Cleveland Browns quarterback conundrum: How best to use Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace? / Poll

Jake Delhomme's likely return to the starting lineup raises a question: How do you use the veteran quarterback, and what does the return mean to backup Seneca Wallace.

View full sizeJohn Kuntz,
The Plain DealerJake Delhomme is expected to start his first game for the Browns since being injured against Tampa Bay in the season opener.

Cleveland, Ohio -- Jake Delhomme was cruising in the season-opening Tampa Bay game. Oh, he wasn't pillaging the Bucs' booty, but he was playing confidently and having success.

Then, right before halftime, , it happened: an errant throw, an interception, a Tampa Bay  touchdown later, and a preseason of optimism was over quicker than a Lindsay Lohan stay in jail.

One thought rushed through the collective consciousness of Browns fans like an untouched safety on a full-out blitz: "Uh-oh. We didn't get the NEW IMPROVED Jake Delhomme; we have the one who threw 18 touchdowns with the Panthers before being benched in the 11th game of 2009."

It turns out it was a high ankle sprain, which some experts say is a tougher recover  than a broken ankle. Louisiana native Delhomme, at 35, is no spring poulet in athletic terms. How soon he'd be able to come back was an issue.

Seneca Wallace, a career backup in Seattle, filled in for three games. The Browns have led in the fourth quarter of all four games this year. Wallace seems to be developing a chemistry with tight end Ben Watson, and last week did something REALLY unusual: He connected 10 times with a wideout. With the considerable help of running back Peyton Hillis, he managed to win last Sunday's game against the Bengals.

But Delhomme was anointed the starter in the preseason, and he'll most likely be back under center Sunday when the Browns play host to the confident 3-1 Falcons, assuming he suffers no setbacks in a full week of practice this week. So you have two quarterbacks, one a former Pro Bowler who took his team to the Super Bowl, the other who's got more yards on a clipboard than on a football field, but whose nimble feet give the Browns an added dimension.

How do you use them?