The Browns will most likely hold punting tryouts on Tuesday, an off-day for the players.
Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer"I'm all-around disappointed," Browns punter Richmond McGee said after a shaky outing Sunday that will likely lead to challengers auditioning in Berea on Tuesday. "I would definitely like to have done better for myself and the team." BEREA, Ohio -- Richmond McGee might be grateful he still has the day job.
The Browns' rookie punter, who's a wealth manager for a large brokerage firm in Austin, Texas, is on the hot seat following his woeful performance against the Bengals on Sunday. McGee shanked punts of 20, 28 and 30 yards, with the 20-yarder coming on his first kick. It started the Bengals in Browns' territory and led to a field goal.
"We reviewed it today," said coach Pat Shurmur on Monday. "We're going through it. We're going to make decisions there as we move forward. They'll become obvious, I'm sure."
Is McGee's fate sealed?
"I wouldn't say he's lost his job right now," said Shurmur. "But we're evaluating it."
The Browns will most likely hold tryouts on Tuesday, an off-day for the players.
"I'm all-around disappointed," McGee said. "I would definitely like to have done better for myself and the team. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I have to get back to work and do better next week."
Right tackle uncertainty: Shurmur said the Browns may be without starting right tackle Tony Pashos (ankle) again this week in Indianapolis. "Beyond that I don't know," Shurmur said, adding he might continue to rotate Oniel Cousins and Artis Hicks.
"I think they both had some good plays and there were some things that makes it tough to say 'this guy is your starter right now,'" Shurmur said. "As we move forward, we'll keep an eye on what's happening at left guard, but as we move forward you might still see a rotation over there at the right side."
The tackles will have their hands full this week with formidable Colts ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.
Good reviews: Shurmur complimented rookie left guard Jason Pinkston, saying he "did a heckuva job at left guard" for his debut. But, he cautioned, "his performance needs to be better if we're going to win. I think that needs to be the focus."
Key play? 'Nothing to it': Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden told the Cincinnati Enquirer of the quick-snap TD: "It was a legal play. We substituted but we huddled and we broke the huddle and snapped it. There was nothing to it really. We broke the huddle, the receivers got set and we snapped the ball. They just weren't ready.
"It's a play where we feel there's no risk involved and the reward is great. Worse case scenario is they get ready and we have a good pattern called if they are ready. Very well executed. The receivers did a great job getting set and [center] Kyle Cook did a great job of not snapping it until the linemen were ready. And the quarterback did a good job of disguising his attempt."
Dealing with the pain: Dimitri Patterson explained the ankle injury that had him in and out of the game and led to 12 men being on the field on the deciding touchdown.
"I had a really bad sprain in training camp, so it never really fully healed," he said. "So if it gets stepped on or I roll it, there's a time period to where I need a little time off, but then I can go back on even though it's still painful, but it's tolerable. That's what I was experiencing during the game. The pain is bad, but it's tolerable."
He said he'll be fine for the Colts game. "No doubt about it," he said.
Finding reasons to believe: Shurmur is certain the team won't have another embarrassing performance. "Very confident. Very confident," he said. "Because I saw things in this game where it didn't start off so well and we came right back.
"The easiest thing to do after this happen is get discouraged. Don't do that," he said. "It's also easy to come in and start hollering and screaming and throwing furniture and you don't do that either. The important thing is for the guys to understand their mistakes and then talk about specifically how you're going to correct them. And then you go to work beating the next opponent, because it's a long season."
"Places I've been, we've lost the first game or two and still been in the playoffs and had terrific years. So I think that's the important piece is to keep the focus and move on."
Missed opportunity: Shurmur said tight end Evan Moore probably should've had the third-quarter deep ball near the right sidelines that went off his right hand, with safety Chris Crocker covering. A TD there would've put the Browns up, 24-13.
"I think if you ask him he'll tell you that he should make that play," said Shurmur.
Big hit by Little: Shurmur praised Greg Little's block on punter Kevin Huber even though it sent Huber crashing into Josh Cribbs on a punt return with big potential late in the fourth quarter, knocking both down.
"I'll tell you what he did, he knocked the daylights out of that guy," said Shurmur. "The only thing I would say is do it a little bit quicker so there's a little bit more room between you and Josh. Because that was quite a block. He had the responsibility of forcing the punt, and then peeling back."
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