Scott Fujita, Saints Sideline Savant
October 25, 2010Cavaliers, Fans Prepare For Season Opener
October 25, 2010
Two weeks ago I wrote that Browns coach Eric Mangini was scared to play Colt McCoy after choosing a gimpy Jake Delhomme over him in a home loss to Atlanta. Last week I did a 180 and said McCoy should play the rest of the way after his performance in Pittsburgh. So where do I sit after yesterday’s win in New Orleans?
I still want to see more.
It was more of a “back to reality” situation for the Browns rookie QB in the Superdome. Even though the Browns offense seemingly never had the ball, when it did, it was a 2009 redux – the defense knew the Browns weren’t going to throw the ball deep and adjusted accordingly. It was like the four game winning streak all over again. Lots of running, minimal passing game, no downfield shots of substance.
Here is the thing – Colt McCoy didn’t dazzle in the least bit, but he stayed away from the killer mistakes. No interceptions. No fumbles. No forcing the action. He was taking what the Saints defense gave him, which wasn’t much. Sure he was only 9-16 for 74 yards and the Browns were only 2-11 on third downs, but on none of those failed third downs did McCoy throw one into triple coverage. He played smart football; exactly what he should be doing.
How many times did we see Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace put a throw up for grabs when they were captaining the S.S. Mangini? Do I even need to mention Derek Anderson? Forcing the action was his forte.
As the PD’s Tony Grossi put it: If you could have heard how loud it was, you would appreciate the no-turnover effort by the offense.
On the flip side, McCoy wasn’t exactly emulating his idol, Drew Brees, either. The offense really didn’t move much, other than the fourth quarter 13 play, 50 yard, all-Hillis, all-the-time drive, which took 7:34 off the clock which produced a field goal. The only pass plays on that drive were a McCoy to Stuckey 12 yarder that was negated by a penalty and the Hills throw back pass to McCoy on a key 3rd and six in New Orleans territory.
But the bottom line is McCoy was the QB on the day the Cleveland Browns went to New Orleans and beat the defending Super Bowl champions 30-17. You can argue that it was the defense and the genius of special teams coach Brad Seely that won the game for the Browns and nobody will disagree with you. But what cannot be overlooked is the error free football played by a rookie QB who wasn’t supposed to even sniff the field in 2010.
Many have already tweeted and emailed me that if healthy, Delhomme or Wallace will return as the starter after the bye week against the New England Patriots. Why? Now with two starts under his belt against two of the best teams in the league, why not give the kid more opportunities to prove himself? After the Pats and the New York Jets come to town, the schedule gets much lighter. Four out of the next five are on the road, but other than the trip to Miami, the rest of the games are very winnable.
Lets give the kid a chance to grow in the job. If he fails, then draft a QB high in 2011. If he doesn’t than you can load up on other need positions (i.e. WR, pass rusher, etc etc).
photo via Joshua Gunter/PD
38 Comments
TD: exactly. This is the year of QB as “game manager.” If Colt is not already our best game manager already he’s right there because he appears to have strong instincts as to where trouble lies.
He’s already played two of the toughest. Against lesser defenses they can maybe let go of the bicycle seat and stop running beside him. Let him play and learn and warn Jake to shut up, he was paid 7-large to role model, not audition for a new contract.
Only one quibble with your article: he did throw long, once. It resulted in a 38 yard penalty and a TD. If he chucked it out of bounds, no penalty. This kid might just have the intangibles to play this position.
“Lots of running, minimal passing game, no downfield shots of substance.”
Um, I do believe Mr. Hillis scored on his 4 yard TD run after a bomb that McCoy threw to Cribbs resulting in a 38 yard pass interference penatly, that gave us a first and goal.
I would consider that a downfield shot of substance in my book.
But yes, we do need to take more shots downfield, and McCoy will hopefully keep starting.
Go Browns!
I think we are missing the most important point… Colt McCoy is the best receiver on this team
Big Ben won by being a game manager and relying on his defense and special teams in his rookie year as well.
Colt’s playing smart football. I love it
Mark “the San-chise” Sanchez took a team to the AFC championships last year with those types of numbers.
Not saying it’s what I hope to see long-term from McCoy, but at this point in his career, and given the circumstances of the game in question, those are perfectly normal and expectable stats.
@Stink – Zing! I like that.
The Patriots have the 30th ranked pass defense. Give him a shot at home with 2 weeks to prepare.
@7 chris, get ready for two weeks of misinformation from berea like we’ve never seen before. pretty sure colt will be ‘dinged up’ from yesterday while jake and seneca will be healing ‘ahead of schedule.’
The thing we’re missing most is why was Delholme brought in in the first place? To be a game manager. Browns fans wanted him to minimize turnovers, manage the game, give an occasional downfield throw and that’s basically it. Isn’t that what McCoy is doing just fine? I mean, it’s not like he has anyone to throw to anyways. As long as he doesn’t turn the ball over and put more stress on the defense, this team is built to win games based on running the ball, special teams, and no costly mistakes.
@8…Mangini must be in heaven as now he can make the Patriots gameplan for not 2 QB’s, but 3!!!!
If Vickers hadn’t gone all stone-hands on us, and if Hillis had picked up a hot read, and if our wide receivers would actually get open once in a while, McCoy’s numbers would have been much better and his drives would have been a little more sustained.
It’s amazing to watch other teams and see their WRs routinely wide open.
I’m certainly not sold on McCoy as our QB for years to come, not yet at least, but I am sold that he should start for the rest of the year. Save for injury (which can happen on the practice field as well, just ask Montario), there is NO reason he shouldn’t get to prove himself from here on out. We already know what we have in Delhomme and Wallace – a mentor and a career backup, respectively. We have only the slightest clue yet what we have in Little Horse McCoy. McCoy wasn’t going to see the field this year save for the worst case scenario. Well, the worst case scenario happened, and now we see that him being out there is NOT the worst case scenario. If it was, then I’d be fine with Delhomme or Wallace taking back over when healthy. But McCoy has earned the #1 spot for now, and until he does something worthy of a bench seat, it shouldn’t be stripped.
I don’t think it says alot when you evaluate your QB and the best you can say is no turnovers or killer mistakes. I mean 74 passing yards, really? The defense and the gimmicky play calling is what made that game yesterday, not Colt McCoy or the offense. And yes I realize the kid is a rookie QB but so is Sam Bradford.
@ MrCleaveland: only the Browns would have a 98 year old LB and rookie QB with better hands than their fullback.
Wanted to kill Vickers on that play, then remembered watching defenders try to dive under him just to avoid getting crunched. Maybe he’s one-dimensional, but the dude intimidates like Stanley Hudson in the “Beach Games” episode.
Sometimes it’s just as important to NOT make the bad throws as it is to make the good throws. Case in point: weeks 1 and 2 this season. If DelHomme and Wallace DON’T throw the two pick 6’s, there’s a good chance we are 4-3 right now instead of 2-5.
McCoy is making good decisions and taking care of the ball. Give the kid the keys for the rest of the season and see what happens.
the major problem is not the QB. the problem is he has no one to throw to.
the pass interference throw was pretty key. the score after that play set the tone for the whole game.
In McCoy’s defense of the weaker numbers, the browns didnt NEED to pass yesterday. And, he still should have had at least 2 more completions after bobbles, and Vickers could of had a TD if he catches it straight instead of mishandling the ball. Good field position did not allow for the browns to have long sustained drives (good thing), and the browns D forced long drives out of NO. The O obviously did enough to win and thats all that counts for me.
Im a vote for McCoy to continue to start and get reps with the first team.
McCoy looks no better or worse out there than Wallace or Delholmme. Therefore, I vote we send him to the bench and let him digest what he learned in the spotlight for a bit. We can bring him back out later if Jake turns out to be a complete bust, but until then Colt is still #3 on the depth chart,
@18
Chris, at no point in your rambling, incoherent response . . . icon_smile.gif
I agree with bobby @17. Browns didn’t need to pass today.
The team got a quick field goal and then the long McCoy pass/Jenkins PI led to a Hillis TD. That’s a quick 10-0 lead. Thanks to the s/t and D the Browns were up by two scores for the rest of the game. What do we always scream for when the Browns are up? A lot of running and careful, short passes to protect the lead.
McCoy needs to be out there to get used to the speed of the game. I would be against throwing him into the fire if he were taking sacks the way Tim Couch did, but our O-line is pretty good and he’s just getting good lessons out there. Both Mannings needed about a season/half-season before they broke out the next year. Most good QBs do. So why not make that necessary season THIS season? If Colt sits on the bench for the rest of this season, I don’t think he’ll be used to the speed of the game quite yet by the start of next season.
There are 7 million reasons why Jake will play when healthy.
#17 hit it on the nose… Didn’t need to pass. went up and hung on. Didn’t make stupid mistakes (anyone remember DA versus the Ravens?), let the defending SB champs do it…
I like what I see out of Colt. I’m not saying he is the QB of the future, but I do like that he is playing smart football. The offense still needs some work.
Another fun fact: Hillis has a better QB rating than Quinn.
Jake is gonna be paid no matter what. With no cap, who cares who is playing? Money should not be a factor in who plays over who. I still think Jake is valuable to the team in coaching/mentoring McCoy, and really doing the same for Daboll. There was one point they showed yesterday where Daboll and McCoy were on the bench and Jake was talking (seemed like he was pointing things out to both).
anyone complaining about Colt’s numbers didn’t watch the game.
for once, the Browns went up big early, and played it safe trusting the defense to hold their own (which they did).
@8…Mangini must be in heaven as now he can make the Patriots gameplan for not 2 QB’s, but 3!!!!
Three? Try FIVE!
McCoy
Wallace
Delhomme
Cribbs
Hillis
hell dp.. dont forget brent ratcliffe /berniespeak.
and joe haden was highschool qb on a florida state champion.
Dear Browns,
Please play McCoy for the rest of the season. Last year, you kept switching back and forth between two quarterbacks and it made my brain go ouchie. Colt is the only QB we have that has not thrown a touchdown to the wrong team. Also, he saved a person from drowning in College. In short, Hillis/McCoy 2012 for President.
Sincerely,
A Suprisingly Happy Browns Fan Base
By the way…that comment is meant to be read in a Ralph Wiggum voice.
we have touched in this before but we now MUST play McCoy. number 1, he earned it. A gutty performance on the road in pukesburg, and a win against the saints in the big easy.
but number 2 is even more obvious – we absolutely MUST know what we have with him before next year’s QB rich draft. If the Browns are picking in the top-10, they have a HUGE baragining chip in their hands. Imagine having 2 number 1’s and 2 number 2’s for next year’s draft. that’s an impact LB and DL, a top WR, and another guy. Could be huge if McCoy shows he can play. just imagine if the browns had good receivers…
** my aplogies – i meant a number 1 and 2 #2s. (trade down to a lower 1st round spot and pick up at LEAST a number 2, maybe more)
general note: the 2011 draft will only be “QB rich” if there is a CBA. otherwise, most of the junior QBs we are hearing about will likely head back to college rather than spend an unpaid year not playing football.
@ mgbode: That simply cannot happen. Junior qb stays and the next underclassmen in line get backed up, which in turn messes up recruiting high school kids. Big school ADs scream, smoke starts billowing out of NCAA windows, the toilet water starts flushing the opposite direction, and that’s just the start. Better sign that CBA.
I agree it would mess up the system and a bunch of HS recruits who are “committed’ would be switching come February.
there’s a whole bunch of fun that’s going to happen if they can’t figure this thing out.
(personally, I think the NFL CBA gets solved in time for the draft, but the NBA ends up going on lockout)
I would LOVE to see Colt start for the rest of the year…
Unfortunately, upon looking back at Mangini’s history of mishandling QB controversies (Pennington, Clemens, Ratliff w/ the Jets; Anderson, Quinn w/ the Brownies) I’m pretty sure we’ll see Delhomme under-center after the bye.
Although I think Jake can step-in and win games, there’s MUCH more to be gained by keeping him on the sideline. 1) he can mentor Colt from there. 2) Browns coaches / FO can decide whether Colt has what it takes to remain the starter for next season 3). Colt has the opportunity to gain experience on the job as opposed to standing on the sideline.
Finally, Jake is an experienced vet and many may think that the Browns have a better chance to win with Jake under-center, but is that so true? The Browns’ receiving corps has been a non-factor in nearly every game they have played since the 2007-2008 season. For the last two seasons, their wins have come from the running game. If all the QB needs to do is hit the tight ends, throw quick passes, and hand the ball off, then Colt will be just about as capable as Jake when it comes to handling the offense. Since Colt is also MUCH more mobile than Jake, I really don’t see any benefit in going back to Delhomme as the starter.
I was never a big fan of Brady Quinn, but I did feel like the guy never truly got the time to show what he had out there. The guy is the winningest (most winning?) quarterback in college football history…not that this is college football, but lets see what we have here and stop this QB switching over and over and over again. I QB needs to know from a coach that it’s his time to shine and that the coach has his back win or lose. Keep him in and get Gruden on the phone.
Tough decision but I think at this point we should let Colt play and see what we got. He’s going to make mistakes at some point so what the hell.. let him do it and learn and get better for it.