Why is Derek Anderson better than Chris Redman? Please explain&

[TheDirtyWordII]

I know there is a lot of talk about whether the Falcons should make a deal for Derek Anderson, the QB for the Browns who emerged in 2007 to help make the Browns a formidable contender in the AFC. No doubt Anderson did quite well for himself and has set himself up nicely to 1) have a nice career in the NFL and 2) earn himself a significant raise.

But I d like to investigate why we would be willing to mortgage draft picks away for a player who at this point in his career has had only 1 good year. Last year at this time, we would have been delighted to have someone take a risk on Matt Schaub by giving us a 1st round draft pick (and were downright giddy when it occurred in terms of the value we received). But now we want to pay that type of ransom, if not more, for a player who may or may not be just as good?

We all know the story Derek Anderson comes from nowhere to lead the Browns out of obscurity, saving Romeo Crennel s job in the process. But to me, there are some disturbing traits of his season and situation that I d be very wary of:

1) In 9 games this season, Anderson had a completion percentage below 60%. In 4, below 50%.

2) Take out his 2 games against MIA & STL (who won a combined 4 games this season) and his stats were as follows: 54.9% Completion Rate, 6.9 YPA, 23:19 TD/INT Ratio, 3.98 INT/100 Attempts

3) Just looking at his last 9 games, Anderson compiled:

a. 56.29% Completion Rate

b. 6.42 YPA

c. 12:11 TD/INT ratio

& and he compiled these less than impressive numbers against teams with a combined 64-80 (.444) record. When Vick put up these types of numbers, his passing abilities were questioned and skewered beyond belief.

Cleveland s story was a nice story. But it had as much to do with the a) resurgence of Jamal Lewis emergence of Braylon Edwards as a Top 10 NFL WR and Kellen Winslow Jr. as a Top 3 TE and c) the play of a much improved O-Line that was bolstered by a big FA signing and the #3 overall pick in the draft. But I also find it odd that less than 48 hours after the end of the season, Anderson is put on the trade block. Given their recent history of QB difficulties (Tim Couch, Jeff Garcia, Charlie Frye), don t you think that if they found one they d hold onto him? Sure they drafted Brady Quinn, but he could be the next Kyle Boller. He could also be the next Carson Palmer. The point is though, that instead of the certainty that Anderson provided, they d prefer to roll the dice with Brady Quinn. I smell fish...

I look at his performance this year, and am not nearly as impressed as the masses. I think he had some shining moments, but he also had his worst game of the year in what turned out to be their biggest game of the year. And the majority of his shining moments came against the lesser lights of the NFL.

On the other hand, Chris Redman comes in and:

1) Puts up a 59.7% Completion Rate

2) 7.24 YPA

3) 10:5 TD/INT ratio

& amidst horrific organizational circumstances, a revolving door at most offensive line positions and without any semblance of a viable and consistent rushing attack. And we simply want to discard him?

Am I saying that Derek Anderson won t turn out to be a better QB than Chris Redman? No& to be fair to Anderson, Tony Romo after a quick start last season faded, but then the following year came through with an MVP caliber season. But on the other side of that coin, Dallas waited until the middle of his true breakout season (2007) to reward him with a long term contract extension (something we would be doing prior to him playing a down for us).

I don t know what or if what Chris Redman showed us was a mirage or not. But he showed us enough IMO to believe that sacrificing high draft picks for a QB who if you dig a little into the numbers, was not as impressive as he looked, would be a hasty and unwise move.

If there is one thing Chris Redman did for the Falcons, it was to show that the Falcons QB position may not be in as desperate need of fixing as it appeared under& other QB s. It didn t show that he was the long term answer or fix at the position, but Redman is 30 (will be 31 in 2008). Physically, he has reached his prime and has not endured years of wear and tear so he should not be considered old or aged one bit. Why could we not expect at least one decent season (at least) from him and wait for the right QB opportunity to present itself rather than jumping with draft picks in hand to the latest flavor of the month.

[Atowndown]

TheDirtyWordII (1/2/2008)

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I know there is a lot of talk about whether the Falcons should make a deal for Derek Anderson, the QB for the Browns who emerged in 2007 to help make the Browns a formidable contender in the AFC. No doubt Anderson did quite well for himself and has set himself up nicely to 1) have a nice career in the NFL and 2) earn himself a significant raise.

But I d like to investigate why we would be willing to mortgage draft picks away for a player who at this point in his career has had only 1 good year. Last year at this time, we would have been delighted to have someone take a risk on Matt Schaub by giving us a 1st round draft pick (and were downright giddy when it occurred in terms of the value we received). But now we want to pay that type of ransom, if not more, for a player who may or may not be just as good?

We all know the story Derek Anderson comes from nowhere to lead the Browns out of obscurity, saving Romeo Crennel s job in the process. But to me, there are some disturbing traits of his season and situation that I d be very wary of:

1) In 9 games this season, Anderson had a completion percentage below 60%. In 4, below 50%.

2) Take out his 2 games against MIA & STL (who won a combined 4 games this season) and his stats were as follows: 54.9% Completion Rate, 6.9 YPA, 23:19 TD/INT Ratio, 3.98 INT/100 Attempts

3) Just looking at his last 9 games, Anderson compiled:

a. 56.29% Completion Rate

b. 6.42 YPA

c. 12:11 TD/INT ratio

& and he compiled these less than impressive numbers against teams with a combined 64-80 (.444) record. When Vick put up these types of numbers, his passing abilities were questioned and skewered beyond belief.

Cleveland s story was a nice story. But it had as much to do with the a) resurgence of Jamal Lewis emergence of Braylon Edwards as a Top 10 NFL WR and Kellen Winslow Jr. as a Top 3 TE and c) the play of a much improved O-Line that was bolstered by a big FA signing and the #3 overall pick in the draft. But I also find it odd that less than 48 hours after the end of the season, Anderson is put on the trade block. Given their recent history of QB difficulties (Tim Couch, Jeff Garcia, Charlie Frye), don t you think that if they found one they d hold onto him? Sure they drafted Brady Quinn, but he could be the next Kyle Boller. He could also be the next Carson Palmer. The point is though, that instead of the certainty that Anderson provided, they d prefer to roll the dice with Brady Quinn. I smell fish...

I look at his performance this year, and am not nearly as impressed as the masses. I think he had some shining moments, but he also had his worst game of the year in what turned out to be their biggest game of the year. And the majority of his shining moments came against the lesser lights of the NFL.

On the other hand, Chris Redman comes in and:

1) Puts up a 59.7% Completion Rate

2) 7.24 YPA

3) 10:5 TD/INT ratio

& amidst horrific organizational circumstances, a revolving door at most offensive line positions and without any semblance of a viable and consistent rushing attack. And we simply want to discard him?

Am I saying that Derek Anderson won t turn out to be a better QB than Chris Redman? No& to be fair to Anderson, Tony Romo after a quick start last season faded, but then the following year came through with an MVP caliber season. But on the other side of that coin, Dallas waited until the middle of his true breakout season (2007) to reward him with a long term contract extension (something we would be doing prior to him playing a down for us).

I don t know what or if what Chris Redman showed us was a mirage or not. But he showed us enough IMO to believe that sacrificing high draft picks for a QB who if you dig a little into the numbers, was not as impressive as he looked, would be a hasty and unwise move.

If there is one thing Chris Redman did for the Falcons, it was to show that the Falcons QB position may not be in as desperate need of fixing as it appeared under& other QB s. It didn t show that he was the long term answer or fix at the position, but Redman is 30 (will be 31 in 2008). Physically, he has reached his prime and has not endured years of wear and tear so he should not be considered old or aged one bit. Why could we not expect at least one decent season (at least) from him and wait for the right QB opportunity to present itself rather than jumping with draft picks in hand to the latest flavor of the month.

Well 4 of Redmans TDs came against SEA backups....so if you said his TD/INT ratio against starters, 6-5....thats not very impressive.

[dirtybird7181]

D. Anderson ( 24 ) is younger than Redman

D. Anderson ( 6'6 ) is taller than Redman

D. Anderson won 10 games for his team this year, How many games did Redman win for us?

Give Redman his props, he came in and did a good job for us, and he deserves a spot on this team. But he is not our franchise QB.

I would love to see us deal for Anderson. That way we could focus on Offensive Line, and Defense in the draft.

Forget McFadden, if he, couldnt single handedly win the game for Arkansas VS a college team, what makes all these people on this board think just by drafting McFadden will make us a playoff team. It takes a total team effort to win games, having the best, or one of the best RB's means nothing...... how many Super Bowls has Ladanian Tomlinson won?? 0

So, forget McFadden, I'll take Ray Rice ( Rutgers ) in the 2nd or 3rd round. Jonathon Stewart ( Oregon ) is also an option.

[1989Fan]

because the game goes beyond the stat sheet.

[BruceReville]

He is better because he is on another team and not on the Falcons roster -- heck in fact we should get everyone that has either made 1 great play - played 1 great game - or finally had 1 good season -- the key is 1 because everytime someone does 1 great thing over 100 bad he will be the saviour of our team -- and lead all this great talent we have on the team --- Falcons are my team by choice but at least I can see that with all this TALENT we have we are a less than a mediocre team -- seriously if we have all this TALENT then why aren't we dominating every game we play?!

Time To Shake The Etcha-Sketch And Start Over!

[tkizzleATL]

Redman had a 0 QB rating against tampa..

[FalconMama]

Well one thing we can all agree about is the fact that Anderson has a better O-line than Redman!

[formul8or]

I give Redman a break for the Tampa Bay game, the team had 2 days to compile and practice plays for that game.

As for whether Redman actually is better than Anderson? I'd have to see Redman in more games. He did great for himself with a terrible o-line though, whereas Anderson has a pretty good one.

[direwolf]

I wouldn't trade for Anderson unless we were talking about a fourth or fifth. I think Redman can be a good enough stopgap for us to train up our own quarterback provided we improve the offensive line. I wouldn't want to build around Redman unless he shows that he can really get it done consistently (which, of course, is still possible), but since I don't expect to win much next year, I don't have any problem with having him take the snaps while we groom a replacement for him.

Just my opinion.

As far as "stats don't tell the whole story", that's true. However, they are an indicator, especially situational stats. It's interesting that when his team really needed a win to get into good position for a playoff spot, he threw four picks against Cincy, a dreadful team. Coming down the stretch, he was pedestrian at best.

That's not to say that he won't be a good quarterback for awhile, but in no way would I think that he's worth the first round draft pick that the Browns are rumored to want for him.

Direwolf

[Big Duke 6]

Did anyone see the cleveland buffalo game?You couldnt see 20 feet in front of you.So some stats arent going to be dome numbers against backups.Redman is a trivia question your buddy will ask you while tailgating 10 years from now.I dont want to trade for anderson but I think anderson would be the better pick for next year.

[Guest Gritz]

I like Derek Anderson better than any of our QBs or any of the QBs in the draft this year.

[falconfanjason]

Given the circumstances Redman has performed more than admirably.

We still need a starter for the future but I'm not completely sold on Anderson either.

[1989Fan]

He was real bad in the first half against Cincy, but brough CLE back at the end of the game. They fell a play short of winning that game. He showed good composure by forgetting the early picks and leading his team back.

I guess I am alone saying I would take Anderson over Redman. wow. But then again, I probably have seen more of Anderson as well.

[falconfanjason]

Let's put it this way: If it means giving up a draft pick, I say no. We know what we have in Redman. He is somehow able to function and we know our O-line isn't that good. I'm not sure if Anderson given his lack of experience would handle the kind of pressure Redman has had to face.

[Falcons Ace]

In the Seattle game, half of the 1st string players, including major players stayed in 3 quarters or the entire game. Their #1 CB(forget his name right now, Trufant?), Kerney, and many others stayed in. Say what you want about our defense, but our offensive victory was as real.

[red2play]

The guy was an undrafted FA. Why would we care about giving up draft picks for him? I'd rather get Sedrick Ellis and a Qb in the 3rd or 4th rd.

[Absolute]

He is better because of his O-line...I think he is also a better QB but for what the Browns want for him, I'd much rather draft our own franchise lineman and QB combo in this years draft and let Redman play until our rookie is ready.

[NewFalcon]

bigduke633 (1/2/2008)

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Did anyone see the cleveland buffalo game?You couldnt see 20 feet in front of you.So some stats arent going to be dome numbers against backups.Redman is a trivia question your buddy will ask you while tailgating 10 years from now.I dont want to trade for anderson but I think anderson would be the better pick for next year.

Fair enough regarding the snow/conditions vs. Buffalo.

Redman should be given a break for the Tampa game: limited practice, just lost the coach who had given him the chance to play in the NFL again, players/franchise already in total dissarray dealing with another sucker punch. Also: he did just fine vs. the Seattle starters in the first half (17-17), and he was able to capitalize on defensive weaknesses throughout the second half and score TD's. Yes, those weaknesses were caused by backups in the defense, but the point is that Redman was successful at exploiting them.

Hard to seriously compare these 2 QB's given the differences in OL and RB abilities, and given that Redman has only 4 starts this year. IMHO, if Anderson and Redman had been in opposite positions, my gut says that Redman would have performed at least as well as Anderson did behind the Browns OL. I'm not so sure that Anderson would have fared as well as Redman, playing behind the Falcons OL.

Just food for thought....

[Big Duke 6]

The Falcon Ace (1/2/2008)

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In the Seattle game, half of the 1st string players, including major players stayed in 3 quarters or the entire game. Their #1 CB(forget his name right now, Trufant?), Kerney, and many others stayed in. Say what you want about our defense, but our offensive victory was as real.

Peterson said they played a base defense the whole 2nd half.Which is basically autopilot.

[Big Duke 6]

falconfanjason (1/2/2008)

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Let's put it this way: If it means giving up a draft pick, I say no. We know what we have in Redman. He is somehow able to function and we know our O-line isn't that good. I'm not sure if Anderson given his lack of experience would handle the kind of pressure Redman has had to face.

What do we know?He came apart like a wet taco in tampa.Pressure?You dont watch much browns football do you.They dont have pressure in cleveland?Funny!

[Twinblade]

People that is even thinking about trading for Anderson, needs to be slapped crossed the face.

[the evil emperor]

I'm convinced that Anderson will be a one year wonder much like Scott Mitchell or Brian Sipe.

Folks forget that he was a journeyman in the league and was cut by a few teams before ending up with the browns.

[TheDirtyWordII]

I don't think anyone talked me off the ledge on this one.

The issue isn't whether Redman can be the 'franchise' QB for the Falcons. It's whether he can be the QB of the Falcons. Whether Seattle's D had their heart in the game, or whether Redman should be afforded a mulligan for the Tampa game after Petrino quit to a certain extent is beside the point. We all watched Redman and for the most part thought he was at the very least, a competent QB.

If you have one of those...why would we feel the need to trade for one who might project better, but who might also be a flash in the pan? Heck, if you are going to trade for a QB, trade for McNabb. His currency is a lot more stable even if he's older. You know what he gives you.

Looking at recent NFL history, you can point to QB's who weren't very highly touted coming into the NFL who came into their own after they were 28.

Trent Green

Brad Johnson

David Garrard

Jeff Garcia

Kurt Warner

At best, Redman might be a late bloomer who can be a NFL #1 starter that you can include in your mid-long range planning. Why couldn't Redman fall into this category? One thing he is that these other QB's weren't is drafted relatively high (3rd round). Another thing the QB's listed above don't really possess are the physical gifts of a Brett Favre or Peyton Manning. They have the requisite tools to play the position effectively, but their success is based on the compilation of their physical, intellectual and social talents.

I'd hate to not give Redman the chance to see what he could do with a team of his own given what we saw in the latter part of the season. The team responded to him. He limited his sacks. He got everyone involved in the offense. He did what a QB is supposed to do. He wasn't spectacular - but he was effective.

Would I rather have Anderson than Ryan. Yes...But I'd rather have neither.

[Herr Beast]

We would have been 4-12 with Anderson as well. I don´t think they guy is that good, he threw 19 Ints behind good protection, how many would he throw with our protection (and Michael Jenkins :hehe::hehe: )?

[falcoholic (The Commish)]

IMHO, I think Anderson's getting too much credit for the emergence of CLE's offensive line, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow.

Anderson would look very ordinary with ATL's OL. I'd rather spend the picks on OL. A good OL performance can make an ordinary QB look exceptional (see Todd Collins).