Jets’ McCown still fond of Browns coach
New York Jets quarterback Josh McCown, who grew close to Cleveland coach Hue Jackson during their lone season together last year, believes the Browns have to stick with him despite the 1-19 record of the current regime.
“It’s critical in my opinion,” McCown said Tuesday. “There has to be some steadfastness and resolve. When you rebuild the way that you did, you have to go, ‘This is what we’re going to do and we’re going to see it through.’ “
Echoing the sentiments of Bengals cornerback Adam Jones on Sunday, McCown said it’s hard to evaluate Jackson in the second year of this massive rebuild. The Browns are 0-4 heading into their home game Sunday against the 2-2 Jets.
“I don’t think it’s very fair to evaluate the coaches until you have a substantial amount of talent in the group that you’re envisioning putting together on the field,” McCown said. “If you’re continually saying you need to add pieces and you have picks and you’re going to add talent, I don’t know how you evaluate the coach fairly. That statement in and of itself is a little indicting.”
McCown, who has started all four of the Jets’ games, stressed that he would have been happy to stay in Cleveland. But he has no hard feelings.
“I understood where they were headed with the position and that they’re trying to find that longterm answer,” he said. “So I understood that. I appreciated that from their end, at least not letting it drag out but doing it as quick as possible.”
He does hope that the QB of the future is rookie DeShone Kizer.
“I have a ton of respect for him,” McCown said. “I know he’s in good hands with coach Jackson and he’s got a terrific skillset. Just having seen a few plays here and there on some crossover tape, I really think he’s got tremendous upside, so it’s just about learning for him.”
Unfortunately for Kizer, he doesn’t have a veteran mentor to help him through these rough times. McCown hopes the losing doesn’t wear on the youngest QB in the NFL.
“I really think he’s shown a lot of promise so hopefully he continues to grow and can become the guy there,” McCown said. “But he certainly doesn’t need to feel the pressure. He’s just got to be focused on growing and improving himself.”
New Bears QB ready to start
Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky thinks he can handle the pressure of his first NFL start on Monday against the Minnesota Vikings.
“You only get nervous or feel pressure when you’re not prepared for the situation or where you don’t know what you’re doing,” Trubisky said.
The Bears went into training camp insisting Mike Glennon was their starting quarterback, but a 1-3 record and eight turnovers led to a reversal.
“I think he has a good mindset, I think he has a good, natural feel,” Bears coach John Fox said of Trubisky. “I think he has done a good job up to this point. I think he’ll continue to do well moving forward.”
Steelers coach tells Brown to tone it down
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin mildly chastised receiver Antonio Brown for a brief sideline eruption during a 26-9 victory over Baltimore on Sunday.
Brown took his frustrations out on a water cooler after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger failed to see Brown running free down the sideline in the second quarter. Roethlisberger instead threw an incomplete pass intended for Le’Veon Bell.
“AB is a competitor,” Tomlin said. “He has to control it. If he doesn’t, it can work against him and it can work against us. … It doesn’t need to happen. It shouldn’t happen.”
Brown finished with a season-low four receptions for 34 yards and ranks second in the NFL in both catches (30) and yards receiving (388) through four games for the first-place Steelers (3-1), putting him well on pace to eclipse 100 receptions for a fifth straight season.
Wrapping up
The NFL has reduced Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan’s suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams from two games to one.
Adams was taken off the field on a stretcher in the third quarter on Thursday. The game was delayed for about five minutes. Trevathan was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty but not ejected.