Terry Pluto's talkin' ... about the Browns' linebackers, Colt McCoy's accuracy

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Terry Pluto's talkin' ... about the Browns' linebackers, Colt McCoy's accuracy

Published: Sunday, November 21, 2010, 2:20 AM Updated: Sunday, November 21, 2010, 2:30 AM

Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer


Chuck Crow / The Plain Dealer
With veteran linebacker -- and defensive leader -- Scott Fujita sidelined with a knee injury, it will be a tougher task for the Browns to take advantage of a softer section of their schedule, beginning Sunday in Jacksonville, says Terry Pluto.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Time for another set of weekend thoughts about Northeast Ohio's pro teams:

About the Browns...

1. The next five games are against Jacksonville, Carolina, Miami, Buffalo and Cincinnati. Only Sunday's opponent (5-4 Jacksonville) has a winning record. Carolina and Buffalo are 1-8, Cincinnati is 2-7. At 5-5, Miami has quarterback problems and is only 1-4 at home. Now is the time for the Browns to capitalize on the confidence from playing four of the NFL's best teams to a 2-2 record, along with the enthusiasm of the fans and the weaknesses in the schedule. The final two games are against the Steelers and Ravens, both in Cleveland.

2. Yes, the Browns have been fun to watch. Yes, they are better. But as the coaches have told the players, they are a 3-6 team. The Browns are proud of their work ethic and character, and this is time for it to show. A year ago, the Browns won their final four games because they played hard when some teams and players were giving up on the season.

3. Jacksonville is not one of those teams. The Jags can be terrible -- they have lost four games by at least 20 points. But they are in the playoff race with one of the league's hottest quarterbacks in David Garrard, who has 14 touchdown passes and only one interception in the team's five victories. Like the Jets' Mark Sanchez, he is difficult to bring down. He has run for 11 first downs and two touchdowns, along with completing 69 percent of his passes. He is scary for a Browns defense that is banged up.

4. A guess is that Scott Fujita will be out a month with a knee injury. He probably has been the defensive MVP this season, clearly the leader of the unit. David Bowens and Jason Trusnik will fill in for Fujita, and they were effective last season. Marcus Benard (5.5 sacks) will see more action.

5. Profootballfocus.com has a complex rating system for linebackers "pressuring the quarterbacks." Not sure how it all works, but they rate four Browns in the Top 15 -- Fujita, Benard, Matt Roth and Chris Gocong. Remember, this isn't pure sack totals, it's bringing pressure on the passer. They wrote: "Part of why the Browns are a team nobody wants to face is the pressure they get with linebackers moving all over the place ... this unit is making life extremely difficult for teams."

6. That Web site also ranks Shaun Rogers as "one of the toughest" interior linemen to block, and Rogers has been a factor the last few games -- even if he did miss a sack in a key part of the loss to the Jets. They rate Matt Roth as the No. 2 outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense defending the run, right behind the Steelers' James Harrison.

7. Eric Wright is tied for the league lead with six touchdown passes allowed. He had only two last season. The coaches say Wright has been working hard and knows he's not playing well -- but left unsaid is this is the first time Wright's confidence has been shaken as he also has rookie Joe Haden improving and pressing him for more time on the field.

8. Rookie Shawn Lauvao received "decent" grades for his first extended work at right guard in the loss to the Jets. The right side of the line has been hammered with injuries. John St. Clair, Tony Pashos and Bill Yates are out. Pashos and Yates were playing very well -- especially run blocking.

9. In the early 1970s, former Browns star Bill Glass (now an ordained minister) was preaching in Winston-Salem. At one point, he took off his 1964 Browns championship watch and left it on the pulpit. When he returned, it was gone. His family would love to find the watch, which they believe was stolen and then sold in the collectibles market. The name of Bill Glass is on the watch. If someone has information, please email me at terrypluto2003@yahoo.com

10. I will be signing copies of my book "What I Learned From Watching The Browns" at the Fairlawn Barnes & Noble on Tuesday from 7-8 p.m.

What the numbers say about Colt McCoy ...
John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer
Colt McCoy's accuracy -- regardless of the length of the desired pass -- is one of the most striking developments in his rookie season.

1. He is an extremely accurate passer. He is 27-of-43 on passes of one to 10 yards. That 63 percent is under the NFL average of 66 percent, but is much higher than what the Browns have had in the last few seasons. About 50 percent of most passes are in that range.

2. Here's where you really see his accuracy. He is 16-of-19 (84 percent) on passes behind the line of scrimmage. It helps that Peyton Hillis catches about everything near his fingertips. But this number is the eye-popper: He is 17-of-25 (68 percent) on passes of 11 to 20 yards. Most quarterbacks are under 50 percent on these throws.

3. For a little comparison, here are the numbers of three top quarterbacks on those one to 10 yard passes -- Peyton Manning (73 percent), Drew Brees (74 percent) and Matt Ryan (68 percent). On the 11-to-20 yarders -- Manning (50 percent), Brees (55 percent) and Ryan (60 percent).

4. He has had no fumbled snaps and no timeouts because of confusion at the line of scrimmage or not being able to get the snap off in time.

5. At 6-2, he is smaller than most quarterbacks, but he's had only one pass batted down at the line.

6. When he misses connections, he either throws long (nine times) or wide (six times). He also has thrown four passes way out of bounds. He has had only two incompletes that were underthrown -- those are the type of passes that most lead to interceptions.

7. McCoy is 27-of-43 (63 percent) passing against the blitz, a sign that he is reading defenses well and finding the open man quickly.

8. He is 38-of-57 (67 percent) passing out of the shotgun, 10-of-18 (56 percent) passing from the pro style offense under center.

9. This gets complicated, but reader Tarik Adam did a stat breakdown of McCoy's first four games -- three against Top 10 defenses. McCoy has completed 64.6 percent. Those four teams had held other quarterbacks to 61.8 percent. His two interceptions in 99 throws would rank 11th among starting quarterbacks.

10. Finally, former Brown Jerry Sherk emailed from Encinitas, Calif: "Terry, I'm most impressed that Colt doesn't make the glaring rookie mistakes. He does make some mistakes, but not the kind that lose games. ... This version of the Browns make me hungry to watch them (on my laptop) ... it's been a long time since I felt that way."

Terry Pluto's talkin' ... about the Browns' linebackers, Colt McCoy's accuracy, a third-base answer for the Tribe and the point-hungry Cavs | cleveland.com