-- Forces above coach Romeo Crennel (read: owner Randy Lerner and GM Phil Savage) applied pressure to replace Derek Anderson with Quinn, even though Anderson had been playing his best football of the season with seven touchdowns and two interceptions in the past five games.

-- The Browns' brass believes that given the team's 3-5 record and a rugged finishing schedule, any hopes of making the playoffs disappeared with Sunday's home loss to the Ravens, giving the team what amounts to an eight-game test run with Quinn at quarterback. This will allow the team to assess Quinn while still having plenty of time to decide whether to retain Anderson after the season or try to trade him for picks.

-- One other theory holds that the coaches and front office do still believe a playoff spot is within reach given the unsettled AFC hierarchy this season and that inserting Quinn into the lineup might shake up an offense that has struggled to a No. 28 ranking in the league.

-- One of the more entertaining takes I've heard tonight came from a radio host who complained that Anderson was forced to face some of the league's toughest defenses -- including the Steelers, Ravens and Giants -- and that when a softer defense like Denver's finally popped up on the schedule, Anderson was denied the chance to play.

At any rate, we'll all know soon enough how Quinn responds to his first start.

On to tonight's inactives, with the most significant news being that Browns WR Donte' Stallworth apparently will play after missing Sunday's game with a quad injury:

Browns

QB Ken Dorsey
DB Travis Daniels
DB Hamza Abdullah
FB Lawrence Vickers
LB Beau Bell
G Eric Steinbach
WR Steve Sanders
TE Martin Rucker

Broncos

WR Chad Jackson
WR Glenn Martinez
S Marlon McCree
CB Champ Bailey
RB P.J. Pope
LB D.J. Williams
DT Josh Shaw
DE Tim Crowder

-- John Dudley