This Sunday will be the game 16 started by Cleveland Browns Colt McCoy. One full season in the books. Many Browns fans have already lost faith in McCoy being the franchise guy to deliver Cleveland from another year of losing misery. Yet wiser fans still feel we have a diamond in the rough in Colt McCoy.
Intangibles:
First of all he’s a standup guy. He never backs away from criticism. Remember Derrick Anderson and his post game meltdowns? After a loss Colt stands up and takes the tough questions. Secondly, there are flashes in every game where the offense begins to function as we all would like to see. Like an old engine trying to start, Colt often gets the offense cranking only to see it stalled by a flag or dropped pass. Watching these flashes of success Browns fans gives hope that we are getting close. Colt is not like Charlie Frye, or Brady Quinn. Thirdly, the reality is he doesn’t have many, excluding Josh Cribbs established game breakers. Obviously, the downside of trading down from the sixth pick for future depth.
Statistics:
Let’s look at the numbers. What has Colt accomplished in his first 15 games. He has a better completion percentage and QB rating (58.7%/ 75.5%) than Peyton Manning (56.7%/ 71.2%) Troy Aikman (52.9%/ 55.7%) or John Elway* (47.5%/ 54.9%*note played 10 games his first season). He has almost as many yards thrown in 15 games (3194) as Drew Breeze (3284) and Peyton Manning (3739) accumulated in their first 16 games. A TD/INT ratio (15 /14) in 15 games close to Drew Breeze’s first 16 games (17/16). FYI Peyton Manning went (26/28) in his first year. The Browns record (5-10) Peyton’s team went (3-13) Troy Aikman’s went (0-11).
Patience:
Would you want to get rid of Manning, Breeze, Aikman or Elway after their first 16 games? I know Browns fans are sick and tired of waiting until next year. The reality is this team with Colt should finish with a better record than last season. The fact is Colt McCoy will be more seasoned and polished next year. Let’s not forget the Browns have two first round picks next year. I believe in the Mike Holmgren and Pat Shurmur. We have some really good young players on this team. At least three should be Pro-Bowl bound this year. (Mack, Thomas, Haden).
Luck:
We have youngsters (Haden, Taylor, Ward & Sheard) to build around on defense. We have McCoy, Hillis, Hardesty, Little, Mack and of course Joe Thomas to build an offense around.
Would a true Browns fan throw away what we have in Colt McCoy for someone named Luck? “Do you want to rely on Colt McCoy the young talented quarterback that has a season’s experience and statistics on par with Elway, Manning, Breeze, and Aikman after their first years or on the luck of the Browns?”
Go Brown’s Beat the Steelers!
All statistics from www.pro-football-reference.com