DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Surprising McCoy rare QB score for Browns (Article)

This Shurmur guy has gotta go. I mean what does he know if he thinks Colt's arm is "plenty strong enough?"


http://www.cbssports.com/#!/nfl/story/15474340/surprising-mccoy-rare-qb-score-for-browns

BEREA, Ohio -- Admit it. The Cleveland Browns were right about Colt McCoy, and everybody else was wrong.

At least, that's how it looks now. Because now the quarterback who didn't have the ideal size or the spring-loaded arm to play in the NFL not only is playing; he's starting ... only this time it's not out of necessity, it's by choice.

The Cleveland Browns know what they have in Colt McCoy, and what they have is a potential franchise quarterback -- the first time that has happened here since Bernie Kosar.

Yeah, I know, McCoy has an eight-game résumé, and let's not get carried away. Only watch him dissect New England and the New York Jets last season after Cleveland was forced to play him. Then fast-forward to this summer, where, through two preseason starts, he's completing 68 percent of his throws and producing a gaudy 132.6 passer rating, and tell me the Browns didn't nail this one.

Because it sure looks like it.

"There's something natural about Colt and his ability to play the position," head coach Pat Shurmur said. "It's a unique intersection of stuff. He understands how to play the position. He's a winner. And his arm is plenty strong enough

"In fact, I've been impressed with him physically. Now, take the skill and ability, and combine that with the fact that he works so darned hard at getting it right. It means something to him."

It will mean even more to Cleveland if he succeeds. The Browns have been through a slew of quarterbacks since Kosar retired, with predictable results -- only once since they rejoined the league in 1999 have they made the playoffs and only twice did they produce a winning record.

Much of that can be blamed on quarterbacks who fizzled. Tim Couch, Jeff Garcia, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Jake Delhomme, you name it, the Browns couldn't find someone to lock down the position.

Well, now they might.

It's not just that McCoy has the ability, the smarts and the temperament to play the position. It's that he's in the right place at the right time, with Shurmur's West Coast offense a perfect fit for someone who is accurate, excels in an attack based on timing and makes quick decisions.

Hey, it worked for the Rams' Sam Bradford, the first pick of the 2010 draft. I don't know why it couldn't work for McCoy, too. In fact, Shurmur said that had the Rams passed on Bradford and exercised their first-round pick on someone else, he believes they "would have positioned" themselves to take McCoy later, an indication of what they thought of the guy.

"I don't want you to get the wrong vibe," said the likeable McCoy, "but I do feel comfortable with what we're doing. I also know that I've got a long ways to go, a lot to prove and a lot to work on, but the concepts and the base ins-and-outs of our offense are all the stuff that I did in college.

"So I'm used to it. Now there's a lot of new stuff -- words, lingo, lots of freedom for me as a quarterback -- but I do feel comfortable, really comfortable, in how we're running it."

The early returns support him. In two preseason games, McCoy has four touchdowns and no interceptions, with one out of every seven passes a touchdown. By contrast, in his last two starts last season, he had one touchdown and six interceptions.

Of course, that was vs. Baltimore and Pittsburgh, two clubs headed to the playoffs. It was also after McCoy returned from a high ankle sprain that wasn't really healed.

But he's healthy again and on a team that needs him to play as he did before he was hurt. If that happens, Cleveland becomes a factor. I'm not talking about a playoff factor. Not now. But a tough out, as they were most of last season.

"This year is so different than last year for him ... good and bad," team president Mike Holmgren said. "The good is that, OK, he knows he's the guy. The bad is that what comes with that is the pressure that's involved when you start.

"I would see him in an effort to be perfect ... and no one's ever going to be perfect -- and I thought he was grinding a little too much. I just said, 'Hey, what are you doing?' There's pressure, sure, but you know what? You do what you can do."

What McCoy can do is make the Browns better. I saw it against New England. I saw it against the Jets. He made few mistakes, and the Browns made lots of plays. The experience was good for Cleveland and its fans, but it was invaluable for its young quarterback.

"I didn't want him to play last year," Holmgren said. "But, in hindsight, it will make him a better player this year because he had to play against really good defenses without a lot of practice time. And we learned ... as he learned ... that this isn't too big for him.

"He can do this, and that's something from a coach's standpoint you have to learn. Regardless of how talented the quarterback is, you don't know how he's going to react to the situation. So we know now. That question has been answered."

The question that hasn't been answered is this: How much better will McCoy be? He has that year of experience. He has an offense that seems suited to his talents. And he has the motivation that maybe, just maybe, wasn't there last summer when he was nailed to the bench.

"He has a tremendous desire to be great," Shurmur said. "He'll do what he has to do to win ballgames. He's not skewed by anything other than executing the offense and getting the team into the end zone. It's really what drives him."

That's one reason he reached out to Brett Favre this summer for help deciphering a new playbook. Puzzled by one section, he thought of quarterbacks who might help and considered Matt Hasselbeck, Joe Montana and Steve Young before settling on Favre. So he called, Favre was receptive, and the rest you know.

"That just says something about Colt and his drive to be good," Shurmur said.

It says something about the Browns, too. They knew what they were doing when they drafted McCoy in the third round. I don't know, maybe they gambled; maybe they didn't. All I know is they found themselves a starter. Better yet, they may have found themselves a winner, and hallelujah. It's about time.

"I thank the good Lord for the opportunity that I have," McCoy said, "and I'm going to bust my tail to be the best I can be. After that, I'll let things happen the way they're supposed to happen. Right now, my focus is on what we've got going on here. We have a lot of work to do, but we're having fun."

Tell me the last time you heard that around here. That tells me Cleveland got this one right.

"Let's just say I'm excited about what we've seen so far," Shurmur said.

Great read, Kash! Darn that arm issue, all those TDs don't count, I guess. We have seen more offense this preseason than the last two combined IMO, and TDs over FGs are sweeter by far. A number of our games the last couple years would have ended differently with one more TD or even red zone points in the clutch at the end. Colt seems to get it; this article is a welcome change of pace. Also, how great is it not to be in a self-inflicted QB controversy and some mindless shell game of the mystery starting QB for the next game? Those wore me out. Here's to Colt! Go Browns!

Yeah,, But but,, he doesn't have anything more than a less than Average NFL Arm.. how dare he even think he can win



<<sarcasm off>>

Guys ... I like what McCoy has done in this pre-season as much as anyone ....... but how about we get into the regular season before we play "Told you so!!!!!".

Maybe we let him win a game or 2 .........?

SO fin' sick of the media...i bet these will be the same people who write about how "we were wrong about COLT" when he looses 2 in a row in the regular season....and that WILL happen...why put the guy up so high when he is still climbing?

Am i happy he is doing well? hell yah....but i'm not ready to say he is the one for the browns just yet..let's see how this season goes.

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And his arm is plenty strong enough

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I just hope people Let Colt grow, he's got alot to learn and is gonna make mistakes, go easy....about the arm issue....Let see Derrick Anderson has a strong arm, couldnt hit the broad side of a barn, having a rifle arm dosent mean success, having a average arm dosent mean failure, Many QB's with less than cannon arms have gone on to have great carrers and many strong arm QB's are long gone & forgotten........it's between the ears than means more than whats between the shoulders.

Yeah ... and so far the early reviews are great .... but it may well turn out that Shurmur flops and that McCoy can't be a winning QB.

They haven't played a real game together yet ....... so it's all just hope at this point. It looks good so far ..... but nothing that's been done yet counts at all.

Actually I meant this year ...... but touche' anyway. lol

Ytown, at least what Colt has given us thus far this year is just that --- Hope! Here's to a positive year with a step in the right direction.

Yeah ... I can think of a lot of people who have professed and offered "Hope" with sky high expectations ......... but drastically under-delivered results.

I'll hope for the best ..... but I'm still gonna take a wait and see approach before I proclaim Colt McCoy another Otto Graham, or Pat Shurmur another Vince Lombardi. (or even Sam Rutigliano, for that matter)

thanks, no logo... you saved me some work.

Vince Lombardi- pffft. whatever.

Honestly, I think the early success has more to do with everything going on around him than Colt himself. Sure he's looked good (don't want to take anything away from his performance, love what he's done so far), but look at everything around him.

Offensive line is what it should have been last year (with the exception of Steinbach being out). You have a healthy and productive Pashos and Lauvao. Lauvao seems to be starting to live up to last season's hopeful expectations. Last year we continued with our woes on the right side. This year we seem to be turning a corner with that side.

Moore has one year under his belt, and seems to be picking up right where he left off (performance-wise and concussion-wise). We've said it before, we'll say it again, Moore is nasty.

WR's. They're a ragtag bunch now, upgraded from a sorry-sack. I think Little has a lot to do with that (I know, wait and see) as well as some promising talent (Norwood). Putting promising talent in a paragraph about our WRs feels strange to me.

I love me some Colt, but I love what they're doing with the people around him more.

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Moore has one year under his belt

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This is Moore's third year.

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Honestly, I think the early success has more to do with everything going on around him than Colt himself.

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I agree, a lot of Colt's performance is due to the effectiveness of those around him (including the coaching staff). But I would also have to say that Colt has done just as much on his own to improve his prospects. He was at all the off-season player training things, he sought out Brett Favre (maybe with a little nudge from a front office executive), and has picked up the offense quickly.

Is it possible that the offense is running so smoothly, albeit two preseason games, because of the work Colt has done and not the other way around? Isn't that the definition of a franchise quarterback (which we all hope Colt will become)?

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Honestly, I think the early success has more to do with everything going on around him than Colt himself.

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LOL Do you really think it was any different for Manning or Brady or Montana or any other successful QB?

It's almost as if your saying that if Colt can't put the entire team on his back and carry them to a SB, then HA,,, he's not good?

Put Tom Brady on a bad team and he may never get a ring!

Sure sure...

I just read that article and immediately thought about Pashos and Lauvao. Those were two guys that were expected to contribute last year and didn't. Now that they're in there, they are contributing and seem to be doing really well and adding immensely to team success. One of our biggest weaknesses from last year could be a strength.

That's all...

It's a preemptive hate.

Totally different.

And hopefully Pinkston and Greco give us some depth.

Tim Couch was doomed from day 1 because he had no help whatsoever. McCoy has a good supporting cast that gives him a chance to succeed.

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"He can do this, and that's something from a coach's standpoint you have to learn. Regardless of how talented the quarterback is, you don't know how he's going to react to the situation. So we know now. That question has been answered."

The question that hasn't been answered is this: How much better will McCoy be? He has that year of experience. He has an offense that seems suited to his talents. And he has the motivation that maybe, just maybe, wasn't there last summer when he was nailed to the bench.

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An incentive I think can do wonders for motivation and not being left on the bench like some runt of the litter.

You mean being told when you are drafted that there is no way you are going to play... then having a coach that doesn't talk to you.... and not getting the playbook until Wednesday.... and not getting any reps.... that can sort of dampen your enthusiasm and make it harder for you to compete? Really?