Weeden’s impressive passing looks like real deal

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

You can’t conclude a whole lot from a minicamp practice. A rookie minicamp offers even less fodder for conclusions.

Helmets, yes. Pads, no. Contact, accidental at the most.

The pace and tempo are nothing remotely close to what is found in an NFL game. But it’s something. It’s a starting point. It’s football’s version of sort of stretching before the workout (even though there is actually stretching before these minicamp practices).

And most of what it comes down to is an elongated passing drill. Sure, there are some running plays sprinkled into the mix. Sure, the players at other positions do what they and their coaches deem significant work on the field.

However, the practices only offer us a chance to make what we think is a substantive judgment in one area: How the quarterback throws the ball. Because regardless of the circumstances and no matter who is on the field and the manner in which they perform, a throw is a throw. You can determine its quality or lack thereof.

So I feel fairly comfortable in saying this about Browns first-round draft pick Brandon Weeden: He can throw a football extremely well. He can throw it hard or soft, fast or slow, and usually with considerable accuracy. He delivers an ultra-tight spiral that cuts through the air like a laser.

At one point during the morning practice, one of those spirals was traveling straight to where three of us were standing together on the sidelines. Truth was, one of us (probably me) would have likely have been struck by the ball before being able to step out of the way. Fortunately, Josh Cooper, an undrafted free agent who caught passes from Weeden at Oklahoma State, stepped in front of us at the last moment to make the grab.

I was mesmerized in the same way I was when Weeden fired passes through defensive traffic, when he connected on several nice deep outs, when he hooked up with his tight end in the seam.

I reminded myself that it was May, not September. I reminded myself that he was surrounded by other rookies, many of whom won’t make it to the final roster of the Browns or any NFL team for that matter. I reminded myself the weather was perfect, a sun-splashed day without a hint of wind. I reminded myself of everything that would force me to keep my enthusiasm about Weeden’s talent in check.

Still, your eyes know what they’ve seen, and what I saw was the big arm, the strong pocket presence, the quick decision-making. What I saw was what was advertised after the Browns made this 28-year-old rookie the 22^nd overall pick of the draft last month.

“He reminds me of Bernie Kosar in the huddle, and that’s saying a lot,” Hanford Dixon told me later when we gathered to discuss the first day of minicamp on “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford.”

Yes, that is saying a lot.

But I have this feeling it just might not be saying too much.

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

Essence of Browns’ draft comes down to four picks

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

The Browns had 11 picks in the 2012 draft, but the essence of what they accomplished over the past three days comes down to four choices: Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Mitchell Schwartz, and Travis Benjamin.

This is in no way is to suggest that any or all of the remaining seven picks won’t become good or even great players in the NFL.

But for all practical purposes, it is fair to say that Richardson, Weeden, Schwartz, and Benjamin are being counted on the most to have the sort of immediate impact that will allow the Browns to make the “big jump” that team president Mike Holmgren called a “reasonable” expectation when addressing reporters near the draft’s end on Saturday.

Based on what they’ve done at the collegiate level and how they’ve been evaluated by general manager Tom Heckert and the rest of the Browns’ player-personnel staff, the four look to be direct answers to the following pressing questions that have lingered since last season’s 4-12 finish:

Who is going to carry the load at running back now that Peyton Hillis has moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs?

The Browns were so confident in Richardson’s ability to do so that they made a trade with the Minnesota Vikings to move from the No. 4 to the No. 3 overall pick to guarantee that they would land the former Alabama star. Richardson not only is the most talented running back in the draft, he is arguably the most dynamic player, period. He provides greater versatility than Hillis did even when Hillis was in the midst of the one standout season he has had so far, in 2010. The Browns’ anemic offense instantly improves with the addition of a highly explosive runner who can be as effective working between the tackles as he is going outside, who catches the ball exceptionally well, and who is an excellent blocker in the passing game.

Who is going to be the franchise quarterback?

Neither Holmgren nor anyone else within the Browns’ hierarchy is anointing Weeden as the team’s starter. None of them is saying the job still belongs to Colt McCoy, either. The fact is, however, the Browns invested a first-round pick in Weeden with the idea of upgrading themselves at quarterback. And, as Holmgren and coach Pat Shurmur mentioned on Saturday, the former Oklahoma State standout enters the NFL with an elevated level of maturity because he is 28 and has already been exposed to professional sports as a former baseball player in the New York Yankees’ organization. The Browns’ brass clearly is excited about Weeden’s powerful arm, strong pocket presence, and superb decision-making skills on the field.

Who will replace Tony Pashos at right tackle?

The Browns parted ways with the oft-injured Pashos earlier in the offseason, but questions would have lingered about the right tackle spot even if he were still on the roster. Oneil Cousins and John Greco could conceivably have helped patch the hole, as they tried to do last season, but there was a need to have a more definitive answer. Granted, nothing can be considered definitive with any rookie at any position, let alone one as challenging as offensive tackle, but the Browns feel very good about Schwartz’s chances of sufficiently handling the chore as their starting right tackle. Schwartz gives them a combination of good size, strength, and athleticism that should allow him to be a force in helping to make room for Richardson in the running game and providing solid pass protection. The Browns’ big-picture view of their offensive line is that they will eventually have three highly dependable pieces in Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas, center Alex Mack, and Schwartz.

How will the receiving corps improve?

This, by far, was the hottest of the burning questions among the majority of Browns followers. And the general consensus is that, by selecting only one wide receiver in the draft, the team essentially ignored it. Not true. Let’s start with the addition of Benjamin. At 5-foot-10 and 172 pounds, he isn’t nearly as tall or thick as receivers typically found in the West Coast-style offense the Browns run. However, what the Browns coveted was Benjamin’s remarkable speed (he runs a 4.3-second 40-yard dash), something they feel will provide a game-breaking dimension to their passing game and their kick returns. Additionally, if Richardson is the same player in the NFL that he was in college, the Browns’ passing game should easily improve because opposing defenses will be forced to honor his presence in ways they did not have to do against Cleveland’s virtually non-existent running game last season. And if Weeden is the highly accurate and smart passer in the NFL that he was in college, the Browns’ incumbent receivers should thrive more … provided, as Holmgren was quick to point out, they catch the ball better than they did a year ago. And the team president is expecting they will.

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

Browns target Schwartz in thin tackle crop

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

Understand this about the 2012 NFL draft crop: It did not offer a whole lot in the way of exceptional offensive tackles.

Some would argue that only one was Matt Kalil, the former USC standout chosen by the Minnesota Vikings with the fourth overall choice acquired in a trade with the Browns.

The Browns had an offensive tackle need as well, someone to take over on the right side after they parted ways with Tony Pashos. But according to their player evaluations, after Kalil, they did not see a second one worthy of a first-round pick. That is why, after using the third overall choice on running back Trent Richardson, they used the 22^nd on quarterback Brandon Weeden.

The Browns did, however, identify a player they believe can satisfactorily address their hole at right tackle: Mitchell Schwartz, from California. And that is why they decided to select him with their second-round pick, ahead of other tackles who received greater discussion from national draft analysts.

The Browns like the power with which he plays, the exact quality that a right tackle must have to help lead the charge in the running game.

The Browns also like the fact that he has a solid physique, with long arms (33 inches), and is capable of adding more muscle. Mitchell is smart, agile, and has strong instincts.

In addition, he is a highly aggressive player who gives full effort on every snap, the perfect attitude when getting out in front on run plays. And Mitchell does a nice job of working in space.

Some draftniks might have had Mitchell rated a lower than where the Browns chose him, but that doesn’t matter to general manager Tom Heckert and the rest of the team’s decision-makers. The Browns thoroughly scouted the position, and were convinced Mitchell was the right man to address a pressing need.

And, as far as the Browns were concerned, Mitchell brought better value than the remaining wide receivers on the board. They saw far more urgency in landing him where they did because they want someone who can help them get the most from their two other newest additions on offense, Richardson and Weeden.

With better offensive line play, the Browns have every reason to believe they’ve already done enough to improve their production on that side of the ball.

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

With big-armed Weeden, age is not a problem

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

NEW YORK – Forget about the age thing.

Brandon Weeden might be “old” for an NFL rookie, but he is far from ancient.

At 28 (he’ll be 29 in October) he is plenty young to be viewed as a player with the proverbial upside.

And let’s face it: The goal is to have a quarterback who can make a major impact in the next three to five years. In the grand scheme of things, worrying about what he will do 10 years from now is fairly irrelevant.

The Browns needed a passer with a big arm that allows him to handle the inclement conditions with which they often have to cope at home as well as at the three other stadiums they visit each year in the AFC North. Weeden gives them that.

They needed a quarterback with a strong pocket presence – a strong, fearless leader who won’t back down from the challenges prevented by the stout defenses of the Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals. Those can both be checked off with Weeden.

Getting that kind of player at the most important position on the team was critical enough for the Browns not to take a chance on waiting beyond the No. 22 pick to do so.

Don’t fret. The Browns still have the ability to find the help they need at wide receiver and on the offensive line on Friday night, and can hit their defensive needs through the balance of the draft as well.

Weeden is a poised professional. The time he spent as a professional baseball player, which caused him to put his football career on hold, allowed him to grow and develop as a man. It hardened him – gave him more of an edge than can be found from the typical rookie.

The fact Weeden is older than Colt McCoy, as well as many other players on the Browns, is no small consideration. He won’t feel any sense of intimidation or trepidation about stepping into an NFL locker room.

You want your quarterback feeling that he is not merely leasing the spot behind center. You want him to feel that he owns it. That is the sort of feeling Weeden will have.

With a dynamic running back in Trent Richardson and a big-armed passer in Brandon Weeden, the Browns have every reason to feel good about the way they have begun one of the most critical drafts in team history.

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

Browns did what was necessary to land Richardson

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

NEW YORK – In the end, this was the move that made the most sense.

The Browns desperately needed to land a difference-making player in the 2012 draft. They could not take the risk of sitting at No. 4 and hoping that Trent Richardson – the most dynamic force in this year’s college crop outside of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III – would be available for them to take.

Hope is not a strategy.

Making a trade with the Minnesota Vikings to move up one spot to assure themselves of getting Richardson was. And the Browns did the somewhat bold and extremely smart thing by pulling off that deal.

Now, the team has someone it can count on to make an enormous impact right away … and for years to come.

Yes, Richardson is a running back, and, yes, the NFL is a pass-first league. However, his presence in the Browns’ backfield should go a long way toward enhancing their passing game. He will force opposing defenses to put a safety in the box and, therefore, leave an extra hole to be exploited through the air.

Richardson also is a superb receiver out of the backfield and can also be split wide. In addition, he can help in pass protection.

Most of all, though, he is a highly effective ball-carrier. He can pound out the tough yards between the tackles. He can explode for long gains up the middle and outside. He is the multi-dimensional running back talent that the Browns haven’t had in a long time. As strong a season as Peyton Hillis had in 2010, he still wasn’t what you could call highly versatile. He did a nice job of catching the ball, but the bulk of his damage on the ground came through straight-ahead, power running. And he wasn’t able to sustain that high level of performance in 2011.

The majority of draft evaluators with whom I’ve spoken say Richardson has the talent to consistently produce at an elite level. And with Richardson running well, the Browns should be able to get much more from the passing game that Pat Shurmur installed last year and will have a full offseason, training camp, and preseason to enhance.

I have no problem whatsoever with the fact the Browns parted with fourth-, fifth-, and seventh-round choices to acquire the pick to land Richardson.

In the long run, those players are unlikely to make the individual or even collective impact that Richardson will make. When you have a conviction on a player, as the Browns did with Richardson, you have to do what you can (within reason) to get him. This transaction fell in the parameters of being “within reason.”

The Browns can do something they haven’t been able to do for much of this offseason, and that’s give their fans a reason to feel excited and hopeful.

That’s what dynamic players such as Trent Richardson do.

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

Pressure is nothing new for Heckert

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

Tom Heckert acknowledges that the Browns face as vitally important a draft as any they’ve had in recent memory.

The Browns’ general manager also points out that pressure is a constant companion for him and the rest of the team’s player-personnel staff.

He’s absolutely right. Whether the Browns were 4-12 or 12-4 last season, the chore of making them better for 2012 would be huge. Expectations never get smaller.

Obviously, there is a great deal of frustration among the fan base over the team’s prolonged playoff drought and mediocrity, and that clearly ramps up the feeling that Heckert and the Browns’ other talent-evaluators have to get this draft right. That is especially true with the club owning the fourth and 22^nd overall picks. But …

“I think we always have pressure,” Heckert told me on “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” Thursday.

Yet, he fully understands what must happen.

“We have to come through with the young players,” Heckert said. “Our philosophy in the organization is to build through the draft, so obviously we have to do well. So I don’t think there’s any added pressure, but we need to add young players to this team and we do have to improve. Obviously (4-12) is not going to cut it, and we all know it. So it’s a draft where we expect guys to come in here and help us win games.”

There are a couple of massive challenges facing the Browns in this draft beyond getting the premium choices right.

One, they must choose between needs and best players available. This year, the brunt of the needs clearly exist on offense, particularly with defense being emphasized in the last two Browns drafts. The second challenge is not being so focused on the fourth overall choice that the remaining 12 picks are treated as something less than critically important.

“Obviously, we do have to help ourselves on offense because these last two years we kind of went the defense route,” Heckert said. “But I think you have to look throughout the whole draft. You can’t just focus on the first pick or the first two picks. To say we need first-round players at every position on offense, I just don’t think that’s the case. We can’t obviously take defensive players in the first three picks; we just can’t do that.

“But can we take one defensive player in there? I think we can, and still come out with enough offensive players to help us on offense. So I think there’s a fine line but you still can’t go away from your philosophy of taking a need position over a good football player. I don’t believe in it.”

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

Browns have a mostly balanced schedule

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

The Browns’ schedule offers plenty of challenge, based on their opponents’ won-loss records in 2011.

But my initial impression as I study the slate of games announced by the NFL on Tuesday is that it doesn’t offer the additional hurdles of prolonged stretches of road games.

Of course, the two places with back-to-back road contests (Sept. 27 against Baltimore and Oct. 7 against the Giants, and Dec. 23 against Denver and Dec. 30 against Pittsburgh) certainly offer a high degree of difficulty.

Yet, there is a fair amount of balance in how the schedule comes together. The two longest trips – at Oakland, on Dec. 2, and at Denver, on Dec. 23 – are separated by a pair of home games: Dec. 9 against the Chiefs and Dec. 16 against the Redskins.

“When you look at the amount of travel we do, that’s the case,” coach Pat Shurmur said on “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” Tuesday night. “But every opponent is tough.”

The bye arrives in Week 10, five weeks later than a year ago. That should work out reasonably well on the assumption that injuries begin piling up that time of year, and the Browns will have an extra week to allow players to heal.

Another interesting element is that the Browns will be opening the regular season against the Eagles, on Sept. 9, only two weeks after facing them in their third preseason game, on Aug. 24. There is little doubt that Pat Shurmur and the rest of the Browns’ coaching staff will have to approach that preseason game, usually treated as a tune-up for the regular season, a little differently than they normally would. You can expect some holding back of certain plays and formations … and you can expect Andy Reid (Shurmur’s former boss) and the rest of the Eagles’ coaching staff to do the same.

The Browns will have an opportunity to make a strong statement early on, because three of their first six games are against division opponents (Cincinnati on Sept. 16 and Oct. 14, and Baltimore on Sept. 27) and four are against  2011 playoff opponents (Cincinnati, Baltimore, and the defending Super Bowl-champion Giants).

Also, they face seven AFC opponents in their first nine games.

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

Browns choose to shop at home in free agency

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

PALM BEACH, Fla. – When it came to free-agent shopping, the Browns decided that it made more sense to spend on what was familiar rather than make risky investments in the unknown.

“The main focus was re-signing our own players,” general manager Tom Heckert said during an exclusive interview with “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” from the NFL meetings, which ended on Wednesday.

That isn’t exactly music to the ears of some Browns fans who wanted the team to be more aggressive in the open market.

However, as Heckert pointed out, the club chose to direct most of its money toward players who were already on the roster and performing at a high level. That included not only players, such as linebacker D’Qwell Jackson and cornerback Dimitri Patterson, who were re-signed either right before or during the current free-agent period, but also those (such as offensive tackle Joe Thomas, defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin, and linebacker Chris Gocong) who received new deals last year.

“Trust me, I completely understand the fans are saying, ‘Why aren’t we going out and signing all of these free agents?’” Heckert said. “But when you talk about D’Qwell Jackson, Joe Thomas, Chris Gocong, Ahtyba Rubin … I mean, we’ve signed some really good players. You look around the league, and some guys are losing these kinds of players.

“So we feel very, very confident that, instead of going out and spending money on other players that we don’t know about, we spend money on our own players that we think are great. And, obviously, the players we’ve signed have performed very well for us. That’s kind of been our goal — to keep our own guys and not go out and get everybody else’s castoffs.”

The Browns did add a couple of new players who are expected to make significant contributions. One is former Cincinnati Bengal Frostee Rucker, who is expected to start at right defensive end. The other is former Philadelphia Eagle Juqua Parker, a reserve defensive lineman with whom Heckert is quite familiar from his time in the Eagles’ front office.

“(Rucker) can move inside in the nickel pass rush, which is something that we haven’t had,” Heckert said. “Rubin and (fellow tackle) Phil Taylor had to play a lot of the time, so hopefully we can get (them) some rest in there on nickel stuff. Juqua Parker, who’s a guy that I’ve known for a long time, will really come in and help us as a pass-rusher. We’re excited about that.”

Still, there are those Browns fans who are unhappy that the team didn’t find any offensive help in free agency.

According to Heckert, it was hardly a matter of intentionally ignoring that side of the ball.

“It wasn’t like we didn’t try to help ourselves on offense,” he said. “We did, and it just didn’t work out. But if we missed out on somebody we really targeted, we weren’t just going to sign somebody just to sign somebody.”

Now, Heckert and the rest of the Browns’ player-personnel staff are completely focused on next month’s draft. They received a pleasant surprise on Monday when the NFL awarded the Browns four compensatory draft picks for their free-agent losses.

“It’s phenomenal,” Heckert said. “I can’t sit here and say we’re going to have all 13 picks this year. We could obviously move around. But I do think that’s the best thing about it: It gives us a little ammunition to move around, not only in the early rounds but even later rounds. If there’s a guy we really, really like — like we did last year with (offensive lineman Jason) Pinkston; we traded a couple of picks to move up and take him (in the fifth round) — it at least gives us the option of doing that again this year.”

Heckert said the Browns have pretty much completed their evaluation of this year’s draft prospects. He said three private on-campus workouts with players they consider top prospects are scheduled, and that meetings will begin this week with each of the 30 prospects the NFL allows each team to have visit its facility before the draft. The visits tend to provide a better setting for club officials to get better acquainted with the players than the brief sessions they’ve had with them at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.

“This time, we’ve got them in our facility and we can have them for as long as we want … there’s no time limit, there’s no one else around, just our guys,” Heckert said. “So you can really sit down and you can find out about guys. Our coaches can sit down and go over stuff with them, football-wise, just to make sure they’re smart enough for us to play. But then (it’s just sitting down to get to know the guy and make sure he’s the guy you want to take, especially when you’re talking about taking a guy with the fourth pick of the draft.”

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

Shurmur on McCoy: ‘He’s chomping on the bit’

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

PALM BEACH, Fla. – Offseason preparation programs for all 32 NFL teams are set to begin on April 16.

And at least one player can’t wait to get started.

During an exclusive interview on “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on Tuesday from the NFL meetings here, coach Pat Shurmur said quarterback Colt McCoy was anxious to get started.

“My conversations with Colt have been very positive,” Shurmur said on the show. “He’s really looking forward to the preparation part, because this is where championships are made – in the offseason, preparing for training camp. And I think he’s looking forward to this phase of it, and I think he’s chomping at the bit to get back to Berea.”

Shurmur said he is in regular contact with McCoy, and is happy with the feedback he has received from him regarding his approach to the offseason.

“I communicate with him frequently; as much as once a week I’ll call him or text him to see how he’s doing,” the coach said. “And I think what’s important is – and professional players know this and football players are wired this way – that when it’s the offseason, teams are going to do what they can to improve the team. And if you’re currently on a team, what’s important is that you improve yourself and get better. And he knows that.

“I was talking to my son (Kyle) about it. He came in as a freshman at St. Ed’s (last year). I said, ‘The reality of it is, they’re going to try to find somebody better next year,’ so you learn how to deal with it. So they’re wired, as players, to deal with the competitive nature of the sport and new players competing for what you’re competing for.”

Shurmur also said there is plenty of reason to look forward to the Browns’ draft next month, especially with the addition of four compensatory picks that the NFL gave the team on Monday. That gives the Browns a total of 13 picks.

“You can’t talk about building a sustainable winner if you don’t build through the draft,” Shurmur said. “I still believe it’s the best way to build your team and we’ve displayed, especially last year (that we’ve) picked players that really helped us. So we’re excited. As we sit today, we have 13 draft picks, and that’s going to help us.

“Now the focus becomes, if nothing changes, go pick 13 guys that we think can start, contribute in a role, or make your team.”

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci

Holmgren calls McCoy to talk about Browns QB talk

By Vic Carucci, Senior Editor

PALM BEACH, Fla. – If you’re Colt McCoy, you’ve heard a whole lot of conversation about, well, yourself.

And most of the talk has involved the possibility of the Cleveland Browns finding a replacement for McCoy as their starting quarterback, as in pursuing the second overall pick of the draft to choose Baylor’s Robert Griffin III or shopping for a passer in free agency.

Browns president Mike Holmgren felt the time had come to give McCoy a phone call, which he made recently, as he revealed during an exclusive interview on “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” at the NFL owners’ meetings here.

“I just wanted to remind him there’s been a lot spoken and a lot written about our situation and other situations around the league, quite frankly,” Holmgren said on the show. “There’s a lot mentioned about the draft and potentially what we’re going to do. And all he can really control is what he does. All he can really do is become the best player he can be and try and block out all of the rest of the stuff.

“And that’s easier said than done, because we’re all human. But that was my message to him.”

Holmgren said McCoy responded well to what he heard during the conversation. And that was exactly what the club president expected.

“He responds like I expect him to respond, like he has responded to me and I think to (coach) Pat (Shurmur) and to anybody that talks to him in the building since he got to Cleveland,” Holmgren said. “He’s a very capable young man, he cares, he works harder than any 10 people. I mean, he’s what you want.”

Holmgren had a message for fans who don’t think McCoy is the right man to lead the Browns after they saw him and the rest of the team’s offense struggle during a 4-12 finish.

“He could be judged off of last year’s performance, but don’t judge him too harshly,” Holmgren said. “He got knocked around a little bit, a lot. His attitude was great. He’s actually entering into his really second full season of play, so he has a lot of years ahead of him. And we still all believe in what he can do.

“Now, I also said to him — and I’ve said it to other people — we’re always going to try to make the quarterback position competitive. We’re always going to be looking at other quarterbacks every year whether in the draft or free agency because of the importance of the position.”

>>Be sure to tune in Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford” on ESPN 850 WKNR or catch the live stream right here on ClevelandBrowns.com.

>>Have a question for “Cleveland Browns Daily, Driven by Liberty Ford”? Ask me at Twitter.com/viccarucci