Browns Are Young, They Will Make Mistakes.

The Browns first pre-season game was a success, at least from the standpoint that they won, defeating the Detroit Lions 19-17.

However, it’s tough to judge what occurred during the game because of the people Pat Shurmur had sitting out due to injuries and/or rest.

For example, the run defense was not good. This is something that has plagued the franchise since returning to the NFL in 1999. But without Ahtyba Rubin and D’Qwell Jackson playing, you really can’t point to this as being a weakness right now.

Neither player is expected to miss any regular season time, so both will be back in there next week.

Of course, everyone wanted to watch the rookies on the offensive side of the ball, particularly QB Brandon Weeden.

The first year passer from Oklahoma State played like, well, a rookie. He hit on 3 of 9 passes for 62 yards, making some good throws (the sideline shot to fellow rook Travis Benjamin on the first series), and some poor ones. He was picked off once, and should have had another, although Bernie Kosar blamed that one on Josh Gordon, yet another rookie, not running a crisp enough route.

He also was charged with a fumble, but that was the result of poor pass protection. That’s not to exonerate the rookie, but he’ll learn when to it’s better to take a sack than risk a turnover.

Look, even though he’ll be 29 years old during the season, he’s an inexperienced NFL quarterback. He will get better the more time he spends on the football field. This was one game. If improvement isn’t made next week, and the week after next, then people can question the Browns’ decision. It’s silly to do so now.

It was encouraging though to see some downfield throws, something not seen often last year. In fact, it was telling on Colt McCoy’s first possession at the helm that he threw a completed six yard pass on 3rd and nine.

McCoy played well statistically, hitting 6 of 8 for 88 yards, the bulk of those a 42-yard strike to TE Jordan Cameron that he had to wait on. Still, Cleveland only mustered a field goal in his quarter of play, against the Lions second team defense.

As for the rookies, 2nd round pick Mitchell Schwartz struggled with the speed of the NFL game, but again, it was his first game and he will likely get better.

Benjamin looked good at WR, catching two passes for 46 yards, and flashed the great speed the Browns talked about when they drafted him. Josh Gordon looked raw, like he hasn’t played in a while, which he hasn’t.

The other rookie that stood out was CB Trevin Wade, drafted in the 7th round this spring. Granted, he wasn’t out there covering Calvin Johnson, but he’s a guy that merits watching throughout the rest of the pre-season.

There could also be a problem going forward with WR Mohamed Massaquoi, who may have suffered another concussion on the first play of the game, a 12-yard reception.

It the diagnosis is correct, it would be his third injury of this type in three seasons, and could put his career in jeopardy. The front office spoke highly of his potential all off-season long, so it was be a tough blow to lose the veteran.

Reserve DT Scott Paxson also went out with a knee injury, as did CB Dimitri Patterson. The Browns are already thin at both positions, so these could be key injuries.

It’s still pre-season, so it’s just step one in the evaluation process. Remember, the Cleveland Browns are a very young football team. They will make mistakes, but if they eliminate them going forward, that’s how they should be judged.

McCoy Trying to Get Out of Cleveland

By and large, fans of the Cleveland Browns have Colt McCoy’s back. He is the kind of athlete people on the North Coast like.

He’s works hard, seems like a good guy, etc.

They even want to believe that McCoy’s problems as an NFL quarterback come from the poor performance of the offensive line, a lack of a solid running game, and wide receivers that drop the football.

The Browns front office didn’t make the decision to draft Brandon Weeden in the first round because they wanted to sell more jerseys in the team shop. The coaching staff obviously saw things in practice and game films to show he can’t and won’t ever be able to succeed as a starting QB in the league.

Team president Mike Holmgren alluded to this in his press conference last week when asked about the Browns’ receiving corps, saying they were open more than you think. A not so veiled reference to the fact that McCoy couldn’t get the ball to them when they were open, maybe because he was already in check down mode, or maybe because he felt he didn’t have the arm strength to get the ball there on time.

Regardless, the organization has played it the right way, saying there would be an open competition for the starting spot, and speaking about McCoy’s toughness and his ability to grow with experience.

However, it is fairly clear that McCoy is trying to orchestrate his way out-of-town, and he is doing it through his family, which although they don’t want to admit it, is one of the reasons the Browns soured on him.

Last year, when the quarterback suffered his concussion against the Steelers, McCoy’s father, Brad McCoy went public with negative comments about the Browns training staff, and was upset that his son was sent back into the football game.

He was naturally upset that his son suffered an injury, which is fine, he should be, but he should have kept his beef out of the media and handled it privately.

He didn’t do Colt any favors, either. Here he is trying to be a leader of a professional football team, and his daddy is taking up for him in the newspapers. It probably started giving Holmgren and Pat Shurmur ideas that he didn’t have the toughness required to handle the sport’s toughest position.

Now, McCoy’s younger brother, Case, a quarterback at the University of Texas, commented on Twitter that his brother will go someplace else and the Browns will go downhill. The guess here is that the younger McCoy didn’t make that up out of thin air. His sibling is frustrated about losing his job, and although there is nothing wrong with that, once again, he’s not handling it correctly.

It appears that McCoy isn’t the naive young man his fans feel he is. There are still a good portion of Browns’ fans who feel the passer received a raw deal from the team. This is exactly the reason, GM Tom Heckert has to send him elsewhere.

The Browns can’t afford to have a substantial group of fans calling for McCoy the first time Weeden has a bad game. Which, if you listen to the McCoy zealots, will be exactly what happens.

On the same hand, McCoy has figured it would be best for him to change teams as well. That’s why he’s using his family to force Holmgren and Heckert’s hand.

All of this means that fans can pile their McCoy jersey on top of those of Brady Quinn, Kelly Holcomb, and Tim Couch. He’s probably thrown his last pass as a Brown. Here’s hoping the next team that employs McCoy gets just him and not his entire family.

Browns Draft Addressed Needs

With all of the discussion that takes place before the NFL draft, what comes after the selection meeting, which is what the NFL calls it, the so-called grading period, can be even more ridiculous.

Usually these grades are given based on where the person assigning the mark had them rated. Which means if you like player A, and your team takes player A, then that team gets a good grade. Really meaningless if you think about it.

The Browns went into the draft needing to improve their offense, and their first three selections produced three likely starters, which for those with limited math skills, is 27% of the starting lineup.

While we can all debate on the wisdom of taking QB Brandon Weeden with the 22nd overall pick, if GM Tom Heckert and coach Pat Shurmur felt that Colt McCoy was part of the problem with the offense, then Cleveland moved quickly to improve that position.

And the supposed failure to draft a wide receiver in the first three rounds is also predicated on that opinion. Obviously, the front office and coaching staff felt McCoy was the reason the receivers were not as productive as they could be and will be with Weeden under center.

Really, what comes first: The “#1” receiver or the franchise quarterback?

Green Bay has a tremendous passing game, right? Well, their two leading receivers (Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings) were both 2nd round picks out of Kansas State and Western Michigan respectively.

Drew Brees’ favorite targets in New Orleans were TE Jimmy Graham, a 3rd round pick and former basketball player, and WR Marques Colston, picked in round seven.

The other top three passing team in the NFL was New England, and Tom Brady’s favorite guys to throw to are Wes Welker, an undrafted free agent, and TE Rob Gronkowski, another 2nd round pick.

All of these receivers are talented, without a doubt, but they weren’t regarded as future All-Pro’s at the time they were drafted. The guys who throw the ball made them that.

Both Shurmur and Heckert seem to feel the production of players like Greg Little, Josh Cribbs, Ben Watson, and others will increase with a stronger armed passer throwing them the football.

The Browns also addressed the weakness on the offensive line by draft T Mitchell Schwartz from California to replace Tony Pashos as the starter on the right side. If he’s as good as advertised, Weeden and new feature back Trent Richardson will operate behind a young group, with Joe Thomas being the oldest.

Nevada LB James-Michael Johnson is another selection who figures to be on the field quite a bit as a rookie. Johnson played inside in college, but several reports have him possibly beating out veteran Scott Fujita on the outside.

Cleveland needed some depth at linebacker, so Johnson and 6th round pick Emmanuel Acho from Texas should provide that.

The other picks made by Heckert also addressed depth. G Ryan Miller, DE Billy Winn, and CB Trevin Wade should be able to help out positions where you can’t have enough good players.

In addition, Winn and Wade were both graded as 2nd or 3rd round talents by CBS Sports, so they were good value picks in the 6th and 7th rounds.

Most of the critics of the draft cite the picks of DT John Hughes in the third round and not picking a wide receiver until the 4th when speedster Travis Benjamin was picked. If those critics are to be fair, they have to give Heckert kudos for Winn and Wade.

No matter what people want to say, the Browns identified their weaknesses, the same ones the fans could see, and they picked players who can improve the team in those areas.

What else did anyone want them to do?