I’ve always been of the mindset that when it comes to NFL teams, their present should reflect their future.

That’s why Colt McCoy should remain the starter for the Browns. He’s supposed to be their future, so in the midst of another losing season why not make him their present too?

McCoy has a long way to go before he can lead the Browns to the Super Bowl, the playoffs, or even to a winning season. But Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme (especially Delhomme) aren’t the long-term answers the Browns need at quarterback. When healthy, Wallace may give Cleveland its best chance of winning right now but if the franchise isn’t moving forward, there’s no sense in moving laterally either (which is what they would be doing if Wallace was their starter).

I wouldn’t be saying this if I didn’t think McCoy could handle the pressure. If he looked like Jimmy Clausen did in his first couple of starts, then the tone of this article would be entirely different. But in two starts this season, McCoy has completed 32 of his 49 pass attempts for 355 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He didn’t set the world on fire with his 9-for-16 performance against the Saints two weeks ago, but he didn’t need to either. The Browns won because they didn’t make any mistakes and the defense kept forcing turnovers. Granted, he’s working with a scaled down version of the offense, but all young quarterbacks (whether they’re the No. 5 overall pick or the No. 85 overall pick) have to start somewhere.

Again, this is about the future and the future is Colt McCoy. The best way to learn and grow in the NFL is to play and McCoy has more than held his own against the likes of the Steelers and Saints on the road. He’ll receive another big test this Sunday against the Patriots, but he’ll be fine.

And if he’s not, then at the very least he’ll be taking his lumps with the guys that’ll be staring back at him in the huddle for years to come.

For a rookie quarterback making his first ever start in the NFL, playing a hot Steelers team in Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a dream scenario. But for all intents and purposes, Browns’ rookie Colt McCoy held his own last Sunday.

Unless Seneca Wallace (ankle) or Jake Delhomme (ankle) make significant progress over the next few days, McCoy will start against the Saints this weekend in New Orleans. While the Saints aren’t the Steelers, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ game plans are usually aggressive – especially when he smells blood in the water (i.e. a rookie QB making only his second career start). So McCoy better be up for the task again this Sunday.

That said, if he plays as well as he did last week against the Steelers, McCoy should be fine. He made a couple of rookie mistakes, which was to be expected, but for the most part it was an impressive debut. He completed 23-of-33 passes for 281 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions – one of which wasn’t his fault (Ben Watson should have caught the pass). What was more impressive than the numbers was the way he took command of the huddle, displayed accuracy on his throws and was poised in the pocket. He wasn’t overmatched in the slightest.

Even if Wallace and Delhomme were healthy, the Browns have nothing to lose by starting McCoy again. Wallace arguably gives Cleveland its best chance of winning because he’s mobile and he’s been around the game for a long time, but there’s no reason to play Delhomme over McCoy. Delhomme isn’t part of the Browns’ long-term future, nor should he be. McCoy, on the other hand, could be Cleveland’s starter for years to come.

Even if McCoy struggles this week, as long as he shows signs of progressing there’s an argument to be made that he should continue to start – even over Wallace.

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…