I'm inclined to root for Anderson to succeed. After all, with the stats that he has produced, he gives the every man a window of hope: "If he can do it, maybe I can too!" All jokes aside, though, Anderson has been given at least two more chances to succeed than most QBs ever get in the NFL. It's now up to him to show us all that either he deserves the chances that he has been given, or that maybe, just maybe, his luck will finally run out.
This season of bitter disappointment prompted yet another change at QB, and both cheap Quinn jersey and Anderson were cut in the off season. Derek's future once again looked bleak. Then Arizona Cardinal's starting QB Kurt Warner walked away from $13 million and retired, leaving the team in the incapable hands of QB Matt Leinart. The Cardinals definitely had a hole at the QB spot that needed to be filled, and even after all of Derek Anderson's miserable play, he was called upon to fill it. After the team's poor output in their second preseason game of this, the 2010 season, Anderson was named the starter of the third preseason game. Neither Anderson nor Leinart has looked anything aything better than average thus far, and all reports are pointing to old #3, Derek Anderson, winning the starting job for the season opener.
Quinn played so poorly in his first ten quarters of action that Anderson was once again named the Browns starting QB. The fans were happy with the change, but their enthusiasm quickly turned to disgust as Anderson swiftly posted one of the leagues lowest QB ratings and his worst statistical output in a season to date (3TDs, 10 INTs, 44.5% completions, 42.1 QB rating). Anderson would start 7 games, and Quinn finished out the year leap frogging Anderson as starter in a battle-of-the-not-as-bad QB. The team finished 5-11.
Still, Anderson was given the oppertunity to compete for the starting job with second year QB Brady Quinn in the Browns 2009 training camp. The new head coach liked what he saw from Quinn, and with fans calling out for change, Anderson ultimately lost the job. It didn't look good for the young QB, but fate wasn't done smiling on Anderson just yet...
The team opted not to trade Anderson for value, despite many teams showing interest, and the fans were all set for a playoff run. But the 2008 season would be quite a bit different than the last. The Browns were playing one of the 5 most difficult schedules in the league on paper. They started 4 different QBs over the course of the year with Anderson playing in only 10 games. He threw only 9 TDs to 8 picks, completing only 50.2 percent of his passes for a QB rating of 66.5. The team would finish 4-12, dead last in the division.
Even with the sting of a terible season-ending loss still on his toungue, an injury to New England Patriots jersey QB Tom Brady that he suffered in the playoffs left a Pro Bowl spot open, and Derek Anderson had already been named the first alternate QB, putting him into the Pro Bowl. This turn of good fortune, compounded with his team falling just short of the post season, left Browns fans very optimistic for their new QB and the 2008 season.
The following year, Anderson started 15 of the team's regular season games. On the surface he looked successful, leading the team to 10 wins. Anderson threw 29 TDs to 19 interceptions, which does seem very respectable, but there were at least 12 more balls that bounced of the hands of defenders, and in some cases, bounced right off of their chests. Also, the Browns played what was quite possibly the easiest schedule in the entire league (AFC east, NFC west, Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans). The Browns season finale would put the team in a win-and-get-in playoff scenario, but Anderson threw 5 picks in his worst outing of the season and the most meaningful game of his young career. The Browns would fall short of a win, losing 14-19, and ultimately miss the playoffs yet again.
The Browns had featured nine starting QBs from 1999 through 2005, and made the playoffs only once in that stretch as a wild card team. On December 13, 2006, Anderson would become the tenth. Starter Charlie Frye injured his wrist late in the first half of a game that the Browns were losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 28-14, and Anderson would enter the game in relief of the injured Frye. Anderson lead the Browns on a 31-28 comeback victory in overtime, throwing two TDs to TE Steve Heiden in the second half, and so was issued in the Derek Anderson "era" in Cleveland.
In 2005, Derek was selected in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens jersey (213th overall), but he would never play a down in a Raven uniform. He was cut on September 20th, 2005, and was signed by the Cleveland Browns the very next day. So began an NFL career that any good poker player would recognize as nothing more than a dumb luck hot streak.
Arizona Cardinals QB Derek Anderson's NFL career may be summed up best by the late Dean Martin with one simple question: "How lucky can one guy be?" His stats resemble that of a journeyman backup QB, with career totals of 46 TDs to 45 interceptions, 21 fumbles (8 lost), a pedestrian 52.9 percent completion rate, only 7,093 yards, and a woeful QB rating of 69.7. Yet somehow, he appears poised to begin the 2010 season as the starting QB for the Arizona Cardinals jersey .
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