Long before he ever played in a pro football game, an action figure of Brady Quinn was flying off the shelves of toy stores from coast to coast. He also was appearing in two national television commercials and earning the more royalty money than all but six NFL players.
Clearly, there is something about Brady Quinn that people love.
Quinn did his best to return that outpouring of affection Thursday night, throwing for 239 yards and two touchdowns in his first start, as the Browns dropped a 34-30 decision to the visiting Denver Broncos.
“I thought Brady did a great job,” Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. “He was poised and made a bunch of big plays. For his first game, I thought he did probably as well as he could do.”
The former Notre Dame star was cool, calm and collected under center, showing everyone inside Cleveland Browns Stadium — and those watching the quasi-nationwide broadcast on NFL Network — why he was considered a can’t-miss prospect coming into the 2007 draft.
If not for a second consecutive meltdown by Cleveland’s defense, the lifelong Browns fan would have jogged off the field with his helmet held high in the air, instead of his head hanging low.
“Offensively, we moved the ball, we scored some points and the young kid did a nice job managing the team,” Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel said.
“He also got out of trouble a couple of times with his feet.
“It’s just unfortunate the defense couldn’t hold on for him to get a victory.”
Quinn completed 23 of 35 throws for an excellent passer rating of 104.3 and was not intercepted by Denver’s ball-hawking defensive backs.
He executed a smart game plan by offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski to perfection, keeping the Broncos honest by alternating between power runs by Jamal Lewis and short passes out of play-action sets.
In turn, Quinn made the throws he needed to, putting the ball in the hands of his playmakers as often as possible.
Kellen Winslow Jr. caught a season-high 10 passes, Donte Stallworth had four and Steve Heiden made three grabs. QB killer Braylon Edwards was only thrown to three times, catching one for 15 yards, as eight players had at least one reception.
“I thought he managed the game very nicely,” Crennel said of Quinn. “He used his backs, used his tight ends, he used the running game. I thought he did a nice job. Like I said, it’s just unfortunate we couldn’t hold on and win the game for him.”
The 24-year-old was at his best in avoiding a pair of sacks and turning them into 37 positive yards. Quinn escaped from a bullrush to hit Stallworth for a 19-yarder early in the third quarter, then eluded heavy pressure with 7:20 left in the fourth to hit Jamal Lewis for 18 more.
The nifty escapes earned him the familiar chants of “Brady, Brady,” only this time they came with him on the field, instead of holding a clipboard on the sideline.
“He didn’t miss a beat and he did well, throwing touchdowns and just going out there playing,” Cleveland wide receiver Joshua Cribbs said. “He’s a gamer and he played a heck of a game.”
Quinn played with the poise of a veteran up until the Browns’ final possession, when he misfired on back-to-back attempts to set up a fourth-and-1 at their own 42.
The subsequent play should have moved the chains — and kept Cleveland’s comeback hopes alive — as he threw a strike to Winslow, but the Pro Bowl tight end had it squirt between his hands and bounce to the grass.
“I didn’t do enough at the end to give us a chance to win, that’s all I can think about right now,” Quinn said. “It falls on me. Looking back on it, I have to make a play and find someone to get the ball to in order to get us a first down.
“This loss is flat-out on me. That’s what I told everyone after the game.”
Winslow’s drop ruined a storybook evening for Quinn, whose previous NFL experience consisted of exactly eight passes last Dec. 30 against the San Francisco 49ers. Then again, the outcome was entirely predictable given the way the Browns’ season has unraveled from the first snap of their first game.
Quinn might prove to be Superman down the line, but not even he can stop this losing locomotive from steamrolling down the tracks.
“This is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” he said. “I’m a man of faith and I know God wouldn’t put me in this situation if I wasn’t ready.
“My mind-set is it’s really a one-game season every week for us. We’ve got a tough schedule, so we can’t really look at the long run or how anything is going to turn out.”
Contact Brian Dulik at (330) 721-4059 or brisports@hotmail.com.
 

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