STEVE DOERSCHUK
On one hand, the Browns were merely invited to dip a toe into the big pool Thursday when they were assigned a “Monday Night Football” game.
It is, after all, a preseason game.
On the other hand, the game is against the defending Super Bowl champion Giants. It kicks off at 8 p.m. Aug. 18 on ESPN, when the preseason starts to get serious in terms of position battles.
The Browns aren’t saying there is a position battle at quarterback, where incumbent Derek Anderson is the frontrunner. However, in the Monday night game, Anderson must contend — at least for the first quarter and perhaps part of the second — with a Giants pass rush that wrecked Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.
It will be the Giants’ first action in their home stadium since they stunned the Patriots in Arizona.
It will be preseason Game No. 2 for both teams. In last year’s second preseason game, against Detroit, Anderson started and went 6-of-8 for 65 yards, an interception and a 58.9 rating. Charlie Frye, who started the preseason opener, was the second QB in. He went 5-of-10 for 42 yards, with an interception and a 21.7 rating.
In retrospect, it would have been a good idea at that point to elevate Anderson to No. 1 status.
The Browns’ other preseason games are set in terms of opponents, but dates are limited to time frames for now. Those games are:
n Aug. 7-11 against the Jets, in Cleveland.
n Aug. 21-25 at Detroit.
n Aug. 28-29, against the Bears, in Cleveland.
The regular-season schedule is due out soon. General Manager Phil Savage thinks the Browns will draw a Sunday night assignment, which would be the Browns’ first regular-season game in prime time since 2005.
As to a possible Thanksgiving night game, which has been rumored, Savage told radio station WTAM, “I don’t know that we’re at the top of that list.”
