Whom in the Cleveland Browns organization determined that multi-million dollar franchise quarterback Brady Quinn would play against Houston last Sunday with a fractured finger tip on his throwing hand? And why?

(Editor’s Note: And, who will replace Brady Quinn as the Browns QB? Might It be someone other than Derek Anderson…?)

When questioned by Cleveland reporters today, Quinn said it was his decision to play and that he “tried to do the best I could.”

Hmmm…. a 24-year-old rookie quarterback who waited more than a year to be named the Browns starter, was allowed to make the final decision?

I would put this one squarely on Romeo Crennel and the Browns organization.

Sure, the 4-6 Browns wanted a win, but at what cost? The decision may have not only led to the Browns 16-6 loss (dropping them to 4-7), but compromised its prized player to the point that now Quinn has one week to decide whether to undergo surgery.

The news that Quinn actually injured his finger worse came from renowned orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala., whom Quinn sought out Tuesday for a “second opinion.”

Dr. Andrews has been referred as Dr. Doom by the media because few football players have ever left his office without getting bad news.

Surgery on a Cleveland Browns player sends up a red flag to this writer who has seen too many routine surgeries turn into staph-infected, career-busting tragedies.

Just ask Joe Jurevicius, Browns tight end with the best hands this side of Dante Lavelli — and a team leader to boot. Or just ask former high-profile free agent acquisition center LeCharles Bentley, who suffered a leg injury after the first snap in the first practice.

Bentley had surgeries at Cleveland Clinic, then spurned the Browns’ health care plan and was operated on in an out-of-state hospital. At one point, Bentley nearly had to have his leg amputated. Although he said he would try, it is doubtful the man will ever set foot in an NFL stadium to snap the ball again.

Allowing Brady Quinn to play against the Houston Texans Sunday has now come to haunt the Browns as another huge setback in this season of drama.

Crennel justified the decision to play Brady by stating: although Quinn’s finger had become more sore in mid-week, “Browns specialists” had inspected the finger. Furthermore, Quinn’s X-ray showed a little fracture of the tip of the index finger so Quinn would wear a splint when he wasn’t playing — and that he would be good to go.

After being pulled in the third quarter, a very dejected Quinn walked the sidelines, perhaps blaming himself for his poor performance of completing eight for 18 for 94 yards and two interceptions.

The question no one is answering: Why was Quinn cleared to play against Houston and who made the final decision?

(Stay tuned to Cleveland Browns News Page for the latest updates on the Browns and Brady Quinn’s injury)

Why can’t 48 hours pass without some sort of controversial story about the Cleveland Browns?

Seriously.

ESPN.com is reporting that quarterback Brady Quinn, who has been suffering from an injured index finger on his throwing hand, has flown to Birmingham, Alabama to receive a second opinion on the severity of the injury from Dr. James Andrews.

You may know Dr. James Andrews from the 97,431 other stories in the past few years about athletes visiting him. This guy is like some sort of oracle or magical faith healer (or, just a really good orthopedic surgeon, I suppose). His name is also the most dreaded sound in the world of fantasy football. If your player is visiting Dr. James Andrews, it is rarely a good sign.

The news that Brady Quinn is traveling to see the magic doctor is surprising. While Romeo Crennel said that he thought Quinn’s injury was affecting his play somewhat on Sunday, resulting in Crennel benching Brady Quinn for Derek Anderson in the second half, Quinn steadfastly denied that the finger was a problem.

Yet, now he’s flying down to see Dr. James Andrews.

Hmm…not really sure what to make of this. The interesting part is that, according to the ESPN.com story, Quinn flew down to Alabama on his own initiative. The story does not say whether Quinn told the Browns he was going, but it certainly seems to allude to the possibility that he did not.

Honestly, it would not really surprise me if Quinn just went on his own. It was pretty obvious that he was pissed off that Crennel benched him on Sunday, and the Browns do not exactly have the most successful record when it comes to medical matters. Something tells me Brady did not want to be skipping over to the Cleveland Clinic in anything less than a HazMat suit.

It shall be interesting to see what comes of this. First off, hopefully the finger is okay and does not require any further surgery. Nothing against Derek Anderson (hell, I cheered when they put him in Sunday…before reflecting on it and realizing it was a poor decision) but the Browns need Brady Quinn to start the next five games. We have to see what we have in him, and he needs the experience. Any setback due to injury would be disastrous in terms of planning for next year.

Secondly, I will be interested to see if the Browns have a comment. It doesn’t exactly look good when your franchise QB is flying on his own to get second opinions on his injury and, ostensibly, not including the team in the decision.

Either way, the Browns play the Colts this weekend, and would get smoked even if John Elway was playing quarterback if the defense cannot do a better job against Peyton Manning than they did against…ugh…Sage Rosenfels. But hopefully Brady is back from Birmingham with a positive opinion of Dr. James Andrews. The Browns need him under center as they play out the string and plan for the future.

This post is from the regular season. Follow the link if you are looking for the Colts-Chargers Wild Card Playoff Game Preview, Prediction, and Injury Reports.

According to the AP, former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders did not make the trip to San Diego for tonight’s Sunday Night Football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Diego Chargers.

Bob Sanders did not play last week either for the Colts due to swelling in his knee, and the problem has persisted through this week.

Of course, Bob Sanders being unable to play for the Colts is nothing new. Though Bob Sanders is perhaps one of the ten most indispensable players in the NFL in terms of value to his particular team, he has played in 43 regular season games and missed 32. (Thanks to ProFootballTalk for reporting that interesting nugget.)

Earlier this week, Joe Argabright provided a great prediction and preview of the Colts-Chargers game on NBC tonight. Obviously, it will be much harder for the Colts to defeat the Chargers, who always play them well, without their superstar strong safety.

(For the latest on Kellen Winslow’s current spat with Browns’ management, visit the Cleveland Browns news page or read the post specifically regarding Kellen Winslow being upset, and Romeo Crennel’s reaction.)

Just came across a report at the Plain-Dealer blog that Kellen Winslow returned to practice today for the Cleveland Browns as they prepare for this Sundays’ matchup against the Washington Redskins. (Follow the link to see our preview and prediction for this weekend’s game.)

The report says that Winslow claimed it’s “good to be back” (well I would hope so) but that no decision has been made regarding his status for the game against the Redskins. There was also no further information disclosed regarding the mysterious injury (which had been reported, but not confirmed, as some kind of swelling of Kellen’s dangling soldiers) that has kept Kellen Winslow out of practice and out of Monday night’s game against the Giants.

Regardless, Winslow’s return to the practice field is great news for the Cleveland Browns. I have spoken ad nauseum this week about the importance of Kellen Winslow’s dynamic play-making ability from the tight end position for the Browns’ offense. His return can do nothing but increase the momentum that began with Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards getting back on track Monday night.

Plus, Winslow seemed to be in relatively good spirits based on the AP report of his return to practice. In reference to all of the time he has spent rehabbing injuries during his football career, Winslow joked, “I’m a soldier. I can joke about it now, man. It’s just playing football. You’re going to have to deal with pain, and this league is what have you done for me lately? I just enjoy being on the field.”

Despite not disclosing the nature of the injury or illness, Kellen says that he did not suffer an infection and that he has not lost weight. The coaches will decide his status for Sunday’s game after watching him soldier through practice. (By the way, you can bookmark our Cleveland Browns news page to get the latest updates on the status of Kellen Winslow and other Browns news from across the web.

[tags]nfl, football, cleveland browns, kellen winslow[/tags]