think both guys did some things on Sunday that were positive. When you have turnovers, it's hard. We have to be able to move the ball consistently. We have to be able to take advantage of opportunities that are there."
Cleveland, 0-3 for the third time in four seasons, will also hope to have running back Jamal Lewis back after he missed the Baltimore game because of a hamstring injury.
RAVENS: Look out rest of the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens are officially red-hot.
Sunday's 34-3 beat down of the Browns moved the Ravens to 3-0 for the first time since they began 2006 with four straight wins. They also own an early edge for first place in the AFC North and are showing no signs of slowing down.
Baltimore has always been known for its defense, but now with quarterback Joe Flacco leading a balanced attack, the club's offense appears ready to run with the best of them. That should come in handy this Sunday versus the New England Patriots.
"We run the ball, we throw it, we just try to keep defenses unbalanced, on their heels," said wide receiver Derrick Mason after Sunday's win. "We don't want to be predictable. We want to go out there and try to attack them. We're not going to let our feet off the gas pedal at any time this year."
Mason did the Ravens a big favor when he decided not to retire prior to the start of the 2009 season. That allowed him to reach a milestone versus the Browns, as he became the 23rd player in league history to reach the 800- reception mark.
In fact, Sunday's blowout win featured a host of milestones for Baltimore. Flacco threw for a career-best 342 yards, helped out by a 72-yard touchdown throw to Mason, while running back Ray Rice scored the first touchdown of his two-year career.
Rice and fellow running back Willis McGahee deserve a lot of credit for the Ravens' offensive surge. McGahee seemed lost in the shuffle last year, when he split carries with Rice and Le'Ron McClain, but has scored six total touchdowns through the first three weeks, including a pair of rushing scores versus the Browns.
"I'm fresh going into every game," said the 5-foot-8 Rice. "Me and Willis are offsetting each other. We're both putting our quality yards [in], and it just feels good to know that it's a long season and we've got a great rotation going.
"He's fresh, I'm fresh, and it's just good to know that we're both doing our thing."
Flacco, meanwhile, has a pair of 300-yard passing games this season after failing to reach that mark in any of his 16 starts a year ago. With the Delaware product under center, the Ravens are second in the NFL this year with 34.3 points per game and 430.3 yards per game. Those number have come with balance, as the club owns the league's fifth-best pass attack while also ranking fifth on the ground.
"The sky's the limit," said McGahee. "Right now, we just got off this game playing Cleveland and we have another game right in front of us which is New England, and we're going to go in there and hopefully continue our success."
BENGALS: Few would have blamed the Cincinnati Bengals if they packed it in early this past Sunday against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. After all, they trailed 10-0 after the first quarter and had posted minus 10 yards of offense in the opening stanza to Pittsburgh's 152.
Thankfully for Bengals fans, they didn't give up -- not even when they faced a pair of fourth-down plays on what turned out to be a game-winning fourth- quarter drive. Robbed of Carson Palmer's calm demeanor in the huddle last year because of an elbow injury, Cincinnati posted a hard-fought 23-20 victory over Pittsburgh.
Things seemed to shift for the Bengals early in the third quarter, when cornerback Jonathan Joseph jumped in front of a Ben Roethlisberger pass attempt and took the interception 30 yards for a score. Though the Steelers scored the next touchdown, it was the Bengals who registered the last two scores.
Running back Cedric Benson found the end zone from 23 yards out with over nine minutes to play before Palmer's heroics. On the drive following a Pittsburgh punt, Palmer converted a 4th-and-2 with a short pass to Laveranues Coles. A spike and two incomplete passes followed, setting up a 4th-and-10 with 36 ticks to go.
No problem for Palmer, who hit Brian Leonard with another short pass that the running back was able to stretch past the first down marker. Two plays later, Palmer found Andre Caldwell in the end zone from four yards out with 14 seconds to go, giving the Bengals the win.
"He feels no pressure," said Leonard of Palmer. "He did a great job."
The victory was a big one for the Bengals, who endured a miserable 4-11-1 season last year. Yet the club has now won five of its last six dating back to last year and is second in the AFC North with a 2-1 record. Had a tipped pass not gone against them in Week 1 versus Denver, Cincinnati could be a perfect 3-0.
Head coach Marvin Lewis wasn't ready to punch the Bengals' ticket to the postseason after Sunday's triumph, however.
"It's a great victory, but it won't matter if we don't continue to take care of business the next couple of weeks," Lewis said after the game. "We'll enjoy this one for a little bit, and then move on."
The Bengals snapped an eight-game home losing streak to the Steelers, including the postseason, and gave both Palmer and Lewis their first-ever victories over Pittsburgh at Paul Brown Stadium.
Now off to their best start since beginning 2006 with three straight wins, Cleveland will seek a second straight divisional win this Sunday against the winless Cleveland Browns.
STEELERS: Six points is all that separates the Steelers from their current 1-2 mark and a possible 3-0 start. Of course, three points the other way and Pittsburgh is still searching for its first 2009 win.
After a 13-10 overtime victory over the Tennessee Titans back on September 10, the Steelers dropped a 17-14 contest to the Chicago Bears 10 days later, losing on a late field goal after their own placekicker missed a pair of three-point tries.
Pittsburgh wouldn't point fingers at kicker Jeff Reed following that loss and certainly won't do so again this week after their defense, which is still without injured safety Troy Polamalu, blew an 11-point lead in Sunday's eventual 23-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
"We don't want to make this a habit, but it appears to be for the second week, we are unable to make significant plays at the end of the football game to secure a victory," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin following the game.
Even after the Bengals scored to make it a five-point game with over nine minutes left to play, the Steelers seemed to be in good shape. They took four minutes off the clock before giving the ball back to Cincinnati with just over five minutes to go.
The Bengals took their time moving the clock before facing a 4th-and-2 with a minute to go. They moved the chains. A spiked ball and two incomplete passes later, and Cincinnati was facing a 4th-and-10. They moved the chains again, with running back Brian Leonard getting credited with an 11-yard reception after stretching past the marker.
"I didn't get [Leonard]," said linebacker James Farrior. "It could have ended the game. I will take responsibility for the loss. If I make that tackle, the game is over and the defense is off the field."
Instead, Cincinnati scored the go-ahead touchdown with 14 seconds left, not enough time for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to engineer another comeback.
The loss was the first in 11 NFL games in Ohio for Roethlisberger, who was born in the state and was a three-year starter at Miami-Ohio. Roethlisberger threw for 276 yards with a touchdown pass and also ran for a score in the loss, but he had an interception returned for a touchdown as well.
Pittsburgh has lost back-to-back games for the first time since December 9-16, 2007. The club is also showing shades of what happened in 2006, when it opened a Super Bowl title defense with three losses in a row following a Week 1 win. The Steelers went just 8-8 that season and missed out on the playoffs.
Things won't get easier this Sunday night, when Pittsburgh hosts the 2-1 San Diego Chargers.
