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Josh McCown prepared to ‘lead by example’ whether he’s starting or not
Posted 1 hour ago

Andrew Gribble
Senior Staff Writer
@Andrew_Gribble
Veteran QB doesn’t dwell on past


Josh McCown didn’t shy away from the past whether it involved his personal performance or that of the franchise he joined just a few days ago.
The veteran quarterback just doesn’t waste much time dwelling on it. His focus, whether it’s on how he, the Browns or the team’s young quarterbacks can be better than they were in 2014, is locked squarely on a 2015 season that is still more than six months away.
“No matter who joins us in that room or what that room looks like, the goal and my part at least is to help us come together and play good football,” McCown said Monday on a conference call with local reporters. “It starts with me. As the veteran in there right now, it starts with me. I’m excited about that and I embrace that, and I look forward to helping that group play good football and going out and doing that myself, too.”
Watch: McCown - On Playing In Front Of The Dawg Pound


At 35 and with 12 NFL seasons under his belt, McCown has plenty of experience as the veteran in the quarterbacks room.
During his three seasons with the Bears, he was a mentor to Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler. Last season with the Buccaneers, he worked closely with Mike Glennon, who at 25, is 10 years younger than McCown. If the Browns don’t add to the group over the next few months, McCown will carry at least a 12-year advantage on Johnny Manziel and Connor Shaw, both of whom are coming off their rookie seasons.
Make no mistake about it: McCown is already preparing and will continue to prepare as if he’s the starter. But there’s going to be more to his 13th season in the NFL than just how he performs on the field, and he can tap into that past to explain why he’s up for the challenge.
“It’s easy. You prepare,” McCown said. “You’ve got to lead by example first and foremost. If you go out and do the things it takes to get yourself ready to play and on the way to doing that you sit in the room so much with the guys that hopefully some of the things that come up throughout the course of preparation and different conversations as you study, you can use some of that time to share some of your experiences and hopefully guys can benefit from it.”
It’s close to impossible to log exclusively positive experiences over a career as long as McCown’s, and the quarterback was quick to say his past season with the Buccaneers “wasn’t good enough.” In his 11 starts, which were sandwiched around a five-game absence because of a thumb injury, McCown went 1-10 while throwing for 2,206 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He was released shortly before the NFL Combine.
There are some variables to consider when evaluating McCown’s 2014 performance, but you won’t hear him use them as excuses.
The Buccaneers’ offensive line struggled from start to finish and was ranked 30th for their pass blocking by ProFootballFocus.com. McCown was sacked 36 times. One week before the start of the season, Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford left the team after undergoing a coronary angioplasty, putting the offense in the hands of quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo. The Buccaneers ranked 30th in total offense.
“We just weren’t good enough. I own my part of that, for sure,” McCown said. “If anything, it just lights a fire to get that bad taste out of my mouth because that was not the way certainly I would have hoped to have planned for that season to go. I want to see it changed. Lord willing, I’ll never be in that situation again, but I think, too, I’m better prepared if that does happen because I sure did learn a lot.”
Even with McCown’s arrival, the Browns’ quarterback situation is not settled. Competition will drive the group, and, ultimately, the best option will lead the team into 2015.
The team’s past at the position is well-documented, and McCown -- even as new as he is -- has been brought up to speed. He very well could be the latest new face to start at the position, but that’s the last thing on his mind.
The quarterbacks of the Browns’ present matter so much more to him than those of the past.
“If you just looked at it like that and just said 22 guys or whatever have been here before then it’s just, ‘Hey, let’s pack up and go home because it’s pointless,’ but that is not my mindset,” McCown said. “That is not my attitude. I want to attack this thing and do everything I can to change that and more than anything, help this team win football games.”

browns



When has a 12 yr vet who hasn't had a winning career gone to a team and made them play better including himself ?

J.C. actually not to change things up,but I hopeShaw has.
been working on his arm strength cause he didn't look that bad the last game maybe his upside may be more than we think,he did look ready

I am not going to look up records, but Gary Dainelson did a pretty good job of bridging and mentoring rookie Bernie Kosar.


He may or may not have had some winning seasons, but none the less, was more or less a journeyman QB who did a heck of a job at what he was asked to do..at least for us.

Danielson was a better qb than McCown, bro.

That's a good point Peen.. If Josh can help JM in a similar way.. Things may not be so gloomy... And by the way turn your phone on..I've been calling you.

not really directed at you but just wondering why anyone would think johnny would listen?

He put himself in rehab...Got to hope that's a sign of wanting to make better changes for himself... We can only hope for the best.

We really don't know that it is a fact that he put himself in rehab.

From everything we've been told he has, it would be wrong to speculate that anyone else sent him there.

Are you that closed-minded that the Browns didn't have a talk w/him and made it clear that he needed to do this and if he did that they would give him every opportunity to land the job?

And do you also not understand that doing such a thing would actually be SMART on their part?

Man. Think!

True...

After the Josh McCown signing I am not capable of thinking the Browns will do anything smart. . .

If I was forced to speculate on someone other than Manziel wanting rehab I would put the Browns third behind his agent and family.

browns meet sunday, monday, tuesday. johnny is in rehab wendsday. farmer asked if he talked to johnny after pettin said he went to see him. farmer said twice. once before he went in and once during a therapy session. doesnt take a ton of bricks to fall on my head to figure hat one out.

I get the family thing, but they have been trying to encourage him to move in that direction for years.

I have no problem w/you disagreeing w/my take, but I think it makes perfect sense..............AND I am NOT criticizing the Browns. I actually think it would be a smart move on their part!

Look, I am not going to play this stupid ass Regime Wars thing. I am so tired of how it's either every move is stupid or every move is smart. I am going to praise the good moves and criticize the stupid moves.

And I really don't care who likes it.

Oh, btw.............I never said I agree w/Shanny for not wanting Teddy. I think he was wrong.

'How the Browns are counting on Josh McCown to be their bridge QB in 2015'

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ss..._social_feature

Blurb from article:

"McCown's salary is a strong indication that the Browns are counting on him to start games this season, possibly even the whole season. He agreed to terms Friday on a three-year deal worth $14 million, including $6.25 million fully guaranteed. His 2015 bases salary of $5.25 million is guaranteed, and he can make another $2 million each year based on play-time and playoff incentives."

Bernie Kosar didn't NEED a mentor. He embraced Danielsons help, but he was determined to learn everything he could about the game. Bernie was SMART. Montana when asked said Kosar was the smartest QB in the league. So, now that we have our Danielson, Where are we going to find our Kosar? A guy that WANTS to be the man? A WINNER. Because right now, the cupboard is BARE. And I don't see a local hero coming out in the suplemental draft begging to be a Brown. More's the pity. I'd kill to have a Kosar type QB fall to us somehow. Not only was he samrt, he could THROW. Alas, all we have at the moment is a headcase idiot spending his off season in rehab.
Perhaps our five million dollar mentor would be good at the task. Unfortunately, there is no one here for him TO mentor. So unless Farmer grows a brain and drafts a real QB this time around, a mentor QB is of little use. A REAL qb that can actually play would have been a better choice.

If that is the reason he went in to rehab then it's a waste of time. To really work rehab has to be HIS choice. HE has to want to change. If this is just to get the Browns off his back, then he might as well leave right now. Recovery is a life long thingYou don't just walk in and say "cure me". If he isn't 100% committed to the process, then it's useless.

Either way,it doesn't solve the QB problem. Even without his off field problems he's still a tiny little QB that runs WAY too much. A sure way to end up on IR. He couldn't stay healthy for two whole games last year. If he does evolve in to a real QB that stands in the pocket and throws the ball it will be a miracle. An EPIC miracle. The Browns BETTER have a backup plan. And I don't mean McCown.

Since the bills were ready to sign McCown and given Rex Ryan's history of QBs I'd like to beg the question. Who is worse at evaluating QBs? Rexxy or Farmer? Those two have to be the worst in the NFL at evaluating QBs given their track record even though with Farmer the sample size is small. I mean why don't they save $5.25 million this year and just go with Conner Shaw if Manziel isn't ready? I would like to think that in 11 games Shaw could throw 11 TDs and 14 Ints and have a record of 1-10. Let's face it McCown had 5 or 6 good games in 12 years, think about that for a second and that's who you want to pay 5 million to. If they wanted someone to mentor Manziel why not pay Kurt Warner, Donovan McNabb, any good QB that is now retired 5 million to mentor Manziel.

If your going to build the OL/DL then save that 5 million and build the trenches don't sign some journyman QB that is no better than most teams backup QB, that's just bad business and the NFL is a business, McCown is a BAD investment and that is why the Browns haven't been to the playoffs in 12 years because of BAD investments either with 1st round picks or STUPID FA signings like this one.

Better put out more place settings, as more company is coming...

Both of the top QBs have issues, neither is close to a sure thing. And its looking like it would be prohibitively expensive to go after either of them..


Mallett is not viewed as the back-up in Houston, pretty sure they view him as the starter. This is also a guy that Belichick let go for a 6th round pick. Cousins is only slightly worse than Brian Hoyer. Nick Foles put up almost identical numbers to Mark Sanchez in Philly... so if you don't believe any of them are your starters of the future (and there is good reason not to), why work hard to swing a deal for one of them? Just so you can say you tried?


If the Browns go all in for Winston or Mariotta (who are really the only 2 QBs in the draft who look like they have a chance to help a team win now) and the weaknesses show, they will be accused of panicking and selling out the future for a spotty chance at winning in the present.

Sometimes "doing all that you can do to build a winner" means being patient and waiting for the right opportunity rather than mortgaging the future for questionable early success.

I suppose it's understandable that people would view being patient as pandering to Manziel... I get that. Maybe drafting Manziel was a huge mistake.. don't compound that mistake by some knee jerk reaction to overpay for a QB with big ????? or by signing a young subpar back up to a long term deal...

I'm not all excited about the McCown signing, but it is what it is. An insurance policy. His salary at $5M +/- puts him in that range with Kyle Orton and Matt Schaub and other vets who were signed to be place holders or experienced back-ups.

I'm not sure why people are so worked up over this, it seems fairly logical to me.

There is no reason to get excite about the McCown signing. He was signed to be a backup and a mentor to any young qb we have or will get and as an insurance policy. He is not the future of this team, accept maybe as a coach. We will probably pick up another qb somewhere be it the draft or fa.

General reply: I just find it hilarious that most complaining about McCown and moves made to help their young QB become the starter are the very same ones that complain because the Browns never take the time to develop a QB. They complain Hoyer is a 29 year old rookie that wasnt given enough time and yet wont to run Johnny out of town after less than a game and a half.

Even if Johnny never develops into more than a total waste of a draft pick, I am very encouraged at the way this regime has gone out of their way to help their rookie QB from a mental and coachable standpoint. I think they will add a few more weapons via the draft and FA for him as well.

Etiher way be happy these guys are trying to ensure the rookie QBs success. Hell how many last year said the Browns wanted Hoyer to start and gave him nothing to work with? I agreed. I thought the reason they started Hoyer was because we didnt have receiving weapons, the OL and run game looked pathetic during preseason and basically they didnt want to ruin their rookie QB under those conditions. So pretty much, Hoyer was set up to fail.

#BatteredFanSyndrome is causing most of this "outrage". Personal vendettas, jump to conclusion mats and general offseason boredom are also to blame for the dumpster fire of discussion.

oh man, you are so right about all that.

another two months, we'll be discussing how we did in the draft and what UDFA's we should get.

Those are two completely different things. Most likely, the best QB we can draft will be whoever is deemed to be the #3 guy in the draft. Can that person help us WIN NOW?

Heck, this year I have no idea if the #2 would be able to. Assuming Winston is #1.

Didn't want to start a new thread for this and figured this was the best place to put it.


"At least ten" former members of the Lovie Smith and Marc Trestman coaching staffs told ESPN Chicago the Bears "can't consistently compete for championships" with Jay Cutler as the quarterback.

Two Bears teammates also said they consider Cutler "a divisive figure with whom they'd rather not continue to play." Beat writer Michael C. Wright still expects the Bears to give Cutler "one last shot," something his contract almost requires they do. It's no secret Cutler essentially sabotaged Trestman's offense, refusing to operate within the confines of the system. When asked about his willingness to adhere to any offensive structure, several ex-Bears coaches used the terms "renegade" and "rogue" to describe Cutler's play.

Source: ESPN Chicago
http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/nfl/football

I still wouldnt mind Christian Ponder being brought in...Kind of reminds me of Hoyer with more ecscapability and hes actually very quick...You know the QB class is weak when your talking up Christian Ponder lol I like Locker too...however he is the glass man, always injured in college always injured in he NFL

Wow! That's pretty damning. I wouldn't want anything to do with Cutler knowing this...

Yep! Anyone who even remotely questions the Brown's handling of the QB situation is an idiot.

They are making a mountain out of mole hill.

They are stupid to question whether rolling w/Manziel is a good idea.

They are being ridiculous for wondering why the Browns would offer that much money for McCown and maybe letting Skrine walk.

They are so foolish for not using history as evidence. Farmer, Haslam, and Pet have a great history of finding QBs. They have never missed. How dare anyone question their greatness.

Let's laugh at ANYONE [despite past track records] who dares question the moves the Browns are making. They are all stupid and haters and we need to make fun of them in order to prove how smart we are. Let's gang up on them, guys!!! It's so

There's way to discuss points; repeating yourself over and over and over saying "I'm right and you're wrong" is no way to add to a discussion. That's just a general discussion I see popping up among multiple threads. We all need to break away from offseason "cabin fever" time.

In other words, calm down.

There will still be football to watch, positives/negatives, and more tangible product to argue about than "what ifs". Jimmy and the boys won't do anything too stupid like move this team.

Or you can just view others on the board like this guy:

I am not saying I am right and you are wrong. I AM saying that I don't think it is proper to laugh and belittle my opinion because I have some concerns about the QB situation in Cleveland.

That's all!

Well, let's be fair here... I don't think Haslam, Farmer, and Pettine have enough of a track record to qualify as "history". I mean, so far between the 3 of them (SHOULD be 2) they've drafted 1 QB (Manziel.. I'm not high on him either) and signed 1 UDFA (Shaw... prob won't ever be a 1st string guy, but judging by the way he prepped and performed admirably, I'd say he's a great guy to have on your practice squad at least. SOMEONE has to be.) And so far this year we have McCown and bunch of speculation as to what role he will be filling come Week 1.

IF Shaw is kept for depth and PS and he does his job, I'd say that counts as a HIT

IF McCown's role is determined to be ultimately #2 and a mentor and he does his job, HIT

Obviously "THE GUY" is missing right now. But that is always harder to find than the other two anyway. I guess I'm just not ready to say that they don't know how to find a QB any more than they know their head from their arse.



To Rocket's point:

There is one GLARING difference between Hoyer and Manziel last season: Hoyer prepared and practiced because he wanted to genuinely be here. He had the respect of the team (technically 2 differences)... Manziel did and had neither. When Manziel flopped in the Cinci game, I really believe most people were going to give him a pass just by virtue of it being his rookie debut. But when the kid comes out of the next week or so and admits he basically blew off doing his job the previous 15 weeks... Given the two, do you really wonder why people would want to give Hoyer another chance over Manziel????

The plan we've concluded was for Manziel to sit and learn his rookie season. Well, obviously that isn't the case if Farmer is sending texts about putting him in. But even if it is/was... through his own admission he wasted his rookie season. So he's really still a season behind in his development. Yet people are ready to go all in and sink or swim on him?

Also I don't buy this alleged 50/50 locker room split nonsense that keeps popping up every few posts. That was just another unqualified conclusion the sports writers came up with to gin up support for Manziel. Jordan was probably the most vocal about wanting to see Johnny play, so giving them an inch, they somehow turned him in to 50% of the locker room. I saw way more than 50% of the team play lackluster football in Johnny's debut.

I HOPE Johnny's rehab is the real deal. But let's be honest here... he needs something like that to save face and reset his image with a team that had very little respect for him because of how little respect he had for them.

As for the McCown signing... meh. I don't know enough about the guy to love it or hate. But I'm not terribly inspired by it. I don't think too many are though. If Flip already had a developed O-scheme, I might feel better about having worked a little together in the past. I still would like to see us sign another QB to compete. I think that if the FO is planning on Johnny taking the reigns this year that they would be doing him a great disservice. The kid has maturity issues and is in rehab. In order to be successful and over come his issues, he's looking at really a new way of life. I think throwing him in to the fire and the pressures that come with it would greatly hamper his odds of having a successful rehab. If the FO is serious about Johhny, they need to have him sit again this year and give him the opportunity to get his life in order, learn how to be a pro, and regain all the ground he squandered last year.

The "yourself" in the post nowhere insinuated, was directed, or any sort of mention about you.

Lots of people have concerns.

You honestly think others don't have concerns about the qb situation? Honestly?

It seems as though some think that McCown is the final QB move to be made by Farmer this year. If I believed that, then I would be scared to death about our QB situation as well. However, I do not believe that is the case.

I think that McCown was brought in to stop the bleeding. That's it. McCown is not going to start for this team for the next 3 years. He probably won't start 16 games this year. He ia a tourniquet, that stops the bleeding, and gives the team, at the very least, a guy who has started, and had a year where he had success in the type of system we are going to run. That's it.

If we go through the entire pre-season and have McCown as our only move made to upgrade the QB position, then I will be very concerned about what he is thinking. I do remember thinking that Hoyer could be our guy,and that he was doing well despite teams having tape on him, but really, the only thing he had was a few games more than other QBs before the rest of the league caught on to him.

In short, once the league figured him out, he was nothing special at all. His mechanics fell apart, and he stopped being an effective QB.

So, we move on. The 1st move is more of a whimper than a declaration of our intention to win the Super Bowl this year, but there are few moves at the QB spot at this time in the season that could be such a thing anyway.

I suspect that we will go into camp with, at least, McCown, Shaw, and either a QB we drafted, or one we traded for.

Manziel, if he can come back from his troubles, is a bonus. However, we want 3 QB we are sure to have on the field when camp opens. This is the 1st step towards moving in that direction.

Anyway, that's how I see it. This is a 1st step, not our final move.

This case of Browns fans not trusting the front office's QB plan is a little different and a little more warranted than all the past instances. We brought in an undersized guy who has never had a playbook and he turned out to be an undisciplined drunk. You can't really blame fans for not buying in to the plan to bring him along.
But it is worth seeing what we have if/when he is clean and a guy like McCown gives him the best chance to get his act together.

Mine as well, YTown...spot on!

No the 'majority' thinks this is the final piece to the super bowl puzzle. Don't you see? It's pretty obvious McCown has pro bowl talent and is far better than Hoyer on every single level. No other factors could have been taken into consideration, whatsoever. It's cut and dry here with everyone and the line has been drawn. Everyone loves McCown and absolutely hates Hoyer.

Any better?

Memphis: That shade of purple is extremely difficult to read....