Anderson, Derek

Derek Matthew Anderson (born June 15, 1983 in Scappoose, Oregon) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon State.
Contents
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* 1 High school
* 2 Collegiate career
* 3 Professional career
* 4 Anderson's NFL statistics
* 5 References
* 6 External links

[edit] High school

Anderson grew up in Scappoose, Oregon, and led the Scappoose Indians to one of their record three consecutive state football championships in Class 3A football. He also excelled at basketball in high school and was named state player of the year in both football and basketball his senior year. He went to school and was childhood friends with Sara Jean Underwood.[1]

Anderson has received some notoriety for his large feet as he wore size 17 shoes by the time he reached 10 years old. His parents had to special-order the shoes from Arvydas Sabonis of the Portland Trail Blazers.[2]

[edit] Collegiate career

Raised in a small Northwest Oregon town, Anderson was a Beaver fan growing up and always wanted to play for Oregon State. His decision to play for the school was celebrated by fans who envisioned he would rapidly develop and become a dominant quarterback in college.

At 6'6" Anderson was not the prototypical quarterback. In fact, many believed he would play basketball in college instead of football. Still, he was recruited nationwide and his dominating performance as a quarterback in high school helped in his decision stay with football.

At the start of his sophomore year (2002), Anderson was thrust into the starting role as QB and handed the reins of a rapidly improving program. Unfortunately, his early performances showed inexperience and poor passing. This lead to an early streak of losses for the team. Fortunately, the team's lack of competition for the quarterback spot that year made him a lock for the starting position.

His early entry into the starting role came on the heels of Oregon State's most successful period to date. Capped by a Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame, the team went 11-1 in 2000 and ranked 4th in the nation under head coach Dennis Erickson. Expectations were exceptionally high by 2002 and the monumental task ahead would have been daunting for any young quarterback.

Despite these challenges, Anderson helped the Beavers record an 8-5 season. His work was also good enough to give the Beavers entry into the 2002 Insight Bowl. However, the young team was no match for a then well-seasoned University of Pittsburgh. The Beavers lost 38-13 and coach Erickson left for a National Football League head coaching position with the San Francisco 49ers.

The pressures on the entire team to keep the program headed in a winning direction were only compounded by the sudden change in head coaching. The return of previous head coach Mike Riley from the NFL meant learning an entirely new system. With help from teammate and star running back Steven Jackson, Anderson again rose to the occasion and played a leading role in propelling the team to an 8-5 record, this time ending the 2003 season on a 55-14 Las Vegas Bowl win over a then up-and-coming New Mexico program.

Locally, Anderson was known as "The Big Scappoose" for his stature and hometown. However, his vastly improving abilities were garnering respect from throughout the conference and many opponents viewed him as an improving QB with an unbelievably strong arm. During his junior year he showed he could throw the ball down-field exceeding far and accurately hit receivers in motion. Still, his game had issues. He continued to make some bad decisions under pressure and was viewed by critics as a habitual "pocket passer," which gave rushing defenses an easy target.

By the 2004 season, Anderson successfully integrated footwork into his repertoire and surprised many defenses with his new found ability to escape the tackle and even run the ball for touchdowns. Although the team's 7-5 performance was nothing to mark down in the history books, Anderson became nationally recognized as a very dangerous offensive weapon who could strike long gains at will. Plus, he was now a legitimate running threat at quarterback. The Beavers also went without Steven Jackson through the 2004 season (Jackson was drafted into the NFL at the end of the 2003 season). Even without the star running back, Anderson willed his team back into the Insight Bowl where they again faced Notre Dame (led by current Browns teammate Brady Quinn). The Beavers never trailed in the game and easily defeated the Irish 38-21. Anderson unleashed 359 yards and four touchdown passes, with no interceptions. It was probably his most stunning college performance and showcased his newfound skill as a true field general.

Anderson is the second player in Pac-10 history to throw for over 4,000 yards in a single season, setting an Oregon State Beavers football record at 4,058 yards in the 2003 season. He also ranks second in the Pac-10 for career touchdown passes, at 79 (also an Oregon State record). He is the 6th person to ever throw for 10,000 yards in a career in the Pac-10, and holds the Oregon State record for career passing yards at 11,249.

[edit] Professional career

Anderson was selected out of Oregon State University by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft (213th overall), but never played for them and was waived on 20 September 2005. The next day he signed with the Cleveland Browns, for whom he currently plays.

Anderson served as Charlie Frye's backup for the Cleveland Browns in the 2006 season. He made his first appearance in an NFL regular season game against the Denver Broncos at Browns Stadium, 22 October 2006, taking one snap after Frye was briefly shaken up.

His second NFL appearance was more noteworthy. After Frye injured his wrist during the first half of Cleveland's 3 December game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Anderson played the entire second half. He threw his first two NFL touchdown passes in that game, connecting with tight end Steve Heiden twice in the fourth quarter. Anderson also scrambled for 33 yards in overtime, moving the ball from the Kansas City 45-yard line to the 12-yard line, after which the Browns were in field goal range. Anderson's play was instrumental in leading the Browns back from a 28-14 deficit to a 31-28 overtime victory.

Although some reports said he outplayed incumbent starter Charlie Frye and rookie Brady Quinn in minicamp, Anderson was not as productive in the pre-season games and Frye was named the starter. Crennell earlier said that the two were so close in effectiveness that he would use coin-toss to decide between the two quarterbacks.

Anderson took over for Frye in the 2007 opener after Frye was extremely ineffective in the first quarter. The game was Frye's last game in a Browns uniform, as he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth round draft pick two days later.

Named the starting quarterback by Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel for Week 2, Anderson threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns. His passer rating for the game was 121.0 as the Browns defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 51-45, solidifying Anderson's role. In the game Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer also threw for six touchdown passes. It was only the third time in NFL history hat two quarterbacks had thrown at least five touchdown passes in the same game. [3]

On September 30, he beat the team that drafted him, the Baltimore Ravens, for the first time. He threw for two touchdowns and 204 yards, completing 10 of 18 pass attempts with just one interception.

Anderson, through fifteen games of the 2007 season, has led the Browns to an astounding 9-6 overall record, 9-5 in games in which he started. With 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions for the season, and following a 24-18 win over the New York Jets, Anderson has turned the Browns into one of the more explosive offenses in the league with serious playoff hopes.

On 2007-12-18, Anderson was named as a first alternate for the 2008 Pro Bowl at quarterback.[4]