It was one thing for Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel to claim there was no quarterback controversy before Saturday’s preseason game with the Broncos. It is going to be quite another for him to still make that claim, after another strong showing by highly touted rookie Brady Quinn.
Cleveland’s other two quarterbacks ahead of Quinn on the depth chart also played well, however, but Quinn was arguably the best of the three and has Notre Dame and first-round NFL draftee pedigree behind him.
Quinn, the former Notre Dame star selected 22nd overall in the draft, played his second game as a pro and marched the Browns down the field on his first two series, one of which resulted in a 20-yard scoring pass in Cleveland’s 17-16 victory at Invesco Field at Mile High.
No matter what, Crennel appears to have a tough choice ahead as to his opening-day starter, but, for now at least, starter Charlie Frye seemed to maintain the inside track.
“Nothing has changed. Every week, you guys ask me who won the job right after the game,” Crennel said. “And, I tell you every week, I’m not deciding right after the game if anybody won the job. We’re going to go back, we’re going to look at it and we’re going to evaluate it.”
Quinn, who finished 7-for-11 for 81 yards, entered a 10-10 game with 10:48 left in the third quarter, completing his first five passes, for 50 yards. On his sixth attempt, he hit wide receiver Joe Jurevicius in the end zone from 29 yards, but Jurevicius had a foot barely out of bounds, setting up a field-goal attempt that missed.
On his second series, Quinn threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Cribbs, giving Cleveland a 17-10 lead. It was a swing-out pass that Cribbs turned into a score with a tricky, strong run down the sideline.
Quinn had a three-and-out third series, but was still 7-for-10 to that point. Running back Jerome Harrison dropped a catchable ball from Quinn to stall Cleveland’s fourth series.
“I think I’m making progress,” Quinn said. “I still missed some things here and there, so I still have some work to do. But I think, as an offense, we’ve done a great job progressing and getting better and better each week.”
Frye probably didn’t hurt his standing as No. 1 on the depth chart with his first-half performance. Frye completed 5-of-7 passes for 68 yards, and a 102.1 QB rating, and backup Derek Anderson was good, too: He completed 7-of-9 passes for 74 yards.
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
