Cleveland Browns: Did Favre's Mentoring of McCoy Have a Positive Impact?

Recent news has linked the Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy to former NFL quarterback Brett Favre.

McCoy, unable to communicate with team president Mike Holmgren or head coach Pat Shurmur due to the NFL lockout, sought the advice of the legendary quarterback during the offseason.

Favre played for Holmgren and ran his West Coast offense in Green Bay. The Packers played in two consecutive Super Bowls during Holmgren and Favre's tenure, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in one of them.

The question is, how much of an impact did Favre's tutelage of McCoy have?

If the team's first preseason game is any indication, Favre's mentoring of McCoy may have been highly beneficial. McCoy ran the offense with efficiency and was highly productive, leading the Browns on two touchdown drives against the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers.

Although the two only worked out for a few days, a young quarterback such as McCoy has much to gain by working with such an accomplished player. Favre's familiarity with the West Coast offense was undoubtedly beneficial to the Browns' young signal caller. Unable to communicate with Holmgren or Shurmur, McCoy needed to find some method of guidance.

In Favre, McCoy found a quarterback who made a living with the West Coast offense in his Hall of Fame career. 

Favre's impact on McCoy certainly was not the only, or even primary reason that the young quarterback had such a promising preseason debut. Finally getting into training camp and working directly with his coach and teammates gave McCoy the full exposure to the offense that he needed.

However, those few days McCoy spent with Favre may have lessened his learning curve.  While he initially appeared inconsistent in training camp, McCoy was sharp against the Packers.

As is true with any NFL team, the Browns will go as far as their quarterback can take them. Now that he's had a few weeks of training camp to familiarize himself with the offense, along with the aid of a future Hall of Fame player, McCoy's progress gives fans reason to hope the team's search for a franchise quarterback may finally be over.

However, this was merely one preseason game. Whether McCoy can perform on a consistent basis when the games count remains to be seen.