QB Derek Anderson Newest Cardinal, Signs Two Year Deal Worth $7.25 Million
by Andrew602 on Mar 17, 2010 1:05 PM MDT
in 2010 Offseason
146 comments
After losing Kurt Warner to retirement this offseason, the Arizona Cardinals have looked for stability at quarterback. They took one step closer when they signed former Cleveland Brown quarterback Derek Anderson on Wednesday. Anderson was signed to a two year contract worth $7.25 million with $3.25 million garuanteed. There's also $11 million in incentives that he can make and he'll likely get a opportunity to compete for the starting nod in training camp.
Anderson spent the last four seasons with the Browns, where he appeared in 39 games during that span. In 2007, Anderson was selected to his first and only pro bowl when he threw 3787 yards and 29 touchdowns that year. Since then however, Anderson has struggled to retain his job from another former Browns quarterback, Brady Quinn. For his career, he's thrown 7,083 yards, 46 touchdowns, 45 interceptions, and has a 69.7 career QB rating.
The signing is stemming from a report that Charlie Whitehurst - whom the Cardinals showed interest in - will sign the 3rd round tender that was offered from the San Diego Chargers. The signing of Anderson also means the Cardinals won't have to give up one of their 3rd round picks - something they'd have to do to sign Whitehurst.
The Cardinals now have Anderson and Matt Leinart as the only two quarterbacks on the roster. They'll likely retain career back up, Brian St. Pierre, or look to add depth through the draft for the 3rd string spot on the depth chart.
Not losing a 3rd round pick and gaining a former pro bowl quarterback sounds good to me. What are your thoughts on the Anderson Signing?
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so the starting job is matts
and dont resign BSP, draft some young talent in the late rounds
by fansincejakenrob on Mar 17, 2010 1:11 PM MDT reply actions
I'd rather an undrafted rookie over St. Pierre even.
by hadrarius on Mar 17, 2010 1:13 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
+1
But I think you have to have a competition to push Matt, and if he earns it, then that should be enough for him to get his head straight and get the swagger starting QB’s need.
Section 102, Row 18
Agreed
Leinart’s head seems to be in the right place after he texted Whiz that he knows theirs going to be competition and he’soing to prove he’s ready to play. I think Anderson wll push Matt further and hopefully show he can finally lead this team.
Anybody hear what Seattle gave up for Whitehurst(below)?
According to Darren Urban’s twitter –
A $10 million contract, a 3rd-rounder in 2011 and losing 20 spots in 2010 2nd round was Seahawks’ price for Whitehurst. Wow. Just wow.
43 minutes ago via web
Happy to still have that 3rd round pick.
Whitehurst reportedly prefers Seattle anyway, which he might as well now. Would have been ticked off to pass on Anderson then lose Whitehurst to Seattle. Let’s hope he gets back to pro-bowl form in the Cardinals offense.
by hadrarius on Mar 17, 2010 1:12 PM MDT reply actions 1 recs
I hear that Seattle won the bidding war
The Cards offered 2years $8M and the Seahawks offered 2 years $10 million.
we may have lost the battle, but we will win the war
we didn’t give up the draft picks that seattle did. I’m willing to bet that D.A. will play at a higher level anyway.
by CardsDefense on Mar 18, 2010 1:03 AM MDT up reply actions
Eh
I really don’t think DA has much to offer really. The QB job is definitely Leinarts to lose.
But I am glad no third round pick was used.
I also agree with hadrarius, give us some fresh blood for our 3rd QB.
They are who we thought they were!
by Jessesb on Mar 17, 2010 1:17 PM MDT reply actions 3 recs
+1
Just glad Matty’s not the lone gunslinger on the roster anymore. That was scary..
by cardsfanforlife24 on Mar 17, 2010 1:25 PM MDT up reply actions
I actually think DA has something to offer
If you remember his lone Pro Bowl season, he was actually pretty sharp. After watching him for years, he never seems flustered in the pocket or ansy to get rid of the ball I think he’s just been trapped on a bad team with poor coaching. The Browns’ inability to stick with a starter, and keep one healthy, is taxing too. He’s gone from starter, to bench, to starter, to bench, and back to starter again. It’s been a bit ridiculous. I’m sure that he has had to switch the practice unit he takes snaps with each time as well — makes it kind of hard to develop a connection with your offense.
I think being in a more steady environment with skilled coaching will show he has something to offer. If all he has to offer is pushing Matt to be a successful starter, that’s enough for me.
This is completely false. I am a browns fan and I watched all the games that season
he never seems flustered in the pocket or ansy to get rid of the bal
In fact, in 2007, there were times he got flustered. He got to the pro bowl that year b/c 2-3 starters were injured. he had some great games and had some terrible games. One game. He threw an interception in the end zone when getting flustered and throwing into coverage. it led to a game winning FG. Next Week: He throws another INT in the end zone to the SAME receiver in the SAME part of the end zone. thankfully the browns won that game.
I don’t think coaching and steadiness has to do with it. He was pretty much guaranteed the job in 2008 and had the SAME team from 2007. He had the SAME coaching staff…however he struggled. maybe its that he had a different team around him…but I already established it was pretty much the same team. More likely, the book was out on him and teams were able to figure him out and he has not yet been able to adjust. maybe someday he will, but does that mean that you should count on it? No. Even later in the season, DA struggled. Although he helped get us into playoff contention, against Cincy, he singlehandedly took us out of playoff contention.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
When I looked at his stats I didn't understand how he even got to the Pro Bowl
His Touchdowns and yards were pretty good, but his accuracy was around 56% and he still had a bunch of picks. It makes sense that a bunch of people dropping out helped him get in.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
Very happy about this
I understand some of the skepticism about Anderson, but compared to what we were looking at for back-up QB’s before Cleveland released him was really depressing. At least we don’t have an unproven rookie or a washed-up career back-up taking over, should Leinart get hurt. Anderson is still pretty young, at least has one Pro Bowl season on his resume, and has a ton of ability that Coach Miller can work with.
To me, this was easily our best option.
i would have preferred bath
da, went 2-17 in a game last year. yikes.
i know he played for the browns and it was snowing and they suck, but still the NFL and 2/17.
by fansincejakenrob on Mar 17, 2010 1:38 PM MDT up reply actions
With the Browns receivers
I wouldn’t be surprised if there were five or six drops included in that 2-17 peformance.
That one game is getting a lot of focus, considering he threw for almost 3,800 yards in 2007 in a very tough division. Let’s see what he can do in an offense with Fitz, Breaston, Wells, etc.
by Long Beach on Mar 17, 2010 1:49 PM MDT up reply actions 2 recs
I’m going to do my best to warn you not to get your hopes up. here are DAs stats from 2008 and 2009:
08- 50.2% completions, 5.7 YPA, 9 TD, 8 picks, 66.5 rating
09- 44.5% completions, 4.9 YPA, 3 TD, 10 picks, 42.1 rating
It wasn’t just one game. in the weeks after he went 2-17, he went 9-24, 12-29, and 6-17. Sure there were drops, but not that many. 2007 was 3 years ago. he hasn’t ven come close to league average since then, and he had never done it in his 3 years before then. The guy is a one year wonder.
That said, I do think this is the best possible situation for him. he may be one of the worst starting quarterbacks in decades, but there’s enough offensive talent on this team to make him look decent.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 18, 2010 12:11 PM MDT up reply actions
by the way…to a former browns fan. I even looked at the stats when he WASN’T facing a league worst D. out of his 29 TDs and 3800 yds. 8 and 700 respectively came in 3 games against some of the league worst Defenses.
Take away the game he torched the 1-15 Dolphins.
Take away the game against the ravens at home who were 30th in net opposing ypa giving up almost 7. they were also much worse on the road in passing D having the worst passing D (by net yards per attempt) in the league…by far.
Also take away the game where he torched the 3-13 rams who had one of the league worst passing Ds…
Guess what his QB rating was? a 75…the epitome of average. so in the 13 games where he WASN’T facing a horrible passing D, he struggled. everyone torched the ravens when they traveled. everyone torched the rams and dolphins.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
While this type of analysis has some value, you can’t just take away the good games. If you want to do something like this, you have to take away his worst 3 games as well.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 18, 2010 2:14 PM MDT up reply actions
yeah. He threw 3,800 yards in 2007, but with basically the same cast, what did he DO? 9 TDs, 8 INTs, bad completion % and only 1600 yards in 10 games. Not all that good.
Who is the real DA: The DA who had 1.5/1 TD/INT ratio, 3800 yards, 56 completion %, 7.2 ypa, and 82 QB rating from 2007?
Or is it the QB who during about the same period (maybe a couple less games) before and after 2007 had a .875/1 TD/INT ratio, about 2500 yds, 52 Completion %, 6.0 ypa and 66 QB Rating?
I tend to see it as being the lattter. Do you judge a guy by his career year when no one had much of a gameplan against him? or do you judge by what he has done before or since? Logic dictates that we whould acknowledge his season, but not focus on it. we should focus on the product as a whole and specifically trends seen. the trends seen do not support the 2007 season.
Let’s even break down his 2007 Season:
Look at the first 6 weeks for QB rating: 65, 121, 57, 109, 59, 142. yep. a story of consistency.
Week 1: He didn’t do well against Pittsburgh but didn’t do horrible. game was already lost when he came in
2: Cincy had a bad passing Defense that year. HE torched them.
3: A mediocre team with great corners and a very good defense that year. No surprise he struggled
4: although the baltimore D is usually great, they were 22nd in points allowed, 20th in passing yards allowed, and 31st in net ypa against passing.
5: against a good D in new england he struggled
6: He destroyed a 1-15 team…whoopdee doo..
8: beat a 3-13 team with one of the league’s worse Ds.
I do not feel like going into the rest, but even in his best season, he beat up on the bad teams in the league and struggled against good teams.
Take away his 3 stellar games where he torched horrible passing Defenses, these are his stats:
13 gms, 3100 yds, 54.9 comp%, 21 TD 19 INT 1.1/1 TD/INT ratio, 6.7 ypa, 75 QB rating…so when he was playing decent teams, he was nothing more than league average.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
I like him also
He’s a big strong armed quarterback who can really throw the ball down the field. Safeties will have to respect that threat unlike with Leinart. My worries is his football IQ and if he can learn the offense. We’ve all seen what he can do with a legit. receiver. I’m also happy that he comes without giving up anything. It would have been ridiculous to have given up anything for a scout team quarterback which is what Whitehurst is!
by lifelongcardfan on Mar 17, 2010 3:52 PM MDT up reply actions
with six drops
thats still less than 50% completion rate.
I’m not mad at the move. I think he’ll be our back up and nothing more.
I just would have prefered batch.
by fansincejakenrob on Mar 17, 2010 1:53 PM MDT reply actions
You can't judge...
based on one game. That’s like saying Warner wasn’t worthy because he threw too many INT’s in one game. Anderson had some outstanding games in 2007 that could easily counter a 2-fo-17 peformance. You’ve got to judge on the whole and not one or two individual games.
by SundayBlitz on Mar 18, 2010 7:25 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
No kiddin'
Shall we base the analysis of Warner’s last season solely on his stat line from the Carolina game? In a sport of extremes, reality is somewhere in the middle and Anderson’s “middle” has shown more than Leinart’s. Derek will push Matt and that’s what he was brought in to do. Mission accomplished, FO.
Don't waste time or Time will waste you.
yep…he had some outstanding games in 2007. too bad just about all of them were against some of the league worst passing defenses.
Let’s look at his “Great” games (anything over a 90 QB rating.
He had a 121 QB rating against the Bengals at Home: They were 29th in TDs Allowed, They were 28th in Net yards per attempt, and 27th in Opposing QB rating.
He had a 110 QB rating against the Ravens at Home: 27th in TDs Allowed, 30th in Net YPA, 24th in Opposing QB rating
Miami, 143 QB rating at home: 28 in Tds Allowed, 31st in YPA opposing, 29th Opposing QB rating
St Louis on the Road 143: 22nd in Tds Allowed, 27th in Net YPA, 20th in Opposing QB rating
Houston at Home 97: 23rd in Tds Allowed, 22nd in net YPA, 30th in Opposing QB Rating.
Do any of these teams look like fairly competent defenses? He torched some bad defense but then choked against decent defenses. plus, he regressed throughout the season and actually got worse. this is likely because the league finally figured him out and he hasn’t readjusted.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Think that might just happen
I picked up Anderson his pro-bowl year in a fantasy league so I was forced to watch a decent amount of his games. The one thing he has going for him is that he is a gamer — more so than Matty. Guy can take a shot and get back up. Either way, at least we have two QBs with some experience and something to prove.
Lets see if he doesn't revert to his old throwing motion when people start getting in his face first.
I can stand still and try out different throwing motions all I want [I have], but if someone is about to nail me I would just go back to my natural throwing motion, and for Tebow that would result in him getting sacked or fumbling a lot.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
I love this...
D. Anderson is a stud. When he had the proper tools and fans were behind him, he excelled. He will prove a lot of naysayers wrong when he makes a legitimate push for the starting job. He couldn’t help the fact that his recievers dropped balls constantly.
Who would win in a fight, Whisenhunt or a Hurricane?
Hold on, hold on, what if the Hurricanes name was Whisenhunt?
Daaaaaaaaaa Cards, Da Cards Da Cards Da Cards Da Cards!!!
by boogatt66 on Mar 17, 2010 2:25 PM MDT reply actions 2 recs
Agree Completely
I think we made the right getting DA. With some real offensive weapons to throw and hand off the ball to, I think he will seriously contend for the starting job. Either way, we should have a successful offense with either Leinart or Anderson.
you know the browns offensive personnel was almost unchanged from 2007 to 2008 and DA sucked anyway? Maybe DA can magically become an average quarterback for you, but I wouldn’t be nearly as confident in that as most of you seem to be.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 18, 2010 12:13 PM MDT up reply actions
He excelled against bad teams. i watched him. he tortured the fans that pro bowl year. we would fall in love with him one game, then he would blow the next with a bad decision.
Even when his receivers weren’t dropping the ball, he was inconsistent. in 2007, his Completion percentage was 56%. the team wasn’t dropping balls. 56% is not that great honestly.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
I have to agree completely with this. It was really painful to watch, one week or two good DA and then next week or two bad DA….Even my 9 yr could see the inconsistency each week. Not to mention the fact that some of his short passes are thrown at like 80mph.
Love the Team not the Players
I'm happy about this
I’m just wondering about Joey Porter…
"What I've achieved now is something that I always figured I would as a kid. I've had that type of determination since I was a youngster playing around the playgrounds, getting dirty after school." - Amare Stoudemire
Great deal!
I’m glad we picked up Derek Anderson! He was a Pro-Bowl QB once, has experience, and will do great with the Cardinals. Let’s all keep in mind that, even though he wasn’t at his best these last few seasons, he was with the Browns. They’re not exactly the best team in the NFL. With the Cardinals offense, he should be able to do great things!
yep. it was the offense’s fault he couldn’t get them the ball accurately. in fact, it is the fault that the coaching staff and that most starters didn’t change between 2007 and 2008, that he sucked…it must be the stability between the 2 years. It couldn’t be that he struggled at the end of 2007 and the league adjusted to his game and he wasn’t able to respond or develop.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
I think that that is too much money for him, but at least someone is behind Leinart now.
And if you want a laugh, this is what HardHate said on pft.com
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/03/17/anderson-gets-75-million-over-two-years/
Derek Anderson’s signing and contract spells the end for ol’ Matty Boi Leinart. And thank God for that!
Leinart is simply awful. I’ve seen pretty much every snap he’s taken for Arizona in the past 4 seasons, and he has a slow release, piss-poor accuracy, weak arm, terrible footwork, can’t read an NFL defense, and couldn’t even manage to memorize his own offensive playbook.
Sure, Leinart still has a dwindling few die-hard USC homies that talk him up on the net, but all they have to point to is his “glorious” effort in a loss to the TN Titans… a game in which all he did was check down, and fail to throw a touchdown versus the 31st-ranked pass defense in the NFL.
Arizona’s only scores vs the Titans were on big run plays by Beanie and Hightower and by the special teams running back a punt.
With all of Leinart’s 3-and-outs in the 4th quarter, the Arizona defense was completely gassed by the end of the game. Not their fault they finally gave up a TD to Vince Young. Had Leinart converted a single 1st down in the 4th quarter, the game would have been won. But he refused to throw anything more than a 3 yard pass.
Leinart probably lacked the balls because he was an interception machine all season (and his whole career, for that matter). In this past season, he almost blew huge 4th quarter leads to the Rams, Bears, & Jaguars… the dregs of the NFL.
Leinart will go down in history as the biggest 1st round QB bust since Ryan Leaf. Write it down!
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
Im pretty sure people thought Warner was washed up
And look how that turned out.
If you play well for a season in the NFL, I think you should be able to reproduce it again at some stage.
Im Liking It
looking at DA games, wow i think he might over pass Lienart. Idk thats what im seeing. Looks like im watching the Pre season this year.
I don't know what to make of this
I am not convinced, like some of the above, this means Matt’s the guy and DA is the backup. This signing will add fuel to the fire that there is a problem with Matty (maybe the FO thinks there is?). I find it a little hard to believe DA would come to AZ unless Whiz promised him he had a shot at starting (of course Whiz told BSP that he had a shot at being the back-up QB last year as well). The shot at starting also ties into all the incentive $$ in DA’s contract so we may be headed to a QB competition in training camp. I am not a big fan of QB competition. Teams that consistently win 10+ games don’t have QB competitions. But we lost Warner so what do we do?
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Mar 17, 2010 3:57 PM MDT reply actions
QB competitions is good
It add more pressure.
I think competition is good
at every position except QB. Teams can win with 2 RB’s, a committe of WR’s, etc. At QB an winning NFL team needs a great player, not two ok players.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Mar 17, 2010 4:09 PM MDT up reply actions
Although
when Warner arrived it didn’t appear that he was on the verge of regaining his old form, either. I don’t think it will be a 2-QB system, and the competition between Leinart and Anderson will be a good thing.
QB Competition is a must
if you EARN the job, you get the starting nod. There is nothing to be gained by simply handing a guy the starting spot because he’s ridden the bench for a few years and now it’s his turn. The entire game of football, and sports in general, is about competition. You need to be better than the next guy. If Matt Leinart can’t beat out the second string quarterback on his own team, how do you expect him to win a competition against the other great starting qb’s in this league?
We did what we had to do.
The Cardinals needed an experienced QB to both back up and push Leinart and there weren’t exactly a ton of options left out there.
We originally wanted Carr, but he chose SF. Delhomme went to Cleveland, thankfully. Batch would have been serviceable, but he’s aging and brittle without much upside. Whitehurst had no experience and would have cost us a precious 3rd round pick, which I would much rather use to improve the defense. So signing DA was a no-brainer move in my opinion.
But with competition
its going to show who is better lol. Only one person going to be QB.
There is still time for Matt Leinart
Joe cblow1991 Matt has not had a full year under his belt without getting hurt or being back up or part timer to Kurt Warner. Before you jump to conclusions, lets wait and see how Leinart fairs in the pre season. I think Leinart deserves a chance still.
take care, Go Az Redbirds!!!
yeah he got one.
Im just think DA will out play him. I have no favorites here, but this is the position i care most for.
My thoughts on the signing.
I think it is good for several reasons:
1. With a change of scenery DA will bounce back into some resemblance of a decent QB. That competition will be good for the position. May the best man win.
2. With Matt’s exorbitant contract next season we need some insurance in case we can’t restructure hid contract and have to cut him. We’ll already have a vet QB who knows the system.
3. Both QB’s are basically on two year contracts so we can still bring a rookie to learn for a year or two before he would have to take over.
Just my two cents.
Life's too short. Be a fan. Orlando Magic, Arizona Cardinals,Tampa Bay Rays and of course "the U"! What a winning combo.
by hevchv on Mar 17, 2010 6:22 PM MDT via mobile reply actions 3 recs
yep. competing and winning the job in 2008 did wonders for Derek Anderson.
Also, the stability of the coaching staff and starters between ‘07-’08 helped…you see it on the stat sheet right?
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Yeah.
There is no way Kurt can have a decent season after being cut by the Rams and the Giants for younger QBs cause he has absolutely sucked. Arizona made a big mistake signing him as he will never win the starting job and will be out of the league before the season is over. Right?
Life's too short. Be a fan. Orlando Magic, Arizona Cardinals,Tampa Bay Rays and of course "the U"! What a winning combo.
It's understandable that Cleveland has sucked since they came back.
But until our front office makes a huge mistake, I will trust them for their results over the last 3 years.
Life's too short. Be a fan. Orlando Magic, Arizona Cardinals,Tampa Bay Rays and of course "the U"! What a winning combo.
yes. It is a solid front office. For a backup he is great, but it is totally different (although people here compared it to) from when they got kurt warner. kurt warner had more than 1 year of success (and anderson’s I classify as moderate success anyways)
I believe it is a solid move for the organization. Brian St. Pierre I heard was gone…how many passes has he thrown in the regular season? 5?
St. Pierre was still an option. Then you have charlie whitehurst, a 3rd round QB from a few years ago, who only had one decent season in college and has never thrown an NFL pass.
Then you have Derek Anderson. Although he sucked the last 2 years, he might not be completely terrible with this team. with the team you have, you will see ‘08 DA and not the DA of ’09. He may even be better. Leinart will be the starter, but DA is a nice backup. while he isn’t anything special and isn’t that good, he is solid for being a backup.
You could have gone and gotten a QB in the draft…but none of these guys have thrown an NFL pass and unless you get clausen or bradford, I don’t believe the other QBs would be even competent if they had to start in a pinch.
I believe DA was a security kind of thing. they could have gone out and gotten one of these guys who has absolutely no experience starting or throwing a pass in a game in the NFL. instead they went out and got a guy who isn’t great but has thrown in the NFL before. What if leinart gets hurt? What if he is terrible? you need some sort of security measure.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Not the worst they could do...
When the Cards picked up Kurt Warner, not sure if they were exactly expecting him to bring the Cardinals to elite status right away. Warner looked kinda washed up after he got cut from the Giants and Rams, and certainly didn’t get back to elite QB status right away, it took time.
Maybe Derek Anderson can turn it around as well. If the organization wanted to give Leinart a chance to start, it’d be best to bring in a veteran quarterback (but not one who you think would start immediately on paper).
insurance
a great insurance plan…very smart planning and goes in line with what graves/whiz have been doing to plan on top of plans…
great move!
I’m so glad we made this move….. Even if he remains a backup we suckered Seattle into giving up WAY TOO MUCH for a 28 year old qb that has never thrown a pass in the nfl. They gave up their 3rd round pick in 2011, watched their 2nd round pick drop from #40 to #61, and they paid him 10 million over two years. After hearing about Tapp being traded yesterday and now this, I’m really happy the Seahawks brought in Pete Carrol and the others.
by CardsDefense on Mar 17, 2010 8:29 PM MDT reply actions 2 recs
Now maybe the other Matt will get hurt and Whitehurst will have to play against us.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
2 qbs a must
every good team needs 2 capable QBs. We need a couple impact players. Open up the pocketbook Bidwell. This is the new cardinals. right?
by Dennis J. Ortega on Mar 17, 2010 9:06 PM MDT reply actions
Love the signing
DA has a big gun and is at his best when he is slingin it deep. Any QB that can get a little time to throw the ball is going to play better. The trick is for him to be comfortable in this offense and then he has a chance to excel.
I am also not sold on Leinart. This is a make or break preseason for him. He has the ability to be a good QB but ultimately it is up to him and his degree of passion for the game and competitiveness and fire. If he has those things, he can take the reigns and do well. If he has trouble locating those qualities, then he is done and its Derek Anderson’s turn.
http://undrafteds.com/
Over at Field Gulls
they are freaking out over signing Whitehurst and I don’t mean in a good way.
The Seahawks overpaid
Seattle didn’t have a third rounder this year, so they traded a 2011 third-rounder and moved down 20 positions in the second round of this year’s draft for Whitehurst. Plus they’re paying Whitehurst $5 million per year.
I’d rather have DA for less money and keep our third round pick. Our interest in Whitehurst might have been what forced Seattle to overpay. If so, kudos to our front office for good maneuvering against a division rival.
by Zapf on Mar 17, 2010 10:15 PM MDT up reply actions 2 recs
*From a Browns Fan*
Hey guys, I’ve been following D.A. during his rise and fall in Cleveland so I thought I’d throw in my 2cents.
DA is, overwhelmingly, a situational quarterback. What I mean by this is that when he has talent around him (Braylon, Winslow, running game), he can be very good. He can make the long passes and is solid on medium routes. He lacks touch on short dump offs, however, and tends to be reckless with the football. In my eyes, he was a poor man’s Brett Favre with less touch, always willing to take the risk as well as the punishment. I think the situation in Arizona is phenomenal for him, and he could do quite well. Good luck in ’10, and screw Pittsburg.
Being a Browns fan isn't always fun but somebody's gotta do it
by mackAttack5 on Mar 17, 2010 11:32 PM MDT reply actions 3 recs
Much appreciated
Do you think you’re better or worse at qb going into 2010?
Section 135, Row 35
by AJ BirdWatcher on Mar 18, 2010 6:25 AM MDT up reply actions
Seneca Wallace and Delhomme vs Quinn and Derek Anderson
It’s a wash to me.
What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds
you didn’t watch brady quinn and derek anderson last year then. Even with his awful season last year, Delhomme had a much better year than DA and about the same type of year as quinn (maybe even a little better), plus i think we’re going to draft a QB this year in the first 3 rounds, so I feel much better this year.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 18, 2010 12:33 PM MDT up reply actions
Oh. definitely who we had now.
Quinn looke terrible. I believe he might not have the NFL psyche to play well. He had lots of time at time, but still looked flustered and would feel a rush that wasn’t there.
DA had ONE decent season. it wasn’t even that great. Delhomme had one bad season after a string of great seasons.
Seneca wallace knows holmgren’s offense and he is an excellent backup.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
my girl is a browns fan so i watched all their games last year with the exception of...
… the few that were one when az played and i have to agree the qb’s on the roster for ’10 look a lot better. both d.a. and quinn sucked it up last year. i also think daboll the offensive coordinator needs to be fired.
I don’t disagree. he did look okay by the end of the season…
However:
-This was his first year calling plays. for a first time OC, with what he had to work with, it was respectable, especially at the end.
-Holmgren has decided to keep him. However, Daboll is being schooled in the WCO. Gil Haskell, Holmgren’s OC in Seattle is Holmgren’s assistant. He has been meeting a lot with Daboll and supposedly they have been talking strategy.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
as a browns fan, let me tell you that you just pretended 2008 and the first few games of 2009 didn’t happen.
Derek Anderson had Braylon and Winslow in 2008, but he still sucked. He had Braylon and a running game for a few games this year, and he still sucked. he can throw the ball a mile but he might as well have his eyes closed when he does it. he can’t make any throw under 20 yards with any kind of consistency. He’s a bad quarterback who took advantage of a very weak schedule in 2007 and had what amounted to an average year. here are his 2007 stats:
56.5% completions (slightly below average)
7.2 YPA (pretty good)
29 TDs (very good)
19 INTs (very bad)
82.5 rating (average).
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 18, 2010 12:38 PM MDT up reply actions
If Braylon was so great then why was he traded.
That’s right. He couldn’t catch the ball. That’s a big part of a WRs job, no. As far as Winslow, I got nothing bad to say. I’m pretty biased and he did go to the “U”. Besides who wants to play for the Browns. Until you start winning again, you’re gonna be looked at like the Cardinals of old.
Life's too short. Be a fan. Orlando Magic, Arizona Cardinals,Tampa Bay Rays and of course "the U"! What a winning combo.
That is the sad truth.
Good players will want out until the image / culture changes. Holmgren looks like he is doing some serious house cleaning which is probably the best thing to do and something Mangini didn’t seem to have a problem with either. The Browns will be one of the most interesting teams to follow for the next couple of seasons. Best of luck Browns fans and I hope you crush the steelers 2 times a year for eternity.
he could catch the ball in 2007, was inconsistent in 2008.
Actually, even if he was catching the ball he would have been traded for a few reasons
a) He was a major locker room distraction
b) He was getting into a lot of trouble with Mangini for missing quite a few mandatory team meetings
c) He got into an altercation with a friend of lebron james and beat the crap out of him. Even if it wasn’t lebron james’ friend, it would have been a big deal because he got in trouble with the police and mangini doesn’t like that
d) Hopefully you know the story about our reciever donte stallworth…who killed someone while drunk driving. Well, he was drinking that night with braylon edwards and they were supposedly (according to reports) rowdy and noisy…and it is pretty incriminating to drink, then let a friend kill someone. It shows bad decision making
e) He refused to pay for a water bottle at a hotel and for this 3 dollar bottle, was fined over 200 by the coach.
It was actually almost immediately after C happened that he had gotten traded. E had happened a few weeks earlier. none of these actions are horrible in of themselves, but when you have 5 idiotic actions combined, you see a pattern of stupidity and bad decision making.
I forgot to even mention it, because it was before mangini, but Braylon Edwards injured himself because he was running round, goofing off at practice without shoes on and stallworth stepped on him with cleats.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
I think braylon sucks, but if you take him away who are all these weapons everyone on here is talking about?
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 20, 2010 7:55 PM MDT up reply actions
I will just repost what I wrote a few days ago
DA was terrible in Cleveland except for the one year, but look what he had to work with after that year. I think a change of location would benefit him and he is a former Pac-10 guy, so he is familiar with the desert area. He could air out the ball the way that Leinart can’t. I think he could push Leinart and be a quality backup, as long as it doesn’t cost too much.
After seeing what the Seachickens did to get Whitehurst, I couldn’t be happier with this move. The Cards got a former probowl QB for basically $3.25 million. The only year he had success was when the Browns actually had weapons to throw to. I feel much more confortable going to Anderson than I would going to Whitehurst. Plus, we get to keep both of our 3rd round picks. This, along with our first two picks, can help solidify the D. Now, the Cards just need to sign Porter to add veteran leadership to the LB core.
Badgers! Badgers! We don't need no stinkin badgers!
derek anderson had the same weapons in 2008.
derek anderson played for oregon state, hardly the desert area.
with a little luck he’s a decent backup.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 18, 2010 12:40 PM MDT up reply actions
Using the term
weapons pretty loosely, I’m sure reports from the Giant fans when we picked Warner up would have been something along the lines of, “he can’t see past the pass rush, terrible ball security, past his prime, etc.”
Cleveland has pretty much been a death-bed for QB’s around the league, we’ll take our chances with Anderson.
Except Warner had more success before joining the giants. DA had one fluke year where his stats are average, not even good. If you truly believe DA is anything other than an average QB on his best days, then you’re setting your hopes way too high.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 18, 2010 2:19 PM MDT up reply actions
for the sake of completeness, here are kurt warner’s stats as a giant:
62.8% completions, 7.4 YPA, 6 TD, 4 INT, 86.5 rating
to sum it up, the season in which kurt warner supposedly “struggled” was better than derek anderson’s one good year.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 18, 2010 2:48 PM MDT up reply actions
I don't think
I’d call the above stat-line better than Anderson’s 2007 season, but the original point being that Warner came to us with a lot of disclaimers as well. With the offense and coaching we have in place we’re optimistic about Anderson’s chances for success here.
would definitely call it better. it was with much more limited time but at least he could complete the ball. even in DA’s “Pro Bowl” year, he was average at completing passes. it is not the fault of the receivers. If DA ends up starting, it would be fantasy kryptonite for Fitz. I don’t play much Fantasy Football, but the point is that DA cannot get it to the receivers accurately, even when he has time, protection, and very good receivers and a good scheme. He is just innacurate. but good luck…have fun with the torture you would get if he starts.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Your "receivers"
were a lot of the problem in 2008, Braylon went from all-world to not being able to catch a cold. If accuracy is Anderson’s biggest problem then I’m even less concerned about his recent plight in Cleveland, because Chris Miller will have that issue corrected pretty quickly.
that is one receiver. we still had kellen winslow. he missed kellen winslow consistently.
There are definitely significant problems with anderson if you expect him to start. however, it is likely he will be just a backup and that is not a bad deal.s
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
I think we finally
found some mutual ground about this. I’m not expecting him to beat Leinart out for the starting job, but it will be nice to have someone with his experience as a back-up should Leinart get hurt. What we had on our roster before he was released was Leinart, and Leinart only. Our third-string from last year, Brian St. Pierre, hasn’t been resigned and doesn’t bring what Anderson does to the table. This gives us a chance to possibly draft and develop a more long-term solution, should Leinart and/or Anderson prove not to be the answer.
yep. I agree. st. pierre has also thrown only 5 passes in the league. a rookie has thrown none so far, and whitehurst has thrown none. Injuries happen. Leinart could be as bad as DA was last year. If these things happen, they need someone who has at least thrown an NFL pass before (st pierre has thrown 5, but really…)
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Edwards was still muffing catches in New York
He isn’t a clutch receiver by any means.
sorry to inform you but at this point you can’t fix DAs accuracy issues.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 20, 2010 7:56 PM MDT up reply actions
Very much disagree
with that assessment. Accuracy issues are typically a problem with footwork, and a good QB coach will make that a focal point in working with him.
Either that, or his accuracy problems stem from not knowing where to put it to your receivers liking, since they apparently don’t like it in their hands.
if accuracy is something that is so easily coachable how come being inaccurate is looked upon as one of the worst characteristics of a QB?
inaccurate QBs don’t become more accurate with coaching. they can improve their completion percentage by making better decisions, but they very, very rarely develop the ability to throw more accurate passes mid-way through their careers.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 22, 2010 1:06 PM MDT up reply actions
Depends on the quality
of your QB coach, if accuracy, and only accuracy, is the issue. However, if you’re implying that decision-making could be the issue then that is much harder to correct. But correcting accuracy is a matter of constant repetition to undo the bad habits that were ignored for years.
I don’t think footwork would fix it all. the problem is he lacks control on his passes. his footwork isn’t all that bad. he just can’t control the throws. he also has no touch on the ball and doesn’t throw a very catchable ball. he throws it 5 yards as hard as he does 75 yards. this causes the ball to zip past guys often.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
If his footwork
isn’t that bad then his accuracy shouldn’t be, either. If the ball is zipping past your receivers that tells me more about them then about Anderson, or in all fairness, about the merry-go-round your organization puts your QB’s on, because it would be difficult to have a fire-baller replaced by a soft tosser.
However, your post implies that the ball is on-target, so if it’s the speed of the passes and not his accuracy that’s another issue altogether (that better receivers will adjust to pretty quickly).
Warner came with a lot of disclaimers, but they were along the lines of “he’s average not great.” with DA its “You better hope he remembers which team to throw to.”
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 19, 2010 10:45 AM MDT up reply actions
The disclaimers
were much different than that, but regardless, they turned out to be very inaccurate, didn’t they?
but Kurt Warner had a much better track record of success.
you cannot compare the fact that warner turned out well to DA.
you are comparing a 3 time all pro, 2 time, MVP, super bowl MVP, and super bowl champion
to a one time pro bowler who got into the pro bowl because of injury and wasn’t originally elected. maybe he can be a solid backup in the system here, but you cannot truly compare the two players.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
The comparison
is only that both of them came here with red flags attached to them, neither of which predicted any success for either. I’m not saying Anderson will duplicate what Warner did here, but getting a back-up with his resume is far more than I thought we’d have going into camp. I don’t dispute his play after ’07 was pretty bad but unlike anyone else we were looking at, there is evidence that he can be a very good QB.
your still missing an important point. he was slightly above average in 2007, and wouldn’t even think about calling it “very good.” thats also one season out of a 5-6 year career.
What’s more likely, that the DA we saw for one season is the real DA or the DA we saw for the other 5 is the real DA?
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 20, 2010 7:59 PM MDT up reply actions
I would definitely say
that a season, especially with the Browns (no offense), where a QB throws for almost 3,800 yards and 29 TD’s has to be deemed as “very good.”
I haven’t looked it up, so I could be leaving myself open on this question, but when was the last time a Cleveland QB could claim a season like that?
this argument is logically flawed. traditionally the browns have a poor offense. but if one year their offense is really good, that doesn’t mean the players all had good years in spite of having a bad offense. that year, cleveland had a very good offense.
also, it hasn’t been that long. in 2002 between Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb the browns quarterbacks had these stats:
61% completions (much better)
7 YPA (about the same)
3,600 yds (about the same)
26 TD 22 INT (slightly worse)
QB rating somewhere around 85 (about even)
They also got sacked 35 times, compared to DA getting sacked 14, so the pass protection was much better.
The best receiver on that team was Kevin Johnson. he was pretty good, but nowhere near as talented as Braylon (when he catches the ball, and he did in 07) or Kellen Winslow.
Cleveland Running backs also ran for 300 more yards in 2007, so there was a much more balanced attack.
Putting all of this in perspective makes you wonder how much better Tim Couch or Kelly Holcomb could have done in the same circumstances as DA.
So I’ll ask you this: would you be as happy if your team had just signed Kelly Holcomb or Tim Couch? because by your logic, you should be happier in that situation.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 22, 2010 1:18 PM MDT up reply actions
If you are wondering why I included both Couch and Holcomb its because Couch was injured part of the year so Holcomb played a lot.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 22, 2010 1:19 PM MDT up reply actions
Not a fair question.
Cleveland used to be my AFC team (I wasn’t necessarily a fan, but rooted for them whenever they played) and I was a big fan of Holcomb (was a fan of his and Couch, but mainly Holcomb).
Life's too short. Be a fan. Orlando Magic, Arizona Cardinals,Tampa Bay Rays and of course "the U"! What a winning combo.
so its not fair to say that these QBs put up the same stats with less of a supporting cast?
It is not only completely fair but also valid. with a very good supporting cast, DA is solid.
I think for what the cards needed, he wasn’t a bad pickup. he wasn’t great either…to me he will always be “meh”.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Possibly, yes
because any time you can add a veteran back-up who has shown an ability to QB effectively at this level it’s a major step up from an inexperienced career 3rd-stringer or a late-round draft pick.
Combine that with the fact that Anderson has a lot more physical ability than Couch or Holcomb, and yes, I think he could resurrect his career here. But let’s say he doesn’t, he still gives us a viable back-up QB behind Leinart.
Kudos to the Browns fan for coming by to tell us what you guys thought about Derek Anderson
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
Personally I have to wonder
Seems like Anderson still has a bad taste for the Browns fans for cheering when he got hurt. Didnt he just leave a farewell message to them saying they dont deserve a winning team? Would you think that would really give him alot of motivation to play well and win the last couple of years? Just wondering, maybe he just didnt care if he played well or not
He really didn’t care I believe…maybe he did but he got discouraged b/c he wasn’t getting the support.
And the things about fans cheering is mostly media fabrication. he makes it seem like the whole stadium was cheering. the people I saw cheering were wasted, and judging by how audible it was, it was maybe only several hundred to a couple thousand in a stadium of 70 thousand. And most of the people were actually cheering b/c they were going to bring in ken dorsey. when your QB sucks, the most popular player is the backup.
This is just an example of something not addressed by people. Derek Anderson has a very fragile psyche. after that injury his psyche was broken and he just couldn’t play well. I think in some ways, at some point, he mentally gave up and decided the fans didn’t want him there so it was their fault…Just like Braylon Edwards.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Brother, your like the suicide pep squad.
Be depressive! B-E depressive! B-E, D-E-P, R-E-S-S-I-V-E!
I wasn’t excited about Anderson before. You have now relentlessly crushed any hope I had for him. But seriously, the 2 year contract he signed is all the time I think he’ll be here. If Leinart tanks it this year he will get cut before he can collect his balloon payment in 2011. The Cardinals will have to draft another wonder boy. In that scenario Anderson might be QB in 2011 or very possibly backing up a rookie.
Yeah. I think he can be solid for a limited period of time. he can also be a good backup. however, not just here but people in the media just are pissing me off a little and truly think it is 2007 and he is a great player. he is a great backup and a solid pickup for what the cardinals need. However, expecting more than a few solid starts of consistency from him is a little optimistic.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Being ticked off at Cleveland fans
doesn’t necessarily channel into anything positive. Negativity begets negativity far more often than not. Who wouldn’t be pissed off about that though? I hate that everyone has to be so PC these days that they apologize for saying what they honestly feel. You’ve got a point that his experience there may have affected his performance. I can’t see how to spin that in a good way. A manic depressive QB isn’t what we need.
right. Also, I think DA way overreacted to that. there were maybe 100-200 drunk fans in the dawg pound cheering, in a stadium of 70,000. People used to make this argument with quinn all the time. people would say “he didn’t get the support he needed.” I say who cares? if you are that fragile that you can’t play well because fans don’t support you, you will never be a good QB in this league.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 19, 2010 10:49 AM MDT up reply actions
Signing D.Anderson
Although I wasn’t a huge fan of signing DA, I have to admit when I see what the Seahags gave up for(#3 plus switching #2’s) and the money they gave Charlie Whitehurst, I think we absolutely, again, made the right move. How does CW get more money having never thrown a regular season pass? I could understand if he had some great preseason numbers, but they were actually below-average.
My biggest fear about DA is whether or not he is going to do what is asked from him, which is being the #2 and maybe working with a young QB if we draft one. But his quote in the Coach Whiz article has kind of set my mind at ease.
Bottom line, there was not much left to choose from as far as QB’s with experience and considering what we signed him for, we did OK for ourselves.
Seahawks had to make extra concessions
because they didn’t have a 3rd round pick this year. Although it was slim picking for QB’s, I agree it was best for the Cardinals to save that draft pick.
very true. I am a browns fan and although I have suffered through DA, you got a solid deal for a solid backup.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
solid deal for a wildly inconsistent and average at best backup.
probably the best option on the market, but lets not go so far as to call DA a “solid” backup.
I hate the steelers the way a mother loves a child.
by notthatnoise on Mar 19, 2010 10:51 AM MDT up reply actions
as long as he doesn’t have to start, he is okay. it is better than what they were talking about which is giving up a third for charlie whitehurst who is unproven and never thrown and NFL pass.
when you look at other alternatives, this was a solid move.
I teach good life choices. That’s why I almost didn’t graduate High School.
Arizona has always been a team I liked… probably since Jerry Maguire. I don’t know if you guys love or hate that movie, but I’ve been a bit of a Cards fan ever since.
In any case, let me give you my take on Derek Anderson. Derek Anderson had the best season by a Browns quarterback since we returned to the league. The team played inspiring football that year and he had a number of games where his long ball carried us through.
But that was just one year. He moved from good in 2007 to mediocre in 2008 (same cast, same regime) to downright awful in 2009. He wasn’t any good in the games we won down the stretch. He has never had a 60% completion rate. Staying healthy has also been a problem to him. He’s not a leader in a locker room.
Hope he works out for you guys. Leinart looks shaky to me and DA has weapons to work with in the desert. Best of luck
Please don’t fault the Browns line for his shortcomings. The Browns OL is above average and was the strong point of the team when he was on a roll. We have a pro bowl LT, a pro bowl LG and a 1st round pick center who’s coming along.
by BuenosAires_Dawg on Mar 19, 2010 2:57 PM MDT reply actions
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