Colt McCoy Wants to Be the Franchise; He'll Need Some Help

After being picked off six times in two weeks, one would expect Cleveland Browns rookie Colt McCoy's confidence to be shaken. However, in the final press conference of the season, McCoy showed surprising confidence to the Cleveland media.

"[Interceptions] happen," said McCoy. "And yet, those things lose games. Turnovers lose games for you. They need to get fixed and it starts with me. But I don't dwell on those. You've got to move on."

From the day he was drafted, McCoy has shown firm confidence in himself and his abilities, even when he was holding a clipboard for the first five weeks. When he was forced into action in week 6 due to injuries to Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, McCoy showed poise in the pocket, something Cleveland hasn't had at QB since the early 90s.

At season's end, McCoy totaled 1,576 yards passing and six touchdowns to pair with nine interceptions.

Those numbers don't exactly jump off the page at first glance, but when you watch film of McCoy in the pocket, he can step up and to the side, as well as throw the ball out of bounds instead of taking a sack. Those intangibles are not easy to come by, and give him a considerable edge over any free agent QB the Browns could bring in. However, do those intangibles equate to him being, excuse the pun, "The Real McCoy?"

If Colt is to be the franchise quarterback, he will need considerable help.

The biggest key to his future success is who Mike Holmgren chooses to be his head coach.

While names like Pat Shurmer and Marty Mornhinweg are not names that will blow away Browns fans, both men have had considerable success developing quarterbacks like Sam Bradford and resurgent veterans like Michael Vick. Another coach who would help McCoy in a coordinator or QB coach role would be former Redskins head coach Jim Zorn.

Once a coach and philosophy (most likely West Coast) is selected, Holmgren and Heckert must move fast to do two things: find McCoy a playmaker at receiver and draft or sign a change of pace back to complement Peyton Hillis.

In 2010, tight end Ben Watson led the team with 68 catches, and Hillis was second with 61. Chansey Stuckey led receivers with 40. This is the biggest flaw in the Browns' offense.

Too often, McCoy had to check down to Watson or Hillis due to a lack of a deep threat at the receiver position. The weaknesses in the passing game were most evident in the Pittsburgh home finale, when the Steelers defense blanketed the wideouts and left McCoy no open passing lanes.

In the NFL, speed is everything, and Mike Wallace and the Pittsburgh receivers made the Browns offense look like it was running in slow motion by comparison.

The other factor in McCoy's development is the addition of a running back to ease the load on Hillis. Hillis carried the ball 270 times for a total of 1,177 yards, and at the end of the season, it showed. He was broken down and tired, which led to him sitting out many plays.

For McCoy to succeed, Cleveland needs to develop a strong running game that will ease the pressure on the passing game. A smaller, change of pace back would do wonders for what is now a one-dimensional running game. A running back in the mold of West Virginia's Noel Devine would be the perfect addition to the Browns' offense.

Cleveland also needs to sign a veteran quarterback who can help him through the highly likely "sophomore slump."

The final component to developing McCoy is to allow him to make mistakes. It may sound counter-intuitive, but making mistakes will make him learn to play without fear.

Under Eric Mangini, the Browns too often played for field goals and ran the ball on third-and-long. This philosophy made fans pull out their hair in frustration and has hindered McCoy's learning process. By opening up the offense and throwing out the conservative run, run, pass then punt mentality, we will know sooner rather than later what we have at the quarterback position.

If the Browns follow those guidelines, there may finally be stability at quarterback at last.