Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy says shoulder is healed

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy says shoulder is healed: 'It feels as good as it's ever felt'

Published: Monday, May 02, 2011, 7:18 PM Updated: Monday, May 02, 2011, 10:27 PM

By Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer


Cleveland Plain Dealer
Colt McCoy has spent time during the lockout getting teammates together and healing his throwing shoulder.


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Colt McCoy said Monday the silver lining to the NFL lockout is gave time for the pinched nerve in his right shoulder to completely heal.

"It feels as good as it's ever felt," the Browns quarterback said in a phone interview. "Throwing-wise, I definitely feel back up to speed. I'm not getting fatigued as much as what I was. I really feel good and confident, so that's always a plus."

McCoy said one of his main goals in the off-season is to fully recover from the injury suffered on the fifth play of the BCS National Championship Game in January, 2010, when Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus drilled him in the shoulder.

"I didn't throw there for a good 1 1/2 to two months," said McCoy. "I just completely let my shoulder heal and did a ton of therapy. I still am, but it feels great now."

McCoy revealed during last February's Super Bowl week that he had good and bad days with the shoulder throughout his rookie season, suffering mostly from fatigue. He also said doctors had cautioned him it can take 2-3 years to recover.

But the shoulder held up fine last month during what Josh Cribbs dubbed "Camp Colt," a three-day offensive camp held April 21-23 at the University of Texas, McCoy's alma mater.

"We have a new coach and a new system and I'm really the only one that has that much clue about what's going on," said McCoy. "I've spent a lot of time in the playbook, so it was important for us to get together and study.

It was a lot mental. We spent a lot of time understanding the basic foundation of what goes on in the West Coast. It's a lot different from what we ran last year."

McCoy and the others are planning their next camp, which could take place somewhere around May 19, possibly at Kent State. McCoy has already reached out to draft picks Greg Little, Jordan Cameron and Owen Marecic, and they're planning to attend depending on school schedules.

"I'm trying to keep it as quiet as I can, but we're going to get together -- whether it's in Cleveland, Austin, California, Florida, or wherever," said McCoy. "When we do, the draft picks will be there. Owen might still have classes at Stanford, but he's been in the true West Coast offense with [former Stanford coach] Jim Harbaugh the last couple of years, so he's already ahead of the game."

McCoy went into the draft saying "let's get all the receivers we can," but was fine with the Browns passing up Julio Jones and going defense with their first two picks.

"I thought the draft went well," he said. "First of all, I trust Mike [Holmgren] and Tom [Heckert] and Coach [Pat] Shurmur. As the quarterback, you kind of trust that they're going to get playmakers around you, so I was 100 percent for whatever we needed."

McCoy is intrigued by the Browns' offensive choices.

"Selfishly, I don't think you can have enough weapons," he said. "I know Owen will be good for Peyton [Hillis]. He seems like a guy you really want on your team, a hard worker, going to give everything he's got all the time, he kind of portrays that attitude.

"You've got a guy like Jordan Cameron, I know he hasn't played all that much in college, hasn't had that many receptions, but definitely has a ton of potential, so we're excited about him. I think having Ben [Watson] and Evan [Moore] in the same room with him will definitely help him come along.

"Then a guy like Greg, we'll have to see. He sat out the whole season and missed a year of football. Obviously he's big and physical. Hopefully he can play some and produce. We also got a big offensive tackle in Jordan Pinkston and some good defensive players, so there's a ton of potential."
McCoy is upbeat about his existing skill players and how they'll thrive in the new offense.

"Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie, Jordan Norwood, Evan Moore -- those guys are working really hard," he said. "Evan Moore is coming off his hernia surgery and he looks really good, is running great routes. The young guys, Johnathan Haggerty, coming off his foot injury, and Carlton Mitchell -- I expect nothing but great things from the guys that are coming back."

He said he hopes Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme will attend some of the sessions, but that they're both well-versed in the West Coast offense, so it's not as important. Cribbs said the players plan to gather the whole team for practices in June if the lockout is still on.

"If this lockout continues, we hope to do it more and more," said McCoy.

"We know that 5-11 is not acceptable and we know we've got a lot of work to do. But this is something I hope to do every year."

Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy says shoulder is healed: 'It feels as good as it's ever felt' | cleveland.com

[Alo]

I bet he can really spin it now.

YouTube - Two Princes - Spin Doctors (with lyrics)

[YtownBacker]

Spin it to who? We had the 31th pass offense in the NFL, I think that's how it goes.

[Brown Warrior]

It's funny when people are clever without having to make much sense. Me happy smile.

[PlaygroundLegend]

Did he say HAGGERTY?!?!?

Im officially excited, I think that kid is a DIAMOND in the rough, so fricken explosive

[Brown Warrior]

I thought Haggerty was another possession receiver type? Red Bull? What's the story? Spin me sumpin.

[PlaygroundLegend]

Shep, heres an article from last training camp, mention his explosiveness, and his 4.4 speed. I remember watching that guy during the preseason games, as soon as that ball hit his hands it was as if he had rockets for legs. He could be a GREAT WCO slot option or number 2 guy, I seriously think he looked that good.

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Johnathan Haggerty continues to turn heads, including the most important one of all, Coach Eric Mangini.

Haggerty, whom Cleveland's The Plain Dealer calls this year's "it" undrafted rookie, caught three touchdowns in seven red zone drills and grabbed a few passes from Seneca Wallace in the two minute drill yesterday.

According to Mangini, "He's another guy that has an outstanding work ethic, is bright, very bright, and he gets it. He gets what a great opportunity this is and everyday day he's going to come out and make a case for himself. There may be some days where he takes some steps back like the rest of the group, but we brought in a lot of rookies. We brought in a lot of guys. We have a lot of new people and you've got to pop off the screen. He popped and he popped and he popped and eventually you learn his name and you learn different things about him and watch him a little more closely."

Haggerty is 6'1", 195, from SW Oklahoma State, and has been running with the second team offense. He wears jersey number 86 and has been smoothly catching a lot of passes while dropping very few.

Mangini seems genuinely excited about this rookie, who if you read my 53 man roster I predicted makes the team. "He's gotten some more looks because of the good things that he's done and I'm excited about what he's done." said Mangini. "Now it's a function of what he can keep doing."

Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer also writes that the coaches have been extremely impressed with Haggerty.

Haggerty was a four-year starter and two-time All-Lone Star Conference selection. The Dallas Lincoln product caught 54 passes with a 13.9-yard average and six touchdowns in 2009.

That didn't get the NFL's attention – he wasn't invited to the annual scouting combine – but his workout on campus did. He ran a 4.44 40-yard dash in front of 18 scouts on his pro day.

Now we get down to the numbers game. Where does he fit, on the active roster, or the practice squad?

If this kid looks as good in pads as he does in shorts, the Browns are going to have a difficult decision to make. Placing him on the practice squad leaves him vulnerable to every other NFL team who may find a wideout with 4.44 speed and good hands too irresistible to pass up.

The first five Browns receivers have a lock on their spots. They are Mohamed Massaquoi, Josh Cribbs, Brian Robiskie, Chansi Stuckey, and Carlton Mitchell.

The question is, do they keep a sixth receiver or take advantage of Evan Moore's ability to slide over from tight end and keep an extra linebacker?

Haggerty's only competition at wideout appears to be Jake Allen and he has been conspicuous only by the deafening silence surrounding his name this off-season.

Every year NFL teams spend millions of dollars scouting college players in preparation for the draft and somehow talented players who turn into legitimate difference makers like Josua Cribbs, slide right through the clutches of these very prepared executives.

I am not saying Haggerty is the next Cribbs by any standard, but that legitimate NFL talent can be found in the undrafted free agent rookies and so far at least, Haggerty appears to be one of those players.

Give credit to the Browns GM Tom Heckert and the scouting department for finding Haggerty and convincing him that Cleveland offered him the best opportunity to launch his NFL career.

Shep, the possession guy is Norwood, Haggerty is the guy everyone was talking about last pre-season... too bad he got injured, I hope he is fully healed, he could've made a serious impact last year. It shows you that the Browns still think highly of him, he was a UDFA, got injured, and he is STILL on the roster.

[Brown Warrior]

Yeah, I remember all the Haggerty talk last year. I just couldn't remember what kind of guy he was.

We could sure as shit use a break like that.