If you didn't catch it this week, there's a pretty good interview with Brady Quinn up on ESPN.com in regards to getting ready for the draft, why his stock has dropped and how terrible it must have been growing up a Browns fan.  Some highlights.

I'd forgotten about the fact Crennel was at Cleveland - I just assume all Cleveland coaches are fired after two-to-three years no matter what - but that is a really interesting angle.  Charlie sending his old pal from New England a ready-made NFL quarterback?  I know the Charlie Frye experiment didn't go very well, nor did the Tim Couch, Jeff Garcia or Kelly Holcomb experiences before that.  It might be a good idea to try and address that problem since Jamal Lewis is now in the backfield.

Good answer, Brady.  One of the reasons people hate Quinn is they think he's overhyped, and Charlie's comments don't help matters any.  It's good to see the Weis bravado rubbing off on his protégé like it did on Tom Brady, and if Quinn does end up being a mix of Manning and Brady, whoever takes him will be in great shape.  But the more important questions are:

1. "Would Brady kill a snitch?"
   
2. "Would he be a good role model for children?"
   
3. "Can he date/impregnate two supermodels at once?"
   
4. "Does he have an affinity for country music, especially Kenny Chesney?"
   
5. "If he wins a Super Bowl, will it be because of late game, Quinn-led heroics, or because the opposing quarterback is actually mentally handicapped and Quinn's offense turns into `Hand it off on 3rd and seven and let Rex f*ck it up?'"

People always rail on Brady for losing big to Michigan, LSU and Southern Cal last year, but Quinn's led comebacks against Stanford, Michigan State, Southern Cal (watch the mastery of his go-ahead drive from 2005; knock it down, Ambrose!), UCLA and Michigan.  He also earned victories in the Big House and on Rocky Top, and if you watched the Irish/Trojans game from this season, it most certainly was not Quinn's fault Southern Cal managed to pull away (cough*catchtheball/don'tfalsestart,you'reasenior **cough*).  

Brady, please do not make excuses about being favored in games or tough environments.  You just say "We played hard, they were a great team" and we, the fair and balanced, intelligent and witty analysts that have your back, will point out that the main thing you don't get to say: if you, like Russell, Henne and Booty, got to throw against the Irish secondary, you'd go for 350 and 4 touchdowns every game without breaking a sweat.

I concur with Brady that nearly every game Notre Dame plays is a big game, and while it might not be the quality of playing a SEC footbaw conference slate ("Mississippi!  Vanderbilt!  Mississippi State! Div-I AA squads to round the non-conference!  But hey, in two years, we're going to Oklahoma!  Yee-haw!"), you're still playing with a rather large bulls-eye on your back each and every week.  Again, this year the Irish will be playing Georgia Tech, Southern Cal and Boston College at home while traveling to UCLA, Penn State and Michigan.  Drink that in now before one or two of them implodes, [boastful claim to be picked apart at a later date]because I don't think there are many teams playing a top of their schedule that tough on paper.[/boastful claim]

Brady's Draft Chances, as of now 1) Oakland Raiders- The Raiders seem absolutely dead set on taking JaMarcus Russell, which seems like a good fit for the organization: overweight, big arm that makes people think of happy times to come, turnover-prone against good teams.  Just remember that Russell played on a team where the back-up quarterback stepped in and won their bowl game 41-3 over Miami last year.  Hurricanes or not, 41-3 in the Peach Bowl is a beatdown.  Russell's been playing with a stacked deck at LSU the last couple of seasons, and it's not like the Oakland cupboard is bursting at the seams with talent to surround him with.

They also, just like every one else, take a peak at Calvin Johnson, because you, I and everyone who watched college football last year know how good "Death From Above" is.

2) Detroit Lions- So many exciting options for the Lions here.  Let's address a few of them:

1)    Draft Joe Thomas.  Nobody can get mad when you draft the sure-thing left tackle.  Sure, maybe Robert Gallery didn't pan out, but nobody busts on the Raiders for taking him because it was seen as a low-risk investment.  For a team that specializes in excitement in the first couple hours of the draft, this would be a nice change.
2)    Draft Brady Quinn.  As much as I'd love to roadtrip to Detroit Rock City to see him play, and as much as the Lions need a quarterback, what if Quinn is a bust?  Can their franchise handle that kind of setback when they need literally every other position to be filled?
3)    Trade the pick.  This is sort of the position the Texans were in last year, where they had a lot of great options and chose G) None of the above.  The Lions need so much help, and so many teams would be interested in Quinn, Johnson or Thomas that it might be worth moving down a pick in the draft and getting one of the defensive ends or seeing how far Brady drops.
4)    Draft Calvin Johnson.  Make my life.  Seriously, this would be so awesome.  I remember trying to figure out where Mike Williams would go in the draft, citing the fact "There's no way the Lions take him, how far will he fall?", only to see Matt Millen drop his pants and taunt the entire Detroit fanbase.  Do it again, Matt.  Please.  

3) Cleveland Browns- This is where I see Brady going, especially since they added Jamal Lewis so the temptation of taking Adrian "Shoulders of Glass" Peterson isn't as high (I think, if he stays healthy, AP will be just sick, but since he doesn't stay healthy, it's a huge risk).  A hometown kid, the head coach is great friends with Weis and a glaring need at quarterback Frye could not fill.  There are some pieces there on offense (Winslow, Edwards, Lewis), although strangely enough, Crennel's defense has been less than stellar the last couple of years.

However, if he doesn't go here, how far will Brady likely fall?

4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Calvin Johnson.  If the Yellow Jacket fall this far, there's no way Gruden doesn't snatch him up.  It might be tempting to add Quinn to the Tampa Bay Quarterback Carousel, they do not let Johnson slip past here.

5)Arizona Cardinals- Not taking Brady, although seeing him and Leinart hit up clubs together would be pretty interesting.  I haven't thought about this, but what happens when Brady starts dating his first Playboy bunny or Paris Hilton-type?  As long as it's someone with actual talent - and if they're a model, you know what that talent entails - I'll be cool with it, but what about all the girls at ND who declared it "A good dinner at the DH" because Quinn was there?  How sad are they, or is it just a forgone conclusion at this point?

Maybe one of the defensive ends, maybe Levi Brown, maybe a trade?  For the first time in a long time, the Cardinals are sitting pretty.

6) Washington Redskin- They're probably tempted to take Brady, but having made the huge pick investment in Jason Campbell a couple years ago, they really can't just abandon him this early.  Rumors of the Dolphins trying to move up into this slot, or the chance they send this pick to the Bears for Lance Briggs.  If the Bears inherit this spot, it might make sense of them to take a quarterback since I don't think they have a young, capable guy on the roster now, but I doubt they'd take Quinn.

7) Minnesota Vikings- I truly cannot see Quinn falling past Minnesota, but apparently our own Viking SBN affiliate would rather take Adrian Peterson.  Allow me to compose a short letter to them:

Dear Daily Norseman,

I'm sure you're all pleasant fellas, but let me explain to you the two main reasons that you might not want to go with Adrian Peterson here, if Quinn is available or not.  I say this as a friend and a guy who enjoyed the Mike Tice Era, but wants you to get out of it.

1)    Adrian Peterson gets hurt every year.  Yes, it's very sad, but this isn't a thing like Reggie Bush, where it was "Well, can he handle a NFL beating, despite the fact he's never been down for an extended period of time through college?", but instead, this is literally "Adrian Peterson gets hurt.  A lot" and I don't want you investing the number seven pick into a guy and beleft with a backfield of Tavaris Jackson and Chester Taylor.

2)    Going back to the 2001 Super Bowl, only two teams (the 2001 Rams and the 2004 Patriots) had feature running backs (Faulk and Dillon).  The pre-2004 incarnations of the Patriots did not, the Bears did not, the Eagles did not, the Panthers did not (they had two), the Raiders surely did not, the Buccaneers did not, the Steelers did not and while you might claim Shaun Alexander was a feature back for Seattle, I'll claim it was a feature left side of the line that allowed him to score a plethora of touchdowns against shitty teams untouched.

(I wrote half a thesis on why Shaun Alexander shouldn't have won the 2005 MVP, so don't challenge me on that.)

Anyway, in the best interest of the Vikings, don't take Adrian Peterson.

Your friend,

Chris

If the Vikings get their pick in on time, they may very well take Peterson.

8) Atlanta Falcons- Petrino might wish he could take Quinn instead of trying to craft Vick into a 60% passer (Sure he will, and I say this as a guy who owns not one but two Vick jersesys), but they're going to take LaRon Landry here, which is just a smart, safe pick that no one can argue with.  Leaving...

9) Miami Dolphins- Ah, my Dolphins.  Phinatics everywhere are salivating for Quinn, and since Miami hasn't taken a quarterback in the first round since my childhood/adulthood hero, Dan Marino, it might be time to lean that way.  Even with their needs on offensive line and wide receiver, Quinn will not fall past the Dolphins.

Brady Quinn on South Beach, working in Cam Cameron's offense?  Things could certainly be worse for Number Ten.