DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Heckert comments on QB competition and Phil Taylor news

Cleveland Browns GM Tom Heckert: "We fully expect Brandon (Weeden) to be the guy''
Published: Monday, May 21, 2012, 7:37 PM Updated: Monday, May 21, 2012, 9:11 PM
Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer By Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer


AKRON, Ohio -- On the eve of organized team activities, when Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy will practice with the full squad together for the first time, Browns general manager Tom Heckert clarified the nature of the competition.

"You can write about it and talk about it however you want. The best guy is going to play and we fully expect Brandon to be that guy,'' Heckert said at the Akron Browns Backers Banquet at Tangier Restaurant. "That's our goal is to have him be the guy.

"I think when we say, open competition, the best guy's going to play, that's just the way it is. But we drafted Brandon Weeden to be that guy. (You) draft a guy 22nd in the draft, you think he's going to be that guy.''

He said he saw of Weeden in rookie camp, "He's got a strong arm, he's accurate, he's smart and picking up the offense was nothing for him.''

He said nothing should be read into who takes the first snaps in OTAs Tuesday: "We're going to be rotating the guys all over the place. Whatever you see out there, take it for what it's worth. We've got a long way to go.''

He said all four quarterbacks, including Seneca Wallace and Thad Lewis have looked good: "Obviously Brandon's the guy we thought he was. So far he's looked great. Colt's looked good and Seneca (Wallace) has looked good and Thad (Lewis). We're excited to see them all get in there and throw it around this week.''

On Phil Taylor returning this season: "100%(he'll be back) I don't think there's any question about that. We think he'll be back end of October, early November, he'll definitely be back. It's six months at the most, and that's being very, very cautious. He could be back earlier than that.''

Heckert also said:

* Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, who's appealing his three-game suspension for the bounty scandal, is participating in OTAs.

* Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, who's back stiffened on Monday, may or may not be ready to practice on Tuesday. "If not, he'll be back soon,'' Heckert said.

* Cornerback Sheldon Brown will remain a cornerback. "Sheldon Brown is never going to play safety (as long as I'm here). He's a cornerback.''

* Contracts for Weeden and Trent Richardson aren't done yet, but there will be no problem.
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So, it's not a competition?

Thanks,

I think Heckert is being pretty straight forward in stating what most of us already believe to be a fact.

Weeden is the guy we are banking on taking the rains ... No doubt about that

On Phil Taylor ... He will be a good bet to start the season on the PUP list I'm thinking.

It is a competition, he just thinks there is no way Weeden loses the competition lol.

I hate to make any kind of guess on Big Phil but if it wasn't a complete tear and if he is a fast healer we may get him back in september. I really want to see the big guy back. Hell the only enjoyment we had last year was when the defense took the field.

Browns GM Tom Heckert: 'We fully expect' Brandon Weeden to be starting QB; plus other highlights
By Nate Ulrich Published: May 21, 2012

Browns General Manager Tom Heckert spoke to reporters tonight before the 33rd annual Akron Browns Backers banquet at Tangier restaurant. Here are some of the highlights from the interview:

Is there a difference between saying the quarterbacks will compete for the starting job and holding an open competition in which the snaps are divided?: “I think when we say open competition, the best guy is gonna play. That’s the way it is, but we drafted Brandon Weeden to be that guy. You draft a guy 22nd in the draft, you think he’s gonna be that guy. You can write it and talk about it however you want. The best guy’s gonna play, but we fully expect Brandon to be that guy. Now if he’s not, and Colt [McCoy] plays better or Seneca [Wallace], whoever, but right now that’s our goal is to have [Weeden] be the guy.”

Could you see McCoy and Wallace remaining on the roster?: “Yeah, I really could. This is another question you have to ask those guys, but when it happened I don’t know if they were shocked when we drafted Brandon, but they’ve been great, even Thad Lewis. Those guys, they’re professionals. They know the situation. There’s always gonna be guys coming in and out, so they’re OK with that. There’s not gonna be one guy [who’s] gonna say, ‘Well, I can’t do this.’ It’s not gonna be a big deal.”

Do you expect defensive tackle Phil Taylor to be back this season after having surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle last Wednesday?: “Oh, 100 percent, yeah. I don't think there's any question about that. We think he'll probably be [back by the] end of October, early November. But he'll definitely be back, no doubt, no question about it.”

Was something discovered during Taylor’s surgery that makes you confident?: “No, it's a normal recovery, you know six months at the most. That's being very, very cautious. He could [be] back earlier than that. But he'll be back at some point.”

Do you need to add a veteran defensive tackle in the meantime?: “No, we’re really happy with the guys we have, especially the two guys we drafted.”

Do you have a sense of relief to know you’ll get Taylor back this year?: “We know injuries are part of the game. We feel a lot better about the position this year than we did last year. If it happened last year, it would have been a different story. When we came into this thing we said we were going to build through the draft. We said depth was going to take care of itself. Now we’re at a position we have depth at some positions where we can get away with some things we couldn’t the last couple years.”

Will you bring back left guard Eric Steinbach?: “We haven’t discussed it, so I can’t answer it. But we haven’t completely said no. We haven’t really talked about it, to be honest with you.”

Any update on contract talks with Weeden and rookie running back Trent Richardson?: “No, really haven’t talked a whole lot about it. I think just because of, especially Trent, where we’re at, I think he wants to wait for some other [top picks to sign]. … They’ll all get done. It’s not a concern at all.”

Will middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, who missed the banquet tonight because his back stiffened, practice Tuesday when organized team activities begin?: “I don’t know. He’s going to try. He’s getting treatment right now. He’ll be back soon. If he’s not tomorrow, he’ll be back soon.”

Will Sheldon Brown stay at cornerback or move to free safety?: “Sheldon Brown is never going to play safety, unless some disaster happens. So you can put that to bed right now. He’s not a safety, he’s a corner. If disaster struck in a game and he had to play, maybe. He’s not a safety.” web page

why is he so gung ho on not willing to move Sheldon to Safety?

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"Obviously Brandon's the guy we thought he was. So far he's looked great. Colt's looked good and Seneca (Wallace) has looked good and Thad (Lewis).

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I guess we want the guy who looks great as opposed to good .......

Makes sense to me.

Why would they need to put Sheldon at safety?

Oh well, I kinda wish they had Pool, Jones and Eric Wright back, added to this group, it would be phenomenal.

He is old and slow. That is what happens to alot of aging corners who have lost a step. Especially those who are hard hitters it seems.

If Vince Wilfork raced Usain Bolt it would still be a competition, right? We all know who is going to win that race, but technically it's a competition. Then give Bolt a five second head start.

Weeden, McCoy, and Wallace are competing to start a QB. But Weeden will probably get more first team reps (the five second head start) for two reasons :1) He needs to get familiar with the players and the offense 2) They front office/coaching staff wants/needs him to win.

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I don't think we want a guy who goes 4 of 15 on passes thrown 31-40 yds

http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/13199/colt-mccoy

You'll never get 8 men out of the box like that.

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Pit...if I were to remain uneducated on what a good completion percentage for passes thrown in the 31-40 yd range was for NFL QBs, I would take your word for it...that being 4-17 was a bad percentage.

But when I review the top 7 QBs and their completions in the 31-40 yd range, I come up with this...using your source...

Pass Thrown 31-40 yds
Brady.........................................0-9
Aaron Rogers.............................7-11
Brees.........................................8-15
Romo.........................................7-14
Stafford.......................................6-21
Eli Manning.................................6-22
Matt Ryan...................................4-17


Suddenly, 4-17 does not look so horrible...just saying.

Concerning Weeden, I'm hoping he will be the QB to lead the Browns to the playoffs but I do not expect a miracle performance from him in his rookie season.

Concerning McCoy, if he does not accept a position as a backup, he will be dealt to another team or simply released, leaving the Browns with Wallace as Weeden's backup.

I'm not so sure I see the bottom 3 on your list as "great QB's" by any means actually. I know I'll take some heat regarding Eli, but he's very streaky IMO and not the "consistant type" I'd like to see.

I really hope that Colt is willing to take on the back-up role. He's a really good kid and hard not to like. I think he is good for the locker room, has a great work ethic and is a fine young man.

And in all honestly, I think you would have to admit, on the QB's you have listed, their oponents don't keep 8 men in the box all of the time which leaves their WR's single covered in that part of the field.

Most all if not all of those QB's are facing double coverage on their primary WR's almost all of the time. That's a huge difference. I'd be willing to bet if you left their WR's covered one on one, they'd be burning it up at that range.



We must consider apples to apples here my friend.

I'm not so sure we won't see some very good play from Weeden. However, if we do, I'd expect to see it later on in the season.

Our BIGGEST problem has been our oponents ability to keep 8 men in the box. If Weeden can be accurate enough to burn them just enouh to stop that, it will loosen up the run and give us the option of finaly having a balanced offensive attack.

If that can be accomplished, we could be very competative relatively quick.

JMHO

I don't have a problem with Sheldon at corner right now but he is getting to the age where he can slow down real quick but we have Skrine and Patterson. I actually feel pretty comfortable with our corners even though Claiborne would have looked real good lined up opposite Haden lol.

Free safety is the position yet to be filled and to be honest, we haven't had much at that position since the 80s.

My single biggest hope for Weeden in the next couple of months is that he renders any appearance of a competition to be moot.

I would absolutely love to see him step up in a big enough way so as to remove any and all doubt whatsoever.
What I don't want to see is things dragging on into preseason with he & Colt looking like they are neck-and-neck like we've had in every past season's QB competition.

So, Mr. Weeden - here's your task: go out and TAKE this job; own it - and do it early and leave no doubts in the minds of those you work for.

I just re-read his comments, and I think that this really tells where he stands with the QBs more than anything else ......

Quote:

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"He's got a strong arm. He's accurate. He's a very good leader and he's smart," said Heckert. "Picking up the offense was nothing for him."

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Last year we heard that it takes 3 years to learn the offense, and that we can't expect the QB to master anything beyond a mere handful of plays by the end of the first year ....... this year, picking up the offense is "nothing" for a rookie.

Why do you hate the guy so much?

He hates YTown, not Weeden.

I don't hate Weeden one bit. I hate that we get fed a line every year and some people fall for it.

I don't hate Colt, and I don't blame him for "everything" last year ...... but I do hold the QB responsible for most of what happens on the field, especially in the passing game.

The Browns are now saying a lot of the same things I said last year about McCoy's arm strength, accuracy, ball placement, and decision making, (and so on) by talking up Weeden's ability and capability thus far in those areas. If we accept that the Browns brain trust is somewhat knowledgeable about football, and QB play in particular, and they agree with what I said I saw on the field starting last year, then perhaps what I said wasn't hate ..... but rather, truth.

Why would the Browns go out and draft a QB in the 1st round if they thought that the guy they have is the answer .... or even has the possibility of being the answer?

yeah, let's not forget that if Kendall Wright was there at #22, then someone could have swooped in and grabbed Weeden ahead of us at #37.

so, we weren't that far off from going into the season with Colt again.

I think that you can see a guy picking up concepts and being able to run plays quickly and properly.

Obviously he doesn't have the whole play book down in 3 days. However, if the team puts in 3 or 4 plays, with the trees that run off of those base plays, and the QB gets it down quickly, then yes, you can tell a lot from that. If a guy runs the right checks and reads, if he makes the right throws, etc., yes, the team can tell a lot of that.

I watched McCoy's presser today and I admit that I kinda felt bad for the guy. You can tell that he is just torn up inside over the Browns taking a guy in the 1st, basically to replace him. He was trying to say the right things, but his voice would crack on occasion, and you can tell that he was really feeling a lot of emotion.

I do think that the Browns should have limited his access to the media for now. He made a comment about competing his whole career, and said something about having to compete on his High School team, and not getting to start his freshman year even though his dad was the coach that really came off kinda bad IMO. There were a couple of other comments that I felt he could have handled far better as well. I know the guy has to be upset about losing his job ... and there is almost no doubt that he will lose his job ..... but the way he handles it could determine whether he has a job going into the future or not. I also looked at the pictures from today's OTA, and Weeden was all smiles and upbeat looking, and Colt's body language was just horrible. He really looks like a beaten kid. I really don't know how the Browns help him recover at this point.

Actually one thing stood out for me with McCoy's presser and that was the I dont want to get into the he said she said comments. There is no way anyone within the organization consulted McCoy on who we were gonna draft. The NFL doesn't work that way. Instead of putting it all to rest, he made it sound like the espn report was true but he wasn't going to say anything about the organization.

It is nothing major but ....

I think you guys are reading way too much into Heckert's statements. Weeden has probably had the playbook since the draft, and I'm sure he has studied it. I don't believe that Heckert is implying that he knows the whole offense, but yet he has a grasp of the concept and the basics. I think the pissing match between Ytown and Arch has muddied the reality a little.

Last year they said Colt picked up the offense and was teaching it to others at camp Colt. There again, I think that it was the basics that they were referring to.Some players do learn faster than others, and a month of solid study could be what it takes to grasp the basic concept. I feel there is no way he could possibly know the whole offense, and I don't think Heckert is suggesting he did.

Cinci runs a form of the west coast I believe, and Dalton seemed to grasp it pretty quickly, so for Weeden to do the same would not be far fetched.

When Holmgren suggests that it takes 3 years to learn the offense, I believe he means to "master " it.

Weeden looked good at the rookie camp, so to me that means that he understands the concept, and probably has learned the basics expected of him at this point. I just think too many fans take comments by Heckert too literally. He saw Weeden run some plays correctly, and complete some passes accurately and not struggle under center, thus he concluded that he is on schedule. IMO that is the reality. Anybody who seriously thinks the guy knows the whole system already, or thinks H&H believe he does are fooling themselves.

It's football, not rocket science, and as someone who has played and coached a little, I have seen players who do pick things up very quickly, and others that don't. Heck, a friend and I agreed to coach a local pay to play team, and were surprised how quickly a couple 11-12 year old kids learned the plays we came up with.

I think as fans we need to quit acting as if every player this team drafts or aquires is somehow a step below any other teams draftees or FA. These guys all come from college programs that were more complex than their high school programs. This is just the next step. The playbook is probably bigger and terms are different, but it is still football, and most of them have been playing it for years.

There are posters on this board who have a very good understanding of how the west coast offense operates, and they probably have never seen a playbook. So who's to say a guy like Weeden, or any other player coming from the college ranks can't figure it out fairly easy, or should I say as easy as a guy at a computer who watches tons of football.

Good post.