Sarge's Rap Sheet #7: Derek Anderson

So your sitting there at the computer in the 5th to 7th round, pondering who is going to be your QB. Brady, Manning, Palmer, ROMO, and Brees are gone already, and you see Derek Anderson. Fine guy a year ago, but is he going to give you what you need in 2008? Lets take a closer look at the guy behind the wheel for most of the 2007 Cleveland campaign.

The Stats:

6-6, 230lbs, 4th season of professional football, 3rd as an active player, with Baltimore and Cleveland. 2007 Pro Bowl Selection.

The Early Years:

Born June 15, 1983 in Scappoose, Oregon, Anderson played his high school football for the Scappoose Indians, leading them to a record three consecutive state football championships in Class 3A football. He also excelled at basketball and was named state player of the year in both football and basketball his senior year. Nationally recruited in both football and basketball, Anderson committed to his childhood dream school, Oregon State.

College Career:

Fans envisioned Anderson leading the Beavers to national prominence, coming off a recent 11-1 season and thrashing of Notre Dame.

Anderson became the starter as a sophomore in 2002 and took the reigns of a program headed toward the stars. Anderson's inexperience showed as Oregon State stumbled with three straight conference losses after a 4-0 start. Anderson's Beavers still rebounded from a 5-6 season the year before to go 8-5.

2003 saw the return of previous head coach Mike Riley and a new offense. With help from teammate and star running back Steven Jackson, now of the St Louis Rams, the Beavers went 8-5 and crushed New Mexico 55-14 in the Las Vegas Bowl. Things looked rosey for "The Big Scappoose". Anderson set an Oregon State record with 4,058 yards during the 2003 season.

Going into his senior year, opponents noted his improving skill set. Anderson's junior year had shown he could throw the ball down-field exceeding far and accurately hit receivers in motion. Still a work in progress, Anderson could not shake a tendency to make some bad decisions under pressure and an inability to elude the pass rush.

With hard work in the 2004 pre season, Anderson successfully integrated footwork into his repertoire and became a mobile QB who could rush for TDs as well as throw. Anderson got the Beavers to the Insight Bowl, where they never trailed in defeating Notre Dame, oddly enough led by Brady Quinn, 38-21. Anderson threw for 359 yards and 4 TDs in the demolition with no interceptions.

Anderson's career at Oregon State set a few records. He ranks second in the USC (Pac 10) conference, and set an Oregon State record for career touchdown passes with 79. He is the 6th person to ever throw for 10,000 yards in a career in the Pac-10, and holds the Oregon State record for career passing yards at 11,249.

2005 NFL Draft

Anderson's blend of height, size, and throwing ability caught the eye of NFL scouts, but his sometimes unpolished game and decision making ability raised some questions. Anderson was selected in the 6th round, #213 overall by the Baltimore Ravens, a team to this day still in need of a QB.

Professional Career:

Anderson went to camp with the Ravens but was placed on waivers on
September 20, 2005. Another team in need of a QB, the Cleveland Browns, picked him up off waivers the following day.

Anderson served as the backup to Charlie Frye in the 2006 season. He saw his first meaningful game action on December 3, 2006 in relief of an injured Frye against Kansas City.

Anderson played the entire second half, throwing for 2 TDs. He also scrambled for 33 yards in overtime, moving the ball from the Kansas City 45-yard line to the 12-yard line, getting the Browns into field goal range and completing his leading the Browns back from a 28-14 deficit to a 31-28 overtime victory.

Anderson's play and the poor showings of Charlie Frye led to fans clamoring for Anderson to be named the starter. The Browns instead drafted Anderson's old foe Brady Quinn in the 1st round of the 2007 NFL Draft, giving him another opponent in the race for the Browns starting QB job.

Although some reports from training camp indicated Anderson was playing better than Charlie Frye and Brady Quinn, Anderson was not as productive in the pre-season games and Frye was named the starter for the 2007 season. Head coach of the Browns Romeo Crennel had earlier said that the two were so close to one anotherhe would use a coin-toss to decide who was his guy.

Frye's time as the Cleveland starter was 1 quarter, and he was benched for Anderson, then traded to Seattle. In his first NFL start, Anderson threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns as the Browns defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in a 51-45 shootout. Anderson continued to play well, even beating the Baltimore Ravens along the way.

Anderson led the Browns to a stunning 10-6 season (10-5 in games he started), almost good enough for the playoffs. Anderson finished with 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions while throwing for 3,787 yards. He also racked up 3 TDs on the ground. Anderson was named a ProBowl alternate and went to his first Pro Bowl when Tom Brady pulled out of the game.

2008 and beyond:

So there you are, the skinny on Anderson. History tells you he is going to win more than he loses, he will throw for alot of TDs, and he will occasionally make poor decisions.

Anderson also has an improving offensive line in front of him, Jamal Lewis running behind him, and Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards to throw too. Whats not to like? Yet some are already predicting Anderson will flop and be pulled for Brady Quinn, who has yet to prove anything in NFL.

So, what do you do? Take him with confidence? Pass? I look forward to hearing your views.


Sarge

I will grab Romo before Anderson in this situation. You probably forgot to add him in the mix but if not than its not a close decision for me.

im sure thats a typo, but good catch. romo will be the 3rd QB taken in pretty much every draft this year.

Romo is a subject for another day, I will throw his name in so the discussion stays on topic

Im back and forth on this guy. Some days I think there is no freaking way Anderson can be the real deal. He came out of nowhere last year and was killer. He couldn't possibly repeat that could he?
This is a guy who went into camp and was 50/50 with Frye. That is terrifying. He's also going to go into camp again this year, fighting for the starting job. How long will Quinn sit? Will Cleveland fans be calling BRADY BRADY if Anderson is making some of his questionable decisions and turning the ball over?
Then I use this new thing I discovered the other day. It's called logic.
Anderson has an outstanding O line. He should have all day to work. He also has a dependable running back to take pressure off. Then there are the 2 amazing passing options in Braylon and Kellen.
If the WR and TE have top 5 rankings, shouldn't the QB as well? Look at other QBs who have 2 high rated passing options. Peyton, Brady, Romo, Palmer. They are all rated higher than Anderson. Hasselbeck, Brees, and McNabb can't brag this same thing, yet they are all in the same neighborhood.
One of 2 things is true. Either the value for Braylon and Kellen is overrated or Andersons is underrated. If you're someone who is going to use a high pick on either of the 2 wideouts, then Anderson should be on your radar as well.

I see a step back on production, and a possible quarterback controversy brewing. I am steering clear of drafting him because I don't think his actual value will be equal to what is ADP is.

In his 2nd full season, I think defenses will have a pretty good grasp on how to play him. I just don't see a "good" nfl quarterback when I watch this guy. I see a guy that had luck on his side in 2007 and I see a guy that throws as many INT's as TD's in 2008.

I also see him coming under heavy pressure by the team and the fans, all of whom have high expectations for the Browns this year. Looking at the Browns schedule, I see a team that could very likely be looking at only 3 wins in their 1st 8 games, and the 2nd half of the season doesn't look any better.

Brady Quinn is waiting, and at the first sign of trouble, management will be pushing for the change.

Arizona situation. Leinart going undrafted in many drafts. For this topic Anderson is definatly a guy I would key in on if I miss out on a top tier QB. He was a good preformer last year with only 3 games without 1 TD and 10 games with 2+ TDs. As a second year starter how can we say this guy is not going to get better? He will be a nice midround reliable QB.

Duece. Check this out. http://www.sofantasyfootball.com/nfl/f2/t18360/

I like the guy. Im not going to draft in in the 3rd round, but I damn sure wont pass on him when he is there later on at a spot I like to draft QBs at.

Look at the history, (A feature which I think sets this series apart from so many others who only remember and tell you about right now, not the foundation that led to it). He was a winner in high school. He was a winner in college, all while learning on the job, and now he is a winner so far in the NFL. He won a damn game for Cleveland in the one real chance he got to play in 2006, then he comes back after outplaying Frye and Quinn in camp and leads Cleveland of all places to a 10 win year, and what should have been an 11 win playoff year had they not been royally screwed by a poor call.

Draft Anderson with confidence and reap the dividends Baltimore would be enjoying had they not screwed the pooch and let him go.

Palmer will be the only qb you mentioned left in round 5 this year, for the most part. The depth at WR ,and the growth of rbbc, lends itself well to grabbing a qb in the first 6 rounds this year. I would prefer Big Ben over Anderson, but that is purely my opinion. I won't be a buyer of Anderson this year, at that point in the draft, but I cannot fault those who take the plunge! Their porous defense will lead to shootouts and that will be a good thing!

It's that poor defense that scares me a little. He will be forced to throw a lot. This means more opportunity for taht question decision making to come into play. More TDs and more INTs.
Bad D also leads to lost games. Lost games lead to fan unrest. Fan unrest leads to BRADY BRADY chants. BRADY BRADY chants lead to hate. Hate leads to the dark side.

I just dont see the disaster for him you guys see. Big Ben is going to come at a MUCH higher price after those of us that got him in the 9th or 10th last year reaped the 4th round production.

Like one of us said above, you cant think Braylon and Winslow are top 4 guys unless someone is throwing them the damn football.

Interesting choice Sarge.

As pointed out, top QBs to want are P.Manning, Brady, Romo and Brees. Then the next teir which has Palmer and Roethlisburger. McNabb, Hasselbeck, Anderson, Cutler and Bulger fall next I think. So in round 5-7, assuming the top 4 are gone, and one of the next are there..Anderson will fall. Still of the tier I have him in next, I like him with as much upside as say Cutler or Hasselbeck or McNabb. McNabb is an injury risk, if not for that he would be in the tier with Palmer and Roeth. Hasselbeck's offense scares me. Cutler only has Marshall, and he is proving to be Chris Henry part two. So Anderson in 6-7 can make sense. He has solid tools and a solid young O-line. Would like more youth at RB..but hey...can't knock steady output. I have him as a sleeper to move up with maybe McNabb. But only time will tell.

Oh, and I would compare this more to SD than Arizona. It took Brees going FA to get Rivers a start. I think it will be the same thing for Quinn.

I agree with your assessment on the Quinn/Anderson situation, and Id look for Anderson to be dealt in 2009 to someone for a second round pick.

Anderson will be gone, or fixin' to go, at about the same time this year, and I'll be buyin' Ben.