Fans Shouldn’t Replace Jerome Harrison Just Yet
August 30, 2010Is It Still Too Early to Evaluate the Brady Quinn Trade?
August 30, 2010He may have worked himself out of the rumor mill, but not all was roses for Browns quarterback Colt McCoy this past weekend.
Entering the Great Lakes Classic having completed only five of his 12 preseason pass attempts, McCoy was looking to show more flashes of the guy who was the winningest quarterback in the history of NCAA Division 1 football.
Thankfully for McCoy, the third-round draft choice vastly improved his completion percentage on Saturday by connecting on 10 of his 14 attempts. But with each peak comes a few valleys as the 10 completions only netted the rookie 76 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per pass. As Craig insinuated one day ago, much of these passes were completed on check-downs against the Lions prevent defense. And if the dink-and-dunk style offense reminded any fans of Brady Quinn during his first few seasons with the team, the last two plays of the game may have been a spitting image.
With less than 30 seconds remaining, and the Browns having zero timeouts, McCoy opted for a short completion in the middle of the field which kept the clock running. And with enough time for one play, down eight points, McCoy’s would-be Hail Mary attempt sailed out of bounds, drawing the ire of multiple coaches.
Both head coach Eric Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll were visually upset with McCoy as the team walked off of the field.
“Colt is still growing,” said Mangini following the loss. “I’m chalking it up to age and inexperience and we’ll get that fixed.”
Also not working to McCoy’s benefit was the fact that he lost what was the third fumble of the evening after Detroit’s Willie Young blew through the reserve offensive line to get to the former Texas Longhorn. Mangini reiterated his issues with the turnovers following the game, stating that they wipe away all progress that the offense has made to that point.
“You can’t win that way,” said Mangini. “That small margin of error leads to big plays and turnovers.”
“There’s no statistic that determines the outcome of games more than turnovers.”
It is anticipated that many of the Browns starters will not participate in the upcoming preseason game against the Chicago Bears. Taking place on Thursday at Cleveland Browns Stadium, McCoy will likely see the most snaps of any game in which he has played to this point, allowing him to build of the improved comfort within the huddle as well as the pocket.
The Chicago Bears reserve defense has allowed 19 and seven points over the past two preseason games, respectively.
—
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
18 Comments
In Aaron Rodgers first year with Green Bay, he was so bad that all the press could say was it was a mistake in drafting him. Looks like Rodgers figured out the game.
McCoy was not a first round pick, he was a third round pick. I hope nobody thought he was going to be the “Answer” right off the bat. McCoy looks exactly what I think he should look like…a rookie QB that has a lot to learn. And for once The Browns are in position that McCoy will not be rushed on to the field before he is ready, unlike Couch and Quinn.
HE NEEDS TO BE CUT! HE IS NOT THE SECOND COMING OF BERNIE KOSAR RIGHT NOW SO HE’LL NEVER BE ANY GOOD.
Blown draft pick. Colt can sit and learn for three years and still not be dreamy. You can’t learn that.
People need to stop comparing McCoy to Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has a rifle for an arm and, lest we forget, was considered for the #1 overall pick. I cringed over the idea of drafting McCoy and regardless of round, it seems apparent he doesn’t have the size or arm strength (because you need at least one of those 2) to be an NFL qb. I thought this was clear in college…and I really do hope I’m wrong…but he seems like Brady Quinn-light to me.
I don’t think it was a blown pick. Veikune was a blown pick. McCoy wasn’t drafted to start this year. That was why they overpaid for Delhomme. Let him sit, learn the offense. Get practice reps. In other words….be patient. I know as a Browns fan that is tough to do. I know I’m tired of the 4-12, 5-11, 6-10 seasons. Hopefully this guy can learn the system and when the put Delhomme out to pasture he’ll be ready to step in.
visually upset after the last play of the game is an understatement. My wife and I were trying to read Daboll and Mangini’s lips. The best we could get out of Mangini was “What the F*** was that?” as he got close to McCoy. It really was an awful play, though of course I doubt he was TRYING to throw out of bounds.
And watching McCoy drop back and look for the open WR only to continuously go for the short pass to a FB or HB to pick up 5 yards while needing to drive the length of the field was waaaaay too Brady Quinn for my comfort.
I like when people think they can analyze a player’s potential and future ability after 30 passes in preseason football
These excuses that rookies do dumb things because they are inexperienced are b.s. McCoy has been playing organized football for the past 12 years or so, and I’m sure he knew during all that time that you can’t complete a pass if you throw it out of bounds. So inexperience is not the issue. I don’t know what the reason was, but it wasn’t inexperience.
I was laughing like crazy at the end of the game because of the way Mangini and Daboll completely lit into McCoy.
@4: You know who does have a rocket-mega-cannon arm??? DEREK ANDERSON!!!!
OMG he is so statuesque!
I am sick of hearing about “rocket arms.” Name the last QB to win a superbowl mainly because he had a strong arm. Sure, you can’t have a weak arm, but I think a mind for the game is probably more important.
This “evaluation” of McCoy is incredibly premature. Peyton Manning only won 2 games his first season. Should they have thrown him out of town? It’s called a small sample size in exhibition games…as in, they DON’T COUNT.
All this examination of McCoy makes me think about pre-season college rankings, heisman watch lists, pre-season player of the year awards, and other crap that means nothing.
they were givin him the business , my favorite of all personal foul calls.
@b – I loved that call too! Just fantastic.
C-Bus Kevin nailed it. Move along.
“Colt McCoy Improves, Still Has a Long Way to Go” sounds about right. We won’t be able to truly say anything about McCoy for a few years. That said, I’m a little concerned about his clock awareness. McCoy almost caused Texas to lose that game against Nebraska when he held the ball and completely lost track of the game clock. There was no benefit to holding that ball as long as he did in such a vital game with the clock winding down. Without a favorable judgment call on when the ball crossed the sideline and landed, McCoy would have made an epic mistake.
Let’s be realistic, McCoy was an above average QB at Texas, has the winner mentality, and is about to be groomed by a Holmgren led organization. The guy has potential and pedigree…what more can you ask for in a third round pick?????
OK, we, as fans, have a right to voice an opinion. No issues there.
However, we cannot, in any way, be considered authoritie on the potential for success of McCoy. No way. 1/2 of us were dead wrong on Quinn, and the other 1/2 were dead wrong on Anderson.
We do not have access to film rooms, or practices, or team workouts, or meetings.
We, as a fanbase don’t know squat except for what we see on the tube. Which is about 10% of what the coaching staff sees of McCoy.
Let the kid grow and learn.
McCoy is in a better position to succeed than any QB drafted by the Browns in the expansion era. He has two good veterans in front of him in Delhomme and Wallace from whom to learn. He should be under no pressure to play in the regular season for at least two years. The Browns didn’t invest a high draft pick or contract on him tying the future of the organization to his success. But, his development is a long-term process. Right now, I am infinitely more interested in the development of the other rookies who may contribute sooner rather than later.