The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Cornerback McCourty may be out vs. Titans
The Browns’ best cornerback, Jason McCourty (right), who leads the team in interceptions, may not play against the Titans on Oct. 22 after injuring his ankle in practice.
The winless Browns have given up more touchdown passes than 30 other teams in the NFL and their best cornerback might be sidelined with an ankle injury in the game with Tennessee on Oct. 22. So how’s your day going? Jason McCourty “tweaked” his ankle in practice on Oct. 19 and is listed as questionable for the Titans. He did not practice Oct. 20. McCourty usually covers the opponent’s best receiver, which this week means covering speedy Rishard Matthews, who has 24 catches for 353 yards and one touchdown.
Whether McCourty plays against the Titans could come down to a game-day decision as players go through warmups for the 1 p.m. kickoff at FirstEnergy Stadium. McCourty has three of the Browns’ four interceptions and two of their six forced fumbles.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we know for sure,” coach Hue Jackson said after practice Oct. 20. “We have some guys that we can play there — Michael Jordan. We have other guys here. Obviously, there is (Briean) BoddyCalhoun who we can stick out there. At the same time, we want McCourty to be there. He’s one of our best players.”
The Browns, 0-6, have given up 14 touchdown passes. They are tied with — surprisingly — the New England Patriots for last in the league.
“We have to do a better job in the passing game,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “Slow correct decisions are still wrong. (In college) your ability alone allows you to be better than the person you’re playing against and you can get away with making slower decisions. At this level you can’t. Ability is pretty well matched.
“We have to be able to make the correct decision faster. I was hired to correct the fast wrong decisions. You hear that? Fast wrong decisions. A slow correct decision we can’t tolerate.”
Williams leaned on a crutch coaches often use to describe what went wrong in Houston last week, saying 10 players might have executed a play properly, but one did not and that allowed Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson to throw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Will Fuller on Aug. 15 in Houston. Watson threw three touchdown passes in the Texans’ 33-17 victory.
Browns middle linebacker Joe Schobert wasn’t disputing Williams, but his theory about why some defenses are successful game-in and game-out is simpler than all 11 players being in lock step. Those teams, Schobert said, have disruptive difference makers in the lineup.
“A cornerback can blow a coverage, but if you have (Browns rookie) Myles Garrett coming around the edge, getting a sack before the quarterback can see it, obviously it minimizes it,” Schobert said. “If you have a team of Myles Garretts rushing the passer, or a team of shutdown corners like (McCourty) that can make gaps in the pass rush less obvious.
“Myles is a great talent. It’s huge having him back. If I blow the coverage and Myles gets the sack, I will thank him. But everybody has to do their one-11th. A freak like Myles makes everyone else’s job easier.”
Schobert did not sound optimistic about McCourty playing against the Titans.
“He does all the things the right way,” Schobert said. “It’s painful to see a guy like that go down in practice. Hopefully he gets better and will be able to play this weekend.
“If not, we have guys that can step up. We’ll obviously miss J-Mac, but guys can step right into those shoes.”
Starting safety Jabrill Peppers is listed as questionable with a toe injury, but he is confident he will play against the Titans.