His biggest play last Sunday was his last big play of the season. 

Sure, Brady Quinn, the Notre Dame poster boy, finished out the game, turning his 24-yard bootleg into what would be the game-winning points. But Quinn also hurt his right foot on the play, and the injury has ended his season.

His getting hurt was the last thing Browns coach Eric Mangini wanted. 

Make no mistake here, Quinn wasn't Mangini's ideal quarterback. No other alternative on the Browns is. But Quinn was Mangini's best option, considering those alternatives. Now with Quinn sidelined, Mangini has to use Derek Anderson, whose return to the lineup threatens to revive the quarterback controversy that began this season.

For if the strong-armed Anderson plays well -- and he has played well in the past -- what choice does Mangini have but to look at him as a possible starter for next season, should Mangini have a next season with the Browns.

That's as big a question as who lines up behind center Alex Mack. 

It's a question, however, that should be answered in the next two games, games that will serve as final exams for many players on the Browns roster. Aside from a handful of players, most of what Mangini has to work with are marginal talents who will leave no large imprint on the franchise or on professional football. They might not all be journeymen, but they aren't Pro Bowlers either.

That applies, of course, to Anderson, although, surprisingly, he does have a Pro Bowl season in his work history.

Judging a quarterback can be fraught with difficulty. Certain QB traits are easily judged: arm strength, mobility, vision. But more than a few quarterbacks have rated well in those categories and then fell short as leaders. Teammates need to believe in their quarterback almost as much as they believe in their coach.

They can't feign any of this. Either it's real confidence in their leader or it's no confidence at all.

As much as anything, neither Quinn nor Anderson showed much leadership, which put more of it in Mangini's hands. A coach isn't a rallying point, not game after game after game. For he isn't out on the football field, fighting the cold, the heat and a well-schooled opponent with his battered, bloody body at risk. The coach's pre-game pep talk stops resonating with players late in a football game when a touchdown is needed for them to win.

In moments like these, they must rely on Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Drew Brees or any number of NFL quarterbacks who have driven their teams through the snow and cold to meaningful victories.

Mangini doesn't have a quarterback like any of these men. Instead, he has two young quarterbacks with erratic, uneven skills. Neither man has achieved the kind of success needed to breed confidence in their teammates, and neither has earned Mangini's confidence. Yes, Mangini had decided Quinn was the best choice, but how much belief did Mangini still have in Quinn after dissecting his performance in a 41-34 win?

In that win, Quinn passed for 66 yards. No, not on his game-winning drive, but for the game.

Mangini couldn't be overly critical of the performance, because Quinn did lead the Browns to a win. Wins have been scarce for the Browns under Mangini or under the other three coaches who preceded him since the team's 1999 resurrection. He could see that as a redeeming quality, a good thing to build on as the '09 season nears its end.

Now, whatever progress the inexperienced Quinn, a former No. 1 draft pick, might have been able to make has been halted. He's on injured reserve, down for the season. So the spotlight falls on Anderson again. He has a chance to prove he's an NFL-capable quarterback.

That's not an encouraging thought for Browns fans -- or for Mangini. He had decided weeks ago that Anderson wasn't the answer; returning him to the starting job risks raising additional questions about Quinn. Mangini doesn't need to hear those questions; he needs answers. But he won't get them, which is the damnable part of coaching a team with his job on the line.