Browns turn to Quinn

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Derek Anderson answered the final question, bowed his head and stared blankly at the floor. He then walked slowly toward a door at the far end of Cleveland’s locker room, pausing to exchange a fist bump with linebacker and fellow team captain Andra Davis on his way out.

Seconds later, Brady Quinn entered to face a media semicircle in front of Anderson’s stall.

Quietly, the quarterbacking torch was passed in Cleveland.

On a Tuesday in which change was the buzzword across the country, power shifted for the Cleveland Browns.

The team began a new era with fan favorite Quinn as its on-field leader. He’ll replace Anderson, benched by coach Romeo Crennel who said he based his decision on the Pro Bowl QB’s inconsistent play, Cleveland’s poor offensive ranking and the club’s disappointing 3-5 record at the season’s halfway point.

“I felt like we needed a different dynamic on the offense,” said Crennel, who added that he had been considering a Quinn-for-Anderson swap “for a while now.”

The switch came one day after Anderson threw a costly interception late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 37-27 loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens. Thousands of Cleveland fans, who have been enamored with idea of Quinn under center almost from the moment he arrived, responded to the pick by chanting “Bra-dy! Bra-dy!” in the final minutes.

The timing of the change — coming in a short week with the Browns hosting Denver on Thursday night — has prompted some to wonder if Crennel was obeying orders from higher in the organization or perhaps reacting to public pressure.

“The short week had nothing to do with it,” Crennel said. “It was just time, so I did it. We’re not throwing in the towel. We’re not giving up on the season. We’re going to beat Denver.”

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