Cleveland Browns QB Colt McCoy Taking a Ton of Blame, But Issues Lie Beyond Him
Monday, October 24, 2011
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| ClevelandBrowns.com |
Senior Writer
The Cleveland Browns narrowly pulled out a victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, but more importantly they moved to .500 on the season, at 3-3.
Starting quarterback, Colt McCoy, was not flashy or fancy and many Browns fans have been too quick to deem him the main problem with the offense.
Related: Seattle Seahawks vs. Cleveland Browns: Cleveland's Defense, Running Backs Lead in World Series-like Scoring Effort
This is most likely a case of the quarterback being a target when things are not going the best they can by the fans.
So what is the root of the issues for the Browns?
Let's take a look at things that run deeper than simply the guy who is under center and the easiest target for "the blame game."
Offensive Line
Losing starting left guard Eric Steinbach for the entire season was one of the biggest blows the Browns could have had on their offensive line, and it shows to this day. Yes, starting rookie left guard Jason Pinkston has two Pro Bowlers to both sides of him—in Joe Thomas and Alex Mack—but the Browns have had issues in both pass protection and run blocking.
Looking at the right guard, the Browns are starting first-year starter and second-year player Shawn Lauvao, who also has Mack next to him, but to his right is right tackle Tony Pashos—who is another area of concern.
Pashos is a veteran who has been inconsistent both last year and so far this year. In 2010, Floyd "Porkchop" Womack was starting at right guard—next to Pashos—and he was able to help Pashos in blocking from time-to-time, but asking a youngster like Lauvao to do this is obviously a bit much for him to handle this early in his career.
Lauvao's youth and inexperience on the line was evident against the Seahawks. When he went out of the game with an injury and veteran John Greco stepped in for the younger guard, Greco's presence enabled the Browns to run the ball better with Montario Hardesty. Having the veteran presence next to Pashos helped the run game immensely.
The loss of Steinbach and not resigning Womack were both instrumental in the Browns issues on the line. Maybe in 2012, Lauvao will be more mature, as will Pinkston, but finding a younger and better right tackle is a must after the season ends.
Wide Receivers
This is an area of obvious concern to many fans, and outside of rookie Greg Little, the Browns need another highly-talented receiver on the outside. Little seems to be improving each week, getting open more often and he may be the only receiver who is developing into a player that can get open consistently.
Not Josh Cribbs, Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie and not any other receiver on this roster is really worthy of starting opposite of Little at this point. Maybe another player will develop, maybe not, by the end of the season.
General manager Tom Heckert and president Mike Holmgren have drafted a wide receiver in the first round of past drafts before—Jeremy Maclin and Koren Robinson—and perhaps Heckert can strike gold with another first round receiver this April. If the Browns go in that direction.
Tight Ends
Just use them more in the same way as how the New England Patriots use theirs already. 'Nuf said.
Related: Cleveland Browns Need to Throw to Their TEs 'Moore' if WRs Cannot Step Up
It has been said before the tight end position is the quarterback's best friend, and it should be McCoy's if the receivers cannot step up their game.
Quarterback
Looking at the quarterback himself, it is sometimes not all about the stats in the box score and more about the "W" in the win column.
McCoy is as passionate of a player as any other quarterback in the NFL and he is really a student of the game. Don't forget he has not started a full 16 games equivalent of a full NFL season at the writing of this article, too. Many analysts have often said it takes at least 20-24 starts under a quarterback's belt to fully be ready for an evaluation of his talent as an NFL starter.
Final Thoughts
Browns fans are a highly passionate group of people and there is no doubting this at all, but there are other issues outside of blaming the guy under center.
Related: Cleveland Browns QB Colt McCoy’s Accuracy Issues Cannot be Overlooked Because of Intangibles
Plus, your team is sitting 3-3 right now and that is something to be very proud of after the Browns turned over their roster from being one of the oldest in the league to one of the youngest. The experience all the youth is getting is invaluable for building a team of the future. It just takes some time.
Patience is something Browns fans have tried to exercise for over a decade, and sadly it still needs to happen since this is really year one of Holmgren having the staff he wanted in place, all along. If Eric Mangini wasn't given a chance in 2010, Browns fans would see a different team right now and all these doubts would have been last year, not right now.
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Dan, good points all around. It was amazing how Greco improved the play of the line when Lauvao went out. Maybe now is the time to get Mitchell onto to the field to stretch the defenses a bit and maybe get Norwood in there again. As boring as this game was, I think it was Shurmur's first solid game so far. Cribbs made a real nice catch after dropping one, and I loved seeing him on special teams. McCoy played tough, but that interception was a poor decision.
Thanks Joel.
Also, remember Carlton Mitchell has not been making enough impact in Browns practices to even earn an active roster spot each weekend.
Shurmur said, a few weeks back, unless Mitchell can step it up in practice, he will not see the field on Sunday. It's all on Mitchell to get himself to a level where he won't be inactive each Sunday.
All valid points made in your article. I'd also point out though that while the O-Line is not doing McCoy any favors, Colt is clearly holding the ball too long. That may be a result of his WR not being able to create ANY separation. However, he's still not hitting the guys when they are open and is waiting too long to release his throws even on 3 step drops.