John Gaudiosi, On Sunday October 23, 2011, 10:42 am EDT

When it comes to sports curses, aside from the Chicago Cubs, there’s no more active superstition than the Madden curse. Since 1999, almost every year something bad has happened to the cover athlete of Electronic Arts’ bestselling Madden NFL franchise. Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis is the latest victim of this curse.

Hillis is the first Madden cover athlete who was voted in by fans through an ESPN cross-promotion with EA Sports. Last year, the running back rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns. He came out of nowhere to beat Aaron Rodgers and other NFL superstars. This year, Hillis has been plagued by injuries and surrounded by trade rumors. The running back took flack for sitting out a game for strep throat. And now he’s out with a hamstring injury.

Hillis has also been in the middle of a contract dispute with the Browns. The team offered him a contract extension earlier this year, but Hillis, taking the advice of his agent, walked away. Now with the injuries, conspiracy theorists are having a field day with all of this drama. It’s likely that Hillis will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season, which is shaping up to be a very long one for the Browns (2-3) and their star running back.

After the lockout ended, Hillis told me he was excited to play football again and humbled by the fans selecting him to be on the cover of the new game. He seemed genuine in the interview, but that was before things went bad.

The Madden curse has even spread to runner-up cover athlete Michael Vick, who was already on the cover of Madden NFL 04. The convicted dog killer was part of the so-called Philadelphia Eagles “dream team,” only to get injured in multiple games with a concussion and broken hand. Vick also took a lot of heat from NFL legends and the media for complaining about NFL officiating after getting pummeled by opposing teams’ defenses every game. The dream team is off to a pathetic 2-4 start, as a result.

None of this has had any negative impact on the actual videogame. The new game sold 1.4 million copies in its first week after launching August 30^th and has topped global sales of 2 million to date, according to VGChartz.com.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees was able to escape the curse last year, playing all season long without any injuries. Perhaps it was the local voodoo combating the videogame curse. Or maybe that was the curse rising in the playoffs to see the Saints lose pathetically to the lowly Seattle Seahawks.

In 2009, EA put two players on the cover of Madden – Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald. Polamalu only played five games due to a knee injury, while Fitzgerald escaped the curse with a Pro Bowl season.

In 2008, quarterback Brett Favre was on the cover of the 20^th Anniversary Madden Edition. After coming back from retirement, Favre feuded with the Packers, was traded to the Jets and played horrible losing four of the last five games.

In 2007, quarterback Vince Young managed to play through the season with only one game missed. But after that first playoff appearance, things went downhill for the quarterback.

In 2006, Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander fractured his foot and missed six games.

In 2005, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb suffered a sports hernia in his first game and missed seven games. That year also marked the public feud with Terrell Owens.

Peyton Hillis was honored when he was granted the cover of Madden NFL 12.

 But with that honor comes the so-called Madden curse. Many former cover boys on Madden have been cursed because of injury, or finished with subpar seasons.

On ESPN.com, here’s just a few:

•2010, Troy Polamalu/Larry Fitzgerald: Polamalu only played five games due to knee injuries, Steelers missed playoffs; Fitzgerald wasn’t affected much (97 receptions, 1,092 yards, 13 TD, Pro Bowl).
•2009, Brett Favre: Feuded with Packers, traded to Jets, horrible down the stretch (lost 4 of last 5).
•2008, Vince Young: Missed 1 game with quad injury; led Titans to first playoff appearance in four years.
•2007, Shaun Alexander: Fractured foot, missed six games; fewer yards and TDs in ’06 AND ’07 than in ’04 OR ’05.
•2006, Donovan McNabb: Sports hernia in first game, missed seven games; feuded with Terrell Owens all year; had been to five straight Pro Bowls, hasn’t been since.
•2005, Ray Lewis: Broke wrist, missed one game; first season without interception; missed 10 games next year with thigh injury.
 

In just two games, Hillis already has a fumble, he missed last Sunday’s game with a strep throat, and he’s averaging 3.4 yards per carry with two touchdowns.



Is Peyton Hillis already suffering from the Madden curse?

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BEREA(AP) — Colt McCoy wears No. 12. For the Cleveland Browns, he’s also No. 10.

It’s a number they’d like to stay stuck on.

On Sunday against Cincinnati, McCoy will become the 10th different quarterback to start a season opener for the Browns since 1999, an astonishing statistic and perhaps the single biggest reason the franchise has failed miserably during an expansion era of losses. McCoy follows Ty Detmer, Tim Couch, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn and Jake Delhomme as quarterbacks to begin the year as Cleveland’s starter.

“I hope it stays like this for a while,” McCoy said Wednesday.

In the NFL, quarterback consistency is vital to success. With a revolving door at the game’s most important position, it’s no wonder the Browns have only made the playoffs once and lost at least 10 games nine times in 12 years. Cleveland has been searching for a leader to guide them from the dismal darkness and back to respectability.

McCoy, who showed grit and toughness in eight starts in 2010, just might be the one.

And this season, anyway, he’ll get the chance to succeed or fail.

McCoy’s rise from third-round draft pick to starter happened quickly.

Rewind to last season’s opener. The former Texas star was a raw, out-of-sight, out-of-mind rookie running Cleveland’s scout team in practice. While Delhomme and backup Seneca Wallace took all the snaps, McCoy stood to the side waiting and wondering if his time would ever come.

Buried on the depth chart, McCoy was inactive when the Browns traveled to Tampa Bay in Week 1. But things changed in a hurry. Delhomme severely sprained his ankle against the Buccaneers, Wallace went down with same injury in Week 5, and suddenly McCoy was thrust into a starting role few believed he was ready to handle.

“He was kind of thrown into the fire,” Browns first-year coach Pat Shurmur said.

His personal inferno began in Pittsburgh, where McCoy made his first career start against the Steelers and in front of their Terrible Towel-waving fans. The night before the game, McCoy stood up at a meeting and told his teammates not to worry, he was ready to handle the job.

Browns cornerback Sheldon Brown feared for McCoy.

“I thought, this poor kid,” Brown said. “I hope he’s praying.”

But McCoy proved he belonged, completing 23 of 33 passes for 281 yards despite being sacked five times and pressured numerous others. It was there, at the confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers that many of Cleveland’s players became convinced they had found their leader.

“He wasn’t scared,” Brown said. “That’s one of the toughest defenses in the National Football League and he went in there and he held his own.”

 Then we put him in there against New Orleans, New England. Go back to some of the games he played and you look at his aura on the field and his demeanor, you just know that if you surround him with the players that can make plays for him — he’s not going to turn the ball over, he’s going to make the correct reads and the better part is, if he makes those mistakes, he’ll work his tail off to fix it.

“That’s when you know you have a guy.”

Shurmur thinks so, too.

Cleveland’s fifth coach since ’99, Shurmur has been impressed with everything about McCoy. During the labor lockout, it was McCoy who organized practices in Austin, Texas. At those workouts, dubbed “Camp Colts” by his teammates, McCoy and the Browns took their first initial steps in learning Shurmur’s West Coast offense, a passer friendly system the team feels perfectly suits McCoy’s accurate — if not strong — right arm.

McCoy also took it upon himself to visit Brett Favre, hoping a few days in Mississippi picking the brain of the former league MVP would help him better understand the new offense. McCoy came to camp prepared and then played extremely well in Cleveland’s three exhibition games.

“He basically did what we wanted and now the next step is to do it for 60 minutes in a regular-season game,” Shurmur said. “He has been passing the tests as we’ve gone along, and Sunday will be the next test.”

McCoy has done his homework.

“Now is where it counts,” he said.

Composed whether he’s calling a play in the huddle, facing a blitz or surrounded by cameras at his locker, McCoy insists he’s not feeling any added pressure as he embarks on his second season as a pro. A coach’s son, this is what he’s been groomed to do since he was a kid.

Now is when the fun starts.

“I’ve come a long ways,” McCoy said. “But I’ve still got plenty of work to do, no question. This team is ready to start, ready for the regular season. This is where it starts counting. For us, we’ve put in a lot of hours, a lot of time. We’ve worked hard together, now I think we kind of know some of the things we’re good at, some of the things we’re not as good at. Those things we’ll keep working on. But I think we’re ready to put a plan together and go see what happens.”

Notes: The Browns have some offensive line issues to resolve in the next few days. Starting right tackle Tony Pashos didn’t practice and still has a walking boot on his left foot. Also, Shurmur hasn’t decided whether he’ll start rookie Jason Pinkston at left guard. … TE Ben Watson, LB Chris Gocong and S Usama Young returned to practice on a limited basis. … WR Greg Little was chosen winner of the Maurice Bassett Award, given annually by the media to the top first-year player in training camp. … On Sunday, McCoy will square off with Bengals rookie QB Andy Dalton. They played each other in college when McCoy was at Texas and Dalton at TCU. McCoy only remembered a few details of their previous meeting. “They came to us,” McCoy said, “and we beat ’em pretty bad.”

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BEREA, Ohio — Nothing seems to be ruffling Colt McCoy as he heads into his first season opener as the Browns’ undisputed field leader.

“It’s been like that since we came back [from the lockout],” McCoy said after Wednesday’s practice. “I’m really honestly past that. I understand it’s my job to go out and play well and lead my team.”

Not even uncertainty at two positions on the offensive line is a concern.

The starters at left guard and right tackle remain in flux. Rookie Jason Pinkston continued to take sidelined stalwart Eric Steinbach’s spot at left guard, though coach Pat Shurmur wouldn’t name him the starter Sunday against Cincinnati. At right tackle, starter Tony Pashos missed another day with his left foot in a walking boot. Newcomers Artis Hicks and Oniel Cousins are competing there. John Greco could show up at either spot.

“We’re moving some guys around trying to figure out what’s the best lineup, where do we get the best explosion off that front line,” McCoy said. “But there’s some secure guys on that front.

“[Center] Alex [Mack] makes a lot of calls, does a great job. [Left tackle] Joe Thomas, obviously. Shawn [Lauvao] is in there now [at right guard]. Hopefully we’ll have Tony, but we’ll see. It’s just football. Somebody goes down, somebody’s got to step up. The good thing is we have options. They’ll be OK.”

McCoy’s calmness is another reassuring sign that he is in total control as the real season draws near. He will be the Browns’ 10th different opening-game starter at quarterback in 13 years.

“I think the players have responded to him pretty well,” Shurmur said. “That’s a natural part of his personality, to take charge. But you can’t take charge unless you know what you are doing. I think he has displayed to his teammates that he knows what he is doing and I think that’s where the confidence continues to build.”

Shurmur said the one thing he’s learned about McCoy while coaching him the past six weeks is that he tries so hard “to do everything right.” He cited McCoy’s initiative in organizing the workouts with teammates during the owners lockout and his visit in Mississippi with former Packers quarterback Brett Favre. When training camp finally opened, McCoy “was trying to gobble it all up the best he could.”

“I think that’s important when you’re learning a new offense,” McCoy said. “So many things go into each day. We’re still putting things in. You can’t afford to make the same mistake twice. It sets you back. Today we put in some new things. Then it should be ingrained in your mind. That’s part of being the quarterback. These guys don’t want to see me messing up the same play twice.”

Another example of McCoy’s work ethic was the way he progressed during camp.

“You saw him in practice a little bit rusty, and then he’d fix some errors,” Shurmur said. “Then he got an opportunity to go in and be pretty efficient in the first preseason game. He went through the process of training camp and basically did what we wanted. Now the next step is to do it for 60 minutes in a regular-season game.

“He’s kind of been passing the tests in my mind as we’ve gone along and so Sunday will be the next test.”

The first reaction among Browns faithful is that Cincinnati is a safe opponent to springboard a fast start. But McCoy looks over the Bengals’ defense and sees an aggressive scheme, athletic linebackers, experienced cornerbacks — and no rookies.

“They’re veterans across the board. When you look at tape, you can tell. They don’t bust coverages. They don’t mess up,” he said.

When McCoy was given his NFL baptism by fire as a rookie last season, he opposed some of the sport’s most accomplished quarterbacks. Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Tom Brady were the first three. For the first time in his short NFL career on Sunday, McCoy will be the older, more-experienced QB on the field. Rookie second-round draft pick Andy Dalton will be making his NFL debut for the Bengals.

Both are Texas natives and grew up too far away in that huge, football-mad state to meet in high school. But after McCoy enrolled at Texas and Dalton at Texas Christian, they opposed each other in a game in 2007. It was Dalton’s second career start.

“I was a sophomore, he was a freshman,” McCoy remembered. “They came to us and we beat them pretty bad [34-13]. I think it was close at halftime.”

On Twitter: @TonyGrossi

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CLEVELAND (AP) – Pristine one week, penalized the next.

The second time around was sloppy for the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions.

Colt McCoy threw three touchdown passes – two to tight end Evan Moore – in the first half, but the Browns blew a 15-point lead after halftime and lost 30-28 to the Lions on Friday night in a penalty-filled exhibition that showed both teams have plenty to fix in the next three weeks before the season opener.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” McCoy said. “There’s plenty to clean up.”

“Way too sloppy with penalties,” said Lions coach Jim Schwartz.

McCoy finished 10 of 18 for 96 yards, his second straight solid performance running first-year Browns coach Pat Shurmur’s new West Coast offense. McCoy was victimized by a few drops and wasn’t as sharp as in last week’s win over the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. However, the second-year QB showed poise, ran away from Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and didn’t force any throws while playing most of the first half.

“A lot of people wanted to anoint us after last week,” said McCoy, who was pressured and knocked down several times. “There were a lot of rough things here and there.”

The Lions (2-0) trailed 28-13 early in the third but got a 20-yard TD pass from Drew Stanton in the third and Dave Rayner’s 48-yard field goal with 9:51 left.

Referee Mike Carey and his officiating crew had a busy night. The teams were assessed 26 penalties for 211 yards.

Moore caught TDs of 2 and 21 yards, rookie Greg Little grabbed a 13-yarder from McCoy, and rookie Armond Smith had an 81-yard TD run in the third for the Browns (1-1), who were without eight starters, including star running back Peyton Hillis. Smith also had two fumbles, helping the Lions rally.

“We went to getting pretty sloppy,” Shurmur said. “Numerous penalties and two fumbles. Those are killers. The guys in the game are in charge of winning the game.”

Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford threw one TD pass to Nate Burleson. Stafford, who threw two TDs in last week’s 34-3 blowout of Cincinnati, went 6 of 10 for 85 yards in four series.

Jason Hanson kicked two field goals for the Lions, who also rested several starters, including wide receiver Calvin Johnson, because of injuries.

“We did a good job considering we had a couple of key guys out,” Stafford said. “The guys who stepped in played well. Our other quarterbacks played well, too.”

McCoy seems perfectly suited for the West Coast attack, an offense that puts a premium on accuracy, timing and precision – by the QB and receivers. Earlier this week, McCoy revealed he spent time during the NFL lockout in Mississippi learning the offense’s many nuances from Brett Favre, who was taught it in Green Bay by Browns president Mike Holmgren.

With the Browns thin at wide receiver, Moore, who showed potential last season but has had injury issues, could become McCoy’s favorite target. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder certainly looks the part, but it remains to be seen if he can handle it. McCoy found him twice in the first half, helping the Browns build a 21-10 lead.

Moore later took a hard hit on a 17-yard reception. He got up slowly and remained in the game. Moore didn’t return to the sideline after halftime, and Shurmur confirmed the fourth-year suffered a head injury.

“I don’t know exactly the final analysis on that,” Shurmur said.

The Browns’ first possession was poor – two dropped passes and a 1-yard run that set the tone for the night. But Cleveland got the ball back when rookie defensive end Jabaal Sheard stripped Lions running back Jahvid Best. McCoy made the Lions pay with his quick TD toss to Moore.

Stafford came back and tied it with his 4-yard strike to Burleson, who made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone and was able to get both feet down. Burleson then mocked Cleveland’s crowd by mimicking the chalk toss that NBA star LeBron James made famous with the Cavaliers.

McCoy’s second TD toss to Moore put the Browns ahead 14-10. After Jordan Norwood’s 20-yard punt return, McCoy lofted a pass into the end zone for Moore, who made a sliding over-the-shoulder catch in the right corner that was first ruled out of bounds. However, the call was overturned by a video replay.

McCoy’s TD pass to Little followed a sequence of five penalties – three by the Browns, two by the Lions – in six plays. It was Little’s first TD in over two years because he had to sit out last season at North Carolina for having improper dealings with an agent, and he celebrated by punting the ball into the stands.

That didn’t please Shurmur, who spoke with the second-round pick on the sideline.

“I told him not to do that,” Shurmur said.

Little seemed to get the message.

“I’m sorry I did it because of the scrutiny that comes after that type of thing,” he said. “I wish I could have it as a souvenir, but some lucky fan has it all his own.”

McCoy also avoided any major contact with Suh, fined $20,000 on Wednesday by the league for a hit on Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton last week. Suh only got his hands on McCoy once, pushing him out of bounds to end a scramble.

“He was definitely feeling pressure in the pocket,” said Lions defensive tackle Corey Williams. “He was kind of moving around, but we weren’t able to get him down.”

Detroit’s offense was missing one of its main cogs as Johnson was a late scratch with a bruised shoulder. A Lions spokesman said Johnson was held out as a precaution.

 (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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CLEVELAND (AP)—Pristine one week, penalized the next.

The second time around was sloppy for the Cleveland Browns and Detroit
Lions.

Colt McCoy(notes) threw three touchdown passes—two to tight end Evan Moore(notes)—in
the first half, but the Browns blew a 15-point lead after halftime and lost
30-28 to the Lions on Friday night in a penalty-filled exhibition that showed
both teams have plenty to fix in the next three weeks before the season opener.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” McCoy said. “There’s plenty to clean
up.”

“Way too sloppy with penalties,” said Lions coach Jim Schwartz.

McCoy finished 10 of 18 for 96 yards, his second straight solid performance
running first-year Browns coach Pat Shurmur’s new West Coast offense. McCoy was
victimized by a few drops and wasn’t as sharp as in last week’s win over the
Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. However, the second-year QB showed poise,
ran away from Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh(notes) and didn’t force any throws
while playing most of the first half.

“A lot of people wanted to anoint us after last week,” said McCoy, who was
pressured and knocked down several times. “There were a lot of rough things
here and there.”

The Lions (2-0) trailed 28-13 early in the third but got a 20-yard TD pass
from Drew Stanton(notes) in the third and Dave Rayner’s(notes) 48-yard field goal with 9:51
left.

Referee Mike Carey and his officiating crew had a busy night. The teams were
assessed 26 penalties for 211 yards.

Moore caught TDs of 2 and 21 yards, rookie Greg Little(notes) grabbed a 13-yarder
from McCoy, and rookie Armond Smith(notes) had an 81-yard TD run in the third for the
Browns (1-1), who were without eight starters, including star running back
Peyton Hillis(notes). Smith also had two fumbles, helping the Lions rally.

“We went to getting pretty sloppy,” Shurmur said. “Numerous penalties and
two fumbles. Those are killers. The guys in the game are in charge of winning
the game.”

Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford(notes) threw one TD pass to Nate Burleson(notes).
Stafford, who threw two TDs in last week’s 34-3 blowout of Cincinnati, went 6 of
10 for 85 yards in four series.

Jason Hanson(notes) kicked two field goals for the Lions, who also rested several
starters, including wide receiver Calvin Johnson(notes), because of injuries.

“We did a good job considering we had a couple of key guys out,” Stafford
said. “The guys who stepped in played well. Our other quarterbacks played well,
too.”

McCoy seems perfectly suited for the West Coast attack, an offense that puts
a premium on accuracy, timing and precision—by the QB and receivers. Earlier
this week, McCoy revealed he spent time during the NFL lockout in Mississippi
learning the offense’s many nuances from Brett Favre(notes), who was taught it in Green
Bay by Browns president Mike Holmgren.

With the Browns thin at wide receiver, Moore, who showed potential last
season but has had injury issues, could become McCoy’s favorite target. The
6-foot-6, 250-pounder certainly looks the part, but it remains to be seen if he
can handle it. McCoy found him twice in the first half, helping the Browns build
a 21-10 lead.

Moore later took a hard hit on a 17-yard reception. He got up slowly and
remained in the game. Moore didn’t return to the sideline after halftime, and
Shurmur confirmed the fourth-year suffered a head injury.

“I don’t know exactly the final analysis on that,” Shurmur said.

The Browns’ first possession was poor—two dropped passes and a 1-yard run
that set the tone for the night. But Cleveland got the ball back when rookie
defensive end Jabaal Sheard(notes) stripped Lions running back Jahvid Best(notes). McCoy made
the Lions pay with his quick TD toss to Moore.

Stafford came back and tied it with his 4-yard strike to Burleson, who made
a leaping catch in the back of the end zone and was able to get both feet down.
Burleson then mocked Cleveland’s crowd by mimicking the chalk toss that NBA star
LeBron James made famous with the Cavaliers.

McCoy’s second TD toss to Moore put the Browns ahead 14-10. After Jordan
Norwood’s(notes) 20-yard punt return, McCoy lofted a pass into the end zone for Moore,
who made a sliding over-the-shoulder catch in the right corner that was first
ruled out of bounds. However, the call was overturned by a video replay.

McCoy’s TD pass to Little followed a sequence of five penalties—three by
the Browns, two by the Lions—in six plays. It was Little’s first TD in over
two years because he had to sit out last season at North Carolina for having
improper dealings with an agent, and he celebrated by punting the ball into the
stands.

That didn’t please Shurmur, who spoke with the second-round pick on the
sideline.

“I told him not to do that,” Shurmur said.

Little seemed to get the message.

“I’m sorry I did it because of the scrutiny that comes after that type of
thing,” he said. “I wish I could have it as a souvenir, but some lucky fan has
it all his own.”

McCoy also avoided any major contact with Suh, fined $20,000 on Wednesday by
the league for a hit on Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton(notes) last week. Suh only
got his hands on McCoy once, pushing him out of bounds to end a scramble.

“He was definitely feeling pressure in the pocket,” said Lions defensive
tackle Corey Williams(notes). “He was kind of moving around, but we weren’t able to
get him down.”

Detroit’s offense was missing one of its main cogs as Johnson was a late
scratch with a bruised shoulder. A Lions spokesman said Johnson was held out as
a precaution.

Notes: Schwartz said Best felt “a little woozy” after a hit in the first
half. He did not return, but Schwartz provided no other details. … Browns RB
Brandon Jackson(notes) suffered a turf toe, Shurmur said. … Hillis (hamstring) didn’t
dress and he wasn’t alone as the Browns rested starting G Eric Steinbach(notes) (back)
LBs Scott Fujita(notes) (hamstring) and Chris Gocong(notes) (stinger), safeties T.J. Ward(notes)
(hamstring) and Usama Young(notes) (hamstring), and RB Montario Hardesty(notes) (knee), who
took part in contact drills for the first time this week. … The Lions were
without starting CB Chris Houston(notes) (groin), T Jeff Backus(notes) (chest) and TE Tony
Scheffler(notes) (cut hand).. … The Browns will be at former Ohio State quarterback
Terrelle Pryor’s workout on Saturday in Pennsylvania. Pryor is eligible for
Monday’s rescheduled supplemental draft.

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Colt McCoy threw three touchdown passes — two to tight end Evan Moore — in the first half, but the Cleveland Browns blew a 15-point lead after halftime and lost 30-28 to the Detroit Lions on Friday night in a penalty-filled exhibition that showed both teams have plenty to fix in the next three weeks.

McCoy finished 10 of 18 for 96 yards, his second straight solid performance running first-year Browns coach Pat Shurmur’s new West Coast offense. McCoy was victimized by a few drops and wasn’t as sharp as in last week’s win over the Super Bowl champion Packers. However, the second-year QB showed poise, ran away from Ndamukong Suh and didn’t force any throws while playing most of the first half.

The Lions (2-0) trailed by 10 entering the fourth, but got a 20-yard TD pass from Drew Stanton and Dave Rayner’s 48-yard field goal.

Referee Mike Carey and his officiating crew had a busy night. The teams were assessed 26 penalties for 211 yards.

Moore caught TDs of 2 and 21 yards, rookie Greg Little grabbed a 13-yarder from McCoy, and rookie Armond Smith had an 81-yard TD run in the third for the Browns (1-1), who were without eight starters, including star running back Peyton Hillis.

Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford threw one TD pass to Nate Burleson. Stafford went 6 of 10 for 85 yards in four series.

Jason Hanson kicked two field goals for the Lions, who also rested several starters, including wide receiver Calvin Johnson, because of injuries.

McCoy seems perfectly suited for the West Coast attack, an offense that puts a premium on accuracy, timing and precision — by the QB and receivers. Earlier this week, McCoy revealed he spent time during the NFL lockout in Mississippi learning the offense’s many nuances from Brett Favre, the three-time NFL MVP who was taught it in Green Bay by Browns president Mike Holmgren.

With the Browns thin at wide receiver, Moore, who showed potential last season but has had injury issues, could become McCoy’s favorite target. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder certainly looks the part, but it remains to be seen if he can handle it. McCoy found him twice in the first half, helping the Browns build a 21-10 lead.

The Browns’ first possession was poor — two dropped passes and a 1-yard run. But Cleveland got the ball back when rookie defensive end Jabaal Sheard stripped Lions running back Jahvid Best. Five plays later, McCoy rolled right and made a quick toss to Moore for the TD.

Stafford came back and tied it with his 4-yard strike to Burleson, who made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone and was able to get both feet down. Burleson then mocked Cleveland’s crowd by mimicking the chalk toss that NBA star LeBron James made famous with the Cavaliers.

McCoy’s second TD toss to Moore put the Browns ahead 14-10. After Jordan Norwood’s 20-yard punt return, McCoy lofted a pass into the end zone for Moore, who made a sliding over-the-shoulder catch in the right corner that was first ruled out of bounds. However, the call was overturned by a video replay.

Moore later took a hard hit on a 17-yard reception. He got up slowly, and remained in the game. Moore didn’t return to the sideline after halftime, and a team spokesman had no information on his status.

McCoy’s TD pass to Little followed a sequence of five penalties — three by the Browns, two by the Lions — in six plays. It was Little’s first TD in over two years because he had to sit out last season at North Carolina for having improper dealing with an agent, and he celebrated by punting the ball into the stands.

That didn’t please Shurmur, who spoke with the second-round pick on the sideline.

McCoy also avoided any major contact with Suh, Detroit’s defensive end who was fined $20,000 on Wednesday by the league for a hit on Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton last week. Suh only got his hands on McCoy once, pushing him out of bounds to end a scramble.

Detroit’s offense was missing one of its main cogs as Johnson was a late scratch with a bruised shoulder. Johnson, who had 12 TD catches last season, was not one of the players listed as inactive, but the Lions announced before the game that he wouldn’t dress.

A Lions spokesman said Johnson was held out as a precaution.

Notes: Hillis (hamstring) didn’t dress and he wasn’t alone as the Browns rested starting G Eric Steinbach (back) LBs Scott Fujita (hamstring) and Chris Gocong (stinger), safeties T.J. Ward (hamstring) and Usama Young (hamstring) and RB Montario Hardesty (knee), who took part in contact drills for the first time this week. … The Lions were without starting CB Chris Houston (groin), T Jeff Backus (chest), TE Tony Scheffler (cut hand).. … The Browns are sending a representative to former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s workout on Saturday in Pennsylvania. Pryor is eligible for Monday’s rescheduled supplemental draft.

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Read More: Brett Favre (QB – MIN), Colt McCoy (QB – CLE), Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers

NFL players had plenty of time on their hands during the NFL Lockout.  Colt McCoy chose to spend much of his time wisely – organizing team workouts with Cleveland Browns players for instance.  With no way to talk to coaches about the new offense being installed by head coach Pat Shurmur, McCoy figured he would go to the next best person – Brett Favre, who ran the offense for over a decade as the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers and Mike Holmgren.  

McCoy called Favre and got much more than he expected, according to NFL.com.

“He said, ‘Yeah, come down tonight,’ ” McCoy said he recalled Favre saying. “That didn’t happen.”

What did happen is a trip to Mississippi to meet with Favre, going over the intricacies of the Wesst Coast offense that Favre ran so well for so many years. 

“He’s an outstanding guy, and I learned a lot,” McCoy said, “so I was thankful for him being open to me even coming down there. It’s the first time we had met. It was a lot of fun.”

The Browns need McCoy to grab ahold of the offense as quickly as possible, especially with the NFL Lockout keeping players and team apart for all of the off-season.  If the Browns are going to have success in 2011, McCoy needs to know the offense, and fast.

“He helped me on some things,” McCoy said. “I had the playbook and I had some tape. But you can go down and ask him, ‘OK, vs. this, what call do you make here? And you see a pressure, what call can you make to adjust?’ Those are the things that we talked about. Same things I would ask a coach. But now that I’m here, and with coaches every day, we’re way past that.”

Needless to say, McCoy’s new head coach is pleased that his young quarterback would go out of his way to learn the new offense.

“I just think that speaks to what Colt is,” Shurmur said. “He puts two and two together. In an offense where you had a player that was tremendously successful, he took it upon himself to go see him, and I think that’s great. I’ve got a lot of respect for Brett. I consider him a friend of sorts.”

If McCoy’s performance in the Browns’ 27-17 win over the Packers is any indication, the visit to Mississippi was well worth it!

Gotta run!.

Read More: Brett Favre (QB – MIN), Colt McCoy (QB – CLE), Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers

NFL players had plenty of time on their hands during the NFL Lockout.  Colt McCoy chose to spend much of his time wisely – organizing team workouts with Cleveland Browns players for instance.  With no way to talk to coaches about the new offense being installed by head coach Pat Shurmur, McCoy figured he would go to the next best person – Brett Favre, who ran the offense for over a decade as the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers and Mike Holmgren.  

McCoy called Favre and got much more than he expected, according to NFL.com.

“He said, ‘Yeah, come down tonight,’ ” McCoy said he recalled Favre saying. “That didn’t happen.”

What did happen is a trip to Mississippi to meet with Favre, going over the intricacies of the Wesst Coast offense that Favre ran so well for so many years. 

“He’s an outstanding guy, and I learned a lot,” McCoy said, “so I was thankful for him being open to me even coming down there. It’s the first time we had met. It was a lot of fun.”

The Browns need McCoy to grab ahold of the offense as quickly as possible, especially with the NFL Lockout keeping players and team apart for all of the off-season.  If the Browns are going to have success in 2011, McCoy needs to know the offense, and fast.

“He helped me on some things,” McCoy said. “I had the playbook and I had some tape. But you can go down and ask him, ‘OK, vs. this, what call do you make here? And you see a pressure, what call can you make to adjust?’ Those are the things that we talked about. Same things I would ask a coach. But now that I’m here, and with coaches every day, we’re way past that.”

Needless to say, McCoy’s new head coach is pleased that his young quarterback would go out of his way to learn the new offense.

“I just think that speaks to what Colt is,” Shurmur said. “He puts two and two together. In an offense where you had a player that was tremendously successful, he took it upon himself to go see him, and I think that’s great. I’ve got a lot of respect for Brett. I consider him a friend of sorts.”

If McCoy’s performance in the Browns’ 27-17 win over the Packers is any indication, the visit to Mississippi was well worth it!

Feel free to leave your comments below.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Much has been made, rightfully so, of the Cleveland Browns’ lacking a big-time playmaker at wide receiver.

Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi have done little to justify being second-round picks, as they both were, in the 2009 draft.

A second-rounder last April, Greg Little, apparently owns some of the qualities necessary for an impact wideout. Bottom line is, he’s a rookie.

Several young wide receivers are trying to earn roster spots, and though maybe one or two could emerge as contributors, it’s unlikely that any will be a game-changer.

And, there’s Josh Cribbs, the ace kickoff/punt returner who has not flourished in his opportunities as a wide receiver.

Craig Lyndall writes that Cribbs might still become a key to the Browns’ passing game. Cribbs and quarterback Colt McCoy connected twice for 37 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown, in Cleveland’s 27-17 exhibition game win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night.

Lyndall writes:

Josh Cribbs continues to get better and better as a receiver. This is really only Josh Cribbs’ third year playing wide receiver, and much of last year he was plagued by injuries. So far this season Josh has been healthy and he is really starting to put some polish on his game. He has shown some really great hands and is running his routes more crisply than ever before. In addition to that, there is nobody on the field who is more friendly to the QB on broken plays. Cribbs is always wary when McCoy has been flushed out of the pocket and he seemingly always gets himself into a decent position to bail his QB out in space. We don’t expect NFL players to continue to improve into their late 20′s, but it seems that Cribbs might be an exception to the rule.

The Browns play their second preseason game on Friday night, meeting the Detroit Lions at Browns Stadium.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Browns coverage includes Tony Grossi’s story on linebacker Titus Brown; Twitter updates from Tuesday’s practice; a training camp video report by Tony Grossi and Mary Kay Cabot; Grossi’s training camp log; Cabot’s Browns Insider, featuring video of Colt McCoy talking about his offseason work with Brett Favre; Cabot interviewed on Starting Blocks TV, talking about McCoy and Favre; and, about former coaches Jim Tressel of Ohio State and Lloyd Carr of Michigan visitng the Browns’ practice — Tony Grossi’s story; Bill Livingston’s column; photos of the visit.   

Extra points

Jason Lisk writes about the Browns for The Big Lead blog, calling them “My 2011 Sleeper Team.”

AFC North training camp reports on ProFootballWeekly.com.

CBSSports.com’s new power rankings, by Pete Prisco.

Colt McCoy among the preseason Week 1 winners. By Don Banks for Sports Illustrated’s SI.com.

Running back Brandon Jackson wants to make the most of his opportunities, writes Daniel Wolf for the National Football Authority.

Linebacker Aaron Maybin has been released by the Buffalo Bills, but the Browns should pursue him, writes James Walker of ESPN.com.

Trying to figure the best way to use the Browns’ running backs. By Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository.

Colt McCoy taking control of the Browns’ offense, by Gary Graves for USAToday.com.

Running back Montario Hardesty’s return to practice, by Mike McLain of the Warren Tribune Chronicle.

Browns notes by Brian Dulik, more Browns notes by Rona Proudfoot, and more Browns notes by Scott Petrak. All for the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and Medina County Gazette. 

Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr visit the Browns’ training camp. An Associated Press story on ESPN.com.

Browns notes by Bob Finnan for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal.

Browns training camp news and observations by Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.

A story about linebacker Titus Brown, by Matt Florjancic for clevelandbrowns.com.

What are your opinions.

BEREA — Observations from Browns morning practice …

 * It was a veritable who’s who of football watching from the sidelines — former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel talking with former Green Bay GM Ron Wolf on one end of the field while former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr visited with Mike Holmgren on the other. In between were Cavaliers GM Chris Grant and assistant coach Paul Pressey speaking with Browns GM Tom Heckert. Photographers were dying to get Tressel and Carr in the same frame, but they kept about 25 yards apart the whole practice. Afterwards, the former Big Ten rivals talked and walked off the field together with Holmgren. Accompanying Tressel was former Browns defensive coach Dave Adolph, who is an academic counselor with Ohio State’s football team.

 * Quarterback Colt McCoy was besieged with questions about his visit with Brett Favre in the offseason. McCoy, who wore No. 4 in high school because he idolized Favre, said he received some tips on footwork and other nuances of the West Coast offense from the former Packers QB. This was during the NFL lockout when coaches could not communicate with their players. But it’s really hard to believe that Holmgren didn’t have something to do with the meeting. McCoy obviously didn’t make the trip just to get Favre’s autograph. He has become a fast study of the offense, evidenced by his first game Saturday against the Packers.

 * Linebacker Titus Brown looks and talks like a player determined to take the next step and make contributions on defense, not just special teams. The backup middle linebacker had the 43-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Green Bay. He also made a solid play defending a Packers screen pass. Brown dismisses the notion that the Browns need to pick up a veteran linebacker for depth. He believes he, Kaluka Maiava and undrafted players Brian Smith and Benjamin Jacobs are more than capable of providing solid depth behind the starters.

 * On his second day back from a two-week layoff, running back Montario Hardesty had a wrap on his left calf, but he participated in all drills. It appeared coach Pat Shurmur eased up on Hardesty’s reps in team drills, but he denied it.

 * Shurmur wouldn’t divulge his plans for the Detroit game but he indicated the starters would play the entire first half.

 * McCoy connected on another of those seam passes to a tight end at practice. Alex Smith was blanketed by Brian Smith 20 yards downfield, but McCoy’s ball came in right in Alex Smith’s hands over the defender’s helmet. That play is going to be there a lot.

 * Receiver Jordan Norwood got more work as the No. 1 slot receiver than Greg Little. Little came in in four-receiver sets.

Thanks for reading! .

Updated at 6 p.m. with comment from Colt McCoy.

CLEVELAND — Browns quarterback Colt McCoy did a lot more to get ready for this season than conduct four Camp Colts to teach his teammates the West Coast offense.

He also called 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback Brett Favre and asked if he could come down to Mississippi and learn the scheme from him. Favre obliged, and the two spent several days together working out in Favre’s hometown.

McCoy’s visit was first reported by NFL Network’s Steve Mariucci, and McCoy — who was not available to the media today — confirmed the report.

“Since I couldn’t get coach, it was a great opportunity to pick the brains of a guy who’s played in this system for 20 years,” McCoy said through a team spokesperson. “It was a chance for me to get a lot of questions answered. We worked on footwork, progressions, reads and things like that. It was definitely a positive trip.”

Favre played for Browns President Mike Holmgren in Green Bay and the two won a Super Bowl there together in 1996, 35-21 over the Patriots.

Apparently, all of the hard work McCoy did on his own and with others during the offseason paid off. During Saturday night’s preseason opener, he completed 9-of-10 attempts for 135 yards and a TD. He earned a superb 152.1 rating, which is near perfect.

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