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Brandon Weeden struggling in first year as starter

Maybe the problems in Cleveland went deeper than just Colt McCoy?

Matt Sullivan

When the Browns drafted the 29-year old Brandon Weeden out of Oklahoma State in the first round, the last thing they must have expected was a long transition process.

Instead, the newest savior in Cleveland hasn't put up numbers any better than the last one (Colt McCoy) that Browns fans turned on. Through 9 games, Weeden has completed 55.1% of his passes for 2,088 yards, 9 TD's and 12 INT's, while Cleveland has stumbled out to a miserable 2-7 start.

Weeden's struggles have become one of the main topics of conversation in northern Ohio, with Browns coach Fritz Shurmur forced to say this on Wednesday (courtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer):

"Don't throw interceptions. Done. End of story," said Shurmur. "I want to be right to the point."

Shurmur re-iterated that he still had faith in the former Oklahoma State QB and he didn't want him to lose his "gunslinger" mentality from college.

However, Weeden isn't RG3 or Andrew Luck and the Browns can't expect him to single-handedly drag them out of mediocrity.

For one thing, the problems in Cleveland go deeper than one position. Trent Richardson, whom everyone considered one of the most NFL-ready RB's in years, has rushed for only 575 yards and 5 TD's on 3.8 yards per carry this season.

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.