Brady Quinn outplayed Derek Anderson, giving himself an edge in the Cleveland Browns QB battle, and his team outplayed the Tennessee Titans earning a victory in NFL preseason action. Quinn threw a touchdown pass as Cleveland used a 17 point third quarter to beat Tennessee 23-17. The Browns improved their NFL preseason record to 2-1 with the victory, while Tennessee dropped to 2-2.

Browns backers who bet on NFL preseason action were pleased with the outcome, as Cleveland easily covered as a -1 home favorite. The Browns are now 2-1 against the spread in the NFL preseason, while the Titans dropped to 1-2-1 against the number.

At least locally in Cleveland, the battle for the starting quarterback job was the big storyline of the game. After the game Browns coach Eric Mangini declined to give any indication of which way he was leaning:

“I’ll look at the tape tomorrow, talk to the coaches and continue to evaluate it. When the decision is made, I’ll let everyone know.”

Both signal caller aspirants have posted similar stats, but Quinn has thrown the only touchdown pass of the preseason for the Browns and this may make the difference. Anderson sounded as if he knew that he’d fallen short in his postgame comments to the media:

“It’s out of my hands. Let the chips fall.”

Quinn suggested that whether he’s the starter or a backup it made no difference in the way he approached his job:

“I expect to practice on Monday. Derek and I are mentally tough guys. If our coach wants us to go forever, I’m sure we can go forever.”

Wide receiver Braylon Edwards caught Quinns third quarter touchdown strike, but refused to take sides or handicap the quarterback battle:

“That’s up to coach. Whatever decision he makes we’ll support. Right now, they both look good.”

Despite the loss, Titans coach Jeff Fisher was pleased with the effort of his starting QB Kerry Collins:

“Kerry spread the ball around quite a bit. We got some things accomplished that we didn’t see last week. I was pleased with the drives. We gave up a couple of plays, but I thought we handled the run with the starters”

Cleveland will conclude their 2009 NFL preseason schedule on Thursday night, traveling to Chicago for a game against the Bears. Tennessee will wrap up their exhibition slate on the same night as they welcome the Green Bay Packers to Music City USA. The Browns will get their regular season underway on Sunday, September 13th as they host the Minnesota Vikings. Tennessee will begin work a few days before that, traveling to Pittsburgh to face the Superbowl champion Steelers on Thursday, September 10th.

Ross Everett is a noted freelance writer specializing in sports betting, harness racing, fencing, fantasy role playing games and model railroading. He consults with a number of sports handicapping services and has made numerous TV and radio appearances. He lives in Southern California with his Asian houseboy, 3 dogs and a retired racing wombat