The Lantern

Issue date: 5/2/07 Section: Sports

Bryan DeArdo

I think Brady Quinn is a great quarterback. There, I finally said it. Despite the snickers and harassment from my friends and other Ohio State students, I have finally gathered the courage to come out of the closet about how I feel about the former Notre Dame and current Cleveland Browns signal caller.

The things the people and media have said about Quinn make me sick. One of the Brady bashes has been that Quinn never beat an elite college football team. On the contrary. Quinn helped lead Notre Dame to a heaping amount of memorable wins in his tenure that would satisfy even the hungriest Notre Dame fans.

For an appetizer, Quinn led the Irish to victories against perennial powerhouses Michigan and Tennessee in back-to-back years.

For the main course, there were come-from-behind wins in 2006 against UCLA and the miracle rally at Michigan State, (I know Michigan State was bad this year, but they were 3-0 on the season at the time and up by four touchdowns before the Irish started their comeback).

For dessert, wins against Atlantic Coast Conference runner-up Georgia Tech (on the road) and defending Big Ten champs Penn State (who ended the year in the Top 25) are sweet additions to a hefty feast of accomplishments in South Bend, Ind.

The 19 wins in Quinn's last two seasons are eight more then the team had the two previous seasons, as Quinn brought back a winning feeling that was missing at the Golden Dome for quite some time.

To be fair, Quinn never won a bowl game, going 0-3 in losses to Oregon State, OSU and LSU. Quinn also sported a goose egg against heated rival USC in his four years starting. The main fact that people don't account for this is that Quinn lost to far superior teams in each of those cases. OSU easily had one of the finest defensive units in college football history with the likes of A.J. Hawk, Dante Whitner and Bobby Carpenter. Quinn did the best he could, completing 29 passes for 286 yards while keeping Notre Dame in the game late in the fourth quarter. It wasn't his fault his defense couldn't stop anyone wearing scarlet and gray that day, as the OSU offense against the Irish defense looked more like a track meet between Carl Lewis and Charlie Weiss.

Speaking of Weiss, his decision to forget the running game and to fake a punt from inside his 30-yard line in the first quarter against LSU (who was one loss to Florida away from playing and possibly beating OSU in the national title game) didn't help matters for the Irish.

The USC factor? Who did beat USC from 2003-2006? Only four teams did, and Quinn should not be solely blamed for not being able to top one of the greatest dynasties in college football history. Quinn did get close to an upset in 2005, leading his offense to a potential game-winning touchdown drive before USC converted a forth-and-nine and a Reggie Bush shove to beat the Irish 34-31.

Being branded a choker is common for high-profile quarterbacks in recent years. The knock on former Volunteers and current Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was that he couldn't beat Florida (it's nice to know we have company), he seems like he's doing just fine as the Super Bowl MVP.

The reason Quinn's overachieving teams were hammered by better teams in bowl games year in and year out is because Notre Dame generates large quantities of money (we're talking millions of Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers) wherever they play, something television networks and the Bowl Championship Series is aware of.

The money and overexposure is the main reason why so many people despise Notre Dame and Brady Quinn. They hate the fact that just because Notre Dame has and makes money, they are ushered to the best of bowls and play on every station. While I agree the BCS isn't always fair, don't blame the school or the players who go Notre Dame for what's happening. The school's making money, so do you blame them for accepting contracts and great bowl games? Also, do you blame the kids for wanting to go to a school where they can always play on TV and play against the best competition?

Saturday, the Cleveland Browns chose the best quarterback in the 2007 NFL draft. Unlike former Buckeye Troy Smith and No. 1 pick, JaMarcus Russell, Quinn has no height or weight issues and is poised to use his No. 22 selection in the draft as another source of motivation to stick it to all of his critics. As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I will forever remember Saturday as the day the rival Browns began their dominance by drafting Quinn.

Did I mention I think Brady Quinn is a great quarterback?

Bryan DeArdo can be reached for comment at deardo.1@osu.edu.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools