Josh McCown has something in Cleveland that he didn't in Tampa Bay: an offensive line.
After being battered behind a Bucs front that allowed a whopping 52 sacks last season -- third worst in the league -- the veteran quarterback was quick to praise a Browns line that looms as one of the AFC's best.
"I knew they were physically good, you see it on tape, but these guys are so smart," McCown said Thursday, per the team's official website. "It's rare to get a group of five guys that can really see the field the way they do. I've said this all along, they were a big reason why I wanted to come here. After being with them now the last five or six weeks, had I known it was this good, I might not have even had to take a visit (before signing). They're really sharp. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with them."
McCown believers will point to his heady run with the Bears two seasons ago as proof that he's more than a journeyman. Doubters will point to last year's high-speed train wreck in Tampa, but neither McCown nor fellow Bucs passer Mike Glennon did anything but run for their lives in 2014.
We'll earn a better take on McCown come September. Cleveland's front five -- with Pro Bowlers Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, second-year war daddy Joel Bitonio and rookie Cameron Erving -- boasts plenty of talent. Still, the quarterback will be asked to make plays through the air with an underwhelming cast of weapons.
There's also the reality of a front office that wants to see if Johnny Manziel can bring anything to the table. If McCown doesn't thrive, the Browns are likely to start at least two passers in a season for the 14th straight year.
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