Granted, it wasn’t the best debut.
But Browns fans may be overreacting just a tad to Brandon Weeden’s first preseason game, a 3-of-9 for 62 yards clunker which featured an interception, a fumble and no points.
Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com suggests that Browns fans have been beaten into this feeling by years of losing, but thinks Weeden has the kind of mentality to push through the need for instant gratification.
The former professional baseball player knows about the danger of small sample size, from the cumulative quality of his former job.
“Numbers, . . . numbers are deceiving,” he said. “You know, when you’re only throwing nine times, it doesn’t look too good when you’re [completing] 33 percent. That’s the only negative when you’re only playing 15 plays.
“You don’t have the chance to come in and redeem yourself and do something better the next time out. Numbers are skewed sometimes.”
Browns coach Pat Shurmur apparently didn’t appreciate the implication when asked how Weeden’s demeanor was, “bouncing back from a less-than-great first game?”
“I don’t know. You guys are painting his performance as less than whatever, number one,” Shurmur said. “Number two, I think he’s a very resilient guy. So when he has a bad play or two, or a bad series or two, I see him bounce back extremely well.”
Grossi’s point is a salient one: Weeden’s bad numbers might be just as deceiving as Colt McCoy’s 101.7 rating last preseason.
We won’t know that now, however, and not for months.