FootballDad
10-12-2010, 10:18 AM
After hearing that Colt McCoy may start this week for the Browns against the Steelers, I scoped around the web a bit to get a "flavor" of what folks are saying about this possibility. In this article from an Ohio small paper, they are afraid that throwing him in at a point too early in his career with a so-so line and lousy receivers, he might develop bad running-for-his-life habits, and be "Couched" (see Tim Couch).
The Canton Repository, which still faithfully covers the Browns home and road in these trying economic times, caught up with legendary Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar this week to get his take on whether rookie QB Colt McCoy should start Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In reading the story, I got the distinct impression that Kosar wanted to burst out laughing. Here's what he told veteran reporter Steve Doerschuk, who does as good a job as anyone on the Browns beat:
"Do you want to put Colt McCoy, in his first game, at Pittsburgh "¦ No. 1 defense, Troy Polamalu "¦ and the way they're playing, and the way we're struggling and "¦ Peyton Hillis may not be able to play?
"I think this somewhat happened with Tim Couch "¦ if you play him too much too early and the team around them isn't ready, to subject him to the beating that the quarterbacks took (Sunday against Atlanta) and the potential beatings they may take this coming Sunday, that comes at a cost of starting to get him hurt or get out of his rapport and start developing bad habits.
"Are you capable of protecting him? Are you capable of giving him a chance to be successful is a question the coaches are going to have to ask."
With both Jake Delhomme (who's finished, by the way, in case you didn't know; somebody tell him, OK?) and Seneca Wallace (the career backup who had been starting) hobbled by ankle injuries, it seems the Browns actually intend to ride Colt into Pittsburgh and watch him run for his life.
So, here we go again, thrusting a rookie into the fray too soon. Tim Couch, the No. 1 pick in the 1999 draft, started the second game of that season for an expansion team en route to the early ruination of his career.
And just a few years ago, Charlie Frye, like McCoy a third-round pick, found his way into the lineup way too soon because then-GM Phil Savage, who drafted him, apparently thought he had discovered the next Joe Montana at Akron.
Savage then whiffed again on a quarterback, this time in the first round, when he took Brady Quinn, who's now tethered to the bench in Denver.
Kosar also told Doerschuk the lack of talent on this year's team is the result of recent bad drafting (as opposed to the bad drafting in the early expansion years) catching up with the Browns.
Quick, what do Quinn, Braylon Edwards and Kamerion Wimbley all have in common?
They were drafted by Savage in the first round and are long gone.
Think about that. Savage had four drafts, and three of his four first-rounders (Joe Thomas is the exception, of course) were busts to one degree or another, for one reason or another.
It's too early to tell if the Mike Holmgren/Tom Heckert front office duo has a tighter grip on talent evaluation. Sunday, we might start to get a feel for the future of their chosen quarterback, whether we want to or not.
The Canton Repository, which still faithfully covers the Browns home and road in these trying economic times, caught up with legendary Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar this week to get his take on whether rookie QB Colt McCoy should start Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In reading the story, I got the distinct impression that Kosar wanted to burst out laughing. Here's what he told veteran reporter Steve Doerschuk, who does as good a job as anyone on the Browns beat:
"Do you want to put Colt McCoy, in his first game, at Pittsburgh "¦ No. 1 defense, Troy Polamalu "¦ and the way they're playing, and the way we're struggling and "¦ Peyton Hillis may not be able to play?
"I think this somewhat happened with Tim Couch "¦ if you play him too much too early and the team around them isn't ready, to subject him to the beating that the quarterbacks took (Sunday against Atlanta) and the potential beatings they may take this coming Sunday, that comes at a cost of starting to get him hurt or get out of his rapport and start developing bad habits.
"Are you capable of protecting him? Are you capable of giving him a chance to be successful is a question the coaches are going to have to ask."
With both Jake Delhomme (who's finished, by the way, in case you didn't know; somebody tell him, OK?) and Seneca Wallace (the career backup who had been starting) hobbled by ankle injuries, it seems the Browns actually intend to ride Colt into Pittsburgh and watch him run for his life.
So, here we go again, thrusting a rookie into the fray too soon. Tim Couch, the No. 1 pick in the 1999 draft, started the second game of that season for an expansion team en route to the early ruination of his career.
And just a few years ago, Charlie Frye, like McCoy a third-round pick, found his way into the lineup way too soon because then-GM Phil Savage, who drafted him, apparently thought he had discovered the next Joe Montana at Akron.
Savage then whiffed again on a quarterback, this time in the first round, when he took Brady Quinn, who's now tethered to the bench in Denver.
Kosar also told Doerschuk the lack of talent on this year's team is the result of recent bad drafting (as opposed to the bad drafting in the early expansion years) catching up with the Browns.
Quick, what do Quinn, Braylon Edwards and Kamerion Wimbley all have in common?
They were drafted by Savage in the first round and are long gone.
Think about that. Savage had four drafts, and three of his four first-rounders (Joe Thomas is the exception, of course) were busts to one degree or another, for one reason or another.
It's too early to tell if the Mike Holmgren/Tom Heckert front office duo has a tighter grip on talent evaluation. Sunday, we might start to get a feel for the future of their chosen quarterback, whether we want to or not.