Sitting, waiting, watching is the right strategy for the Browns' Colt McCoy in 2010:
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
April 24, 2010, 7:21PM
BEREA, Ohio -- Mike Holmgren hates quarterback controversies. Absolutely loathes them. You have a feeling that the Browns president would rather guzzle down a bucket of rusty bolts than spend all of training camp trying to pick a quarterback.
That's why Holmgren was wise to immediately say that there are no plans for Colt McCoy to play this season. Yes, he's a big-name college player. But the Texas product also is a third-round pick who dropped all the way to No. 85, where the Browns were surprised and pleased to call his name.
His drop in the draft underlines how several teams believe McCoy won't walk into training camp NFL ready, and fans should accept that fact. Holmgren pushed for the Browns to take McCoy and he likes quarterbacks who complete 70 percent of their passes in four years of college.
But McCoy needs to pay his dues, not a bad thing for a young man who was one of the greatest high-school quarterbacks in Texas history, then shattered passing records for the Longhorns.
He is a Lone Star state legend. With the Browns, he'll be a rookie with a baseball cap and a clipboard on Sundays. He will run the opponents' offense during some practices. He will sit in meetings and learn from veterans Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace.
This is the right way to break in a quarterback.
Holmgren is not coaching the team. But knows a good leader gives direction and clarity to those in his organization. That began with the decision to start over at quarterback, where Holmgren feared a return of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn would be a rerun of the last two seasons where the Browns never could settle on a quarterback.
You can argue Quinn should have been kept and handed the job. But understand that Eric Mangini handed tapes of Quinn and Anderson to Holmgren and new General Manager Tom Heckert. He didn't give them an opinion, just asked them to study the tapes and then sit down and talk about it.
All three men came to the same conclusion – start over at quarterback. Quinn and Anderson both needed a fresh start with another team.
So they signed veteran Delhomme, and quickly designated him as the starter. At 35 and coming off a dreadful season where he threw only eight touchdowns to 18 interceptions for a strong running team in Carolina, it's hard to know if Delhomme has much left in the tank. But his leadership skills and character are tremendous. The Browns believe if anyone in his situation can bounce back, Delhomme will.
If Delhomme falters or is injured, Wallace is very capable of finishing the season. A backup under Holmgren in Seattle, Wallace is 29. For his career, he has thrown 25 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions, completing 60 percent of his passes.
The Browns seem to be assembling a power-running team. Wallace is a mobile quarterback who makes few turnovers, meaning he fits the game plan.
Some Browns fans have compared McCoy to Brian Sipe. You can only hope that's true. But keep in mind that Sipe was a 13th round draft pick in 1972. He never appeared in a game the next two seasons. He didn't become a starter until 1975.
Not that you'd want McCoy to wait that long. But sitting, watching and learning certainly didn't hurt Sipe -- and it won't be a negative for McCoy, either.
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2010/04/sitting_waiting_watching_is_th.html
