It doesn't matter that Quinn is the only quarterback to give fans a reason to cheer. He looked very good in the fourth quarter of the Browns' 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday. But it was against third-stringers of one of the NFL's worst teams playing the dreaded prevent defense. There were open receivers everywhere.

To Quinn's credit, he knew the difference between white shirts (the Browns) and blue shirts (the Lions). He threw to the white shirts. He didn't force long passes into double coverage. He was poised. He led the team to two touchdowns. But he was rarely blitzed, and it was not much of a test — other than he was able to handle the nervousness of his first pro game.

This game reminded me of the first preseason game of 1999, when a rookie named Tim Couch came off the bench to lead the Browns to an overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Here's what it meant: Nothing. But it was fun. In case you missed it, Couch was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars. His arm strength was questioned.

The lesson is not to be overcome with the hype and toss Quinn into a cage of snarling tigers as the Browns face the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins before the bye week. I believe Charlie Frye is the most equipped to handle it, because he can scramble and he has some experience.

Be very careful of what you see in the second halves of preseason games. There is lots of fool's gold, because the third string and guys headed to the waiver wire are on the field. In 2004, Luke McCown had some big preseason finishes. What did that mean? Nothing. McCown is dueling for a backup spot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Browns should start Frye and prepare Quinn as the backup.

It's time to name a starter and backup and get them regular work. Quinn is a key part of the franchise, and he should get regular practice. I went with Frye as a starter simply on the experience factor.

Quinn's late-game success has erased the first-half disaster in the minds of too many fans. Timeouts wasted, a delay-of game penalty, guys jumping offsides. All signs of confusion. When the Browns had their first two units on the field, they seemed utterly disorganized on offense. That's why they have to clarify the quarterback situation.