The perspective that one gets from reading the box score can be vastly different from the perception that one gets from watching a game live and in person.
I wasn’t able to catch Friday’s game live, so I set the DVR and figured I’d enjoy it on Saturday afternoon. While I was out, someone else in the restaurant decided that it would be a nice idea to announce the halftime score. When I heard that, I was pretty happy—what’s not to like about 3 Colt McCoy touchdown passes? I later saw that the Browns had lost because the second half defense couldn’t maintain the lead, but I wasn’t too concerned—after all, if the starters performed well, all went well in Motown.
The black rain clouds that slowly amassed outside of my house on Saturday afternoon were highly symbolic of the concern that grew in my mind as I watched the replay of the game.
Look, I know McCoy threw three touchdown passes in the first half, which is more than some Browns quarterbacks have thrown in consecutive weeks in recent years. I know the Browns put a lot of pressure on Matt Stafford without having to blitz the entire defense, and that’s a positive development too.
But when the franchise quarterback—the guy who is winning over all but the most ardent doubters each and every week with his leadership, resiliency, and great play in a new offense, and the guy who looks better than any Browns quarterback since the team’s return in 1999—takes that many hard shots during a preseason game, I think I have a right to be worried.
The third preseason game is typically when the starters get the most playing time. The Browns will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles, a team with a ferocious defense who was recently embarrassed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sure, Eric Steinbach was out, but he wasn’t the only reason why the Lions’ defense took up residence in the Browns’ backfield for much of the first half on Friday night. Unless the Browns improve their pass protection, I’m not excited to see another half of McCoy repeatedly being thrown to the turf by the opposing defense.
My thoughts on this game aren’t all negative, though.
I’ve been really impressed by the play of Evan Moore, and I’m glad to see that his good performances in various games during the past two injury-interrupted seasons weren’t accidental. I really hope that his concussion isn’t serious, because he’s developed a great connection with Colt McCoy. Their second touchdown pass was fantastic—both McCoy and Moore had to perform perfectly on that play, and they did.
On a related note, I’m hoping that Moore’s emergence means that this is the end of the Alex Smith era. The guy has hands of stone—his drop on the first drive of the game was a big momentum killer—and we don’t need to carry four tight ends on the roster.
In addition to the four touchdown passes over three games, I also like the fact that McCoy hasn’t thrown a single interception. At the risk of overstating the obvious, McCoy’s poise in the pocket is the biggest difference between him and previous Browns quarterbacks. Guys like Jake Delhomme and Derek Anderson would get flustered and proceed to throw interceptions. McCoy’s not like that.
I’m glad to see D’Qwell Jackson healthy and playing hard. He made some nice plays on Friday night. After the mass exodus of veteran linebackers in the offseason, I was a bit worried about the Browns’ linebacking corps. However, given his injury history, I’d like to see the Browns bring in another linebacker, such as Lofa Tatupu.
The media made far too much of a big deal out of Greg Little’s punt of the ball into the stands. The guy hasn’t played organized football in over a year and he just scored his first professional touchdown—of course he’s going to be excited! If he keeps doing that and begins to accrue a large number of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, I think that the Browns will have cause for concern, but one incident during a preseason game? C’mon—I had no idea that the media was so hard up for news this summer!
I’m excited for the third preseason game, although I am scared to death about McCoy getting hurt during this game. The Eagles are one of the best teams in the league, and I think the Browns’ performance against the Eagles will serve as a good barometer of the Browns’ true progress heading into the season. GO BROWNS!
Similar story, but I was less impressed with the Browns as a team. Browns defense failed to be able to cover short dump passes on the flat which consistently went for large gains. Second team runners were in, but Browns were unable to consistently move the ball on the ground.
I find it disturbing that the Browns are staying “pat” with no significnat additions to bolster the team. Being $32M under the Cap – with the least amount of money being paid to QBs – it seems to me that the Browns front office should spend $ to beef up the team.
THere is talent on the team – but a playoff run will require more of it, and ownership does not seem willing to spend on a total team effort.
It seems like Ownership is Waiting Til Next Year