You’re starting, Colt McCoy! Really?! Against who?! Pittsburgh. Ah, crap.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, but Browns head coach Eric Mangini said Monday that rookie Colt McCoy might make his pro debut on Sunday because Seneca Wallace has a high ankle sprain and Jake Delhomme is still dealing with an ankle injury himself. (Not to mention he’s also Jake Delhomme, which will always continue to hold him back.)
That’s the good news for McCoy. The bad news is that the Browns’ opponent this Sunday is a well-rested Pittsburgh team that will no doubt be fired up with the return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers have the second ranked defense in the league in terms of yards allowed with 1,156 (Miami has given up the fewest yards at 829). They also have the best run defense in the NFL, which is a problem considering the Browns like to pound the ball on the ground. So if the hope was to feed the ball to Peyton Hillis (who is banged up himself) and Jerome Harrison (whom Mangini apparently never wants to see get another carry the rest of the year) in order to take the pressure off young Colt’s hands, that may backfire.
The Browns are hoping that they can start Wallace this week, but high ankle sprains can be tricky. Andre Johnson of the Texans just had one and despite his best efforts, he had to miss Houston’s game against Oakland two weeks ago.
It’ll be interesting to see whether or not McCoy is thrust into action this week against arguably the best defense in the league.
Update: According to Chip Brown via his Twitter page, McCoy has been told he will start this Sunday at Pittsburgh. Hold onto your nuts…
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