Browns Backup QB Jarrett Brown is 'Wowing' Fans and Coaches
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
By Daniel Wolf
Senior Writer
The Cleveland Browns are set at the starting quarterback position with Colt McCoy and backup spot with veteran Seneca Wallace for the 2011 season.
Looking back at the 2011 NFL Draft, many in both the national and local media predicted the Browns would draft a young, development quarterback project to become their No. 3 passer on their 2011 NFL roster.
The team didn't select a quarterback in the later rounds of the draft mainly due to the fact they had already found their developmental quarterback right after the 2010 regular season ended.
Back on January 10, the Browns signed quarterback Jarrett Brown. Brown signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent last year and spent much of the year on the practice squad, but was cut.
A former one-year starter with the West Virginia Mountaineers in 2009, Brown threw for over 2,100 yards, completed 63 percent of his passes and threw 11 touchdowns to nine interceptions. He also ran for over 450 yards and six touchdowns in his senior season.
Going rather unnoticed prior to the 2010 draft, Brown's arm caught my eye while watching him at the 2010 NFL Combine. He easily had the biggest cannon of all the other quarterbacks who were throwing at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis.
Sadly, the 6'3", 224-pound quarterback didn't get drafted or get a fair shot with the 49ers, so in came Browns general manager Tom Heckert—who swooped in and signed Brown—since he was familiar with Brown and his abilities
"He was a guy that Tom and I were familiar with," Head Coach Pat Shumur said in a press conference Wednesday.
Shurmur specifically, has been excited to see Brown's arm and talent while taking reps with the third-team offense during camp practices.
"He’s really been fun to work with. I’ve seen him improve," Shurmur said. "There’s something natural about what he does. You take that natural ability and put it to the scheme."
Brown's ability doesn't only consist of natural talent, as Shurmur states, but he the ability to make plays happen when plays break down.
"It’s very rare that the quarterback can just drop back and throw," Shumur said. "There’s always some kind of movement in the pocket or you get flushed. He’s displayed an ability now when he’s out there improvising that he can make a play."
It was previously rumored (probably via Twitter or somewhere online) the Browns were considering having only two quarterbacks on their roster going into the 2011 regular season—since wide receiver Josh Cribbs, a former quarterback at Kent State, could act as the third stringer in worst case scenarios. Shurmur put that rumor to bed.
"You like to have your starter. You’d like to have a legitimate backup. Then you always want a guy around that you’re developing," Shumur said. "You’d like to have a developmental guy. Although we didn’t draft one this year, we kind of knew all along that [Brown] had some skill.
"He’s got a big arm and he’s tall and can see. He’s got athletic ability."
Brown seems to have found a home in Cleveland. His arm is "wowing" crowds at Browns practices every day and he will get his chance to "wow" fans even more in the coming preseason games.
http://www.nationalfootballauthority.com/2011/08/cleveland-browns-backup-qb-jarrett.html
