Plain Dealer's Cleveland Browns beat writers Tony Grossi and Mary Kay Cabot discuss Browns President Mike Holmgren's explanation of why Colt McCoy was not given a concussion test on the sidelines after the helmet to face mask by the Steelers' James Harrison Thursday night. Watch video

The Browns president admits the club did not give Colt McCoy a concussion test before re-inserting him in the Pittsburgh game, but he angrily defended the club's handling of the injury. Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns did not give the standard concussion test to Colt McCoy before letting him back in the Pittsburgh game because he showed no symptoms of head injury after getting decked on a helmet-to-facemask hit from Steelers linebacker James Harrison.

Further, team doctors and trainers were unaware of the severity of the blow that earned Harrison a one-game NFL suspension because they were tending to other injured players and did not see the hit.

That was the explanation on Wednesday from a feisty Browns President Mike Holmgren, who angrily defended the club's actions last Thursday night.

McCoy first showed concussion symptoms after the game. He was allowed to fly home on the team plane. On Wednesday, McCoy was sent home for the second time this week after experiencing headaches. He is not expected to play in Sunday's game in Arizona.

Holmgren characterized the fact that McCoy continued to play with a concussion as a breakdown in the NFL's protocol in assessing the injury, and not a failure of the team's medical staff.

"Our medical staff and our training staff ... are getting slammed pretty good, along with our head coach. It's unfair," Holmgren said.

(Transcript of Holmgren's Wednesday press conference)

The controversy comes at a time of heightened awareness in the NFL about the long-term effects of concussions. The Browns have had nine concussion injuries involving six players this season. The only breakdown they suffered in evaluating and treating them occurred with McCoy -- on a nationally televised game in prime time. It prompted a visit to Browns headquarters from doctors and representatives of the NFL and NFL Players Association. They met on Tuesday with Browns medical personnel, Holmgren and General Manager Tom Heckert.

Holmgren said he withheld public comment of the incident until those meetings concluded. In a statement released on Wednesday, the players union said, "We will review the findings with our team and take into consideration the public comments made by the Browns today."

Holmgren described a somewhat chaotic scene on the Browns' sideline at the time of the hit on McCoy. He said doctors and trainers were tending to other injured players. None of the medical staff actually saw the hit. Tight end Alex Smith also suffered an injury on the play in question, so a doctor and trainer each tended to Smith and McCoy on the field.

"They got out to [McCoy] and Colt was lucid, he was talking," Holmgren said. "His body language, I guess, didn't look real great. They talked to him and he talked to them. He was not unconscious when they got out there."

McCoy complained about an injury to his left hand. He walked off with Dr. Mark Schickendantz and trainer Joe Sheehan. They continued to look at his hand on the sideline and were joined by Dr. Thomas Waters and strength coach Kent Johnson, Holmgren said.

Holmgren said the physicians did not administer the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool 2 test because McCoy "was talking, answering, knew how much time was left. So, following our normal protocol, [his responses] did not dictate they administer the test.

"So you say, 'You've seen the hit, goodness gracious.' But they hadn't seen it."

Sheehan then told coach Pat Shurmur that McCoy was cleared to play, and the coach sent him back in after missing two plays and about 3 minutes, 50 seconds of elapsed time. McCoy was on the field for 18 plays after suffering the concussion. The last was a sack to end the game.

After the game, McCoy had his left hand X-rayed and then he showered. Holmgren said McCoy did not display any symptoms, but told Sheehan that he felt "kind of funky." Dr. Waters then put McCoy through a concussion test and Holmgren said McCoy passed. But McCoy made a remark to Dr. Waters that a noise in the shower startled him and he asked that television lights be dimmed in his post-game interview.

After the flight to Cleveland, McCoy was driven home by teammate Evan Moore because they had shared a ride to the airport. The next day, McCoy complained of headaches.

Holmgren said he would not second-guess Shurmur for reinserting McCoy, given the green light by his trainer, even though the hit looked severe enough to shake him up. He said most eyes followed the ball -- a pass to running back Montario Hardesty -- and nobody on the sideline got a clear view of the shot.

"All of a sudden you look back and Colt's on the ground," Holmgren said. "It's conceivable, and I think it happened, that a lot of guys didn't see the thing on the sideline, as hard as that is to believe. We've had players that would go over and say take a look at this guy. That didn't happen.

"That was the crux of the meeting yesterday. No one alerted anybody to this. It seems inconceivable, but no one did. So how do we do this? The doctors get the information they need. The best thing we could come up with is put in a process to have somebody say something at a proper time."

Holmgren said he did not expect the Browns to be disciplined by the league, but it's still a possibility. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an email that league officials attended a league meeting on Wednesday and had not yet reviewed the report of the league's investigation.

On Twitter: @TonyGrossi

Mike Holmgren said, for various reasons, no one on the Browns' sideline saw the hit that caused Colt McCoy's concussion. The "fog of war," a military term, seems to apply in the confused circumstances. Watch video

View full sizeScott Shaw, The Plain DealerAn emotional Mike Holmgren explained the actions of the Browns' medical personnel and coaches following James Harrison's hit on Colt McCoy last Thursday. Bill Livingston says the answers don't resolve many of the questions.

BEREA, Ohio -- After Mike Holmgren's Concussion Discussion with the media Wednesday, Pittsburgh's James Harrison appears to be possessed of, along with a mean streak and an unwillingness to learn from past mistakes, super powers.

Critics here and elsewhere are going to doubt the official explanation that nobody saw nothin'. Or at least not clearly enough to alert Browns doctors and trainers.

At one point, an angry Holmgren, who steadfastly defended his medical staff and Browns coach Pat Shurmur, was asked if he had trouble believing no one saw the hit. "C'mon. There's a side of me that says, 'Yeah,'" he said.

But the Browns' explanation satisfied the NFL well enough that Holmgren said he expected no punitive action to be taken against the team.

On the fourth-quarter play, McCoy scrambled out of the pocket, tucked the ball under his arm, as if to run -- as he had done earlier in the game when his rushing touchdown was overturned after replay review -- then spotted running back Montario Hardesty open in front of the Browns' sideline. The pass traveled between 5 and 10 yards. An instant after McCoy threw it, Harrison crushed him on a helmet-to-chin strap collision that leveled the quarterback.

There is a term in military history called "the fog of war." It means nothing goes as expected, no one has a big-picture view, events overtake plans. Perhaps that's as good an explanation for what happened as any.

Holmgren depicted an NFL sideline during injury crises as just what it is -- chaotic, confused, with multiple players down, medical decisions compressed by the urgency of time and treatment dependent on quick evaluations. That is particularly true when a player does not show immediate signs of a concussion, as was the case with McCoy. Owen Marecic and Ben Watson, who were more obviously dazed, were quickly taken to the locker room where the NFL's multiple-step concussion test was administered.

The test is said to take a minimum of eight to 10 minutes. McCoy returned to the game just 3 minutes, 50 seconds after being hit.

Holmgren said the medical staff was busy with other players and did not see the hit. No one on the sideline alerted them, either. "You follow the ball," Holmgren said of fans and players.

That much is often true. But McCoy did not throw into the end zone, where all eyes could follow such a long trajectory. The Browns don't "do" field-stretching. This pass was more along the lines of a glorified handoff.

Harrison had his back to the Browns' sideline, so perhaps the view was obstructed, but everyone saw the aftermath, with McCoy being flung backward like a rag doll. The effects of the Invisible Man, like that of a Force-5 hurricane, were easy to see. Harrison roared over McCoy like a visit by some of the more disagreeable aspects of the book of Revelation.

No one in the traveling squad of 50 players, no one among the assistant coaches on the sideline or in the coaches' booth upstairs, said anything, probably because they saw trainers tending to McCoy.

The red herring in the plot was that McCoy also suffered a bruised left hand on the play and complained about it, rather than the blow to his head. The hand was examined first.

The "system failure" that Chris Mortensen reported on ESPN Sunday was, according to Holmgren, that of the NFL's concussion protocol, not that of the Browns. The official NFL observer at the game, said Holmgren, sometimes brings to attention a "wobbly" player who escapes the notice of medical personnel. He did not raise any red flags with McCoy. Not even after seeing replays of the hit, not even after Harrison was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty on the play.

Then too, the official, knowing the Browns were getting ready to return their starting quarterback to what was then a winnable game, might have decided to leave the outcome up to the players.

After McCoy returned, Harrison tripped him up on the intentional grounding play, the he was sacked on the last play with seven seconds to play. That's more chances for serious punishment.

With all the talk about tending to the head, someone needs to think with it, too.

On Twitter: @LivyPD

Seneca Wallace knows the West Coast offense inside and out, and hopes to be the spark the Browns need Sunday at Arizona.

View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain Dealer"I stay in my lane around here," Seneca Wallace said Wednesday. "I wait until my opportunity comes. Right now, I'm preparing the team to the best of my ability."

BEREA, Ohio -- Seneca Wallace is in a zone. He's finally found his rhythm after 12 games this season. After all, he completed his last pass, a 13-yard rocket to tight end Evan Moore, in Pittsburgh last week.

That makes the Browns quarterback 2-for-2 this season. What else, aside from perfection, does Wallace have to show to prove he's ready to step into the starting role Sunday in Arizona if Colt McCoy is ruled out with his concussion?

"It's not about proving to anybody that I can be a starter," said Wallace, primarily a career backup in nine NFL seasons. "My peers understand and know that I'm capable of leading the team and doing things well to be a starter. That's all I worry about. I can't deal with the politics side of playing quarterback and other things that come along with it."

Wallace won't discuss whether he should have stayed in the Steelers game after completing his singular pass that put the Browns within scoring distance, even if McCoy hadn't suffered a concussion two plays earlier. He is happy, however, to explain how well he knows Pat Shurmur's West Coast offense after cutting his teeth on the system for his seven years with then-coach Mike Holmgren in Seattle.

"It's timing and rhythm and that never goes away," Wallace said. "You can be gone from this stuff 10 years from now and as soon as you start calling the plays, it all starts coming back to you. You might feel a little older, but it's the same."

So maybe a 31-year-old savvy quarterback who knows how to run this offense is what the Browns need in this 4-9 season.

"I hate to see Colt be out, but maybe this team needs a spark," linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said. "Maybe this team needs a different look. We'll see Sunday."

For his part, Wallace hasn't lobbied for a chance at the job this season, despite knowing the offense so well. He signed a three-year deal worth $9 million in the off-season knowing that McCoy was to be handed the starter's reins. His two passes in three games is the least amount of time Wallace has spent on the field since 2007, when he played in 10 games with the Seahawks, completing 19 of 28 passes.

Last season, he was forced into the starter's role for four games with the Browns when Jake Delhomme suffered a high ankle sprain. He endured the same injury, however, to end his own season and open the door for the rookie McCoy.

Shurmur called Wallace "a pro" in his ability to understand his role and prepare for each game.

"I stay in my lane around here," Wallace said. "I wait until my opportunity comes. Right now, I'm preparing the team to the best of my ability."

Wallace said a huge lure in re-signing with Cleveland was the opportunity to return to the West Coast offense that he learned so well with Holmgren in Seattle. With McCoy sent home again Wednesday with a headache -- which makes nearly a week with concussion symptoms for the quarterback -- it appears more likely than ever that Wallace finally will have his chance to show just how well he knows it and what he can do with it.

"It can be Week 16 and all of a sudden you're thrust there in the fourth quarter to win a game," Wallace said. "You've got to take it for what it is and make sure you're ready to go."

The 32-year-old point guard did not complete a full practice because of a bulging disc in his back

Joshua Gunter | The Plain DealerCleveland Cavaliers guard Baron Davis has been waived.

Beard, a Texas A&M senior 400-meter sprinter from Euclid, beat two other finalists, Louisiana State sophomore sprinter Kimberlyn Duncan and Arkansas junior pole vaulter Tina Sutej.

Joshua Gunter, PDJessica Beard was named female winner of the Bowerman Award on Wednesday, symbolic of collegiate track and field's top performer.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jessica Beard's place in Cleveland's rich track and field history became even more prominent Wednesday night when she won The Bowerman Award, recognizing her as the top women's collegiate track athlete this year.

Beard, a Texas A&M senior 400-meter sprinter from Euclid, beat two other finalists, Louisiana State sophomore sprinter Kimberlyn Duncan and Arkansas junior pole vaulter Tina Sutej.

"It means a lot to me, coming from Euclid, Ohio,'' Beard said in a phone interview after the ceremony in San Antonio, Texas. "A lot of people don't know where Euclid is. It shows that being from a cold place where we don't have our state meet until mid-June, that now you can can be from anywhere and, as long as we work hard, it will pay off with our accomplishments. It's important for kids to see that.''

Beard, wearing an off-white cocktail dress, immediately hugged her mother, Theresa, and close friends Claude and Tenise Holland when her name was announced.

"My support base is so strong,'' she said. "My Mom always tells me to believe and she buys me all little trinkets. This past Thanksgiving, she bought me a cereal bowl that says believe in it. I used it every day if I can.''

Florida State's Ngoni Makusha, a long jump and 100-meter champ from Zimbabwe, was the men's Bowerman winner.

This is the third year for The Bowerman, which was named after former University of Oregon coaching legend and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman. He died in 1999. Voting for the award were a combination of media, statisticians, college administrators and fans. Beard won an online fan vote this summer.

"This means so much because now we're able to build up the award and make it like the Heisman is for college football,'' she said. "It makes us work harder on the track, and off as well, when people aren't watching.''

This year, Beard became the third woman to win both 400 and 4x400 indoor and outdoor NCAA Division I titles. She ran a 50.79 indoor and a 51.10 outdoor. In the 4x400, her final leg of 49.13 was a meet record and clinched Texas A&M's third straight NCAA championship. Beard was a 16-time All-American.

Beard was a four-time state 400-meter champ at Euclid High, graduating in 2007, and perhaps is just as well remembered for her sparkily personality and positive attitude.

"It's an honor to see someone as wonderful and sweet as she is as a person to achieve this level of success,'' said Claude Holland, the retired Cleveland Heights track coach who mentored Beard. "She's put herself in a position to impact many, many lives.''

Born in Cleveland and raised in Euclid, Beard already has a place in Cleveland track history. She has world gold medals in the 4x400 (Berlin, 2009; South Korea, 2011) and is a strong contender to run in the London Olympics next summer.

Cleveland is best known as the home of Olympic greats Jesse Owens and Harrison Dillard, but also has a history of women's champions. Three-time Olympian Madeline Manning Mims won gold in 1968 and silver in 1972, and Vivian Brown Reed was a Pan-American gold medalist and a 1964 Olympian.

"You think of Madeline Manning and Vivian Reed, and Jessica is a two-time world champion already, and that puts her in an elite category,'' said Claude Holland, whose mother, Bernice, also was an Olympian.

"(Winning the Bowerman) should inspire a new generation of track and field athletes who don't know the Madeline Mannings and Vivian Brown Reeds. It can inspire them to realize track and field is not just great for physical fitness, but it can propel you to so many other great things that can be attained with a great attitude and some ability. I really think Jessica can be that impetus for motivation for a lot of athletes.'''

Beard will graduate from Texas A&M on Saturday with a degree in psychology.

On Twitter: @TimsTakePD

Holmgren talks mostly about the concussion suffered by Colt McCoy and the controversy about the Browns' response to it, and about the illegal hit by Pittsburgh's James Harrison that caused McCoy's injury. Says Pat Shurmur will "absolutely" be the coach in 2012.

Scott Shaw, The Plain DealerCleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren during his press conference on Wednesday.

BEREA, Ohio

Browns president Mike Holmgren's Wednesday press conference

Holmgren's opening statement:

"Good morning everybody. I know you're disappointed Pat's (Shurmur) not here so I am pinch hitting. I thought it was necessary today to kind of set the record straight as I can about some of the things that have been happening the last few days. He will catch up with you after practice regarding football stuff. The purpose of this meeting and why I'm here is that the last couple of days we've met here with the NFL as well as the union, doctors and so on to get some sort of closure, hopefully, on the incident that took play with Colt (McCoy) in the game against the Steelers. As I said, there's a lot of speculation, there's a lot of things that have been written and said and the reason that we've waited as an organization to have this meeting is that we had to have those other meetings before so I wouldn't say something and then I'd have to come back and change it. Now, we've had those meetings so now here it is. I also want to comment that on the schedule and how we have these, it's going to be our decision. It's not going to be your decision, okay. I believe we're doing this correctly, I think I can clear up anything you might have on your mind regarding this situation and that's the reason. Having said that, now I'll open it up to questions."

(Questions are paraphrased)

Question: Was McCoy examined and tested for a concussion while he was on the sideline Thursday night?

Holmgren: "No, he was not, but to add a reasonableness to that, I'm going to walk you through the steps and what we talked about yesterday. First of all, everyone was very forthright, clear and honest about what happened with them. The people in the meeting yesterday we had Dr. (Elliot) Pellman, who is the head doctor for the NFL, Dr. (Thom) Mayer, who's the head doctor for the union, Ernie Conwell, who represented and is on the Board of the Players Union as a former player, you had our Dr. (Mark) Schickendantz, Dr. (Thomas) Waters, our team physicians, all our training staff, Tom Heckert and myself. Those were the people involved in the meeting. What the meeting was for was really to clarify for the union and the league, the timeline regarding Colt's situation and so they did that. I'll go over that briefly with you and then you can ask any more questions you want.

"When the injury took place on the field, at that time the question came up did the doctors see the impact of the play and they did not and our trainers did not. They were all working, as is typical in a game. They were working on other injured players either in the bench area or behind players so they did not see the play. Then they heard a crowd reaction, someone said Colt's down. Colt wasn't the only one down, Alex Smith was also down on the same play. Joe Sheehan, our trainer, ran out followed by Mark Schickendantz, they were working on Colt. Dr. Waters and Andre (Tucker), one of our other trainers, were working on Alex. Our doctors and trainers when they go out to an injured player on the field, follow our normal protocol.

"Before I go any further, our medical staff here and our training staff, we have the best in football. They are the absolute best in football, there's no doubt in my mind. I've been in four organizations and we've had great medicine, but these guys are really good. One of the things that is troubling to me during this whole process is that they're getting slammed pretty good along with the head coach and I hope after I explain to you what happened you can understand why it happened and it's unfair.

"They went out as typical procedures, they got out to him and Colt was lucid, he was talking, his body language I guess doesn't look real great, but Mark was looking at his face and his eyes, Joe was looking at the rest of him and he's complaining of his hand. 'I hurt my hand,' is what he said. They look at his hand and he says, 'It really hurts,' and they talk to him a little bit and he talked to them. He was not unconscious when they got out there and they go, 'Sit up,' and he sat up, which you've seen on television I'm sure. They talked to him some more and he goes, 'It's my hand, my hand really hurts,' and they go, 'Okay', looked at his hand, 'stand up,' they stood up and walk to the sideline. They walked to the sideline and sat on the bench. At that point, Dr. Waters, our internist, is finishing with the other injury and he comes over. Our strength coach, Kent Johnston, was over there. While they were sitting on the bench, which is another point of information, why wasn't the 'SCAT Test' administered at that time? Following normal protocols like (Benjamin) Watson, like Owen (Marecic) prior to this happening, where we took them immediately inside. Their reaction to the way Colt was acting did not dictate that. They had not seen the play and he was talking, answering, looking out on the field, knew how much time was left so his responses following our normal protocols in the league did not dictate that they administer the test. Now you say, 'well you've seen the hit, goodness gracious,' but they hadn't seen it. One of the things we talked about yesterday, quite honestly, and I will tell you this, we want to be and we have been and we will continue to be at the forefront of good medicine and protecting the players. We have established that and we will continue to establish that. Another irritant to me is that its business as usual around the Cleveland Browns. It's not, it's not. This was an incident that took place and hopefully after I explain how it happened, you'll understand because it's not. You talk to any of our players who have gone through this process in that locker room, do that before you write it's business as usual, please.

"Okay, getting back to Colt. He's on the sideline, he's talking, he realizes there's five minutes left, there's no indication there of concussion. Other than the fact you look at the hit and think something must have happened, my goodness that was a bad one. But, they didn't see it so one of the things we talked about yesterday in our meeting with the union is that that we want to be in the forefront of making this right. The NFL has an observer now at every game, but his job and I want to make this clear, his job is to watch the field and if someone is wobbling around or hurt and the team doesn't see it, it's his job to phone down and say, 'Look, someone go check that guy.' The reason he didn't phone down was because our doctors and trainers were right there so we saw it and we were there. One of the things we talked about yesterday was because the people up in the boxes, and you guys, have the luxury of seeing replay and seeing the contact of the hit, that someone can then alert the bench and go, 'Hey, listen. Spend a little more time with this one because this is what happened.' The people on the field don't have that luxury. That was one of the things we talked about yesterday, quite honestly and I think moving forward whether it be the observer who's now at the game or whether it's me or Tom Heckert or somebody, those are in discussions right now to just make a system that I think has improved over the years, goodness, those of you who have covered this for a long time know how the handling of concussions has improved and gotten better and changed, but as I told those fellas yesterday, 'Hey, we've come a long way, but let's make it even better.' Those are the things that were discussed yesterday and will continue to be discussed at the league level and at the union level.

"Anyways, that's what happened on the sideline. Colt said, 'I'm good to go.' He was talking so Joe Sheehan, the trainer, goes to the head coach, this is the same protocol I used for 25 years, it's the same protocol I think everybody uses. Your trainer comes up to the head coach because he's working and says one of three things. He's out, give me some more time or he's good to go and based on what they had done on the sideline and what they had done on the field and how Colt responded to things, Joe told Pat he's good to go. Now, I want to make something very, very clear here. No coach that I know, I'm sure it happens, but no coach that I know, certainly not our head coach, would ever overrule a doctor and put a kid in the game where the doctor said you can't play. I never did it, Pat will never do it. It's not happening so anybody that had that kind of in the back of their mind because it's a big game, it's the Steelers, we had a chance to win the game, we're going to roll the dice a little bit and throw him in, that's not what happened. That will never happen so understand that too upfront. So that's the information Pat got from the trainer, that's why Colt went back in to the football game.

"Okay, the game is over, Colt is in the locker room, still not displaying any sort of concussion symptoms. He goes into the training room, the first thing they do is X-ray his hand. He goes through that, he showers, he does all that sort of thing then he is going to leave and go talk to you guys. At that time he goes, 'Joe, I feel kind of funky,' but he'd gotten the hell beaten out of him during the game and it's not unusual, I've had a player say that to me too. Joe Thomas, we had some guys with the flu so it wasn't something right out of the blue where you'd immediately (snaps fingers) say okay, but he said that so Joe said, as he should, 'Hold it, go in and see Dr. Waters.' He went back in the training room and it was at that point that Dr. Waters put him through the concussions tests, it was at that point. Now, I should know this exactly, but there are questions and there are points and I don't know if they are six points or the big six, they have a name for it. There are things you ask, he passed all of them except he made the comment, 'One of the toilet seats banged down while I was in the shower and it kind of startled me.' It wasn't anything that had to do with remembering, speaking, there's a list of things. But that triggered something with Dr. Waters who says, 'Okay, from now on we're going into this protocol. No reading, no television, no phone, no this, no that.' It was also at that point that Colt said, he asked Neal (Gulkis) I guess, could they dim the lights in the press conference. Another indicator of that is being sensitive to light as you all know, which is my understanding I wasn't there, but he went into the press conference, dimmed the lights and that was it. We were in I would say possible concussion mode with him at that point. That was the point, okay. Going home on the airplane, he walked onto the airplane, he sat down, he sits next to Mark Schickendantz on the flight, he drives home, we got home late and he was going to come back into the office early the next morning for treatment. When he came back in he still had a headache and we proceeded to do where we are right now. That's the timeline, that's what happened, that's exactly what happened. We talked about this, the doctors and everyone were very forthright yesterday. We had that meeting and when we left my feeling was, I don't expect anything to happen in a punitive manner, but it was a good meeting because what could we have done a little differently? I already talked to you about another observer telling if they did not see the play, let's just be extra careful here because that was quite a hit, that's one thing. The other is they followed protocols, our doctors did a good job and we did what we had to do so that's it.

"Now, Colt is home today, we sent him home. We are following the weekly protocols by league standards regarding concussions and he still has a headache, but other than that, from what they tell me, he's good. But, we're following protocols with Watson, we're following protocols with Owen. In their case the sideline examination, there wasn't a lot to examine, I mean boom, in and we've done that with any number of players. But, every injury has a different dynamic to it and I'm telling you that's the way it was. Because he's your quarterback and because all other stuff it probably takes on a little extra stuff, but we will always treat it, as an organization, it doesn't make any difference who the player is we're going to treat it properly and treat it that way so that's what happened."

Question: What should have Shurmur done in an intuitive sense?

Holmgren: "I'm not going to second guess Pat on that. Pat's in the front lines, he's got to make that decision. I've been there before with every quarterback I've ever coached. Every quarterback I've ever coached when I was on the sideline, (Brett) Favre, (Matt) Hasselbeck, all of them. They get dinged or something happened and times have changed now a little bit, but they'll come over and then I'll have that conversation with them and if I feel that they're okay and good to go, they are back in the game. Absolutely, that's what happened. I think Pat made a judgment there and Colt probably displayed to him what he displayed to our doctors and so that's what happened. That's his call, I'm sure you've asked him that. I'm not going to second guess it. He's the coach, he's got to make that call."

Question: Should have someone on the sidelines probably seen it was a bad looking hit?

Holmgren: "That came up yesterday too, to be honest. If you remember the play he comes out, throws the ball and if you're on the sideline, if you've been on the sideline, Doug's (Dieken) been on the sideline. Well, you were always playing, sometimes you're on the sideline. But, guys get on the sideline and all of a sudden you see that he throws the ball and you're watching the ball, you're watching (Montario) Hardesty and all of a sudden you hear, 'Oooh,' you look back and Colt is on the ground. It's conceivable and I think it happened, but a lot of guys didn't actually see the thing on the sideline as hard as that is to believe. We've had players, some of our players that will go over and say, 'Take a look at this guy.' That's happened this season already, that didn't happen. Now, you're in the huddle, you're the quarterback, you're talking with guys, I've had guys in my career come out and go, 'Hey, you better check Steve Young. Somebody better check him because it's not coming out right.' None of that happened. That was really the crux of the meeting yesterday. No one alerted anybody to this and it seems inconceivable, but no one did so how do we do this. Now, they get the information that they need, the doctors, and the best thing we could come up with was having somebody and putting in a process that and again, this is still to be talked, to have somebody say something at a proper time."

Question: What time did the medical staff realize there had been a helmet-to-helmet hit?

Holmgren: "They mentioned yesterday, they still didn't know when they looked at him inside. There are a lot of hits in games now. They should have probably checked out the guy (Chris) Gocong hit on the goal-line stand, really. There's a lot of stuff that goes on. This was kind of out in the open, it's the quarterback. The doctors, I don't know exactly the time and you know what, that's not that important."

Question: Should have there been a roughing the passer penalty called on James Harrison on the play?

Holmgren: "There's roughing the passer penalties on guys that hit guys in the helmet, just a brush so that in of itself wouldn't have alerted anybody of anything. It really wouldn't. Now, I don't disagree with you. I saw the hit on replay and I go, 'Okay, that's not good.' But, I've also seen hits where it looks bad and off you go. You really do have to just let the medical people go through their procedures and make the judgment they're getting paid to make. I'm telling you we've got good guys. It didn't start to show until the locker room and a good time into the locker room. That's when they really got alerted to it I suppose."

Question: Did the league tell the Browns and Shurmur specifically not to answer if McCoy was tested for a concussion until it was addressed on Tuesday?

Holmgren: "Before you can answer those questions honestly and truthfully, you probably have to get the doctors in the room and all of that kind of stuff. That's what we did. That's why we waited. Pat wasn't in a position really to answer that question, precisely as I did. Then you get into what is the actual concession test, what is the SCAT. If you are Joe Six-Pack sitting in the stands and you read about the Browns every day and see, 'They didn't administer the SCAT-7,' or whatever it is. 'Oh my god, what is the SCAT-7? What is that? What do they do?' so people don't know. The other thing that was said was there was some system failure. Did you see that? 'There was a system failure.' If you are reading that, who's system? Who failed? What was all of this? That was in reference to the league protocols, not the Browns. If you read that and you assumed the Browns did something wrong, you are wrong. That's not what that meant. That meant, help the doctors, help them. The information they had, they did it right. Those were the two kind of hot things that kind of created some of the stuff that went on. I am just trying to tell you exactly what happened and why they did what they did. In my opinion, they did a good job. We want to be in the front so we are working very hard with the league, with the union to maybe make it even better than what it is as far as the evaluation process. That's what we are trying to do."

Question: How could no one on the sideline see the hit, and if the doctors believed them when they were told that yesterday, and what their reaction was to that statement?

Holmgren: "They said just what you said, 'How could...' That's what they said and to a certain extent I kind of go, 'Wow.' But for whatever reason, that information, that did not happen. No, it didn't happen."

Question: Did people see the replay?

Holmgren: "I saw it. I saw it when our coaches saw it, when everybody saw it. By that time they had the replay going and he was on the bench. I think what would have happened, speculation and I know none of you ever speculate, but I think speculation is if they had that information that this was really a hit, because he wasn't displaying any, I am not sure anything would have been different. I can't say for sure but I think they might have checked him out a little bit longer. He didn't display any of the normal characteristics, certainly not the characteristics, Watson had or Owen or (Scott) Fujita when that happened to him this season or any of the other guys. It just wasn't there so it didn't happen."

Question: What type of feedback did you get from the meetings?

Holmgren: "I think it was a very healthy meeting, I think we talked about what I said. From a league standpoint, from a union standpoint and the Browns and the clubs, we are talking about the Browns now, but we could be talking about any club in the league. This happened and how can we kind of make this a little bit better, if we can. That's what I just mentioned, have an observer perhaps, those are the things that we talked about. It wasn't a condemnation of how we handled the situation. It was, 'You had this information, this was how you did it. They are competent, good doctors, we're doing it right. Would it have helped to have a little more information?' Perhaps. 'How do we get that information to the doctors?' Those kinds of things. That was really what the meeting was about."

Question: Has anyone asked McCoy about what he remembers?

Holmgren: "I haven't talked to Colt."

Question: Was McCoy involved in any of the meetings?

Holmgren: "No."

Question: About how McCoy remembered the play after the game when talking to the media but not remembering anything when he got home and how the concussion didn't affect him until later?

Holmgren: "Yeah, I haven't talked to him."

Question: Do the doctors normally check for a concussion when the referee flags someone for a helmet-to-helmet hit?

Holmgren: "I think the doctors do what our doctors did. They bring him over and they are checking for all sorts for stuff. You talk with the player and then all of a sudden you get a feel, this is what they do. Here is what I don't think is automatically done, a helmet-to-helmet hit or any sort of hit, they automatically kick into this 20 minutes test, which is essentially what that is. When they take players off the field and into the locker room, that's usually where that is administered, right in there."

Question: Why didn't they seek McCoy's input when they were doing their review?

Holmgren: "By league rule, as long as he is under this sort of treatment, when he clears then he will talk to whoever he has to talk to. Prior to that, he's not supposed to and just doesn't do that. That's my understanding."

Question: Was it fair that James Harrison got a one-game suspension?

Holmgren: "Those things I have to leave up to the league. I think they are trying very, very hard to make the game a little safer if they can for everybody. A play took place, there's a system in place to deal with it, it was dealt with and I have to leave it at that."

Question: Did any doctor say that McCoy should not have flown back to Cleveland?

Holmgren: "No, not to my knowledge."

Question: Will Pat Shurmur be the head coach next year?

Holmgren: "Absolutely."

Question: Can you elaborate on that?

Holmgren: "No, but he's going to be the head coach. I'll elaborate on it, he'll be the head coach."

Question: Why did they take Seneca Wallace out of the game and can you say that Wallace should have been in?

Holmgren: "No and that wouldn't be right for me to say it. That's a question the head coach has to answer, really. I had to answer it, he has to answer it. You have reasons for making decisions on the field at the time. I think that's a fair question but I can't answer that question."

Question: Can you say whether you asked Shurmur about keeping Wallace in but you just won't reveal the answer?

Holmgren: "No, don't say that either. Just ask him."

Question: How about people thinking about this just being another year for the Cleveland Browns and business as usual with all the off the field issues this year like Joshua Cribbs, Peyton Hillis and now concussions?

Holmgren: "First of all, I don't know what you are talking about. I have no idea about Josh Cribbs. Peyton Hillis, I get because he's been hurt and everyone had high expectations for him as he did for himself. He has been injured. That's kind of business as usual. The off the field things that have gone on in the past here are quite different from what's happened this year. The concussion? My goodness, it's an injury. A guy got hurt, it's a concussion. Just by the nature of your question, you are implying something. I am telling you don't do that. There will be concussions this season, there will be concussions next season and there will be concussions five years from now so is it the same old Browns five years from now because we had a concussion? No, so please don't do that."

Question: Do you think it is fair that some people view this as a continuation of things happening off the field?

Holmgren: "No, for the reasons I just gave you."

Question: Why aren't you involved more publicly?

Holmgren: "I do a fair amount behind the scenes, but in defining what my role is here, in my defining what my role is here, was to hire good people, let them works and support them the best way I can. That's why I'm not having a press conference, that's why I don't have a radio show, some people do I suppose. I've done that, I did it for 25 years, I don't want to do that anymore. I just assume support, help build up and get it where it's supposed to be behind the scenes a little bit. If something requires me to be here, like I think today did, I will be here. But, we have a very, very competent young head coach who will be here for a long time. We have a great general manager who has done a great job in drafts and will continue to do that. We haven't scored enough points this year, but our defense is okay and we'll get better. But, we will fix that. In the two years we've been here, I made a decision on the first year on why I treated the first year a certain way and I'm not looking back or have any regrets about that. This is like the second first year and you can say, 'You wasted a year.' We know that now, I suppose you could say that now, but at the time? No. I don't regret the decision I made. We had a good draft, we're building it, now we're awful young because we had to change the roster quite a bit after the first year. The problem is and the tough thing for you guys and our fans is it seems it's business as usual, which is very easy to write and say, but I'm telling you that it's not. You can choose to believe me or you can say, 'I've heard it before.' That's your choice, but when it does happen, don't come to me for extra tickets to a playoff game or something. Don't do that. You're either with us or you're not. I'm telling you it's different now."

Question: How about the fans looking for more points this year and how watching games seems to be the same as over the last few years?

Holmgren: "I think there are for some reasons for that and we're going to get into that in the offseason. We're going to evaluate everything we do. Offensively, if you just look at our games this season, if we did we did two things better. If we do two things better we have a chance to be 7-6 or something and people would be feeling a little bit better about themselves. I know the coaches would. If we would have just been able to snap the damn ball and catch a few more passes. We've dropped too many passes and we had trouble with snapping the ball. If you just do those two things a little bit better and maybe people get off that same old same old thing. But, that's football and as my friend Bill Parcels is quoted as saying, 'You are what you are.' I'm just saying that has contributed to the fact of where we are. The other thing is we're implementing a new system, new coach, new young quarterback, all those things that you've heard before, but they're real. That's real. We'll have a good offseason, we're going to have a good draft. If we didn't score some more points next year, I'd be very, very concerned, but it has been a problem. I'm not arguing with you. It's a frustration for me too when you have to win a game 14-13 or 10-7 or whatever, but the fact is that's where we are right now, that's not where we're always going to be."

Question: What is your mindset right now in terms of McCoy?

Holmgren: "If you don't mind, what I'd like to do there, and I'm taking a page from Tom's book here, at the end of the season, Tom Heckert and I'll will come in here and have a season ending session with you. Those types of questions, we'll deal with at the time at the end of the year."

Question: What do you think about McCoy?

Holmgren: "Please, we'll do that at the end. Okay? In fairness to Colt and in fairness to everybody."

Question: Can you address people saying that players should have retaliated after Harrison's hit?

Holmgren: "I get it and really when it came into the league that happened a lot more than it happens now I think. Then there is a penalty. That whole thing got us down into scoring position to win the game. All of a sudden we retaliate and then there's off setting fouls. It's just not a good way to go. I never coached that way and I know Pat doesn't coach that way. As hard as it is, you walk away. You try and teach them to walk away because he always sees the second guy. If something happens like that you do it legally and you do it within the framework of what you're doing and how you're playing football. You knock a guy on his back, you get after somebody, but to start a big fight out there or do something, that's not the right thing to do. That's not how I want our team to be. Do I want them to remember? Yeah, but do I want him to do that in a game? No."

Question: Do you expect changes to be made in the system based on their meeting?

Holmgren: "I think on-going there will be some tweaks, absolutely. Anytime you have a situation like this it's pretty visible. It allows every opinion known to man to pile in and then you have to be careful and do the right stuff. We want to be very involved with the league, with the union in deciding what that is. I would fully expect more conversations and more meetings to take place in the future. Not with us, but in trying to make this as safe as we can for the players."

Question: Was assigning an independent neurologist for each game brought up?

Holmgren: "Yeah, that's something that came up."

Question: Could you have the same problem because you already had two other players out with concussions?

Holmgren: "Yeah, that came up yesterday too. It did. The first step that I would like to see is to just be able to alert your sideline personnel. If they did not see the play, somehow have a mechanism where you could alert somebody to get to them and say, 'This is what happened.' We have really good people. I can't tell you enough and you know this. You know them. We have really good people and for me to tell a doctor, I'm never going to be able tell a doctor to do his job. If someone could just say, 'Hey, this is what the hit was.' Now he has more information. My daughter is a physician, I've talk to her about it. She also thinks she's a football coach (joking). We've talked about this a lot. She said, 'It's like when I'm in some sort of trauma and I get information. But, if I also knew that this happened, then I might have handled this differently.' That's really what we are talking about. I'd like to see that happen."

Question: Did the observer have the power to call the sideline after the hit?

Holmgren: "I think that's what the reference was when he said, 'A systems failure.' I'm not making any excuses. His job is to look for players that are not being treated. That's what they put him in the box to do so he goes, 'That's my job. These guys are taking care of this.' Now, I think through discussions, I'd be premature, but they're going to be talking about it."

Question: Has the league and the union accepted that they just didn't see it happen?

Holmgren: "I don't know whether they accepted it or not. We said it. Our guys just said what happened. But, like you, Tony asked me, 'come on,' and there's a side of me that says, 'Yeah, come on,' but it happened."

Question: How can you put out the impression that Brad McCoy's comments don't match up to what happened when you haven't spoken with Colt McCoy himself?

Holmgren: "We've talked to Brad McCoy. That's how I can say what I've said."

Question: Can you evaluate where the team is?

Holmgren: "Again, those types of questions if you'll allow me, I'll talk about it at the end of the year. Would I like a better record? Absolutely. I think we have had chances to have a better record right now. We had chances and we let a couple things slip away. There's no question about that. I think everyone feels that way. The detail and really how I feel, we'll do that at the end of the year."

Question: Are you frustrated with the dropped passes?

Holmgren: "It's horrible."

Question: Have the dropped passes surprised you?

Holmgren: "Everyone's paid to do something, block, throw, tackle, catch. That's what you should do if you're asked to do that."

Question: Have the receivers stepped up the way you had hoped in the West Coast offense?

Holmgren: "I'll say it again, if you'll allow me. I'll deal with all that stuff. Really, this was trying tell you exactly what happened the other night. That's the main thing for why I'm here, I can talk now. I'll be happy to talk at the end of the season and try and address those things. I'm not dodging it, right now is not the time."

Question: Hypothetically speaking, if that was one of your players that made a hit like Harrison's, do you feel it should have been a penalty?

Holmgren: "Mike Tomlin probably said it best. He said it was a penalty, whatever he said today it was pretty clear cut. He said he thought it was a penalty. I will say this, there are times in a game when stuff happens without intent, but it happens and you're not judging intent here. You're judging what happened. That's the only way you can do it so that's the way they did it."

Question: How about it being a nationally televised game and do you remember a situation like this where a concussion didn't reveal itself until later?

Holmgren: "Oh yeah, I had Steve Young in college. He played a whole game and did not remember a thing, not one thing. Steve had a couple concussions at the end of his career with the 49ers, but in college he was hurt in the first quarter of a game and played, functioned. But, it's better now. We're doing what we should be doing now in protecting the players. I want you to know that we tried to do everything right the other night to protect our players. If there's anything else we can do now to make that better because, we mentioned yesterday, in 20 years the idea of treating concussions and how we administer postgame and during a game, it's really changed, my goodness. I remember I've talked about it in here before. They would just give you a little 'whoop' under the nose and how many fingers? You're good, back in. That's not how it is now and our guys do a great job. One of the main reasons, me talking to you, is our head coach and our medical staff, trainers and doctors, did what they're trained to do and they're good. Given all the things you said, national TV, all the stuff that happened, those guys did what they were supposed to do. Now, can we make the system a little bit better? Another observer? More information? I think we probably can do that, but those guys were okay."

Question: Do you and the medical staff feel fortunate McCoy didn't take another hit to the head when he was out there?

Holmgren: "He got tackled, he got sacked a few times if I remember correctly. I don't remember exactly, but I think the second play he was in, he got the grounding call. He still played football. He played football another whole series. I don't know, eight more plays while we were mopping up at the end, got sacked on the last play of the game. We didn't know."

Question: What would you like to see happen the rest of the season before getting to the offseason?

Holmgren: "I'd like to win a couple of these down the stretch. I had a situation in Seattle I think year three or four where we were exactly the same way. We were 4-9, Hasselbeck was new, we had three playoff teams if I remember correctly. We had Atlanta, San Diego and somebody else to play in the last three games, good teams, I'm going, 'Boy, this is going to be tough,' and we won all three. Matt kind of established himself, threw for a lot of yards, did some stuff and really was the spring board for the future there. They also removed me from the general manager's job after that game, which I don't agree with to this day, but I'm over it."

Question: What about Eric Mangini winning the last four games of the 2009 season and there being no carry over to the next season?

Holmgren: "This is a different situation."

Question: Do you feel the air is cleared after speaking with Brad McCoy?

Holmgren: "I didn't say I spoke to him. We heard from Brad McCoy."

Question: Is the air cleared after they talked to Brad McCoy?

Holmgren: "As far as I can tell, yeah."

Question: What about the local media getting no comment from the team after national reports were made and how the local media has to respond to the national reports?

Holmgren: "You guys do a heck of a job, you really do. I understand, trust me. I get ticked off every once in a while if something is written that's not true, which I hope you understand. I also understand the job you have to do, I get all that. I just think it would have been premature for me to comment prior to today because I didn't have all the stuff so I could present it to you properly. We're trying to be better as far as transparency and dealing with you guys, we are so I don't know what to tell you. Everything that is said, certainly on the national level in this day in age with the tweeters and the bloggers and all those people, sometimes unlike years past where you needed two sources and all the stuff you use to do. Stuff comes out that immediately from players that they go, 'Oh, I wish I hadn't sent that out.' Then the next day they're saying, 'Oh, I didn't mean that,' and all that kind of stuff. It's just in our rush to judgment on things, I would ask you to believe me a little bit and trust me on how we're doing things around here. It's hard because we're not scoring any points, but I'm not going to lie to you and we will try and get you the proper message at the appropriate time, but that it's true and that is why this took a little longer. I'm sorry it took longer, but it took a little longer before I could talk to you about this."

"Okay guys now make sure you touch base with Pat and you know what, he's a good man and he's going to be the coach around here for a long time. But, he'll deal with the football things after practice today."

When asked to elaborate, Holmgren said, "He's going to be the head coach. I'll elaborate on it, he'll be the head coach." Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- Browns President Mike Holmgren gave first-year head coach Pat Shurmur a strong vote of confidence during his one-hour press conference Wednesday.

Shurmur has come under heavy fire by some media outlets for allowing quarterback Colt McCoy to go back into the Steelers game with a concussion. But Holmgren said Shurmur was acting on the advice of his medical staff, which did not see linebacker James Harrison's helmet-to-helmet hit on McCoy, and he showed no symptoms during the game.

"We have a very, very competent young head coach who will be here for a long time," said Holmgren. Later, when asked to elaborate, Holmgren said, "He's going to be the head coach. I'll elaborate on it, he'll be the head coach."

Shurmur, who seemed in a much lighter mood Wednesday than the previous few meetings, chuckled about Holmgren's remarks.

"Well, that's good news," he said with a laugh. "I obviously didn't hear the whole press conference. When you talk to Mike, tell him I was out here working."

Shurmur added of Holmgren, "fortunately our ideas match on a lot of topics. I think that's why we have a chance to move forward."

As for the McCoy situation, Shurmur said he trusts his staff, but "this obviously will leave an impression on me."

A wasted year? Holmgren said he had no regrets about keeping coach Eric Mangini last season, but acknowledged that in retrospect, it may have been the wrong decision.

"This is like the second first year and you can say, 'You wasted a year,'" said Holmgren. "We know that now, I suppose you could say that now, but at the time? No. I don't regret the decision I made.

"We had a good draft, we're building it, now we're awful young because we had to change the roster quite a bit after the first year."

He rejected the suggestion that it's "business as usual" in Berea, saying things have changed for the better.

Taylor fined: Rookie defensive tackle Phil Taylor was fined $15,000 for a roughing the passer penalty on Ben Roethlisberger, which the NFL deemed a blow to the head. But Taylor said he will appeal.

"I was bull-rushing the guy and all I did was put my hand up and Big Ben, he was stepping up," said Taylor. "So some of the stuff they need to look over more before they decide to fine a guy -- that amount of money at least."

Taylor, who was fined $7,500 for a hit on Miami's Chad Henne, also tweeted, "Man!! All these fines are crazy! After while the NFL will be 2 hand touch."

McCoy update: Shurmur said he spent about an hour talking to McCoy at the Berea facility Wednesday before McCoy was sent home to rest. The quarterback still had a headache, but was otherwise good. Seneca Wallace will likely start Sunday against the Cardinals.

A chat with Dad: Shurmur said he talked for a while with Brad McCoy, who was upset Friday that his son wasn't checked for a concussion on the sidelines and was put back in the game.

"I would call it very productive, but I'm going to keep it private," Shurmur said.

Holmgren on McCoy: Holmgren reserved judgment on McCoy's future as the starting quarterback until the conclusion of the season.

"We'll do that at the end, okay?" he said. "In fairness to Colt, in fairness to everybody."

Concussion update: Tight end Ben Watson, who's had three concussions with the Browns and at least one other during his career, saw a specialist on Wednesday, Shurmur said. He was absent during practice. Owen Marecic was also idle with his concussion, suffered in the Pittsburgh game. It was Marecic's second with the Browns.

Discipline desired: Holmgren said he doesn't want his team to retaliate against Harrison when the teams meet again Jan. 1. "That's not how I want our team to be," he said. "Do I want them to remember? Yeah. But do I want them to do that in a game? No."

Comments on the hit: Greg Little was one of the first Browns to McCoy after Harrison's play. "He was just laying there, his eyes were open and everything," said Little. "He held his hand out to help him up, but I was like 'no, let's leave him down, because you don't know what's wrong with him.' But he was very alert."

Guard Shawn Lauvao also described McCoy both after the play and in the huddle. Neither player saw the hit.

Back at work: Safety T.J. Ward, who returned to practice on a limited basis after missing five games with his sprained foot, said he hopes to play Sunday.

"I'm just looking forward to this week, seeing if I can get on the field," he said. "It's torture not playing."

He cautioned that it'll almost be like the first game of the season for him again.

Extra points: Receiver Josh Cribbs (groin) was idle. He bought 32-inch TVs for about 20 players who helped him with his Shop with the Jock charity event and placed them at their lockers. ... Shurmur said running back Peyton Hillis (hip) will play this week. ... Cardinals quarterback John Skelton may start in place of Kevin Kolb, who was limited with a concussion.

On Twitter: @marykaycabot

Cedrick Desjardins made 27 saves as the Monsters ended a six-game road trip with a 3-3 record.

HAMILTON, Ontario -- Lake Erie's Hugh Jessiman scored the lone goal in the shootout as goalie Cedrick Desjardins stopped all five shots he faced, and the Monsters beat the Hamilton (Ontario) Bulldogs, 2-1, on Wednesday.

The Monsters trailed, 1-0, after the first period but tied it in the second when Ryan Stoa scored a power-play goal with 52 seconds left in the period.

Desjardins made 27 saves as the Monsters ended a six-game road trip with a 3-3 record.

Lake Erie hosts the Grand Rapids Griffin on Friday and Saturday at The Q. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.

Between Thursday and Christmas, the 3-5 Zips take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Florida A&M, Youngstown State and North Carolina A&T, all at home.

View full sizePaul Tople, Akron Beacon JournalAlways a defensive presence for the Zips, junior center Zeke Marshall has improved his offense in recent games.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Now begins the "get well" portion of the Akron men's basketball schedule, and it couldn't come at a better time.

The 3-5 Zips have lost three straight and five of their past six. Between Thursday and Christmas, the Zips will take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Florida A&M, Youngstown State and North Carolina A&T, all at home.

Only one of those teams -- YSU at 6-3 -- has a winning record.

But the Zips have their own issues, as they will play a fifth straight game shorthanded. Coach Keith Dambrot confirmed that 6-7 forward Nick Harney (Benedictine High) is still suspended for a violation of team rules.

"There are some things he has to accomplish first, and that has not happened yet," Dambrot said.

One player who has started to assert himself offensively is junior center Zeke Marshall. In the past five games, he has scored 19, 11, 10, three and 16 points. It is the best scoring stretch of his career, raising his per-game average to 9.3.

Greene's production drops: Now that he is a senior, Kent State's reigning MAC Player of the Year, 6-8 senior Justin Greene, is the defensive focus of every opponent. That has led to a drop in production this season for the New Yorker.

Some of that may be attributed to weight loss during the off-season, taking away from Greene's ability to get deep in the low-post position. The former 300-pounder is now less than 235 pounds, which makes for a svelte physique but a less-physical performance.

Last season, Greene averaged 15.4 points and 8.3 rebounds. In the first eight games this season, he is averaging 11.3 and 6.9, with no 20-point games and no double doubles. Kent State is in finals week and won't play again until Tuesday.

On fire: Cleveland State is 10-1 thanks, in part, to the recent eruption of Trevon Harmon. The senior guard, named the Horizon League Player of the Week, snapped out of a slow start in a big way.

In the past two games, the Pasadena, Calif., native has 40 points. He has made 13 of 23 shots, including eight of 14 3-pointers. The Vikings needed his output to get past Robert Morris, 62-58, and Akron, 69-66.

Previously, Harmon had shot better than 50 percent in a game just once this season. He was 7-of-13 against the Colonials, 6-of-10 against the Zips.

CSU next plays Monday at South Florida.

Shurmur responds to Mike Holmgren's statement that Shurmur will "absolutely" be the coach in 2012. Talks about Colt McCoy, Seneca Wallace, Peyton Hillis, injury updates, the Arizona Cardinals and more.

Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer Browns coach Pat Shurmur says that if Seneca Wallace starts at quarterback against Arizona, "I'd expect him to go in there and take us to a victory."

BEREA, Ohio

Browns coach Pat Shurmur's Wednesday press conference

Shurmur's opening statement:

"A little change in plans on the schedule of course, but good practice. Colt McCoy wasn't here at practice. Seneca (Wallace) took the reps. If Colt doesn't play Sunday then of course Seneca will be the starting quarterback. Other than that, if there are other questions about injured guys of course I'll answer them for you."

(Questions are paraphrased)

Question: Is there a timetable for McCoy's return to practice in order to play Sunday?

Shurmur: "We're evaluating his concussion as we go here and at some point, if he can't go we'll let you know."

Question: Did T.J. Ward practice today?

Shurmur: "He came out and did some individual. He's making progress on his injury as well."

Question: Are you proceeding as if McCoy will not play on Sunday?

Shurmur: "He's not at practice and Seneca is taking all the first team reps right now."

Question: Were you aware of the impact of the hit McCoy took from James Harrison?

Shurmur: "I saw a lot of big hits the other night. If I had known he had a concussion I wouldn't have put him back in the game. I think that's the issue that I'm sure we're all going to come to grips with. I've seen a lot of plays. I've seen a lot of players get injured. I've seen guys run down the field, get injured, be lost for the season and never be involved (in that particular play). I've seen guys get piled up where you look at it and say, 'Boy oh boy' and then he goes back out the next play. You see guys get tackled and you say, 'Oh my goodness'. As coaches, we see a lot of things at field level without the benefit of replays in HD and all that stuff. We see a lot of things and that's why you have protocol. I think I answered the question that we followed that and I know Mike (Holmgren) went into detail. That's why I answered it that way."

Question: Did it cross your mind at any point when Joe Sheehan said McCoy was 'good to go' that McCoy had just been laid out?

Shurmur: "I think what happens is your starting quarterback is deemed ready to go. We can all talk about whether he was playing well or not. Had he not thrown that interception in the first half, I think everybody might say he was fighting through a gritty game. Now do I have confidence in Seneca when he's in there? Absolutely. If I knew that Colt was injured and couldn't continue, I wouldn't have put him in. Just wouldn't have done it. I think that's the issue. As a coach, there are procedures, there are processes when a young man gets injured or has an episode on the field. You follow them and then you move forward. You're right, there are a lot of decisions being made. As a play caller, you're making 65-70 of them within 25-40 seconds. Not to mention all the other stuff that goes on. Again, (we have) an outstanding staff of people that help execute the game and I trust their judgment."

Question: Should be a change in the concussion procedures?

Shurmur: "I don't know what changes need to be made. I'm not a doctor, as you all probably can tell. I'm all for player's safety and any way we can make players compete in an arena that's safer. I'm all for anything and any changes that need to get made."

Question: What do you expect from Wallace if he plays on Sunday?

Shurmur: "I'd expect him to be able and go in and execute. I've seen him execute in practice extremely well. I know he's got a history with us and our offense. I'd expect him to go in there and take us to a victory. That's what I'd expect and I think he'd expect that for himself."

Question: Has Wallace shown any frustration from lack of playing time?

Shurmur: "No, I think Seneca is a true pro. His feelings and emotions ride the roller coaster like all players, whether they competed in the game or not. I have a lot of respect for Seneca. I think if he's the guy that we go with on Sunday he'll do a great job."

Question: What is Peyton Hillis' status?

Shurmur: "He looked good today. We're just working him in. I know he's fighting through it. He's had a season of injury so to speak and he's fighting through it. I'm looking forward to him having a good day."

Question: What are your thoughts on Holmgren saying you will be the coach next year?

Shurmur: "Well that's good news (laughing). I obviously didn't hear the whole press conference. When you talk to Mike, tell him I was out here working."

Question: What are your thoughts about Holmgren saying you will be the head coach here for a long time?

Shurmur: "Mike and I communicate behind the scenes often about a lot of different issues. When he communicates with you publicly it's big news, which it should be because he doesn't do it all that often, by design. He and I have conversations that are good and I understand the direction I want to take this team. He's the President. He has strong ideas and feelings about things and fortunately, our ideas match on a lot of topics. I think that's why we have a chance to move forward."

Question: How comfortable do you feel being the head coach after 13 games?

Shurmur: "I think I'm like anybody that wants and knows that we want to win games. My job is to move this team forward, develop the players we have, decide which ones we're going to go and get new and win games. I'm not necessarily a comfortable guy, just by nature. I'm not necessarily very patient. I'm just working through it and trying today, to work on what we have to do today to put a plan together to go beat Arizona."

Question: Why are the Cardinals playing so much better?

Shurmur: "I think they've won some close games. They beat the Rams twice, close games on punt returns. They're just finding a way. They started out extremely slow. I've got a lot respect for their head coach, their organization and what they try to do. Had a chance to learn about them intimately the last two years being in St. Louis. It's no mystery to me. They've got very talented players. They've injected some youth into their team, which we all know takes a little while to get them up and running. They've got good systems."

Question: Are the Cardinals different based on their quarterback?

Shurmur: "I think the quarterback's style wise are different, but I think they can be equally effective. I know Kevin (Kolb) very well. Kevin was trained in our system, going through his progressions and getting the ball out on time and all that. I see the same thing from (John) Skelton, but I do see a taller guy that kind of pushes up in the pocket. He may disagree with me, but it looks like his eyes look for Larry Fitzgerald, which is a good strategy."

Question: Did your mentors tell you there was no coaching manual before you took the job and are you surprised with how right they were?

Shurmur: "I enjoy my job. I enjoy the challenge. I've always kind of prided myself on being able to work through tough situations. I'm looking forward to seeing us through some of the sticky things we've had to deal with. Again, I don't have the benefit of knowing the intimate details of the history here of the Cleveland Browns in terms of how the football team operates. I know how I was trained and what I know I want it to look like. You just try to build based on that. I sympathize with people that want us to have success right away. I do know this and I'll stick by this, we've gotten better in a lot of areas and I've already been able to quantify things we need to do better. I know and I've talked about it throughout the year, just something simple as catching the football. I talked about that on Monday and that's just not the receivers. Ball is in the air, you have a chance to break it up or intercept it and you have to do that. Something that simple. If we eliminate half of our drops and maybe intercept the ball a handful of times things can be extremely different. So that's one area. There's a whole list of things that we need to get better at. I have a list of things myself that I think we need to improve on to move forward."

Question: How are Montario Hardesty and Hillis' overall health?

Shurmur: "It's probably safe to say we're getting as healthy as we've been. I'm looking forward to seeing Peyton playing quite a bit."

Question: Can you compare Wallace and McCoy's styles at quarterback?

Shurmur: "I think they're similar style wise. I think they're good from the pocket, but they tend to be mobile. If they get outside the pocket they can extend the play or make a play from that stand point. Similar in stature and I think they both throw the ball well. I think without telling them how to plan for us I don't think there's anything they would do different when they try to defend us."

Question: How about Wallace accepting his role and his relationship with McCoy?

Shurmur: "I think it has been very professional. I think the quarterback room is outstanding. I think they try to learn together. They try to help each other and you need that, you really do. That's part of being a quarterback and being a pro. I appreciate that from guys that have a strong longing to play. I think that's what he has been."

Question: How comfortable are you with Joe Haden going one-on-one with Larry Fitzgerald on Sunday?

Shurmur: "Wherever Larry is, Joe probably won't be far. There are different things you do on defense, whether you pressure sometimes when you're one-on-one. There are different times when you're playing a zone and there are two on one. We have multiple ways to try to cover him. We'll use whatever we have because he is one of the finest receivers in this league. He can change the game with one throw."

Question: What is Joshua Cribbs' status?

Shurmur: "Good and he made progress. He didn't compete in practice today, but we expect to have him out here tomorrow."

Question: Is there anything specific you learned from McCoy's concussion?

Shurmur: "First of all, I know hindsight's 20/20. I do know this, I trust the people that I work with. I don't know what to tell you. I can't quantify what I've learned. I just know this though, I don't want to put a player on the field that's at risk or that has an injury. This obviously will leave an impression on me."

Question: What are the injury updates regarding Owen Marecic and Benjamin Watson?

Shurmur: "They are day-to-day right now and we'll just have to see how they progress. They're dealing with concussions. Two good examples, Ben went down and I was like, 'What happened to him?' because he hit his head on the ground. Owen was involved in a lead block. We're following the same course of treatment with them that we would be with Colt."

Question: Were Marecic and Watson at the facility today?

Shurmur: "They were here today. I saw Ben this morning. He was visiting with some specialist and I think Owen is still here."

Question: Was McCoy at the facility today?

Shurmur: "He was here this morning, I talked to him. He and I visited for about an hour this morning before he was sent home."

Question: Will you make any roster moves if Marecic and Watson are out?

Shurmur: "There's a chance we have to do that. There's a chance."

Question: Did you have a productive conversation with McCoy's father?

Shurmur: "Yeah, I would call it very productive, but I'm going to keep it private."

Question: Was it a conversation of some length?

Shurmur: "I don't know. We're talking about subjective topics here. We spoke for a while."

Question: How about Evan Moore's progress and contributions?

Shurmur: "I thought he did a nice job the other night. It's fun for a guy to get a big catch early in the game. It kind of gets him started. He's done a good job for us. I'd anticipate he'll have production Sunday."

Question: What is Cribbs' status?

Shurmur: "Unless something happens he should be at practice tomorrow."

Question: What is the planning regarding the quarterback rotation moving forward?

Shurmur: "We always have that in the back of our minds. There are always a few things that a couple of our guys can do to get us through the game. We've had that just because we always go with two. We've kind of had that in place."

Question: Does Wallace's background help him prepare for Sunday on short notice?

Shurmur: "I think his experience will help him immensely because he's played and won games in this league. That's not an easy thing to do."

After missing two games with a bad back, All-American Jared Sullinger returned for Ohio State, playing 24 minutes off the bench, as the Buckeyes got back to normal in a victory. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jared Sullinger said he "kind of, sort of" knew that his aching back was a rather major topic around college basketball and through the state of Ohio for the last two weeks.

"But it wasn't really a big deal to me," Ohio State's sophomore star said. "I just felt like it was a minor setback for a major comeback."

In an 82-58 win over South Carolina-Upstate (6-5) on Wednesday night, Sullinger returned with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. He had missed two games with back spasms that first cropped up before the Nov. 29 win over Duke, which was the last time he played.

• Game boxscore

"Everyone said it looked like I was running with a stick up my butt, so obviously something was wrong," Sullinger said of fighting through that win over the Blue Devils, scoring 21 points. "So that's when I told the trainer my back was tight. After the game I could barely walk, so it was pretty tight and when all the adrenaline kind of went away, that's when it really tightened up."

Sullinger sat out a home win over Texas-Pan American on Dec. 3 and then Saturday's loss at Kansas, when he lobbied to play but wasn't able to complete the pregame stretching routine. After doing a workout on Tuesday -- running and jumping and moving and sliding, according to coach Thad Matta -- and practicing some, though with almost no contact, he felt good waking up Wednesday morning and was cleared to play.

He was rusty, taking more than six minutes to score his first points after he entered the game with 14:37 to play. He began on the bench in order to ease him in and as a nod to Evan Ravenel, who had been working in Sullinger's spot in practice. But even if Sullinger joked that he felt terrible about his game, at least the national player of the year candidate was back.

"I was tired. Taking two weeks off is killer," Sullinger said. "I tried to do some stuff [while sidelined] like the underwater treadmill, and I tried to get my wind back. But obviously today I was very, very out of shape."

The No. 2 Buckeyes (9-1) were out of sync early on, trailing the Spartans, 21-17, with 8:49 left before half. In fact, Ohio State led 12-5 when Sullinger first entered and then lost the lead. But after a 26-26 tie, an 11-2 run into the locker room gave the Buckeyes a lead they'd never surrender.

Deshaun Thomas led with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, one off his career high, while William Buford had 14. Freshman Sam Thompson showed off a bit with eight points, including a reverse dunk on a fast break, in 21 minutes, his largest playing time this season.

But the return of one of the best players in the country is what should get the Buckeyes back on track. Matta has dealt with injuries to star players -- Greg Oden, David Lighty, Evan Turner -- but this episode appears to be over.

"We have dealt with that far too often," Matta said. "But to see him back out there, I know it's going to be process to get him back to where he's playing. But for him to come out and get a double-double tonight was pretty impressive. I thought he did a very good job for not doing anything for two weeks."

Sullinger said he was never worried that the injury could be serious, and has no worries about it bothering him again. He said he'll continue to do what he's been doing -- exercises to strengthen not only the back muscles, but those in his stomach and the rest of his body to ease the strain on his spine.

The strain on anyone who was worried about one of the best teams in college basketball should be gone.

New Orleans also gets Al-Farouq Aminu in return for one of the NBA's premier point guards.

Associated PressChris Paul (right) being defended by Eric Gordon (left). Paul has been traded by the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Clippers for Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and a first-round draft pick.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- NBA Commissioner David Stern says his only consideration during trade talks concerning Chris Paul was getting the best deal for the New Orleans Hornets.

Stern says he believes he's succeeded with Wednesday night's deal in which the Hornets traded Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers for guard Eric Gordon, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, center Chris Kaman and a first-round draft choice.

The deal required Stern's approval because the Hornets are owned by the league. The commissioner says he did not believe a deal he rejected involving the Lakers last week was as good for the Hornets, which the league intends to sell to new owners who'll keep the team in Louisiana.

Stern says "the future of the Hornets in New Orleans is brighter than it's ever been."

Asdrubal Cabrera and Chris Perez were honored by Cleveland's chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America for the 2011 season.

View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain DealerWith 25 homers and 92 RBI in 2010, Asdrubal Cabrera was an easy choice as the Indians' player of the year.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The right piece of advice can do marvelous things. Look what it did for Asdrubal Cabrera, the Cleveland Indians' Man of the Year for 2011.

In spring training, veteran second baseman Orlando Cabrera watched Asdrubal Cabrera take batting practice. He saw him drive balls over the fence and to the deepest parts of the practice fields in Goodyear, Ariz.

"Why don't you swing like that during games?" the elder Cabrera asked. The shortstop replied that he was more concerned about making contact and hitting for average. Orlando Cabrera told him to look for his pitch at least once a game and try to drive the ball.

Turned out to be good advice.

Asdrubal Cabrera hit 25 homers and drove in 92 runs, both career highs, to become the driving force on an offense that helped the Indians jump from 69 to 80 victories between 2010 and 2011. Cabrera was the AL's starting shortstop in the All-Star Game when Derek Jeter withdrew because of injury. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove and won the AL Silver Slugger for shortstops and the $50,000 bonus that went with it.

Cabrera ended the year hitting .273 with 87 runs, 32 doubles, three triples, 17 steals in 22 attempts and a .792 OPS in 151 games. Before last season, Cabrera had 18 homers in just over three years in the big leagues.

He hit .325 (79-for-243) with runners on base and .309 (43-for-139) with runners in scoring position. Of his 92 RBI, 32 tied the score or put the Indians ahead.

After hitting .293 with 14 homers and 51 RBI in the first half, Cabrera tired. He hit .244 with 11 homers and 41 RBI after the break as injuries and the burden of being the focal point of a struggling offense wore on him.

View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain DealerCleveland Indians' closer Chris Perez never ducked the post-game questions whether he earned the save or not that day.

Justin Masterson was the only other Indians player nominated by Cleveland's chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Closer Chris Perez was elected the Indians' Steve Olin-Frank Gibbons Good Guy award. Shelley Duncan and Masterson were nominated for the award as well. The Good Guy award goes to the player who not only understands baseball writers and other reporters have a job to do, but cooperates. Perez, win or lose, save of blown save, was always by his locker ready to talk about his performance and the team's.

Cabrera and Perez will be presented with plaques from the BBWAA.

Finally: The Indians are negotiating minor-league deals with infielder Jose Lopez and outfielder Felix Pie. Lopez played with Colorado and Miami last season. Pie played with Baltimore.

On Twitter: @hoynsie

10 Browns wins in 10 days: Suffering Browns fans deserve a holiday treat so we present 10 Browns wins in 10 days, starting with a 1957 win over the New York Giants.

Plain DealerBrowns quarterback Milt Plum is shown during training camp in 1957.

Milt Plum dispelled all fears today as the Eastern Division champions rounded out this comeback by defeating the New York Giants, 34-28, before a paid attendance of 54,294 at Yankee Stadium.

The rookie from Penn State went all the way in the passing spot, hitting on 11 of 16 passes for 229 yards and one touchdown.

Milt, given the game ball by his teammates after this ninth victory, also picked up 68 yards running to keep the Giants' defense unsettled. All in all it was a tremendous performance for a first-year man at a key position.

Groza Boots two

As in the 6-3 victory over New York in the opener in Cleveland, Lou Groza's field goals - both from 15 yards out - proved the difference.

That was the only resemblance to that first meeting, however, as this was a wild offensive battle. Both teams moved the ball without difficulty, and the decision wasn't made until the final two minutes, when Ken Konz intercepted a pass by Charley Conerly on the 2-yard line of the Browns.

Even after that, the New Yorkers, who went into the game with second place at stake in the East, were on the Browns' 26-yard line with a first down as time ran out.

The Browns' touchdowns went to Ray Renfro, Jim Brown and Preston and Lew Carpenter.

Ray opened the spree by taking a 38-yard pass from Plum in the first quarter.

Brown, pro footballs leading ground gainer who added 78 yards to his output, skirted his own right end for 20 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter.

End Around Clicks

In the third period it was Preston Carpenter who caught the Giants completely by surprise on the end around. He had a wave of blockers as he set sail down the sideline for a 35-yard run.

However, he ran right over several of the blue-shirted Giants the last 10 yards.

Lew Carpenter, obtained from the Lions in the trade involving Roger Zatkoff, rammed the final two yards for the last quarter six points which put the Browns in front for keeps.

Plain Dealer file photoLineman Lou Groza booted four extra points and a field goal in the game.

Groza, who went into the game tied for the league scoring lead, totaled 10 points with the four extra points on top of the field goals. He now has 77 for the season.

Gifford Scores Two

The Giants' touchdowns were scored by Frank Gifford, on a 9-yard slant up the middle, after taking a 21-yard pass from Don Heinrich in the end zone; Heinrich on a 7-yard end sweep; and Alex Webster on a 1-yard plunge.

So Cleveland wound up the regular season and one of the most satisfactory in Paul Brown's career with a record of nine victories, two defeats and a tie. The Browns lost to Philadelphia and Detroit and were tied by Washington.

Jim Lee Howell's 1956 pro champions, officially dethroned last week in Pittsburgh, finished second with a 7-5 mark.

Cleveland's pass defense was given a hard time by both Heinrich and Conerly, allowing 282 yards. Charley didn't enter until the second half but quickly found the range on short possession passes to move the Giants downfield.

With just over six minutes gone in the last quarter, the Giants' march of 80 yards was climaxed by Webster's touchdown. Ben Agajanian's extra point, his fourth of the sunny and chilly afternoon, put the New York eleven on top, 28-27.

Cleveland had one more touchdown in its system, however. Milt Campbell returned Don Chandler's kickoff 30 yards to the Cleveland 32. Six plays later, Lew Carpenter dove into the end zone.

Brown Goes 23

Plum started the drive with a pass to Renfro at midfield. Brown, dogged by Sam Huff most of the day, found daylight on the draw for 23 yards to the 22-yard stripe of the Giants.

Lew Carpenter rammed to the 13 in two carries. Then came the most spectacular play of the march, and perhaps the game.

Blitzed by the Giants' linebackers most of the afternoon, Plum was chased way back to the Giants' 30. He kept maneuvering, though, and finally found running room to his right.

Milt made it all the way to the 2 before finally being piled under, and the stage was set for Lew Carpenter's score.

That gave the Browns' their six-point margin, and it seemed for a time that it wouldn't hold up.

Passes Click

Nine minutes remained as Jim Patton returned Groza's kick 17 yards tot he New York 24. Conerly and Webster ran for a first down on the 34, and Alex added four more to the 38.

Then Chucking Charley, the 37-year-old veteran, clicked on five straight passes - to Ken McAfee, to Kyle Rote, to Webster, to Mel Triplett and again to McAfee. Those took the ball the 13, where it was second down and 2.

Charley's pass to Frank Gifford was incomplete, and then Konz came up for the big interception. Len Ford stuck a huge hand up as Conerly threw, and the pass intended for McAfee in the end zone was short.

Konz raced from his 2-yard line to the 18 and the threat was stopped.

Cleveland scored the first time it had the ball, marching 93 yards. Plum gained 25 yards on a keeper during the drive, and the payoff pass to Renfro came on third down with 11 yards to go.

Giants Rear Back

The Giants came back with two quick touchdowns. Four plays after Gene Filipski returned the next kickoff 26 yards to the 28, Gifford went into the end zone.

Big gainer was a 63-yard aerial effort, Heinrich to Schnelker. Junior Wren finally pushed Bob out on the 9. From there Gifford scored.

Dick Modzelewski recovered a loose ball, dropped in the handoff between Plum and Lew Carpenter, on the Cleveland 21 moments later.

This time Heinrich hit Gifford behind Don Paul, in the corner of the end zone. So the Giants were on top, 14-7.

That's the way matters stood at the end of the first period. Midway through the next session the Browns struck from their own 47 in two plays.

Plum passed to Preston Carpenter for 33 yards to the Giants' 20. From there, Brown took the pitch out and went all the way. Fred Robinson's good block enabled him to turn the corner.

So it was tied again. However, the Giants came right back after the next kickoff with an 80-yard march to again take command. The big gain was a Heinrich to Webster pass good for 32 yards to the Cleveland 7. From there, Heinrich went in for the score.

With only a minute and 15 seconds left, the Browns traveled from their 30 to the Giants' 8-yard line. A pass from Plum to Pete Brewster with a lateral to Preston Carpenter gained 25 of the yards.

Plum also made 30 himself on the keeper. However, time ran out and Cleveland settled for Groza's 15-yard field goal.

Trailed at Half, 21-17

So the Browns trailed, 21-17, at the intermission.

After taking the second-half kickoff, they moved down field swiftly. The Giants were completely fooled by Preston Carpenter's sprint on the reverse, although the play has been used in several games this season.

That put the Browns on top, 24-21.

Later in the period, Lew Carpenter shot up the middle for a 33-yard gain, before Dick Nolan hauled him down on the New York 13. The Giants' defense, which had held the Browns for downs after a 38-yard pass from Plum to Renfro carried the ball to the 1 in the second quarter, again tightened.

So Paul Brown settled for Groza's second field goal to hike the margin to 27-21.

Then with Conerly at the helm, the Giants rolled 80 yards. Webster went the last one and Agajanian's kick made it 28-27 in favor of the Yankee Stadium tenants.

The Browns had enough fire to pull it out even though the title already had been won.

And best of all, they discovered another quarterback on this New York visit in 21-year-old Milt Plum, who has come along amazingly fast for a rookie.

Today on Browns Insider, Tony Grossi, Bud Shaw and Dennis Manoloff talked about an eventful week in Berea: from "concussion gate," to Mike Holmgren's testy press conference and Seneca Wallace likely starting against the Cardinals. Watch video

Today on Browns Insider, Tony Grossi, Bud Shaw and Dennis Manoloff talked about an eventful week in Berea: from "concussion gate," to Mike Holmgren's testy press conference and Seneca Wallace likely starting against the Cardinals. Around the 10-minute mark, Manoloff rants about Holmgren's tenure as Browns president thus far. Click to watch the video.

Among the topics discussed:

• Did the Browns play their best game against the Steelers?
• Do you buy the Browns' explanation for putting Colt McCoy back in the game with a concussion?
• What did you make of Mike Holmgren's tone during his press conference?
• Are the Browns better off with Holmgren than they were before he arrived?
• Should Pat Shurmur return as coach next year?
• What will the Browns do in the draft?
• Should the Browns tank the rest of the season?
• What will Seneca Wallace's performance on Sunday tell us about Colt McCoy and his future here?
• Who are you picking for this game?

Browns radio analyst says sending a message to an opponent has to be done differently now than when he played. Watch video

Cleveland, Ohio - Welcome to today's edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Chuck Yarborough and Bill Lubinger.

Today's special guest on SBTV is Doug Dieken, the former Browns offensive lineman who is now the team's color analyst on the radio.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was suspended for one game for his concussion-causing hit on Colt McCoy during the Browns' 14-3 loss last week. Harrison has knocked three Browns out of games with concussions over the last two seasons.

Chuck and Bill asked Doug if he thinks Harrison and the Steelers have bullied the Browns in the last three games of the series.

Plain Dealer fileBrowns offensive lineman Doug Dieken catches a touchdown pass during a 1983 game.

Doug also talks about whether the Browns need to send an on-field message to Harrison; and how retaliating against opponents has changed since the days Dieken played.

Which team do you think will win Sunday's Browns-Cardinals game in Arizona, and by how many points? That's the question in today's Starting Blocks poll.

SBTV will return Friday with Plain Dealer Browns reporter Tony Grossi answering fan questions from his weekly Hey, Tony! feature.

Colt McCoy sent home again with headaches. As Pat Shurmur said, two plus two equals four. Wallace will start v. Cardinals.

Lisa DeJong / The Plain DEalerThough it's not official, Seneca Wallace is expected to make his first start of the season Sunday in place of injured Colt McCoy.

Updated at 12:50 p.m.

BEREA -- All systems are go for Seneca Wallace to make his first start of the season at quarterback for the Browns Sunday in Arizona.

 For the third day in a row, Colt McCoy was sent home with concussion symptoms after reporting to work. McCoy still is experiencing headaches, coach Pat Shurmur said.

 The other players who suffered concussions in the Pittsburgh game eight days ago -- tight end Benjamin Watson and fullback Owen Marecic -- again did not practice but were not sent home.

 Shurmur said Watson, who has had three concussions but not missed a game, did see a specialist, but he did not elaborate. Shurmur hinted that Watson might have to miss multiple games.

 "We're hoping to get him back (before the season)," Shurmur said. "There could be a chance he doesn't."

 Shurmur wouldn't formally rule out McCoy for Sunday, but he said, "Seneca's been taking all the snaps. Two plus two ..."

 With McCoy likely out, never-seen Thad Lewis would elevate to No. 2 in Arizona. Shurmur said he was confident Lewis could enter a game and be productive, based on his experience with him in the Rams' training camp last season.

 Also, safety T.J. Ward (foot) was sore after Wednesday's practice -- his most extensive  since spraining his foot on Nov. 6 -- and will not practice today. Ward is likely to miss his sixth consecutive game.

On today's "Browns Insider" show, Dennis Manoloff takes issue with Mike Holmgren's tone during his press conference. Watch a clip of D-Man's rant. Watch video

During his press conference Wednesday, Browns president Mike Holmgren said,

"You can choose to believe me or you can say, 'I've heard it before.' That's your choice, but when it does happen, don't come to me for extra tickets to a playoff game or something. Don't do that. You're either with us or you're not."

On today's "Browns Insider" show, The Plain Dealer's Dennis Manoloff took issue with Holmgren's tone and commented on his tenure as team president thus far. Click on the video to the right to watch the clip. You can watch the entire 30-minute show also featuring Tony Grossi and Bud Shaw here.

Cavaliers coach Byron Scott says he doesn't know if he'll start No. 1 draft choice Kyrie Irving in the preseason opener at Detroit.

Lisa DeJong, The Plain DealerKyrie Irving makes his NBA preseason debut tomorrow night at Detroit.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The Cavaliers are going to be Kyrie Irving's team one day. It's just not clear whether that day will be Friday.

One day after the Cavs waived veteran Baron Davis using the amnesty clause, Cavs coach Byron Scott said he hadn't yet decided if he'd just hand the ball to the No. 1 draft choice starting with the pre-season opener at Detroit.

"I think he's ready,'' Scott said of Irving. "I think he can definitely play. But if I'm ready to give him the ball?

"When will I know? Probably Dec. 25. I'll let you know on the 26th.''

The Cavs will open the regular season on Dec. 26 against the Toronto Raptors.

Irving said he had mixed feelings about Davis' departure.

"Honestly, either way I would have to earn my position here,'' Irving said. "That’s kind of the attitude and mentality I was coming in with just to earn my spot and prove to coach Scott and my teammates I can actually play on this level and bring something to the team.

"I wish Baron the best, I have a lot of mixed emotions about it, but we’re going to continue to move on."

If Irving doesn't start, Ramon Sessions will. He will be joined by Anderson Varejao at center, Antawn Jamison at power forward and Anthony Parker at shooting guard.

Omri Casspi likely will start at small forward this season, but he may not play at Detroit while recovering from a sprained right knee. He did practice on Thursday. If Casspi doesn't play, Christian Eyenga or Alonzo Gee will start at small forward.

Center Semih Erden is out with a broken right thumb, Daniel Gibson is day-to-day after having a tooth pulled. He did not practice Thursday. Detroit native Manny Harris also did not practice Thursday while recovering from an ulcer on his right foot.