FanHouse Eric Wright

The last three weeks have been a blur for Minnesota Viking fans. They've gone from a quarterback competition to a completely different kind of quarterback controversy.

When Brett Favre walked into Viking headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn., on Aug. 18, he brought with him the promise of a Super Bowl run. Either that, or the promise of another glorious Vikings flop. The only certainty with Favre's arrival is that nothing is a given. All the meaningless predictions are cast aside starting Sunday, as Minnesota launches their 2009 regular season at Cleveland.

It was nearly a year ago that then-Browns lost cornerback Daven Holly blew out his knee in organized team activities. He missed the 2008 season, and his absence, along with Gary Baxter never working out in Cleveland, meant the team had to rely on Brandon McDonald and Eric Wright.

Both were second-year players, and although Wright showed promise, McDonald was out his depth from the start. I wouldn't argue that losing Holly opened the flood gates on a four-win season -- Derek Anderson misfiring balls all over the yard gets the blue ribbon for that -- but it didn't help, either.

If the absolute stomping by the Browns on Monday Night Football wasn't enough, head coach Tom Coughlin is reporting that his star quarterback suffered a chest injury.

With 10:16 left in the second quarter, Eli Manning was slammed into the ground by Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, suffering a chest injury that was still a problem after the game.

"He got hit and when he was driven into the ground ... his chest was bothering him after the game," coach Tom Coughlin said on a conference call minutes ago. "He was in some pain there. But I don't have any information other than that today. He was in the training room and we'll see."

Coughlin was asked if Manning will miss practice tomorrow or thereafter.

"I don't know that," he said. "I don't know anything yet. They're going to do all of the tests and those types of things.

This was supposed to be the sleeper Monday Night game, two teams on completely different levels facing off on national television when one didn't deserve to be there. We had the defending champions versus the underachievers, a team on a roll versus a team in disarray.

Unfortunately for Giants fans, they played the game anyway, and the lowly Browns came out on top against the undefeated champs Monday night, 35-14, in an absolute thrashing.

Derek Anderson, the lowest-rated passer to start every game this season, was absolutely magnificent, throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns, and more importantly rekindling that flame he had with Braylon Edwards last season.

If you're currently watching this monstrosity that is Bengals-Browns game, I feel your pain. This is, quite simply, one of the worst football games I have ever watched. And it's not as if there is some sort of crazy variable playing havoc on the conditions (rain, wind, snow). It's just two awful, awful football teams toiling along at a field goal pace in the first half.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, starting in place of Carson Palmer, is 5-for-11 passing with two interceptions, while his biggest plays have come on a pair of rushes. Meanwhile, Derek Anderson is playing so poorly that Rich Gannon just described a 6-yard swing pass to a running back as a "a very positive play for Derek Anderson."

And now, as I'm writing this, the two teams just took part in a Chinese Fire drill of madness. Fitzpatrick threw his second interception of the game, this time to Browns cornerback Eric Wright. As Wright was running it back, a Bengals player knocked the ball out of Wright's hands into the waiting arms of Chad Ocho Cinco for a Bengals first down.

It's 6-3 Bengals at the half, and I'm still trying to figure out how these teams managed to combine for nine points.

As we get ready for week one matchup of the Cowboys and Browns, Ace Davis from his own Ace Davis Cleveland Browns Blog was nice enough to offer some insights on the Browns for this week's Behind Enemy Lines feature.

This should instill fear in opposing offensive coordinators as they gameplan the Browns. You see, Cleveland has all sorts of potential, particularly on offense, but the secondary, to put it in wildly understated terms, lacks depth.

Leigh Bodden was traded to the Lions this spring, his replacement, Davin Holly was lost for the year during minicamp, and Gary Baxter was recently released. Which leaves Brandon McDonald and Eric Wright as the starting cornerbacks. Both are in their second seasons, and although the team is very high on Wright, McDonald has yet to prove that he can handle the full-time gig.

However things unfold, they're both confident in their abilities. Which is sorta important, I'd think:

"We have a lot of athletic ability," Wright said. "We're ready for the challenge. If guys want to throw at us, they'll be sorry later." ...

"Eric has a high confidence level and so do I," McDonald said. "I came in early for OTAs (in May) and I think I caught on pretty quickly. You're out there on an island. If you do get beat, you have to have a short memory and go on to the next play."

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: A year ago at this time,Charlie Frye was the man. That lasted about 10 minutes into the Week 1 Steelers game before Derek Anderson came on in relief, and, well, you saw how things turned out. Anderson led Cleveland to 10 wins, and made the Pro Bowl, but faces pressure to exceed last year's surprising performance. I think he'll be fine, but if he falters, Brady Quinn will be eagerly awaiting his shot. Heat Index: 7

Running backs: Jamal Lewis was left for dead, at least in the professional sense, when the Ravens decided to "move in another direction" last offseason. Lewis signed a short-term deal with the Browns and proceeded to rush for more than 1,300 yards. He now has a new contract and will run behind one of the most underrated o-lines in the AFC. Heat Index: 7

Receivers: Prior to Donte' Stallworth putting out a hit on No. 1 wide receiver Braylon Edwards, these were some of the best pass-catchers in the conference. Actually, Edwards should be fine, and even with Joe Jurevicius on the mend, it's a talented group of big-play threats. And although he listed as a tight end on the depth chart, Kellen Winslow in No. 1A after Edwards. Heat Index: 9

Well, this is great news: the Orange and Brown Report's Brent Sobleski writes that Cleveland's second-year cornerback Eric Wright had an outstanding minicamp ($):

Wright was arguably the best player on the field throughout the mandatory mini-camp. The second year cornerback got his hands on plenty of balls and was a consistent presence in the secondary.

Given the Browns' recent injury woes at the position, Wright's going to have play at a pretty high level, particularly since the defense is the primary reason the team didn't make the postseason last year.

Actually, the starters are set (sorta): barring a trade, Brandon McDonald, the guy tasked with filling the enormous void left when Daven Holley was lost for the year with a knee injury, will join Wright at cornerback. And some combination of Sean Jones, Brodney Pool and Gary Baxter will man the safety spots.

The problem, though, is depth.

The quarterback position is solidified, at starter and backup, but the news out of minicamp is less encouraging:

Ken Dorsey is currently the Browns' most consistently accurate quarterback on the roster. Unfortunately for the team, the Miami product is entrenched as the third-string quarterback and his trait does not appear to be rubbing off on the team's first or second choice at the position.

Well, common sense dictates that Romeo Crennel should name Dorsey as the starter. Okay, that's a tad reactionary, and it's June; there's plenty of time to work out the kinks. Derek Anderson did struggle with accuracy last season, but it's going to take more than a few early-season interceptions to see Dorsey on the field. Brady Quinn, however, could be a different story.

When Kenny Wright isn't getting outrun by the nation's fastest police force and posing for handsome pictures, he serves as a defensive back for the Browns. Which goes a long way in explaining why Cleveland's pass defense was so atrocious last season.

Wright has since been released from jail and now the Browns have to decide if they'll release him from Cleveland. According to the Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns "are withholding comment on the situation until we can gather more information." For example: "how the hell did Wright get run down by a bunch of cops?"

Question is, will the Browns stand by a player who barely played for them last year in the first year of his three-year contract? He's set to make $730,000 in 2008 and $845,000 in 2009.

Well, considering they sent their best cornerback, Leigh Bodden, to the Lions for Shaun Rogers, Cleveland may be more inclined to keep Wright around. As Cabot points out, though, the Browns don't tolerate off-field silliness well, so having no depth in the secondary -- something the team is very familiar with -- won't preclude them from releasing Wright if they deem he's not worth the trouble.

The Browns are hoping Gary Baxter is finished getting hurt, and second-year cornerback Eric Wright can make the transition to starter. Still, after those two, there isn't a lot depth at the position.