AKRON, Ohio -- It was all Pat Shurmur could do last week to not hop in the car and drive three minutes down the road to Baldwin-Wallace College and take a peek at his players installing the new West Coast offense.
"[We were] tempted, but we made a decision we're going to follow the rules, so it was not something that we wanted to jeopardize getting ourselves in trouble," Shurmur said Monday night at the Akron Browns Backers Banquet at Tangier Restaurant.
Still, it warmed Shurmur's heart that his players were sweating it out in Berea instead of on a beach in the Bahamas. It was the second installment of the Colt McCoy-led "Camp Colt," the first one coming last month at the University of Texas.
"I think it's terrific," Shurmur said. "Some of our players have obviously taken leadership roles in making sure the guys get together, some of our key players, and I think that's a good thing."
He said he wasn't having visions of Achilles popping and anterior cruciate ligaments tearing during the three-day session.
"They work out a lot of times by themselves, so injury isn't a big concern," said Shurmur. "They know how to take care of themselves. They're all professionals. I think the type of workouts that they're doing will be a way for them to get in shape and not get injured."
Shurmur said he's been particularly impressed with the way his young quarterback has taken the leadership role. McCoy has a playbook and has been teaching the offense's fundamentals.
"We know what we read, because we haven't been able to communicate," said Shurmur. "From what I've seen, he's really done a good job of trying to get the players together, work out and really do as much as we can do until we get them back into Berea."
Shurmur said he thinks the sessions can go a long way toward laying the foundation.
"I think they have a feel for some of the concepts that we're going to run, and they've been given some information so that they can decipher what we're looking to teach when they get here," he said.
If nothing else, he said, the field drills should help McCoy develop timing with his receivers. The players also are watching plenty of film, including some of Shurmur's Rams offense last season.
"When you talk about a quarterback working with receivers, it's about timing and execution," said Shurmur. "So it's all about getting used to one another, the depth that the routes are being run, the timing that the quarterback is throwing it with. All those things are very important, and they can do some of that stuff on their own."
Shurmur said he was happy to see rookie tight end Jordan Cameron attend the Berea workouts. Next time, the players hope to have receiver Greg Little and fullback Owen Marecic on hand.
"I think that's great," said Shurmur. "That tells me that Colt and some of the other guys have reached out to our new draft picks, who they really don't know yet. So I think that's a good thing."
Shurmur said he's confident the Browns will be able to catch up when the NFL is back in business, despite the two new systems being installed and the new staff. He added the Browns will "aggressively pursue" some possible free agents they've targeted as soon as they're able.
"Maybe it's my young enthusiasm, but I really feel good about what we're going to teach, and I really feel great about the guys we have and the coaches that are going to teach it," said Shurmur. "From what I've learned about the players that were on this team, there's a lot of guys willing to learn that are going to pick it up fast. Every team, even if you're an established team, somewhat recreates itself each year. There's going to be learning for everybody."
On his drive down to Akron on Monday night, Shurmur heard the news that the 8th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the NFL's lockout remains in place -- at least until a June 3 hearing.
"We'll just deal with it, and I think when we're up and running, we'll get it done," he said.
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