Browns QB situation requires another look

Jake Delhomme sucks. The Browns offense looks like a car spinning its wheels in the snow with him under center. Run up the middle with Hillis? It won’t work. Defense has nine in the box. Drop back and throw? The secondary can sit in a zone and wait for the underneath. All this energy expended. And we’re going nowhere.

For many Browns fans the clear cut choice to start at quarterback is Colt McCoy. I’m not so sure. This doesn’t mean Browns fans shouldn’t be excited about McCoy. He has the potential to be a very good quarterback and seems to have all the intangibles necessary to succeed in the NFL. But right now, he’s not much better than Seneca Wallace. But if a rookie can perform on-par with an established NFL veteran, then the Browns should be excited.

Overall, the quarterback play has been questionable for the Browns this season and likely the main reason the team is 5-7 and not 7-5 (however, this would require a different analysis). But Seneca Wallace should be the starting quarterback. He gives Cleveland the best chance to win. And Mangini’s insistence on playing Jake Delhomme can’t be rooted in anything more than giving the veteran quarterback a final shot. Let me explain.

Three statistical methods can be used to evaluate quarterback performance - the traditional NFL quarterback rating, a statistical method referred to in Wages of Wins, and another method developed by Wayne Winston in the book Mathletics. Editors Note: If you want to learn more about the specifics of those methods, I suggest you check out those books.

According to the numbers, Jake Delhomme shouldn’t not be allowed anywhere near the Browns offense and Wallace and McCoy are much closer in terms of performance than I think most believe.

First, its clear Delhomme under performs regardless of the analysis. So going forward, he isn’t even a consideration and Mangini should wise up and realize his indecision at quarterback (this should eerily familiar to both Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn) hurts the team.

Colt McCoy scores well because the Browns eat up more yardage when he plays quarterback. He simply does more with the same number of throws and avoids the catastrophic mistake. Wallace doesn’t generate the total yardage that McCoy generates, but on average, Wallace and McCoy deliver about 11-12 yards per completion and about 7 or so yards per pass attempt.

So, why start Wallace if you’re getting similar production from McCoy? He is a veteran. The plan was to keep McCoy on the sidelines. And while injuries pressed him into service far sooner than I think the Browns wanted, and while the results have been generally positive, McCoy remains a rookie. And we don’t want him hurt.