Damp weather outdoors yesterday did not dampen the enthusiasm of players in the fieldhouse.

Passes that a year ago were bouncing on the ground or sailing over a receiver's head were hitting receivers in stride. The offensive line was in sync and the running backs hit the holes without hesitation.

This is the second year in the Rob Chudzinski offense. Last year, the Browns made the mistake of opening the OTAs to the media on the first day of the program. The focus was on rookie quarterback Brady Quinn; the story was how most of the passes he did complete were to defensive backs, and Braylon Edwards being a first-day no show. Edwards never missed a session after that.

''We were putting in a new offense last year,'' coach Romeo Crennel said after practice. ''You know how quickly some people want things to be perfect in this society. It takes some time. Like in 2005, I was telling everybody it took time.

''Everyone doesn't want to believe that, but it does.

''I know in time things will look better. Having been in the offensive system for a year now, it looked better today. We'll keep trying to make it look good.''

As ugly as the offense looked last spring, it ended as one of the most efficient in the league with 402 points scored.

The only negative aspect of the workout yesterday occurred when starting right guard Ryan Tucker walked off the field with a hip injury. He was not limping, but he did not return for the final 45 minutes of the workout.

It wasn't only the offense that looked good. New defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, big in street clothes, was huge on the football field -- huge in a good way. He wasn't 400 pounds, but, walking off the field, he was a head taller than fellow defensive lineman Shaun Smith.

Shantee Orr, the former Jaguars linebacker acquired in free agency, showed speed around the corner and could have flattened the quarterback, who at the time happened to be Quinn.

Whether the starting quarterback should be Derek Anderson or Quinn will be a topic of debate all summer for the radio talk-show crowd, even though Crennel has made it clear Anderson has the job. It is different from last year when, after OTAs, minicamp, training camp and four preseason games, Charlie Frye won the job by default.

Quinn threw the ball well yesterday, but Anderson threw it better. He has spent a lot of time this offseason trying to become a better passer. Specifically, he said he has been working at improving at passing to his left and being more accurate. Some of those passes will be going to Donte Stallworth, the receiver acquired in free agency after a year with the Patriots.

''I've been throwing to him for four or five weeks,'' Anderson said. ''The guy can run and stretch the field for us. He has a good set of hands.''

Anderson threw 29 touchdown passes last season. The only quarterbacks who threw more were Tom Brady (50) with the Patriots, Ben Roethlisberger (32) with the Steelers, Tony Romo (36) with the Cowboys and Peyton Manning (31) with the Colts.

jschudel@News-Herald.com