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This week's game ball winner really came down to two players. I certainly couldn't give it to anyone on the defensive side of the ball, considering the defense looked flat and could not stop the Bengals' running game. Special teams didn't play much of a factor either. The only people I considered were on offense -- Colt McCoy and Ben Watson. While McCoy undoubtedly had a good game throwing the football, I am giving this week's game ball to Watson.
Watson was the team's leading receiver again this week, catching 7 passes for 92 yards. The most difficult throws a quarterback can make are the ones over the middle between coverage, with the receiver knowing he is going to get clocked. Watson showed his route running abilities to get open whenever McCoy targeted him. To cap it off, Watson would hold onto the ball as he absorbed contact.
Think about how important Watson is to the development of McCoy. On the Browns' fourth quarter touchdown drive that started at the 12 yard line, McCoy made sure that Watson was his go-to-guy. On first down, he found Watson for 15 yards. After a 1 yard sack, on second down, McCoy hit Watson again for four yards to set up a 3rd-and-7. Once again, McCoy found Watson over the middle on a 24-yard hookup. All of this happened with the Browns running a hurry-up offense, showing that the big man Watson didn't reduce his effort despite the fact that I'm sure he had to be pretty gassed.
Watson now had 58 catches for 674 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season. Cleveland has started having some trouble running the ball with Peyton Hillisin the red zone. Perhaps they should start finding Watson, a guy who showed his red zone versatility with a one-handed touchdown grab in the preseason, down there off of playaction instead.
Here is a thought -- is anyone considering a "Watson" jersey out there? Because when it comes to players on our offense who are having outstanding seasons, he ranks right up there with Hillis.
0 recs | 135 comments
Can’t fault you for giving the gamebll to Watson. I would have probably given it to Robo though. 84 and a TD from a wideout on this team is Flipper Andersonesque.
golanbatrac - December 20, 2010
Rec for the Flipper Anderson reference. I was a Los Angeles Rams fan back in those days.
TheDriveStillHurts - December 20, 2010
which kinda made you a Cleveland fan.
you know the Rams started in Cleveland, moved to L.A.
doggrad87 - December 23, 2010
I’m glad Robo is starting to flash some signs of being decent.
emily522 - December 20, 2010
HA! I had an old VHS coaching tape where Flipper Anderson taught you how to run a route, get your body under control and position your hands to make the catch.
Bernie19Kosar - December 20, 2010
He was hot shit for a couple of years. I watched his big game live and to this day don’t know how he put up 330 yards and only scored once.
golanbatrac - December 20, 2010
Yup. I remember that game well. Looked it up after I saw your post to see if he still held the record and indeed he does.
TheDriveStillHurts - December 21, 2010
I wonder if he’d sign a one year deal with us for next year? surely he can’t be any older than 50.
Dawg Nuts - December 21, 2010
How long is he under contract? This is turning out to be a great pick up.
Andrew Tolliver - December 20, 2010
He won’t become a FA until 2013 :)
Kimble_79 - December 20, 2010
Excellent.
Kellen Who?
LondonBrown - December 20, 2010
Defense looks terrible without Fujita. I’m guessing he does the same for the defense that Colt seems to do for the offense…provides a leader. Overall, pretty crappy game to watch, but Colt looked great in that 4th qtr drive. I wonder if Daboll would open things up for him more prior to the last drive of the game and put the team on Colt’s shoulders how the game would have ended? I’m not sure it would have changed much because we lost this game in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Cincy pushed us around as much as I hate to write that.
Kimble_79 - December 20, 2010
yeah, It’s really hard to fault any skill players here. this game was lost up front. especially defensively.
notthatnoise - December 20, 2010
If you can’t stop Cedric Benson, you can’t win.
rufio - December 20, 2010
Benson can be dangerous. I used to watch him at Texas.
He was / still is somewhat inconsistent, but some days he can really hurt you when he’s pumped up.
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
Still, their Oline was driving our Dline 5 yards off the LoS every play
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010 via mobile
that was unfathomable to me. I can’t believe an NFL team could lose the trench battle that badly.
notthatnoise - December 21, 2010
Cedric Benson should not be running like that against any NFL team. I don’t care what he did at Texas, it’s been a long time since then and he hasn’t been very good in the league.
rufio - December 21, 2010
Not sure what you’re basing this on. He has had a number of pretty good games over the last few years. He rushed for 1,250 yards last season and he’s over 1,000 this year so far. Might not be star running back, but he can definitely do some damage. I’d say he’s “pretty good”.
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
He has a 3.8 YPC career average and 3.6 this year, including him running all over us.
That’s below average at best.
rufio - December 21, 2010
this was the 30th ranked rushing offense in the league coming into sunday. end of story.
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
What’s the point of your ‘story’?
Benson hurt us and he’s hurt other teams as well, putting up quite of few 100 plus yard games.
(see my comment above regarding his stats)
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
the story is that this rushing offense sucked for 13 games, and then torched us. that’s not cedric benson’s propensity for dangerous-ness, he was averaging 65 ypg coming into sunday … that’s us sucking even worse.
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
Exactly.
rufio - December 21, 2010
I’m not trying to argue with on this, but how much is that due to Cincy trying to throw the ball too much with Palmer instead of establishing the running game this year. Dude tore it up last year.
Kimble_79 - December 22, 2010
i have no idea, but it doesn’t pass the smell test, to me, that they’d simply choose to go away from the run when benson “tore it up last year”, as you say.
he’s got 276 carries, which is a heavier pace than last year (when he carried 301 times), has carried 20+ times in 7 games (50%) and 18 or 19 in 3 more. i wouldn’t say he’s been terribly underutilized.
DontCallMeJoey - December 22, 2010
And it isn’t like he is consistently running well when he gets those carries. His YPC is awful, and would have been worse if we didn’t decide to make him the best back in the world for a day.
rufio - December 22, 2010
All I said was that Benson “can be dangerous” and “some days he can really hurt you”.
Benson is 14th in the league so far this year in rushing yardage – just ahead of LaDainian Tomlinson.
Last year he was 8th overall with 1,250 yards.
How anyone can say “he’s not very good” is a mystery to me.
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
well, he’s only had 3 days out of 14 where he hurt teams this year (tb – 144; buf – 124; cle – 150), and the best of those was sunday against the browns.
so, how anyone can say that sunday was anything other than the browns rush defense sucking massively is a mystery to me.
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
Yards don’t mean that much unless you are playing fantasy or unless you are an extremely biased Texas fan, apparently.
rufio - December 21, 2010
Apparently Benson just plain sucks and I am blind to it because I’m a Longhorns fan.
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
glad you see it our way!
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
Lets just say I’ve gotten an education hanging around this board ;)
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
Hard to judge whether Colt looked good or if it was just exploiting a prevent defense.
TheDriveStillHurts - December 20, 2010
Cincy was totally geared toward stopping Peyton. Colt needs to exploit that and I thought he did for the most part.
rufio - December 20, 2010
Hard to judge whether Colt looked good or if it was just exploiting a prevent defense.
TheDriveStillHurts - December 20, 2010
Hard to judge whether Colt looked good or if it was just exploiting a prevent defense.
SpecialBrownie - December 20, 2010
Hard to judge whether Colt looked good or if it was just exploiting a prevent defense.
BrownDawg1409 - December 20, 2010
Last 2 games similar in the fact that the Browns marched right down the field with their first possession, as if to show you how easy it would be, then they curled into the fetal position and failed to move until it was too late. How many times does Pork Chop have to stand up early? How many times are they going up the middle with Hillis near the goal line? Belichick wouldn’t even have to tape our playcalling – all he’d have to do is watch last week’s game.
Big difference in QBs, however – someone said Colt had a 130 rating? If Fujita had been in there, we could have won, but as it was, they couldn’t tackle to save their lives – AGAIN. Even if they met the runner in the backfield, it ended up an 8-yard pick up. It was like watching Immaculate Heart’s 4th graders, a moving scrum of bodies bereft of arms and hands, bouncing into each other and hoping somehow their Brownian motions would bring the runner down.
Another Sunday of Lake Erie Tourettes, old enough to remember teams that tackled and down field passes, good play calling and backs who never fumbled. It’s some sort of curse to watch the team today, losing 8 of the last 10 seasons since Betrayal.
Cato - December 20, 2010
Fujita was a big loss, the defense hasn’t looked the same since he went down. Anyone know his contract status?
pittsburghbrownie - December 20, 2010
Same as Watson…He becomes a FA in 2013
Kimble_79 - December 20, 2010
Its not just Fujita missing, those guys look absolutely spent
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010 via mobile
I thought Ward played a heck of a game as well. He seemed to be around the ball and making tackles almost every play, even on special teams.
elsandito - December 20, 2010
It looked to me like he was a little late on a lot of pass plays, but I could be wrong.
notthatnoise - December 20, 2010
He made a hell of a tackle coming around from the backside on one of their running plays in the 4th.
Kimble_79 - December 20, 2010
don’t get me wrong, he had a good game, I just don’t think it was “player of the week” caliber.
notthatnoise - December 20, 2010
I saw that too. His coverage needs some work.
ahowie - December 20, 2010
He did break up a pass coming from behind and swiping at the receiver’s arms. That was a very nice and instinctual play. He read it well.
ahowie - December 20, 2010
He’s a beast in run support, no doubt about that, and the pass breakup was nice too.
I like that combo in a safety.
Plus he brought down Leonard’s attempted Peydirt TM Hurdle.
LondonBrown - December 20, 2010
I was there with you. He seems to be wearing down, a little less burst down the stretch here.
rufio - December 20, 2010
seems like he’s been in a (slight) funk of late, so it was good to see him back involved some more.
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
I put this loss on the D-Line and Linebackers. They let Cedric Benson run all over them, which kept our offense off the field. When Colt did make on the field I thought they looked pretty good. I think they had one three and out, but I remember them playing well overall. I don’t know if Daboll has more confidence in Colt, but he seemed to call a lot more vertical pass plays.
Bottom line, Browns had the ball for 21:57 and the Bengals for 38:03. If the offense had been able to get on the field a little more I think we win the game, and I put that on the defense. Frustrating but Colt played so well I can’t get to bummed.
BiggieBrown - December 20, 2010
they had at least two 3-and-outs, but I think your point still stands.
notthatnoise - December 20, 2010
As depressing as it is, the D did hold them to only one TD in the game and we scored two. just saying.
WilliamL - December 20, 2010
They did a fine job keeping them out of the endzone, but the games we’ve won we controlled the time of possession. The defense just couldn’t seem to get them off the field, and though they had to settle for field goals they still had four.
I can’t deny, however, that our defense has been great in red zone all year. I think we’ve only allowed five rushing touchdowns the whole season?
BiggieBrown - December 20, 2010
yes. it was a decent bend but don’t break D, but our D was bending too much to the run.
bross09 - December 20, 2010
And our run game couldn’t get off the ground. Wonder if Hillis is a little worn out.
Sure I am going to get flamed for suggesting this, but Cedric Benson is a free agent after this season I believe. He seems like he would fit in with us pretty well. . . .
TheDriveStillHurts - December 20, 2010
I would be ok with that, depending on how much he wanted and the status of Hardesty.
notthatnoise - December 20, 2010
I be okay with picking up any decent running back. That MVP article someone posted last week said he was responsible for somewhere around 40% of our offense this year. You can’t put that much on one player and expect them to produce the whole year. Either they’ll wear out physically or opposing defenses will adjust.
BiggieBrown - December 20, 2010
If we can sign him to a reasonable contract, I wouldn’t mind him paired with Hillis. I don’t think he is anything special, but he is a solid RB and would be an excellent back in a RB tandem.
If we can sign him to a 3 year 9 million dollar deal where he is making about 3+ million a year. That is not terrible for a tandem RB considering guys like LT and Thomas Jones are making 2.5 million this year. As long as its not more than 3.5-4 million a year (on average) I would do it and as long as it is at most, 4 years (and then possibly not).
bross09 - December 20, 2010
I would pass on Benson.
You can find RB’s anywhere in this league. Don’t waste money (especially when they are 28 next week) and high draft picks on them.
Bernie19Kosar - December 20, 2010
No thanks.
rufio - December 20, 2010
I would prefer someone who is more of a threat in the passing game and would be a mismatch for LBs coming out of the backfield.
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010 via mobile
We may already have him in Hardesty…great hands catching the ball out of the backfield in college. If only he would stay healthy though so we can see what he can do in the NFL
Kimble_79 - December 21, 2010
From his 4 preseason runs he could be a nightmare. Get that guy some bionic knees
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010 via mobile
Hard to judge from those preseason games, but in college he did pretty well. He averaged 12yds/reception his senior year at Tennessee.
Kimble_79 - December 21, 2010
Not gameball material, but
I cannot believe I am even suggesting this, but I have to say I like that Robiskie’s name is coming up more. Receivers take time to develop (sometimes 2-3 years). Is it possible that he is just now figuring out the game, where to be? I know that many on this board have written him off, but could he be breaking out of the shell?
SBP - December 20, 2010
I still think he could be a decent 2 or 3 if we had a #1 threat who could open the field a little for the other receivers on the field.
BiggieBrown - December 20, 2010
We shouldn’t be writing off any of our players. Its how we build depth. I still think we should have kept Brandon MacDonald because he would have been a good situational player, despite his tackling issues (which can be taught and improved on anyway). I would say the same for Wright next year and I still wish we had Jerome Harrison or Chris Jennings.
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010 via mobile
I don’t think Harrison has the head or heart for the NFL. Chris Jennings was a decent enough back.
notthatnoise - December 21, 2010
Undersized back finally gets his shot and blows up only to find himself back riding the pine – the NFL is tough that way. Its a shame he couldn’t come to terms about that because he would be a great change of pace back with Hillis.
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010
I think his head got a little too big. He didn’t produce this year when given the starting job, and once Hillis emerged, he totally went into a shell.
notthatnoise - December 22, 2010
does robiskie have the most bizarrely tiny facemask bars that have ever existed in the nfl? i look at his facemask and feel like i’m looking at toothpicks.
he still sucks.
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
No, you’re thinking of Ted Ginn. For some dumbass reason, Ginn wears a kicker facemask. Or he did while he was at Miami. I thought it was the stupidest thing I’d ever seen, especially for a WR who can take ridiculous shots to the head.
SpecialBrownie - December 21, 2010
ginn’s is absurd, for sure.
robiskie’s is a full-on facemask, design-wise, but the bars themselves are like pipe cleaners … unless i’m seeing things.
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
Can’t stop the run, can’t win.
On offense consider the following:
9.6 YPA for Colt -very good, especially for us
4.2 YPC as a team-solid
The stats say we should have thrown more, and I agree with that.
This was the main offensive problem and it continues to be our biggest hurdle, IMO:
2-8 on 3rd down conversions. That’s not going to get it done.
rufio - December 20, 2010
I definitely agree with this. IMHO think McCoy is ready to be unleashed (yes, yes I know – really surprising to hear this from Mr. Texas, blah blah ;). He did make some dicey looking throws Sunday, but the bottom line is zero interceptions. I’m going to watch the game again – but if memory serves me I think there was really only one that should / could have been intercepted(?).
I think if we stick to the ‘Hillis up the middle’ game plan in the next two games we’re going to get crushed. Until we get the o-line ‘problem’ fixed it seems like we should also be calling more play-action and maybe even throw in a couple of designed run plays for Colt. Any thoughts?
I’m tempted to start a post – just for grins: “How do we move the chains against the Ravens and Steelers”.
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
I still think we protect Colt with the run (though we could run outside or to the left once in awhile). That will also set up the play action and rollouts, naked bootlegs and other things Colt is good at doing.
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010 via mobile
You usually need to run to be balanced, but people are overcompensating for Hillis so much that I don’t think we need to run it that much.
rufio - December 21, 2010
I went and looked at the play by play again, and protection was a huge problem. Guess which lineman kept giving up sacks?
We only ran for < 4 yards in dumb situations a handful of times, but we did it. Especially in the red zone. It wasn’t quite as bad as “Hillis up the middle x 3, punt.”
A couple of the throws that look “dicey” are probably actually good throws. NFL QBs need to throw people open.
I
thinkknow that your thinking Colt should be “unleashed” is your bias, but when we are passing for 9.6 YPA and running for 4.2 YPC we should be throwing until those numbers change, and we should be scoring.rufio - December 21, 2010
Exactly – well stated. And this is where McCoy really excels.
And his ‘misses’ usually are not catchable by the defender – this is not by accident.
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
beurlein criticized the td throw to robiskie … and while it wasn’t the world’s all-time greatest throw it was actually in exactly zero danger of being intercepted. maybe the db could have defended it w/ a little better break, but the high and outside throw was only catchable for robiskie.
you are biased … but it doesn’t mean you’re wrong! the chemistry b/w mccoy and watson is great, and he’s finding ways to get the ball to the wr’s more and more. keep airing it.
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
Thanks for putting up with me guys ;)
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
I didn’t think he criticized the throw. I thought he was critical of the defender for the angle he took. At first I heard the same thing, but I thnk was was critical of the defenders angle.
SBP - December 21, 2010
Yes – I watched the entire game again last night and watched that play about 3 times.
The announcer was criticizing the defender saying he might have been able to make the interception if he’d taken a different angle on the play. But I replayed it over and over and there is absolutely no way the defender could have caught that pass. It was thrown high up into robiskie’s outstretched hands – he’s the only one who had a shot at it.
burntorangeandbrown - December 22, 2010
Talking of OCs I was impressed with the Minnestota guys tonight, who made some smart calls for the rookie QB after Favre went out.
LondonBrown - December 20, 2010
Have you notice many of the up and coming contenders have former head coaches as assistants. Tice, Martz in Chicago(Note Martz has done wonders with Cutler) Dare I say Crennel and Weiss, Mularky in ATL with Robiskie (he was an interim). As we talk OC’s maybe we find that fomer HC that understands. Please note I am not suggesting McDaniels, but maybe someone like that.
SBP - December 21, 2010
IMO, you have finally found a QB
I think McCoy has what it takes to lead a team. Yea, he is a bit small and he can’t trow it 50 yards in the air, but he knows how to get the ball to a receiver and he is elusive on a scramble.
For a short time in the summer there were rumblings that the Browns might trade or even cut him – I don’t thing is was a serious consideration, but I went on record then as wanting him on the Bengals team. He and Shipley would light it up. He is by far the most talented QB you guys have had in a dozen years, IMO. Frankly, with a good draft and maybe a FA or two I see your team in the hunt next year. It shows what a talented GM can do – I am not sure, however, that Mangini is the right fir for you.
JUNGLEJOHN - December 21, 2010
I also think his arm strength will improve and his motion will get better as his internal NFL clock improves.
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010 via mobile
yeah, you can see that he’s still adjusting to the pro game in some respects, his internal clock being one of them.
notthatnoise - December 21, 2010
Thanks. I watched him in many games at Texas and I was a believer long, long ago.
You might want to take a look at some of his highlights from his time at Texas… (you can find plenty by just googling him or searching youtube…). Many, many times he has completed on 45 to 50 yard routes with poinpoint accuracy while at Texas.
He doen’t have a cannon, but his arm will get stronger over time.
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
Can he throw the ball 50 yards? Sure. Every QB in the league can. Where the arm strength comes in is in games like yesterday where weather was a factor. To get the ball down field, he has to throw it at too high a trajectory. And in conditions like we had yesterday, the wind catches the ball and the ball drops short. A strong armed quarterback can rifle it 50 yards on a much lower trajectory. Low trajectory = better accuracy = fewer jump balls and more receivers hit in stride.
golanbatrac - December 21, 2010
McCoy does not have a cannon. He doesn’t need one.
This is just a ridiculous statement.BTW, Texas is the windiest state in the country in case you weren’t aware… Just sayin.
I know you are not a big fan of McCoy. But he’s a rookie with 6 weeks as an NFL QB. To write his arm off based on his arm strength, as it seems you’ve done with your comment is ridiculously premature.
So… McCoy’s accuracy is lacking. Am I misinterpreting?
_
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
This is just a ridiculous statementReplace with: “I disagree.”
(sorry, trying to keep my bias on McCoy in check…)
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
I thought Oklahoma was windier because Kansas blows and Texas sucks.
Sorry.
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010
Ha! Suffice to say Oklahoma and Texas both make that claim (that the reason their state is windy is because the other one sucks ;)
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
Clever. I disagree, but clever.
StuckInPa - December 22, 2010
i don’t think there’s much writing off of colt’s arm around here … more like healthy skepticism about the “howitzer” setting, but also realism relating to how important having the “howitzer” setting actually is (read: not very important).
DontCallMeJoey - December 21, 2010
I totally agree. McCoy>>>>>Jamarcus. I am still a bit skeptic about his arm, but there are many things I think of as more important.
bross09 - December 22, 2010
Rex Grossman>>>>>Jamarcus
You’re not really saying much here.
Brett Favre has a cannon arm. I’d take a 24 year old Favre over McCoy as much as I like him.
StuckInPa - December 22, 2010
I would too…but brett favre had more of a cannon arm.
the point DCMJ made was that a cannon isn’t everything and it isn’t very important. Brett Favre would be nothing in the league without his ability to read a defense, audible at the line, and make quick decisions. If you take away Brett’s arm, he is still a very solid football player. If you take away his decision making (and/or his ability to read a D) he is rex grossman.
bross09 - December 22, 2010
Not saying much. I’d take a 24 year old Favre over anyone in the league.
(with the possible exception of Tom Brady)
burntorangeandbrown - December 22, 2010
I would take Peyton Manning over any other QB to ever play football.
notthatnoise - December 22, 2010
i’m gonna go ahead and agree w/ this
DontCallMeJoey - December 22, 2010
I’d take Brady. At some point it has to count against Manning that he has exactly as many rings as Trent Dilfer.
golanbatrac - December 23, 2010
maybe that counts against Tony Dungy or their defense.
notthatnoise - December 23, 2010
I can’t think of anyone else in the league except Tom Brady that I wouldn’t bump to the #2 spot if a 24 year old Brett Favre magically walked into my training camp, knowing that in the parallel universe he was the league MVP for three straight years at ages 25, 26, and 27 and led his team to a super bowl victory at the age of 27.
burntorangeandbrown - December 23, 2010
Brett Favre was not as good as you make him out to be. Even when he was playing his best, he could still lose any given game for you at any given time. He’s maybe the most entertaining guy in the history of the league, but not the best.
I would take at least 5 QBs over him to win me one game; Marino, Young, Montana, Brady, and Manning.
rufio - December 24, 2010
I was talking only about currently active players (that I would currently replace with a 24 year old Favre). Of course he doen’t rank at the top if you include all the past greats.
burntorangeandbrown - December 24, 2010
Me too.
Dawg Nuts - December 23, 2010
Well there’s a couple others I wouldn’t replace. That was a bad argument.
StuckInPa - December 23, 2010
Not sure where you’re getting that. I’m a fan of anyone who can help the Browns win.
First off, I’m not writing off his arm. His arm strength is adequate. He does not have a cannon.
As far as being ‘ridiculously premature’ goes, I’m giving my take on a single game. The game against the Bengals was the first we’ve gotten to see him in the cold and wind that a Cleveland QB has to thrive in. His deep ball yesterday was consistently short, and to my eyes, given the way the ball seemed to flutter and drop, it looked as if he were throwing the ball on too high a trajectory for the conditions.
Yes and no. I’ve been impressed with his accuracy for the most part this year. Very accurate inside of 15 yards. This past Sunday was the first we’ve seen him go over the top to the wideouts. Based on this one game, I’d say that he still has a ways to go to convince me that he can throw an accurate deep ball..
golanbatrac - December 21, 2010
Hopefully, once we have a deep threat wide receiver who can get a few feet of separation we’ll all get plenty more opportunities to see how accurate a deep ball he can throw.
To date, he hasn’t had much in the way of targets to prove himself on that front. What he has done is make sure to throw a ball that can’t be caught by the defender when he’s had someone try to go deep but was covered like a blanket.
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
It doesn’t necessarily mean better accuracy, it’s just that the ball is in the air for less time so the defenders have less time to flock to the ball, and stronger armed guys can fit the ball in to smaller holes in coverage.
Colt threw the “glance” route at Texas, which is essentially a skinny post that needs to be thrown over any underneath defenders and horizontally between a CB playing outside a WR and a Safety in the middle of the field. It’s a vertical route but it isn’t thrown like a bomb—more on a rope. He can make these kinds of throws.
The throws you wonder about are the deep comebacks, corners, gos, fades not in the endzone, etc. I think he has enough to get it done.
rufio - December 21, 2010
This is essentially what I meant by ‘better accuracy’. That and the fact that a guy with a cannon arm can keep it ‘under the weather’.
This is welcome news, though I’m guessing this is closer to an intermediate route than an over the top bomb?
These are the throws I’m worried about. I hope he has enough to get it done, but I’m going to have to see better from him than what we saw Sunday before I’m able to put to rest my skepticism.
golanbatrac - December 21, 2010
Well, time will tell. I know he really hasn’t proven his long ball ability at the NFL level yet.
I’m optimistic. I like the Drew Brees comparison (wishful thinking, but not entirely unfounded IHMO…).
burntorangeandbrown - December 21, 2010
Yes, the glance is more of an intermediate route.
The thing that eases my concerns a little is that we run some of the old Run-n-Shoot concepts with the wideouts. The X receiver (left) is running a choice route in this sequence, cutting based on the coverage:
You’ve probably seen our WRs and QB be on different pages with this; I remember a specific example where Brady Quinn threw the comeback at one of our WR’s helmets in the steelers win last year, and I think against Buffalo Delhomme threw one deep when MoMass was running the comeback. I don’t remember if it was Buffalo for sure, but we were going left to right on the TV and Mass was at the top of the screen.
Anyway, most of those permutations of the choice route don’t need to be thrown 50 yards on a rope (Drew Brees throws them well). They do need to get there in all kinds of weather, though. And it would really help if we could know who the starter was so he could get reps with the WRs in the offseason and camp.
rufio - December 22, 2010
Do you think if McCoy plays mostly mistake free, accurate passing, etc. in the next two games he should be named as the starter going forward / into the offseason?
Do you think he needs to prove himself in other areas first (say a couple of accurate long balls in the next two games, etc…)?
Or do you think he should just be prepared to compete for the #1 spot (lets assume they draft a QB in the later rounds…)?
(Obviously I have a higher confidence in McCoy than most folks around here and think he’s pretty much earned it, but I’m curious to hear unbiased opinions…)
burntorangeandbrown - December 22, 2010
I think if he continues to do well, he should be prepared to compete for the #1 spot. But a little competition for the job wouldn’t hurt him and would just motivate him even more.
emily522 - December 22, 2010
i actually get the sense that he’s enough of a self-motivated, competitive, high-achieving guy that he’ll be champing at the bit whether he’s got to earn the job in camp or is named the starter straight out.
i think he should be named the starter for next year. what are our other options?
DontCallMeJoey - December 22, 2010
Draft a QB in the first.
I wouldn’t name him until after day 1 of the draft is over.
rufio - December 22, 2010
I think he’s locked up the starting job unless we draft someone in the first or second round.
I don’t think he’s locked up the “Franchise QB” tag yet, but he could do so early in to next year. I think that just takes time and it takes succeeding in certain areas once you’ve been in the position for a while.
Holmgren might come out and say “Colt McCoy is our Quarterback” but I don’t think I would if I were him. I’d play it more like Mangini probably would, to smokescreen people for the draft if anything. Once the draft is over, I might offer the vote of confidence in him.
Holmgren’s evaluation may be different than mine and it might be public or it might not.
rufio - December 22, 2010
this is a good point. where do we stand in the draft order as of today?
DontCallMeJoey - December 22, 2010
12th
burntorangeandbrown - December 22, 2010
Not bad, not bad.
SpecialBrownie - December 22, 2010
We could also declare Colt the future of the franchise as a smokescreen, but that’s a little mean.
rufio - December 24, 2010
Yes. Probably the best example of this is Tom Brady in the snow game against Chicago with 50 mph gusts. That performance was super human.
Western Reserve - December 22, 2010
Brady stands as one the best, if not the best QB ever to play in the NFL.
He’s becoming a legend in his own time. That Chicago game was beyond belief.
burntorangeandbrown - December 22, 2010
Yea, I am pretty familiar with him.
Here on the Bengals site I was screaming for both McCoy and Shipley. Actually, I wanted Shipley more because – well – I didn’t think Palmer would suck like he has. We did get Shipley and I think he will get better and better just like McCoy, if Palmer can get his mojo back.
I wasn’t trying to rip McCoy with the 50 Yard comment. He can chuck it, but it is more of a rainbow than a bullet – plus he had Shipley to throw it to. They played like the had been together since grade school. It would be a bit of a stretch – maybe – but Colt could turn out to be the best QB in Cleveland since Bernie or Sipe. You don’t need a big arm at QB. You do need a football player not a pretender and Colt has all of the makings of a football player
Anyway, I know you won’t believe me, being a Bengals fan and all, but I am glad to see you guys moving up the ladder. Maybe next year you can rattle Baltimore and Pittsburgs cages a bit. I am really tired of them. I would be nice seeing them in the cellar and the two Ohio teams in the top spots again. I wouldn’t look for Cincy to be there next year though. It looks like the team will get blown up at season end.
JUNGLEJOHN - December 21, 2010
Gee Palmer looked like a pro bowler again right after TO went out – coincidence I’m sure.
HenryDawg - December 21, 2010
coincidence since he has been their best receiver by far.
bross09 - December 22, 2010
Exactly. I guess it’s fun to blame TO, but Cedric Benson criticized the coaching staff earlier in the season as well. TO has had an amazing year relative to the rest of the Bengals team.
Villeslgr - December 23, 2010
Do you mean their leading receiver?
Palmer looked like a pro bowler once they took the game off his shoulders.
StuckInPa - December 22, 2010
Colt can throw 50 yards in the air, he just can’t put it on a rope that far. I can throw 40-50 yards in the air, I know Colt can.
Those rumblings were all based on Grossi’s speculation, and Grossi sucks.
I still like Mangini.
rufio - December 21, 2010
I agree. Grossi does suck.
StuckInPa - December 22, 2010
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