In his second year as the Browns' starting quarterback, Colt McCoy is 0-7 against Cleveland's AFC North division rivals and 6-14 overall, but NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock says evaluating the former Texas Longhorn is more complicated than it first appears.
"I think the kid's got the deck stacked against him a little bit right now," Mayock told the Plain Dealer. "They don't really have anyone like a (Mike) Wallace or (A.J.) Green that can stretch the field for them vertically, and that's a difficult thing when you're a quarterback. Basically, you're kind of playing small ball. You're trying to run the football and move the chains with a lot of play-action and underneath stuff. And at some point, you've got to be more than that."
McCoy averages just 5.9 yards per completion this season, 30th in the league.
"He's not making the downfield throws and what's really happening is that teams are starting to squat on the wideouts, and it's difficult to watch when your offense is so compressed," Mayock said.
"Maybe the wide receivers aren't getting as much respect as you'd like. Greg Little is having a good year, but he's dropped four or five passes in the two games I've watched. Mohamed Massaquoi is a pretty good receiver and Josh Cribbs obviously has the 'wow' factor, but he's certainly not a polished receiver."
Mayock will call tonight's game in Pittsburgh, where McCoy is expected to play despite a right knee injury.
"I'm anxious to see him in Pittsburgh against this No. 1 defense and see what happens," he said. "I need to see some more throws and I need to see him play against good defenses like these. ... If I were grading him right now, it would be incomplete."
