Saturday, Aug. 29 – Quarterback Josh McCown was brought in by the Browns to be merely a bridge to the guy.
Who would have thought he might also be the guy for longer than was originally planned?
With backup Johnny Manziel sidelined for two weeks, according to the team, and possibly longer, according to reality, with soreness in his throwing shoulder, McCown stands alone as the only quarterback the Browns can depend on as they get ready for tonight’s dress rehearsal preseason game against the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Indeed, McCown is like the starting pitcher in baseball who is allowed to stay in the game and either win it or lose it. There is no one else to turn to.
The Browns out-bid the Buffalo Bills to sign McCown in free agency during the offseason. They wanted him to simply keep the seat warm until it was time to turn over the reins to Manziel, or to whomever the club viewed as its quarterback of the future then. But the future is cloudy at best with Manziel’s health issues, and so it’s McCown or bust.
Yes, it’s a mess. But maybe this type of dysfunctional situation is all you can expect when you have a dysfunctional organization, with a dysfunctional general manager named Ray Farmer who, apparently, also fancies himself as the head coach or who knows what other job titles at Browns headquarters. Textgate proved that.
As such, you’ve got to feel for the real head coach, Mike Pettine, who is a victim much more than he is an accessory to the crime of putting the Browns into this unenviable predicament. Nonetheless, it is his job to sort all this out and get his team ready for the start of the regular season, which is now only 15 days away.
This is where McCown’s years of experience come in. He can really help Pettine, the offense and the club overall by upping his game and becoming a serious, legitimate and stabilizing leader on the field, in the locker room and in the meeting rooms, even more than he may already be.
Part of the aforementioned mess is not just Manziel being sidelined, but also that the Browns have been inundated with a number of other injuries, many of them involving hamstrings. It has put everything behind schedule.
But most, if not just about all, of those players should be ready to return tonight. Some have not played in the preseason yet, including wide receiver/X factor Terrelle Pryor and running back Duke Johnson. Along with McCown, these are the two players to really watch tonight. They are potential playmakers on an offense that desperately – desperately – needs such. The Browns are hoping they can shake off the rust of inactivity and provide at least a sample of what they could offer, particularly with two more weeks of practice time before the visit to New York to play the Jets in the first of the games that count.
If nothing else comes out of tonight’s contest other than Pryor, whose spot on the roster is hardly secure yet as he makes the difficult transition from quarterback, and Johnson showcasing their skills, and McCown being the smart, savvy guy the Browns thought he was when they signed him, then this dress rehearsal will have been a success.
