Rookies continue developing

[BernietheKid]

Rookies continue developing

By Matt Florjancic, ClevelandBrowns.com Staff Writer
Posted 1 hour ago



Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy and fellow first-year player, defensive back Joe Haden, played well against the Steelers Sunday.

There is a first time for everything and on Sunday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, quarterback Colt McCoy made his first regular season start under center.

In his first start on the road against an AFC North Division opponent, McCoy completed 23-of-33 pass attempts for 281 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He spread the ball out to six different receivers and averaged 8.52 yards-per-pass-attempt.

“He showed poise in the pocket,” Browns coach Eric Mangini said. “In terms of an initial opportunity, I felt that he seized it.

“I like Jake (Delhomme) and Seneca (Wallace) a lot and Colt’s played one game,” he added. “We’ll see how it progresses and evaluate it from there. We’ll see what the consistency is like; we’ll see what the development is like.”

In addition to his passing, McCoy rushed four times for 22 yards for a 5.5 yards-per-carry average.

“There were a couple times where he vacated early,” Mangini said. “The one where (Peyton) Hillis was blocking, he actually stepped into the pressure. That happens with veteran guys too. He made nice plays rolling out, especially on the touchdown to Ben (Watson).”

McCoy was not the only rookie who stood out on Sunday.



While his teammate in the secondary T.J. Ward is the Browns’ leading tackler, defensive back Joe Haden made an impact against the Steelers. He intercepted a
Ben Roethlisberger pass and returned it 62 yards, which helped set up Phil Dawson’s franchise record-breaking 235th career field goal.

“He’s starting to learn what it means to be a pro,” Mangini said of Haden. “There’s no doubt his week of preparation led to his best performance since he’s been here. Oftentimes in college, when they get older, they’re better than their competition, but you can’t do that anymore.

“What I’m happy about is he can see how it translates on the field,” he added. “I’m looking for him to get better.”

Rookies continue developing

[Enigmatic Evil]

I liked Haden's pick it was a huge one and I think he was due, he hawks the ball well, hits clean and hard and he doesn't give an inch. I would argue his play so far this season is head and shoulders above the level of play that Eric Wright has brought to the field. Its ridiculous considering the "hype" Wright had after a respectable season last year. I hope Haden can keep my prediction true, I said he would be starting by the end of the year and I hope that is the case. Wright's not really hurting his chances.

McCoy is the talk of the town so to speak. Its like he caught everyone by surprise but you know what I'm really not all that surprised. All of the poise and maturity he exhibits off of the field he brought with him on to the field last sunday and he played a pretty good game. One of his pics could've went the other way if it weren't for Robert Royal, even with the two picks he had a pretty solid stat line. I don't think we should jump to conclusions and just "start him the rest of the year" but we should definitely let him get his starts in until the other QB's are healthy enough to start.

Honestly, if Jake or Seneca were at 100% I'd start them, Bernie Kosar made a good point in that Risso interview (for those of you who didn't listen) he said we shouldn't handle Colt like we handled Tim Couch, and really it's the same way we handled Charlie Frye, it was this "f**k it, start the kid" mentality that may have done more harm than good in the long run...

Patience was the original approach with Colt, I don't think we should abandon it just because he's currently our ONLY option. I'm glad he played well though, as it will help the fan base gain support for him should he continue to play well and maybe win us some games.