BEREA: Browns coach Hue Jackson knows rookie Corey Coleman never lacks confidence, even when he sizes himself up against elite wide receivers from other teams like Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants.
The Browns (0-11) lost to Brown and the Steelers last weekend, and they’ll host Beckham and the Giants (7-3) on Sunday.
“If you guys know Corey, he thinks he is the best player in football right now,” Jackson said Wednesday with a laugh. “... I don’t try to compare him [to Brown or Beckham]. Corey is Corey.
“But do I think he has some of those characteristics that those guys have? Yes, I do, and I think he just has to keep getting better and his unit has to play better. Our whole unit has to play better to give him a chance to showcase his talent and ability.”
Coleman, the 15th overall pick this year, had seven catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games. Then he suffered a broken right hand in practice Sept. 21 and missed six games. He has caught just 10 of his 21 targets for 97 yards in the three games since his return, according to ProFootballFocus.com.
“I don’t think it’s so much the defense,” Coleman said. “We have played with so many quarterbacks and everyone’s got a different touch to the ball and everyone throws the ball different. So it’s kind of difficult. But I’ve just got to keep on working.”
He’s right. There is work to be done.
Coleman caught just four of his 10 targets against the Steelers with two drops, per PFF. He finished with 39 receiving yards.
“It happens,” he said of the drops, “and it’s all about how you respond.”
Jackson said the drops were “unfortunate” but focused more on the positive.
“He made a couple of tremendous plays,” Jackson said. “He went up and made a catch on the ball that I don’t think a lot of people could make. He made it. Then the hit that he took to catch the ball across the middle, that is how you display toughness. There are a lot of people that will not get that ball, and he did. He is a competitive guy and likes playing. He wants to help contribute to his offense, to the team and to everybody. I like Corey. Corey has a bright future here.”
The Browns will change starting quarterbacks for the fifth time this season when veteran Josh McCown returns to the lineup Sunday. He stressed the importance of Coleman becoming involved.
“When he has opportunities, he has to catch it and make plays,” McCown said. “He has missed some time and obviously that is frustrating in a rookie year.
“We think he will continue to grow, and we have a ton of trust in him that when we get the ball in his hands he is going to make plays. He is certainly a guy that I am always aware of and know where he is and want to be able to get him the ball.”
Moving on
Wide receiver Terrelle Pryor ripped the pass protection Sunday after the Steelers racked up eight sacks and knocked rookie quarterback Cody Kessler out of the game with a concussion in the third quarter. Jackson then met with Pryor and told him he shouldn’t publicly criticize his teammates.
“That’s in the past,” Pryor said. “Let’s move on from it. I respect Hue. This is Hue’s team 100 percent.
“I didn’t take it on the angle of overstepping Hue, and I never would because he’s obviously my boss and I respect him very highly and it just came with the game and it’s in the past. We’ll move on.”
Big hit
Apparently because McCown wasn’t seriously injured when Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt de-cleated him with a blindside hit late in the fourth quarter Sunday, fellow Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III believes the play is fair game for jokes.
“Josh thought he was [Detroit Lions legendary running back] Barry Sanders for a second there,” Griffin said. “He got hit so hard. Oh, my gosh, he got hit so hard.”
McCown scrambled for 6 yards during the play. He successfully juked linebacker Jarvis Jones, but Tuitt crushed him as he moved laterally.
“Oh, man, I’m hurting for him on that play,” Griffin said. “He got hit by a truck. But he’s doing fine. He’s a tough guy. He’s a real tough guy and anytime you start juking sideways, you’ve got to have Barry Sanders-like speed, and Josh had that when he came out [of college].”
McCown, 37, watched the play once on film.
“I hope not to take many more hits like that,” he said with a laugh. “I was feeling good about making the first guy miss, and then he was there. Hopefully that is not the case any more.”
The place to be
Jackson was asked why he didn’t follow through with an interview he had scheduled with the Giants just before the Browns hired him in January.
“I am being very honest. I just thought that this was the best place for me to be,” he said. “I have been in this division. I know what it takes to win in this division. I feel very comfortable with the people here and made a decision that this where I wanted to be.
“Even with the situation we are in right now, this is where I want to be. I want to fix this team, this organization, more than anything I have ever wanted to do, and I will do that with the help of the rest of the people here in this organization. There is no question in my mind.
“I do not like being 0-11 just like nobody else would. But there is a reason why I am here. I am not running from it, and I understand everything we are dealing with and we are going to get this right.”
Future on line
Jackson said rookie fifth-round pick Spencer Drango “is going to be our future.” The coach gave the vote of confidence while explaining why Jonathan Cooper hasn’t cracked the starting lineup. The Browns claimed Cooper, the seventh overall pick in 2013, off waivers from the New England Patriots on Oct. 8. Drango has started the past two games at left guard.
“Not that Jon has shown me anything that he can’t do it,” Jackson said. “It is just that as we move forward, I think we know these young guys have a good shot at it to see if they can.”
Injury report
Kessler (concussion) and left tackle Joe Thomas (knee) didn’t practice. Safety Ed Reynolds (knee) and cornerbacks Jamar Taylor (groin) and Tramon Williams (knee) were limited.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.