Browns: Derek Anderson expected to start vs. the Lions

Coach Eric Mangini remains steadfast against naming a starter for the Browns.

BEREA — The perception that the Browns’ quarterback job is now Brady Quinn’s to lose is not going to affect the way Derek Anderson plays in the second exhibition game, he said.

Anderson is expected to get the start against the Lions in Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday. Coach Eric Mangini declined to name his starter for the game, but he has striven to get both quarterbacks equal reps at practice and in games.

Quinn started the first game in Green Bay, and took 17 snaps to Anderson’s six. Quinn achieved six first downs on two drives, Anderson none. He was hit on each of his two pass attempts and the last was intercepted.

The Browns squandered scoring chances on each of Quinn’s drives. A penalty erased a field goal and a TD was averted by a dropped pass and subsequent interception in the end zone.

Anderson brushed off a question about whether he needs to put points on the board every series he is on the field against Detroit to regain the competitive edge over Quinn.

“It’s not realistic,” he said. “Not every team scores every time you get the ball. Obviously you want to play smart, situational football, do the things you’re supposed to do, command the huddle — that’s the biggest thing about it.

“Obviously you want to score, but you’re not going to score on every single drive. And if you do go in with that mentality, bad things happen. You start making reads you wouldn’t do, start forcing balls you wouldn’t throw.”

Anderson has talked of being relaxed and he is intent on maintaining that attitude despite the frustrating outing in Green Bay and the compressed timeline for Mangini to choose his starter.

“I think I’ve played pretty well and I’ll just continue at it,” he said.

Wednesday was a good day for Anderson. He commanded the second-team offense to a touchdown in the two-minute drill at the end of another hot and steamy practice session. On second down from the 20 with 30 seconds left, Anderson’s lob for Mohamed Massaquoi fell incomplete when Massaquoi was tackled (no flag thrown). Anderson came right back to the rookie with a completed pass in the left corner of the end zone.

That was a good primer for Anderson. The one thing Mangini did concede on Wednesday was that if a two-minute situation presented itself in the Detroit game, Anderson would get the opportunity to run it because Quinn had a two-minute drive in the first game.

Anderson constantly deflects question about the pressure of the QB competition and the perceived urgency to name a starter.

“You guys have a watch on it and a calendar ... the hour and the minute,” he said.

He said when his work day is done, he doesn’t dwell on the competition, but admitted, “When I go back to my room at night, I write things down, the things I think I did good, things I need to do better the next day.”

For his part, Mangini projects no urgency to draw the competition to a close. He seems committed to giving each quarterback equal reps and equal situations.

“Looking at the rep count, there’s four reps that separate the two guys through training camp,” he said, sounding proud of the statistic.

The coach does not entertain any thought of playing one quarterback for one half and the other for the second half. It sounded doubtful that either would play in the second half.

“You want to work the quarterbacks with the first group as much as you can,” he said.

“Usually in preseason games the first group doesn’t play the whole game, so you have to split it up a little differently. You want to give them a feel for different times in a game.”

He does not feel pressed to select a starter to be in place for the third preseason game, traditionally the final dress rehearsal for the season opener.

He disputes the notion that the starter must emerge soon to prepare the offense for the opening game against Minnesota on Sept. 13.

“The preparation doesn’t stop [for the opener],” he said. “The other part of it is, you get somebody injured and the best plans go out the window. I think they’re both getting prepared to play with all the different issues. And it’s been catered that way, so whichever way it goes I’m comfortable with the way we’ve worked them and the team.”

Forget about Mangini making his decision for the benefit of identifying the field leader to his team.

“I like to think that everybody in the locker room thinks anybody else in the locker room is their guy and that the face of the team should be the team,” he said.