When the Browns finally decide on a starting quarterback, it won't be until late in the preseason.

That was the big news from head coach Eric Mangini at today's minicamp. Mangini told reporters he wants to see how Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn perform before deciding.

So when Quinn was receiving playing time with the first team last month, it didn't mean much. Mangini will look at presence in the huddle when making his choice.

"The big (criteria) for me is huddle presence and the ability to run the offense, so who can most effectively run the offense, who can look at the defense, understand what the coverage is and throw to the right place, who can see a blitz look and put us in the right play, who can do the check-with-me's where you have two plays called and understand this is the better of the two selections," Mangini told reporters.

Any deception in naming a starting quarterback could be purposeful on Mangini's part. It could be in an effort to confuse opponents heading into the regular season.

"One of the things that's tough defensively is not knowing who the starting quarterback's going to be," Mangini said. "I hated when I didn't know who the starting quarterback of the other team was. A huge, huge headache."

Notes…
Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository reports that Anderson had to run a lap today after a false start penalty. A quarterback getting that penalty is crazy.

The Plain Dealer has a nice gallery of shots from today's minicamp.

Cribbs is in the first half a of a six-year, $6.77 million contract and wants it to be restructured. If its not, he said he would like to be traded.

Update from PFT:

Per a league source, the Browns indicated that, in order to address Cribbs’ contract, they need to examine first-hand his potential value to the team. And so, as a good-faith gesture, Cribbs has decided to participate in the voluntary sessions in order to give the new regime a fair opportunity to determine whether he’s worth significantly more than the long-term deal he signed in 2006. (Apparently, game film from 2007 and 2008 can’t be relied upon.)

That said, we’re sensing some skepticism in Cribbs’ camp regarding whether the Browns will show similar good faith in assessing his skills and deciding whether to increase his pay. And so there’s a chance that Cribbs’ stay will be a short one.

Notes…
There has been no indication either way on whether or not kicker Phil Dawson will attend this week. He also skipped the "voluntary" minicamp last week.

Terry Pluto of the PD had some excellent thoughts on Brady Quinn over the weekend.

A couple people emailed me Michael Silver's rant about the Browns from Yahoo Sports. I'll have some thoughts on that in a separate post later today or sometime tomorrow.

I wanted to spotlight a comment made by Mike Rasor, an Ohio.com blogging cohort. It's on the Cribbs situation. It's after the jump. Just something to think about. And make sure to always check out his Zips blog.

Paying laborers and paying professional athletes under a salary cap are two different things. Randy Lerner is not trying to be stingy; he wants money to put together a team. You can deal fairly with people without compromising your cap.

Cribbs signed a bad contract. He should have realized that from Day One. He underperforms and he's cut. He overperforms and he's trapped for six years. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Now he wants a do-over. If he can maintain his level of play, someone will compensate him for it once he's a free agent.

Cribbs is saying, "You went back on your promise." Well, Josh. You said you would play football for the Cleveland Browns for six years. The Cleveland Browns, in turn, promised to pay you $620K per year. Who is breaking that promise — you know, the one that gave you a chance in the NFL?

Quinn has been receiving snaps with the first team ahead of former Pro Bowler Derek Anderson at voluntary minicamps that end today.

While head coach Eric Mangini has said the two quarterbacks will receive balanced repetitions, Quinn's performance has earned him the top spot.

"Brady will get the first reps today," Mangini told reporters today. "He started with the first reps on Wednesday, and that's because he's done a really outstanding job in the offseason program. Not that Derek hasn't done well, but [Quinn] gets the first reps."

Last season, Quinn started three games before a finger injury knocked him out for the final five games of the season. Quinn's best performance was his first start, a 34-30 loss to Denver. In the game, Quinn finished with 239 yards passing and two touchdowns.

After making the Pro Bowl in 2007, Anderson struggled last season. In 10 games, he had 1,615 yards passing, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The Browns acquired quarterback Brett Ratliff from the Jets during a trade on the first day of the NFL Draft. Ronald Bartel is also on the roster.

Notes…
Tip of the hat to commentator Scott for pointing out this story. Matt Bowen of National Football Post says special teams star Josh Cribbs isn't worth a new contract.

Talks between Cribbs and Mangini have taken place, according to Beacon Journal beat writer Marla Ridenour.

32. Cleveland
Hey, thank me, all you Brownaholics. Two years ago in a column like this one, I wrote that Cleveland was the worst team in the league. The Browns went 10-6. This year I'm saying they're the worst team again — and I can guarantee you they're not going 10-6, unless Brady Quinn morphs into Tom Brady. Too many holes, too tough a division; write them down for 0-4 against the Steelers and Ravens.

Brownaholics?

Cincinnati is 28th, Baltimore is eighth and Pittsburgh is second. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports ranks the Browns 30th. Wonderful.

Notes…
A league source tells the Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi that not will Brady Quinn be the team's starting quarterback, but two teams inquired about a trade for the signal caller.

Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram profiles sixth-round pick Coye Francies.

Not done with the NFL Draft? Terry Pluto of the PD breaks it down even more.

As the report mentions, despite two starting caliber quarterbacks, the Browns are not interested in either Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn.  The selection of Crabtree would likely happen to offset the potential trade of Braylon Edwards.

In my opinion, this is rumor is half valid and half smoke-screen.  The Browns rumored interest in Sanchez could be used as a ploy to get a trade parter, such as the Broncos, to move up for him.  Sanchez has gone on visits with teams like the Redskins, Broncos, and Jets who are in a safer region of the first round where the money invested is less dangerous.  Rumors have the Browns interested in moving out of the top ten, plus they would likely get another mid-round choice out of a potential deal.  The Browns have been spending the offseason thus far trying to recoup lost draft picks.

The valid portion of this seems to be the Crabtree section.  If the Browns are shopping Edwards and do have the framework of a deal in place, Crabtree is the most logical pick.  Crabtree is NFL ready and has the makeup of a big-play wide receiver in the NFL.

If the Browns do move Edwards, it would make sense to wait till draft day to do so.  If they pull the trigger on a trade with Edwards too soon, they leave themselves open to the chance that another team will jump ahead of them at five and select the former Red Raider.  The dropoff from Crabtree to the second group of wide receivers is great, and none are worth the fifth overall pick.  It wouldn't even be a shock if the Browns selected Crabtree at five, then made the Edwards trade official.

One of the latest from Lombardi's Sunday notes column is that the Browns have been offered a first-round draft pick for quarterback Brady Quinn but the team is holding out for more.

So now we turn this to you, the fans. Would a first-round pick be adequate compensation for Quinn, the No. 22 pick in the 2007 draft?

Vote in the poll and/or tell us in the comments.

The Browns have also, according to Lombardi, been offered a first rounder for Braylon Edwards. The team will also bring in Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree in for a visit today, according to Gil Brandt of NFL.com.

Right now this is what appears to be out there

Romeo Crennel won't say if a fight happened.  If a fight happened though, it would be handled.  Seems to be telling to me.

Pro Football Talk is taking it a bit further, saying it's possible that Quinn was hit in the face with a weight.

Tight end Darnell Dinkins is confirming something happened, and there was an altercation betweeen Smith and Quinn.

Bottom Line

Fights happen in NFL locker rooms.  If this is two guys who got into it, is anyone stunned given the horrible season the Browns have had?  Smithis known for being a loudmouth, and Quinn is a beast in the weight room…

Never the less, if Smith slugged Quinn, it's not pretty, but part of being on a frustrated team.  Steve Smith broke Ken Lucas' nose in the Panthers training camp, and they seem okay to make the playoffs.

If Smith took a plate to Quinn's face, that's pretty serious.  Even two and a half pound plate swung like that could fracture a person's orbital bones or cause damage to the eye.  That does not appear to be the case here, but Smith has been disciplined.  With a potentially new regime coming in, Smith may have signed his walking papers though.

It could be worse, because when he was in Philadelphia, Terrell Owens was in a fight with former Eagle Hugh Douglas.   The untold story there is allegedly one or both men were naked at the time.  Here's to hoping at least Smith was clothed at the time of the altercation.

What should happen to Quinn and Smith as fallout from this incident?

Quinn elected to play Sunday against Houston, which reportedly caused the injury to worsen.

Team sources said that Quinn and the team made the decision together earlier today. Sources say that not only has the break in his right index finger worsened, but it is also starting to injure the tendons as well.

For the season, Quinn was 45 for 89 passing for 518 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The Browns were 1-2 in the three games Quinn started.

Derek Anderson will start Sunday against the 7-4 Indianapolis Colts.

On top of that, he states no passes have been made at former Steelers head coach and current CBS Analyst Bill Cowher.   Again, pay up your bets folks.

Marty Schottenheimer?  He's done with the NFL.

Lastly, head coach Romeo Crennel has said that Brady Quinn will start against the Colts this Sunday.  If you are playing along with me, you owe someone money for some of these random bets.

My take on it all:

Randy Lerner has been absent this year amidst other issues.  It's nice to see him pipe up on the matter, but it seems a bit too late.  When your owner (allegedly) has not seen a game in person this year, how well of a grasp does he have on the issues at hand?

As far as Cowher goes, this is an issue that Browns need to drop, at least for now.  He's loyal to the Rooney family, and lives much more stress-free existence working for CBS.  That train is never leaving the station.

Marty?  Would be a great story, but it's not going to happen.

As far as Quinn goes…it feels like he will facing an uphill battle for the rest of the season with his finger, and a potentially lame-duck coach.  Crennel has gone to the bench once for Derek Anderson, it will just get easier from here.

Because you're a paying fan, you let your voice be heard (albeit mostly anonymously). Phil Savage should be fired. Romeo Crennel should be replaced by Bill Cowher. Brady Quinn should start. Brady Quinn shouldn't start! Randy Lerner should sell the team. Braylon Edwards should be cut! Jerome Harrison and Alex Hall should play more! The team should be sold.

Well, forget all that noise. Just find a new team. People find new spouses all the time, so what's the big deal about finding a new team? Come on, follow along, it's easy to do!

- Step 1: Maintaining some loyalty – You may be turning your back on the Browns, but not so much so that you can root for the Steelers, Bengals or Ravens. Fair enough.

- Step 2: No losers – You're a Browns fan. What is the point of cheering for a team worse than them? Gone are the Chiefs, Lions, Raiders and Rams.

- Step 3: No one likes a frontrunner – It's easy to root for a perennial winner. It's also easy to hate the fans of such teams. Adios, Colts, Patriots, Eagles and Giants. The Cowboys also go here. America's team or whatever.

- Step 4: No West Coasters – What's the point of rooting for a team you can't watch? Say goodbye, 49ers, Seahawks and Chargers.

- Step 5: Flashes in the pan might just be worse than the Browns in a season – Sure, they're fun to watch, but some of these teams could go up in flames at any moment. No one likes that, so eliminated are the Titans, Cardinals, Jets and Falcons.

- Step 6: Just because – You're a Cleveland sports fan. You're expected to be fickle. The Drive still happened, the Broncos are out. Jon Gruden looks like murderous doll Chucky, the Buccaneers are out. You thought Lerner was bad? How about Dan Snyder as the owner? Redskins: Out. What the hell even is a Packer? Out.

Now, just a quick recap. This all leaves us with the Bears, Vikings, Texans, Jaguars, Panthers, Saints, Bills and Dolphins.

- Step 7: Too far to drive – The above teams are randomly on TV, so being able to drive to games would be nice. Good riddance Saints, Jaguars, Panthers, Vikings and Dolphins.

- Step 8: No politics allowed – What do you think when someone says Texas? George W. Bush? Get outta here Texans. Chicago? Obama? Sorry, Bears. I thought you were a real contender.

Now, wait just a second here. Look who is left. It's the Buffalo Bills. If you're so sick of how the Cleveland Browns perform on the field and in the front office, just who will you be rooting for Monday night?