Browns Choose Opening Day QB For Steelers To Feast On

The Browns ended months of speculation by naming their opening day QB. And its the tool in the above picture.

Charlie Frye, the wanna-be NFLer from the MAC, who won a total of 4 of his 13 starts last season, beat out last year's sentimental favorite, Derek Anderson and possible man-lover, Brady Quinn.

There were rumors that Frye was Romeo Crennel's guy, but the official word was just put out. Now the Steelers know who they will be dominating come September 9th.

When I originally heard the news, I told my Dad that I wanted Quinn to start the regular season (and his career) opener against the nasty Black and Gold, just so he could see how brutal the NFL, let alone the AFC North, will be. Sure, he engineered 4 touchdown drives in his 3 games of play in the preseason, but the Steelers aren't a whole bunch of backups. I said, "Bring on Quinn...I ain't scurred."

Frye has yet to beat the Steelers (please remind me if I'm wrong about that stat), and the pinnacle of his futility came in the Week 11 game last season, when the Browns coughed up all kinds of leads before the Steelers won, 24-20. My Aunt Barb was rushed to the hospital at the start of the game, and I had to drive to Somerset to make sure she was alright. I spent the majority of the game in the waiting room, high-fiving nurses and celebrating the come-from-behind-victory with other patients' concerned families. The win brought a sense of delight to a place (hospitals) that I can't stand.

Will Frye exercise all of his demons, leading the upstart Brownies over the celebrated Steelers? I doubt it. With Carey Davis making the team for sure, the Browns have no chance.

I'm kidding for the most part with the Davis-thing, I was just thrilled to see that he made the final cut. However, the end result will not be different. Whether it would've been Frye, Anderson or Quinn, I really don't see the Browns taking the W in Week 1.

Time For Some Rebut

After I posted my feelings on the Matt Capps suspension, I received several emails complaining about my reasoning. Here is one email that I would like to share, complete with my rebuttal. The email came from a reader by the name of Brady Quinn.*

You need to look at the tape again. Prince Fielder was not hit in the elbow he was hit in the shoulder. Oh and by the way the reason he was hit in the shoulder? He lifted his shoulder to protect his head. I am all for the pitcher having the inside corner, but that's not what happened here. Capps was head hunting and it could have either seriously hurt Fielder or incited an ugly brawl.

Even Jim Tracy commented after the game that he understood why Fielder was upset. I can agree that four games may be harsh, however your stance is ridiculous.

Take your homer blinders off.

Here is my response to Brady Quinn.

Shoulder...Elbow...My bad. I typed that in a hurry cos I had to go to a meeting.
Capps headhunting? Could be. But is Capps known as a head hunter? Does he have a history of going after guys just because the batter before him is having an
unbelievable series? Thats a stretch to even think of. And should an isolated instance warrant an automatic ejection coupled with an overdone suspension and
fine?

And Fielder? His exaggerated spin, the stare at Capps, the glaring into Milwaukee's dugout to see if retaliation was coming in the next inning, and the childish antics he displayed on Sunday really begs the question if Fielder was doing a little acting. At least a little. And Capps was immediately ejected because of it. And now has four games to think about it.

Yeah I heard Tracy say that (about Fielder being upset). Fielder has every right to be upset, because the pitch was well inside. And he got hit by it. I'd be mad at that, too. I'm only saying that Capps' suspension is wrong, and Fielder, who was blatantly calling a hit on the Pirates in the next inning by constantly staring into his own dugout, is partly to blame.

Fielder gets hit sorta in between the shoulder and the elbow. Here's some crappy video. Note the elongated "lay on the ground and stare at Matt Capps."

And here is a quote from ESPN.com's account of Sunday's game.

Fielder just eluded catcher Ryan Doumit's tag as the throw home was up the third-base line. After he slid across the plate, Fielder popped up and repeatedly punched his fists toward the Pirates' bench, prompting plate umpire Tim Timmons to step in front of him and point him toward the Brewers' dugout.

Doumit followed with:

It was a nice slide," he said. "My hat is off to him, but I think that's pretty bush league what he did afterwards.

Oh, and the homer blinders part? That's part of the site. The name is Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies, and I elude to seeing the world through black and gold colored glasses in my "About" section:

Yeah, my Pittsburgh bias is evident, and if it shows itself in my posts, then you'll just have to deal with it.

Its kinda part of the site. This isn't the place for unbiased analysis. Of course I'm gonna take Capps' side.


* Names have been changed for comedic purposes.