Cleveland Browns boss Mike Holmgren on Colt McCoy: 'I'm very, very pleased'

[steel88]

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/...s_mike_hol.html

 

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- During a recent visit to Browns President Mike Holmgren's office, rookie quarterback Colt McCoy couldn't help but notice two photographs on the wall. One had Holmgren with Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, the other depicted Holmgren with future Hall of Famer Brett Favre.

"He told me, 'I'm going to be on that wall right there, with Favre and Montana,'" Holmgren recalled. "He pointed to the photos and said, 'right there. That's where my picture is going to be.'

Holmgren chuckled a little before responding: "whoa, slow down. I hope so."

"I said 'that would be wonderful if you could be up there. But let's take it one step at a time.'"

His caution established, Holmgren now says he was "very encouraged" by McCoy's performance last week in Pittsburgh and that maybe -- just maybe -- he could be looking at the Browns' quarterback of the future.

Now, they want to see if he can build on that performance Sunday in New Orleans, where he'll start in place of the injured Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace against the defending Super Bowl champion Saints.

"I was very proud of him Sunday and I told him that," said Holmgren, arguably the top quarterback expert in the NFL. "No one knew what he could do, and the feeling going into that game was 'oh boy.' The truth is, that was a heck of a game for a while. I was very, very pleased with how he played."

McCoy, who completed 23 of 33 attempts for 281 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, played on the road against one of the NFL's top defenses and didn't flinch.

"That impressed me a lot, because that's a tough thing to be thrust into," said Holmgren. "They're a good team and it's a tough place to play. The game wasn't too big for him and he handled it well. I can't say I'm surprised, but I felt good about it, and he should, too."

Holmgren said one game isn't enough to fully assess McCoy, "but if he were to play four or five games, I'd probably be able to answer. And he gets to start another [sunday] against a very good football team.

"In fact, I already do [have an idea], I think. But anyone can come in and have a really good game. What's encouraging to me is how he prepares, his work ethic, how he seriously works at his profession, how bright he is. There's all sorts of good stuff that I say, 'that's already in the can.' Now they just have to work with him and prepare him for the game, different throws and things like that."

Holmgren said the silver lining in the high ankle sprains suffered by Delhomme and Wallace is the opportunity to evaluate McCoy. The Browns figure to draft high again and have a shot at one of the many blue-chip quarterbacks coming out, including Washington's Jake Locker, Arkansas' Ryan Mallett and potentially Stanford's Andrew Luck.

"That's how I'm looking at it," he said. "I didn't want him to play, but then we wouldn't know. I mean, really know. He started off fine and I trust that we can continue."

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about McCoy's performance in Pittsburgh, Holmgren said, was that he barely got any reps in training camp or preseason -- and almost none with the starters.

 

Chuck Crow / The Plain Dealer

Colt McCoy against the Steelers "didn't do anything in the game that made me [shake my head and say] 'oh boy,'" said Mike Holmgren (watching McCoy during training camp). "On the contrary, I said, 'that's good. that's good.'"

"It's not like he had all this wealth of practice experience to rely on," he said. He kind of got thrown into the frying pan."

What's more, McCoy wasn't exactly throwing to an All-Pro cast of receivers. The unit has struggled, and both Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi were knocked out in the first half with concussions. McCoy will have Cribbs back against the Saints, but probably not Massaquoi.

"It's part of the three-year plan," said Holmgren. "If we can answer the quarterback question -- and I haven't said we answered it -- that's a huge deal. The other guys aren't as difficult."

Saints coach Sean Payton was also impressed with McCoy's debut.

"He was a player we liked coming out of Texas," said Payton. "Considering where he was starting that first game against that defense, I thought he handled it well. He showed poise and a great command of the offense. He's accurate and it certainly didn't look too big for him. When you watch the coaches tape, you're impressed because he's got that calmness under fire."

It's not too early, Payton said, for the Browns to be optimistic.

"One game can give you hope and you can get excited and build on that," he said. "It'd be too early to draw any conclusions, but certainly you'd be encouraged after the first outing."

Of course, Holmgren, who stepped in and called for the Browns to draft McCoy in the third round out of Texas, wants to temper the enthusiasm.

"Remember, I came out and said I didn't want him to play this year," he said. "But now it's kind of been taken out of our hands and here we go again. It's something that I didn't want to have happen here. It's gone on in the past with quarterbacks, but having said all of that, yeah, he didn't do anything in the game that made me [shake my head and say] 'oh boy.' On the contrary, I said, 'that's good. that's good.'"

Holmgren said he decided to draft McCoy after talking to people that knew him, including his former assistant Jon Gruden, who spent time with McCoy and the other top quarterbacks for an ESPN special.

"He really liked Colt and I trust Jon, and so that was another good thing," said Holmgren, who confirmed the one question he had was his arm strength.

"In college, he threw a lot of quick passes, so that, I didn't see enough of," said Holmgren. "He did a lot of great things running the ball, things you need to do in this league, but you've got to be able to do other things very well."

Is the arm strength good enough?

"We have to keep working on it and developing it," said Holmgren. "You don't have to have a rocket arm, but I think timing and anticipation and accuracy and all of those things, that has to be his game."

He said McCoy's lack of height -- he's 6-1 -- wasn't an issue.

"You have to see that they're good at throwing in lanes, and they have good vision," said Holmgren. "You don't want to see every other ball batted down, and typically those guys can move better. Then, if you have all the things Colt has in his makeup, his leadership and all the intangibles, now you've got a chance to have a really fine player."

Holmgren said he has no idea why he lasted until the third round, "but I'm glad we got him."

[steel88]

Hmm, care to share with us the 3 year plan Mr. Holmgren?

 

 

 

 

Hmm interesting, very interesting. He went to Gruden for his opinion and grabbed the kid Gruden liked, so far Grudens likefest for Colt .45 looks pretty smart and they're a perfect fit for one another.....

 

I'll be one happy man if what i'm reading into that comes to fruition.

Three year plan is what the current coaching staff has as a time line if there is no improvement, or were not making the playoffs by year four of the Mangini era he will get the axe is what I'm reading it as.

 

Gruden and Holmgren come from the same line of thought on QB's. Gruden had 1 on 1 time with Colt in his QB camp. That is why Holmgren went to him.

[Gips]

Three year plan is what the current coaching staff has as a time line if there is no improvement, or were not making the playoffs by year four of the Mangini era he will get the axe is what I'm reading it as.

 

Gruden and Holmgren come from the same line of thought on QB's. Gruden had 1 on 1 time with Colt in his QB camp. That is why Holmgren went to him.

 

I dunno i didnt really read into anything other than he is quite pleased with mccoy, but note he did not say he was quite pleased with the gini or daboll...

If there was a secret message to the browns faithful other than about colt, it was bide your time browns fans, better times are comin!

Within a couple more years!

 

Either way there is nothing we can do about it but watch from the sideline and hope this regime makes the right moves rather its firing dabs or keeping mangini or hiring gruden or the walrus coaching himself, its not going to change most browns fans minds about the way we feel about team we love regardless!

[choco]

This is a piece about McCoy.....why the xxxx should he be talking about mangini or daboll?

 

Stop molding the information to fit your narrative

[kshutchins]

I dunno i didnt really read into anything other than he is quite pleased with mccoy, but note he did not say he was quite pleased with the gini or daboll...

If there was a secret message to the browns faithful other than about colt, it was bide your time browns fans, better times are comin!

Within a couple more years!

 

Either way there is nothing we can do about it but watch from the sideline and hope this regime makes the right moves rather its firing dabs or keeping mangini or hiring gruden or the walrus coaching himself, its not going to change most browns fans minds about the way we feel about team we love regardless!

 

 

This Browns team is going to keep adding talent and developing skill then "suddenly" they will become a great team. Many people will wonder "where did THIS team come from?" The cool thing is, we'll all know because we watched the process.

[44CalExpress]

This Browns team is going to keep adding talent and developing skill then "suddenly" they will become a great team. Many people will wonder "where did THIS team come from?" The cool thing is, we'll all know because we watched the process.

 

Well put. Hopefully this 3 year plan hits the gas pedal and we come closer to a superbowl soon .