The player who made the biggest advance in the four practices this week was arguably quarterback Brett Ratliff. He threw a touchdown pass of 71 yards to David Patten and a pass 46 yards to Patten to set up another touchdown in the intrasquad scrimmage on Sunday. He threw a touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards in the two-minute drill Tuesday and on Thursday, from his own 4, threw a touchdown pass deep to Brian Robiskie over Rod Hood. The ball was in the air about 50 yards.

Ratliff was acquired in the draft day trade with the Jets in which the Browns gave up the fifth pick in the first round for the 17th pick, Ratliff, defensive end Kenyon Coleman and safety Abe Elam.

Ratliff has a smooth, easy delivery. He is clearly ahead of Richard Bartell for the third quarterback spot. If he continues making progress and convinces the coaches he can be the No. 2 quarterback, the Browns might be tempted to trade Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn despite Coach Eric Mangini saying neither contender for the starting job will be traded.