Pat Shurmur isn't going to act like it's unreasonable for people to connect the Browns to Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.
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The Browns had one of the weakest offenses in football last season, after all, and Griffin would represent the promise of finally installing a franchise-type player at quarterback in Cleveland.
Shurmur, the Browns' coach, isn't surprised many assume his team will make a push for the Baylor star.
"I think what happens is, there's a lot that gets said and written at this time, and it's very interesting to everyone," Shurmur said Wednesday, according to The Plain Dealer. "Folks are making predictions while we're still gathering information. That's the important part. That's the exciting thing about the combine."
Shurmur later took the short flight from Cleveland to Indianapolis on Wednesday to attend the NFL Scouting Combine. He acknowledged he's looking forward to getting a handle on RG3 in a 15-minute interview that's allowed at the combine.
"First of all, I've never met the man," Shurmur said. "That's why this combine is going to be so important for me. He's obviously very accomplished as a college quarterback, and as we go through it all, we'll determine whether he's what everybody says he is."
None of this comes off as particularly promising for incumbent quarterback Colt McCoy, the 2010 third-round pick who went 4-9 as starter in 2011 before a concussion ended his season.
"We're looking forward him to improving through the offseason," Shurmur said of McCoy. "I think it will make a big difference in Year 2 (of) me being here. I told him to prepare himself to get as much out of this offseason as possible. I'm expecting him to attack this offseason and get as good as he can get within our system. He really works at things, and that's going to help him."
You just wonder how McCoy will be able to maintain focus with that trap door creaking beneath his feet.
