What will the Browns do with Colt McCoy?

Colt McCoy. UPI/Aaron M. Sprecher

Is the Colt McCoy era over in Cleveland? The Browns drafted Brandon Weeden last night with the 22nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, so now they have a quarterback that they see as “the guy” in Cleveland. Tom Heckert and Pat Shurmer made that clear with their comments last night, and then they went even further as they suggested they could be trading Colt McCoy.

Let’s deal with Brandon Weeden first. Some Browns fans are concerned about his age, but most scouts agreed that Brandon Weeden has first round talent. He has a great arm and he has the size at 6′ 4″ to play quarterback in the NFL. He’s a gunslinger, which is the opposite of Colt McCoy. Will he need to work hard and develop, given that he’s mostly played in the spread offense in the lame Big 12? Of course? But the kid is a player, and you can be sure that the handicappers on the sports betting sites will be giving the Browns more respect this season. I was hoping the Browns would grab him in the draft, and while they may have reached at bit at #22, they got the guy they wanted.

All of this is important because Colt McCoy was a huge disappointment last year. Yes, he had to learn a new system without an offseason, and for that reason he probably deserved another chance. But the Browns couldn’t afford to wait, mostly because Colt’s size and arm strength were obvious limitations. Watching Colt get thrown around like a rag doll didn’t inspire much confidence when we face the Steelers and Ravens.

More problematic, however, has been Colt’s reactions to adversity. Now I know the whole concussion fiasco was not his fault, but his father didn’t make things easier with his comments, and Colt never came out to discuss it during the offseason to diffuse the situation. Then yesterday, after the Browns selected Weeden, either Colt or someone from his camp leaked to Adam Schefter that the Browns told him to his face that they would not be drafting a quarterback in the first round. I know he may be upset, but why try to embarrass the organization? Then they put out word that Colt hasn’t requested a trade.

There’s a bit of a pattern here. Remember past year when reports came out about how Brian Daboll was mistreating Colt? Most of the public reaction was to have sympathy for McCoy. Was this intentional? Is Colt acting like a prima donna?

On one level I don’t care. But I wonder about keeping a guy like this around. It may be time for him to go.

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Another tough game for Colt McCoy

Cleveland Browns QB Colt McCoy (12) looks for a receiver from his own endzone in the first half against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco 0n October 30, 2011. The 49ers defeated the Browns to go 6-1. UPI/Terry Schmitt

Colt McCoy had another tough game yesterday. Sure, the offensive line is a problem, but McCoy is also making bad decisions and missing open receivers.

It doesn’t help that the Browns keep losing running backs. Peyton Hillis didn’t play again, and Montario Hardesty got hurt early. If the Browns can get these guys healthy and start running the ball better, maybe McCoy will get better opportunities.

Cleveland Browns defense ranked #4 in NFL

Oakland Raiders QB Jason Campbell (8) is tackled by Cleveland Browns Chris Gocong (51) and Scott Fujita (99) in a play that resulted in Campbell breaking his collarbone at the Coliseum in Oakland, California on October 16, 2011. The Raiders defeated the Browns 24-17. UPI/Terry Schmitt

After six games, the Browns are 3-3 and have the #4 ranked defense in the NFL based on yards allowed per game. The defense is ranked 9th if you look at points allowed per game.

Given all the moaning and groaning we’re hearing from the fans, this stat might be a surprise. We’ll how the entire season plays out, particularly as the schedule gets tougher, but the Browns are seeing the payoff from drafting for defense. Tom Heckert has found excellent players in the draft, with Joe Haden, T.J. Ward, Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard leading the way. The Browns are better this year on defense, and much younger as well.

Colt McCoy and the offense gets all the attention, but the defense is important as well. So far, it looks like the Browns are building a defense that can be a force for years to come.

Browns bounce back

Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis (40) turns upfield after a pass reception during the second quarter of their game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis on September 18, 2011. UPI /Mark Cowan

The week one loss to the Bungles was painful, but this is a nice win against the Colts:

– Pat Shurmer used Peyton Hillis more this week and it worked, though Hillis needs to figure out his fumble problem.

– Tom Heckert is looking like a genius. Phil Taylor looks like a top 5 pick and Jabaal Sheard looks like a real pass rusher.

– Colt McCoy had a very good game. He was very accurate and again he made plays on the run. He’s like a Mini Big Ben.

– I have no sympathy for the Colts. They’ve done nothing over the years to develop a real backup for Peyton Manning, unlike other good teams like the Patriots. Several years ago Browns fans had to watch as the Colts played Sorgi in the final game and lost us a playoff spot.

Peter King offers up some bad advice

Peter King was down on the Browns before the season started, and given the terrible start, he looks pretty smart. Now he’s revisiting the topic, and his opinion hasn’t changed much, though he focuses on some irrelevant points like the 6-3 score of the Browns victory over Buffalo and Derek Anderson’s 2-17 performance. As stated on this blog, anyone who watched the football game knows that Anderson was not the problem on offense.

To his credit, King speaks with George Kokinis and Eric Mangini to get their thoughts on where the roster is now, and King acknowledges that the Browns were smart to trade Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards.

So, I asked Mangini and Kokinis in separate interviews, do the Browns have a better 53-man roster than they did at the end of the 2008 season?

Kokinis: “I think so. But it’s different. To go forward, the environment here had to change. We aren’t in this to put band-aids on the problem. We’re here to solve the problem. When you establish a system, it’s all about building a disciplined program conducive to winning, and you’re going to have people at first who fight the system. But we’ll find the true Browns who buy into what we’re doing. The one thing people need to understand is this situation wasn’t like Atlanta, where you can draft Matt Ryan and sign Michael Turner in free agency and win your division. This team was a long way away. Some free-agency periods and some drafts need to happen for the right amount of change to take place.”

Mangini: “Yeah, I think the roster’s better. I think we have a much better chance of getting where we want to be with this roster moving forward. But it’s not going to be easy. What gets lost a little bit with our draft-day trade is how much money we saved over the long term by trading down — maybe $40 million. And those resources will be spent to build a better overall football team. That’s cash we’ll spend on more players.

“For now, we’re making improvements. Some of the improvements aren’t sexy — more energy at practice and in games, more intensity, playing complimentary football. But regardless of external perception, we have guys who care. And next year, we’ll have 11 draft picks instead of the four we had this year. That’s when you can do some building.”

My take: The roster is absolutely not better because no player of the skill level of Edwards or Winslow has been added. But I would have done all three deals that ManKinis did, because Winslow and Edwards were never going to buy into any long-term rebuilding program, which this has to be. There comes a time when team and player have to divorce, and if player has great success after the trade (Roger Clemens when he left Boston), it doesn’t mean he’d have had the same success in his original place.

Mangini’s point is critical here, and it displays the winning philosophy employed in places like New England. You judge a player not just by his talent and contributions, but also by the cost of keeping him on the roster. The Browns are building the team from the bottom up, with players who don’t have big names (or big salaries) but who play within the system. We’re seeing some of that displayed on the defense and on special teams. Also, the offensive line is starting to come together. The roster is better.

Also, King ignores the biggest issue that Mangini and Kokinis had to face – the collapse of Brady Quinn as the possible franchise quarterback of the future. They inherited Quinn, and Quinn worked hard and earned the chance to start, but he was beyond terrible. He didn’t make stupid mistakes, but he was unable to move the offense. Defenses dared him to throw downfield, and that also hurt the running game. Despite that, the Browns were competitive for most of their games, despite facing teams with a combined 14-2 record in the first four weeks.

That said, it was still an informative article, until of course King decide to dispense some advice – advice that Kokinis and Mangini will hopefully ignore after having a good laugh.

Because of the startup nature of the program, Kokinis said he’s been spending time in and around the team this fall, instead of concentrating his efforts on on-campus scouting. He said he’d do that after the college season. If I were him, I’d accelerate the process. I’d be spending three days at Texas turning over every stone on Colt McCoy, and three in Norman looking at Sam Bradford — as well as extensive time looking at the other quarterbacks in the 2010 draft, like Tim Tebow and Jevan Snead. That’s more important than whatever’s happening in his building right now.

This is amateur hour coming from a writer whose been around the NFL for years. Picking a young quarterback in the draft is the kind of pie-in-the-sky magic bullet that know-nothing fans think about. This approach might make sense if there was a Peyton Manning waiting to be drafted, but the four guys King mentions are more in the Tim Couch mold. Now, Couch wasn’t terrible, and the Browns didn’t help him much as he took a beating for years, but Couch was not worth the #1 pick in the draft.

Regarding Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow, I doubt either of them can even start in the NFL. McCoy reminds me of Brady Quinn, too small and below-average arm, and Tebow is a battering ram, not an NFL quarterback. He might be worth a pick as a future Wildcat quarterback, or as a project on a team that has an established starter, but he’s not the answer for a rebuilding team like the Browns.

Bradford is also another bust-in-waiting. he racked up big numbers throwing to wide open receivers in a conference that doesn’t play defense as Coach Stoops ran up the score hoping for a chance to redeem himself in the BCS championship game. When Bradford faced a real defense, he looked pretty average. he’s a second-rounder at best.

Snead is another guy getting lots of buzz, but he’s having a terrible year.

Snead has completed just 65 of 139 passes (46.8 percent) for 868 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. He ranks 11th out of the league’s 12 starting quarterbacks (and 97th in the nation) in passing efficiency.

He’s no Eli Manning.

Based on what I’ve seen so far from Kokinis and Mangini, I don’t expect them to waste a high draft pick on any of these guys. There may be a quarterback they like in the draft, and we saw Kokinis draft Joe Flacco in Baltimore, but that team had everything but a good quarterback, so that made sense.

I expect the Browns to keep stockpiling workers like offensive linemen or impact players on defense – the kind of unsexy picks you see from teams who want to be good year after year. Another possibility would be a running back, as they can contribute right away.

So, I’m pretty confident they will ignore King’s advice.