DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Josh McCown continued

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet series for him yesterday! I know he only played a little bit but it was very encouraging to see him play well.

We can only hope 'n' pray for more of the same during the regular season, you know? WE SHALL SEE.

The encouraging thing is that he was pressured and he didnt look gunshy. On the td throw to benji I thought he had thrown it right to the defender lol If he can give us this kind of play and allow Johnny to continue to absorb the NFL game, we are in great shape.

If anyone is interested in continuing the conversation that had just been sparked when the last thread was locked...

The TD was really a beautiful play. The escape was amazing.

Yes!

I really get into the first halves of our preseason games, only because usually our regular season games are rough on us. The first half was fun, but after that it got a bit boring.

Josh really looked pro yesterday. Hope it continues!

Josh McCown on his spirited debut: 'I've been out of this game; you never know when it's your last snap'

Mary Kay Cabot, Northeast Ohio Media Group By Mary Kay Cabot, Northeast Ohio Media Group
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on August 14, 2015 at 2:32 PM, updated August 14, 2015 at 2:33 PM


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Josh McCown is more than just a starting quarterback for the Browns. He's also part-time coach and fulltime cheerleader on the sidelines.

When he wasn't busy throwing a touchdown pass on his lone possession of Thursday night's 20-17 loss to the Redskins in the preseason opener, he was patting Johnny Manziel on the back after his TD run, huddling with Connor Shaw and Thad Lewis and congratulating receivers after a catch.

"Yeah, they didn't paint the field and light the stadium up for nothing,'' said McCown, who looked to be having the time of his life in his debut in front of Browns fans during the 20-17 loss. "Let's go get our money's worth and go enjoy it. I've been out of this game (he coached high school football for two seasons). So anytime you can be in a stadium and on a sideline full of guys, I mean we had two guys carted off the field tonight (from the Bears). You don't know when it's your last snap and when it's your last moment on that sideline.''

McCown looked as happy for Manziel after his12-yard TD scamper as he did after his own 2-yard TD pass in the back right corner of the end zone to Travis Benjamin on the opening drive.

"It's just wanting to make the most of it and to help the other guys,'' said McCown. "These are young guys wanting to make their way in their career and put up good plays and do just what we talked about -- transition from the practice field to the game. It was fun, fun to be out there and it's just an honor and a privilege to be a part of this team. I'm very thankful to be there."

Coach Mike Pettine couldn't have been happier with his starter, who went 5-for-5 for 33 yards on the TD drive, including a 12-yard strike to Brian Hartline.

"He took what he's done in the meeting room, the practice field and he took it to the game field,'' Pettine said after the game. "He was poised, focused. He was into it. Even after that series, the whole rest of the game, he had the ear piece in, he knew the call, taking the mental reps on the sideline. He just showed tonight that he's the ultimate professional.''

McCown may have thrown a 51-yard TD pass if not for Redskins cornerback Chris Culliver interfering with a streaking Travis Benjamin at the Washington 16. As it was, he hit Benjamin with a 2-yard TD five plays later in the back right corner of the end zone after scrambling left, eluding linebacker Trent Murphy, then motoring back to the right and finding Benjamin all alone and waving his hand.

"He was just hanging out back there waving his hands and he looked lonely, so I threw him the football,'' said McCown. "We had a play going there to the left and there was a little bit of leakage there in the front, so I stepped back. And actually Hartline fell down on his route, so at that point, I got out of the pocket and was just about getting ready to throw it away and Travis was standing in the back of the end zone.

"It was one of those things. There was somebody in front of me and I was looking like, 'Is he back there by himself? That's weird.' So I threw him the ball and was able to get the touchdown. So that was good. It was good for us to cap off that drive that way."

McCown and Benjamin, who have developed a nice chemistry this camp, laughed about it when they came back to the sidelines.

"It was good that he stayed alive,'' said McCown. "Two or three days ago, we were talking on the practice field, Flip (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) was really hammering us about red zone scramble drills and scramble rules and being ready when the quarterback gets out of the pocket and you're standing where you're supposed to be, so it's neat when you hear coach say something or hammer a point home and it comes to fruition on the field.''

Benjamin knew to be ready.

"I saw it last year when we played Tampa, we saw on film that he had good scramble ability,'' said McCown. "He's not the fastest guy, but he can move defenders away from him.''

McCown, 36, proved that he's just as mobile as Manziel, even though he's 14 years older.

"I think it's a central part of playing this position and (quarterbacks coach) Kevin (O'Connell) does a great job of hammering that home every day because in practice when they can't hit you, you play so much from the pocket that sometimes you can lose that thought process of scrambling and finding guys and all of that,'' said McCown. "Especially with a young guy like Johnny who we're really emphasizing to make plays from the pocket, Kevin has done a great job of not letting us lose sight of that and reminding us about how important our feet are. Both he and Flip, they say it all the time.''

McCown was unfazed by the lack of a running game, which saw Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West combine for 16 yards on eight carries.

"I have no doubt, get the other guys back and then you have Crow and West and it will get rolling,'' he said. "They didn't really have a chance to get settled in. I think that's more of a reflection of just the short night of work.''

Clad in the white-on-white version of the Browns new uniforms, McCown relished his debut in front of the fans he's already come to love.

"It was awesome,'' he said. "To come out and be in the stadium and be on this side of the field for once, feeling the energy of the fans, it was fun. It was a really good environment to play football in, for sure. Nice night."

The Browns are hoping there are plenty more just like that for him. Link

McCown played well in his series. We have seen other guys play well in preseason when teams are playing vanilla defenses and not blitzing much, so I think most of us understand to take it w/a grain of salt. However, the performance was encouraging.

What cannot be denied was that it was very evident that McCown appears to be a great teammate. I liked that.

What can't be denied is his uncanny resemblance to Dolph Lundgren.

Wasn't sure if I was watching the Browns or the Expendables.

Great observation!

One thing I'll add. When was the last time Browns offense took the opening drive and scored? They looked good no penalties. For a first preseason game, I really liked the timing and execution.

It is sad, being burned for so long, we need to be overly cautious seeing good play in preseason.

Is that kind of success allowed under the NFL rules. Looked like we were pretty sharp for a first preseason overall. factor in the ones who sat out and we did OK. I honestly expected worse.

I thought that the team looked organized and sharp. We were missing Thomas, Bowe, Pryor, Duke Johnson, Malcolm Johnson, among others. on offense. I read that we had 19 (IIRC) guys sit out the 1st preseason game. That's 20% of the team, and a lot of those are expected to be either starters, or key substitutes.

I thought that we were night and day compared to last year.

If we are talking preseason, Delhomme led the Browns to an opening drive TD in 2010 against GB.

The following year in 2011, McCoy drove the Browns down for an opening drive TD, again, against the Packers.

If I recall, DA led the Browns to an opening drive TD against the Jets in 2008 on a great grab by Braylon Edwards.

Bottom line is preseason is not an indicator of future success or failure.

No, it is not. But, good football is good football and it should be noted.

Browns had one penalty in the first half and scored twice. New OC and QB yet they still are organized. For that matter, Washington I believe had a low number as well.

In order to be successful, Browns must play mistake free games to win.

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I have found the better you are in pre-season, the worse you are in the real season.
Ask New England.

Did you see that TRich run for the Raiders?

SuperBrowns, I think my post is taken out of context.

I actually agree with you here. Does anyone have a factual stat to back it! I do think the worse your preseason the better the season! That is such a generalization!!

My hole point was, regular or preseason, it's been a long time since I've seen any Browns offense take their opening drive and score. My philosophy having a defensive team you need at least 20 points to win games. If you can score on your opening drive, you accomplished a 1/3 of your objective in the first quarter....huge!

Preseason means absolutely nothing. It is all about finding/building your roster no more no less.

Debatable...

I agree, though my take was a little different. We looked better with ones in this preseason game one than we did during the skid mark ending to last season. Lots of folks sat out who should help us. But, yeah, we did OK. Gilbert, not so much. Secondary coverage gave up chunks.

I thought we looked sharp, put up many more defensive looks, and few penalties. I see it as progress and we didna put all our best on the field.

What!?! Gilbert was flawless... He even said so himself!

Didn't get to chime in on his performance yet (been busy) but I thought his drive against Washington looked real good. He stood in the pocket and made some nice throws. McCown appears to have a firm handle on the playbook and the players around him, which is good. I'm really looking forward to see how the team does against Buffalo.

Mike Pettine and Rex Ryan together again as Browns, Bills prepare for week of competition

The coaches have similar football philosophies, stressing sound defense and preference for a physical running game. It was noted neither has had much luck grooming a franchise quarterback, even though Mark Sanchez led the Jets to back-to-back AFC title games in 2009-10.

The Browns are turning to journeyman Josh McCown this season, while the Bills are looking for a starter to emerge from the group of Matt Cassel, Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel.

"We have had that conversation before asking who has the bigger curse on quarterbacks, he or I," Pettine said. "It remains to be seen."

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/08/mike_pettine_and_rex_ryan_are.html

Click the link for McCown video clip, 2:18
link


Cleveland Browns and Josh McCown got a needed reality check -- Bud Shaw


August 20, 2015 at 9:58 PM, updated August 21, 2015 at 12:57 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Josh McCown's first exhibition start for the Browns was too seamless, too effective but mostly too short.

The second was a long, hard pull. Ugly. Interception-laden. And probably just what this Browns' offense and this quarterback needed to get them out of training camp cruise control.

There's only a slight resemblance between training camp and the regular season. Some teams still kid themselves about that.

A good Buffalo defense made Thursday night more realistic in ways Washington couldn't. Accordingly, the Browns struggled before McCown led a drive for a field goal just before half.

He played that long partly out of design, but also because that's how long he needed to end on a good note.

The Browns showed some resilience on this night, the kind they'll need once they start playing for real. No reason to stop the game and give them an award. But after two tough days of practice against the Bills and even tougher slogging on two drives that ended in McCown interceptions, finishing the half with a 8:52 scoring drive was important.

McCown had some nice completions to tight end Rob Housler and Brian Hartline. Isaiah Crowell stiff-armed linebacker Preston Brown to the ground for a 13-yard gain.

If you care about such things, the field goal drive tied the game. The shift in momentum was far more important than the scoreboard.

The Browns' offense managed one shift. So did the Browns defense after getting gouged for 57 yards during Buffalo's 9:36 possession to begin the game.

That the Bills missed a field goal was celebrated in bend-but-don't-break clichés all over Twitter – some of them unironically -- but when the Bills are engineered by quarterback Tyrod Taylor and is missing its big-time playmakers, a football hitting the upright is a small saving grace.

The most telling and interesting matchup was Browns' offense against Bills' defense. The Browns don't just want to run the ball this season. They need to run the ball.

But McCown also needs to make good defenses respect his arm and reads to give the Browns a chance. The Browns got a C-minus out of the test by the end of the half but, believe me, they were heading for a F – and that doesn't stand for "flawless."

We were being reminded early that McCown was 1-10 in Tampa last season. And that the Browns lost five in a row to end their season.

McCown needs time with new personnel. The Browns are going to be challenged to stretch the field.

When LeBron James said nothing comes easy in northeast Ohio, everything is earned, I'm not sure he meant for the Browns offense but it's just as true.

Better that reality set in on an August night than in the opener.

Browns' Josh McCown finger X-rays negative, doesn't know if he'll need MRI on it



updated August 21, 2015 at 11:45 AM link

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns quarterback Josh McCown was late to his post-game interview, but not because he was trying to figure out how to explain his two interceptions in three drives.

No, McCown was tardy because he was in the X-ray room having pictures taken of his sore right ring finger, which was wrapped in an ACE bandage.

"Yeah, I just jammed a finger so just we're making sure everything's okay,'' he said. "We're just being super-cautious. (X-rays) were negative. Everything's fine. It feels fine.''

McCown, who was under siege much of the night by the Bills' premier pass rushers, said he doesn't know when he hurt the finger. The Browns also confirmed X-rays were negative.

"I just know it was sore,'' McCown said. "Like I said, we just took some precautionary pictures of it to make sure it's alright. I don't want to speculate moving forward. You know, something could change overnight, but I feel like it will be fine.''

McCown said he doesn't know if he'll have to undergo an MRI on the finger to see if there's any ligament damage. Third-team quarterback Connor Shaw underwent surgery Tuesday to repair ligament damage in his right thumb and is out for the season. Shaw, who also suffered a minor fracture, didn't know he needed surgery until a few days later.

"I don't know (about an MRI),'' said McCown. "I'll just defer to the trainers on that. I'll let the trainers and the doctors look at that and make their assessment and let me know what we need to do.''

As for his two interceptions in three series, McCown was upset with himself. He was also sacked three times and earned a 44.6 rating.

"Not good. Not. good,'' he said. "Two turnovers. I felt like other than those two plays, I threw the ball well and did the things I wanted to do with the football, but those two plays, you can't have turnovers. Outside of the pocket, one of the things that happens in preseason ball. ... I got outside and tried to make a play. I tried to keep that drive going and fit one in there to Gary (Barnidge) and the ball gets knocked up in the air and turned over. And so throw that one out of bounds, let Andy (Lee) pin them deep and our defense go to work. So we'll move on that. It's obviously not the standard I want to play at.''

Despite McCown's rough outing and Johnny Manziel's 96-yard TD drive -- against the Bills' second-team defense -- coach Mike Pettine re-iterated that McCown is "firmly the one. We'll evaluate both guys. I'm not going to sit here and talk about trying to start up a quarterback controversy."

If McCown needs any time to rest the thumb, he has nine days before the "dress rehearsal'' game in Tampa Aug. 29th.

The best thing that could happen to us is a McCown injury. He would still be around to mentor Manziel, but he wouldn't be able to play. It would also mean we are one Manziel injury away from Thad Lewis.

Thanks Mac,good enough excuse to get Johnny time with the #1's against the bucs

I really don't care what the reason is, Manziel needs to start.

That would be a shocker.

I disagree. It serves no purpose having Manziel beaten like a drum. McCown will work the kinks out with DeFilippo and the offense turning the keys over later in the season if needed.

Everyone is putting way to much weight on a preseason game. Buffalo's defense is to good playing a vanilla offense against it.

he has not worked the kinks out in 13 years and now you expect him to?

I really don't put much stock in pre season games from a team standpoint. But what pre season does do is gives us hints about players tendencies.

ie... We can see that JFF is becoming more comfortable in the pocket. We can see he is getting the playbook down with audibles and is scrambling while looking downfield instead of looking to run. These are all tendencies of a player.

The same can be said for tendencies in McCown. Many of the same tendencies that caused his 1-10 record in Tampa Bay reared their ugly heads last night, much like some of the tendencies that made him look like the McCown in Chicago 2 years ago showed up last week.

The question then becomes which McCown do we get? So far, it looks like a combination of both.

I disagree. It serves no purpose having Manziel beaten like a drum. [/quote]

Our offensive line is pretty good. Manziel will only get hit if he freelances too much and that's on him.



McCown has been in the league since 2002 and has never been good. What we saw last night is what he is and what he always has been (bad). McCown and Manziel have the same floor, but Manziel has a much higher ceiling.

Pettine said in his presser that McCown is fine and that the QB situation is the same as is was before the game.

The only real concern I have with your opinion is that often times I've seen good QB potential that get thrown to the wolves before they're ready. I've seen it ruin their confidence as a leader and undermine their potential.

Now I'm not saying that it is the #1 reason many QB's fail, but I'm on the fence as to whether JFF should start because his ceiling is higher, or that he may get ruined being thrown to the wolves before he's ready,

It's a fine line to walk IMO

If Manziel doesn't start this year we won't know what he is. We will then go into next year having him being an unknown entity and with another crappy veteran competing for the starting job. We would also be in the market for another young QB (via the draft).

It may be too early for Manziel, but we don't know. For me it's a now or never situation.

look at what actually makes up mccowns career record though.

2003 cards - 1-2. against 3 teams all playing for a playoff spot, combined record of 30-18.
2004 cards - 6-7. team won no other games without him.
2005 cards - 3-3. kurt warner takes over team, ends up with a 2-8 record.
cards dont reach a winning record until 2008 under kurt warner.

2007 raiders - 2-7. they won 2 games the entire year before? eh i dunno...

2011 bears 1-1.
2013 bears 3-2. 13TD 1INT

2014 bucs 1-10. lost offensive coordinator during preseason. in 11 starts mccown was sacked 36 times for a loss of 235 yards. the team finished with only 1 additional win.




thats all of his starts.

so on the pretty good bears, and the below average cardinals, his record was 14-15. on the horrible raiders and buccaneers his record was 3-17.

keep in mind he had emmitt smith rushing for him with the cards. now im not saying this dude should have been given a really great set up and chance to be a legit franchise QB in this league. but what i am saying is, he hasnt ever really had an ideal set up. and when he has, he did pretty good. when he was in a "meh" situation, he did average. when he was in a real crappy situation, yeah, he played like garbage.

i'd like to believe we are a bit above where the cardinals were, and realistically maybe a notch or two below the 2013 bears. But i know we've got one hell of a pass protecting offensive line, i believe we have a solid but under rated receiving corps, capable tight ends who are good blockers, some running backs who have me scratching my head but i know they are capable, and then a defense that when healthy IS going to step up and beast mode this season.

we arent tampa, we arent oakland, the cardinals mccown played for were us a few years ago, and were reaching those 2013 bears. i see no reason mccown cant play decent football here. he doesnt have to be the narrative his overall record suggests.

im still on board for johnny riding the pine, learning, and continuing to improve doing exactly what ever it has been that hes been doing.