{mosimage} Eight games in the NFL can be a lifetime. After the first game of the Browns season the team faced another nightmare season. It seemed after the drubbing at the hands of the Steelers that the Browns were exactly what the power rankings stated - the worst team in the league.

Then came the trade of Charlie Fry to Seattle and the announcement that Derek Anderson would be the quarterback - until ( as assumed by the fans) game 7 when Brady Quinn would take over and Romeo Crennel would be gone. Since then Derek Anderson has become the talk of the league in a year where Tom Brady should dominate all quarterback discussions.

It has been rumoured that the Browns did not just dump Charlie Fry after game one but that they were simply getting rid of a quarterback and actually shopped both Anderson and Fry. Luckily for the Browns the Seahawks took Fry and the rest is history. Hopefully the last seven games as simply a prequel to a long career for Derek Anderson and the creation of Brady Quinn as a footnote in the team history.

Just several weeks ago the talk was that Anderson was going a great job in holding the team together until Quinn was ready to take the field. It was being celebrated that Anderson now had value and that the team would be able to trade for him after the season was over and perhaps to get back a high draft choice. Now the comments are as to what the Browns need to do to insure that they keep Anderson and whether or not they should look to trading Quinn for that high draft choice. It is a good situation to be in.

But the next measuring point for the future is this Sunday against the Steelers. History would say that the Browns will again disappoint and that they are not ready to be one of the NFL's elite teams. The early turnovers in their game against the Patriots doomed any chance of earning respect. At this point they are simply a curiosity and a welcome change in Cleveland. But if they win - or even hold their own against the Steelers - then they will become a player in the national picture.

Last week's overtime Browns win electrified the the Cleveland fans who stood in the stands singing rock anthems in celebration. Those fans who caused Seattle not to call an audible on fourth and one in overtime because the noise would make it virtually impossible to communicate the play. This week we will see how big of steps the Browns have taken since week one. GOOOOO Browns!!!!!!!! Steelers ' #*!/

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