Too seldom, the team has made a bolt-out-of-the-blue lucky strike.
In an upbeat address to the Hall of Fame Luncheon Club on Monday, Head Coach Pat Shurmur worked hard to stir the impression the team’s luck is about to change.
Shurmur did it with a novel concept, that his way isn’t the only way, that the work of regimes past and present can conspire to crush the culture of losing.
Shurmur touched on current general manager Tom Heckert’s ability to work roster magic. Tight end Jordan Cameron, picked in Round 4 on April 30, might be that sleeper that helps get a roster over the hump.
“We felt like this guy’s got a chance to project to a big-time player,” Shurmur told a highly attentive crowd of 310. “His ability to run and catch and all of the things he can do as a receiver we find very rarely in a guy that size.”
New regimes routinely flush all thoughts of previous regimes. Shurmur actually tipped his cap to former head coach Eric Mangini.
“There were a lot of good things that happened here a year ago,” Shurmur said. “Some fine coaches ... I tried to convince them to stay.”
One who did is running backs coach Gary Brown, who nurtured a nobody named Peyton Hillis into status as the face of John Madden’s video-game empire.
“We are going to make an effort to throw the ball,” Shurmur said. “I feel like that is the best way to score points. But keep in mind we have Peyton Hillis, and we’ve got an offensive line that run blocks well, so that’s not lost on me, either.”
Shurmur also nodded to the biggest steal of the Phil Savage era, two-time Pro Bowler Joshua Cribbs. The new coach cleared up any confusion as to whether Cribbs, going into his seventh NFL season, remains relevant.
“It’s important he touches the football,” Shurmur said. “We’re going to make sure he does that.
“He’s one of our finer players ... a huge part of what we are.”
The most important player on the team probably is one who got picked during the limbo period in which Mangini got a one-year trial run under President Mike Holmgren.
That player, 2010 Round 3 pick Colt McCoy, got his strongest endorsement yet as the quarterback of the future.
It was nothing, however, approaching a guarantee.
“He’s a leader,” Shurmur said at the final Luncheon Club session of the season at Tozzi’s on 12th. “He’s a guy that I think could be the guy to lead our organization.
“So I’m looking forward to getting to work with him.”
McCoy has been working with teammates on a voluntary basis in Texas. He is not allowed to be in contact with Shurmur during the on-again lockout, the status of which is in the federal court system.
“Colt has everything it takes to be a fine player in this league,” Shurmur said. “I got to know Colt a year ago when we were deciding to choose a quarterback in St. Louis. I feel like I got to know him very well then. I feel like I started that relationship a year ago.”
The Rams, for whom Shurmur was offensive coordinator in 2009 and ‘10, quit thinking about McCoy when they spent last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick on Sam Bradford.
The Browns seem to be relying on veteran Seneca Wallace as a safety net in case McCoy hits a wall in 2011. Shurmur said Wallace is better versed in the West Coast offense than McCoy.
Makes sense. Wallace spent most of his career in Seattle’s West Coast system, coached then by Holmgren.
Other noteworthy points from Shurmur:
• He obviously understands that fans aren’t interested in a new five-year plan.
“Listen,” he said. “I get it. The future is now. I understand that.
“With short-term goals in mind, we’re fast at the business of building something that will be good for a long time.”
• Shurmur threw out the latest clue that the Browns will be strategically aggressive once the free agency market opens.
“We have a checklist of guys we’re ready to go after when the time comes. We feel good about some of the guys we’re going to make an attempt to get.”
• Shurmur had a chance to do some hurry-up work with Browns players during the brief lockout window when he could talk to players:
“I had a quick meeting with my staff, and we got to the business of talking to everybody. We called everybody. The guys that were in town came to the building and we were able to give them playbooks. I was impressed with how quickly we reacted.”
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