Shurmur scolds Little for post-TD antics

By Nate Ulrich

Akron Beacon Journal

CLEVELAND

Rookie wide receiver Greg Little proved he has the ability to worry NFL defenses. On the other hand, he also can create stress for his coach.

Little had two clutch catches for 25 yards in the Browns’ 30-28 preseason loss to the visiting Detroit Lions on Friday night. Unfortunately, his performance was diminished in the eyes of Browns coach Pat Shurmur.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Little grabbed a 12-yard pass from quarterback Colt McCoy along the sideline to help set up the Browns’ first touchdown. He later gained favorable position against Lions safety Amari Spievey and capitalized by hauling in a 13-yard touchdown pass from McCoy.

However, the way Little reacted after scoring was not as impressive as the way he ran an out route into the front corner of the end zone. He punted the ball into the stands, prompting a lecture from Shurmur on the sideline.

The officials didn’t penalize Little. Still, he said he regretted kicking the ball because he wants to be known as a team player.

“The official told me to watch out for it in the regular season and that it would be a penalty,” Little said. “I have to be cautious of that and not hurt the team with self-imposed penalties.”

Shurmur voiced his displeasure in his postgame news conference.

“I told him don’t do that,” Shurmur said. “Basically he made a great play, and I said, ’In my opinion, you tarnished a great effort by booting the ball in the stands.’ So I don’t want that.

“He knows I don’t want that. It’s been addressed, and I don’t expect to see that again.”

Wide receiver Josh Cribbs also had some advice for Little.

“I told him, ’You know, it’s preseason, so get it all out the way now. In the regular season, act like you’ve been there,’ “ Cribbs said. “We’re going to score a lot this year and look forward to scoring a lot. He knows. He’s having fun his first year, getting it all out the way. Come regular season, he’ll be ready.”

The Browns hope Cribbs is right. They selected Little in the second round (59th overall) of this year’s draft, and they’re counting on him to focus and be productive right away.

His antics aside, Little, 22, has shown he has the talent to become a weapon in Shurmur’s West Coast offense.

The Browns led the Lions 21-13 at halftime before their backup players, plagued by undrafted rookie running back Armond Smith’s two lost fumbles, let a win slip away in the final two quarters. Still, Little’s catches, plus tight end Evan Moore’s two touchdown receptions, were among the starting offense’s highlights.

“Every day is a leap and a bound,” Little said. “Just practice wise, you want to come out and make tremendous strides from the next day. I think that’s what our offense, our defense and our team wishes for one another to do. That’s where we get our overall success from.”

Before Friday, Little had not scored since Dec. 26, 2009, when he caught seven passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns for the University of North Carolina in its 19-17 loss to Pittsburgh in the Meineke Bowl.

He didn’t play for the Tar Heels in 2010, because he was suspended for the entire season for accepting improper benefits from an agent.

“It felt good to finally get in the end zone and get the monkey off my back,” Little said. “I was a little overjoyed.

“[I’m] just happy to be back on the field and with a team. I’m just happy to be in the locker room amongst guys working towards a common goal to win. I think that’s where the overjoyed [feeling] comes from.”

Although McCoy avoided the trademark vicious blows of Lions standout tackle Ndamukong Suh, he absorbed a few nasty strikes and was repeatedly knocked around by Suh’s teammates. For example, defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock was penalized for roughing the passer after he dived into McCoy’s legs in the second quarter.

“A lot of people were ready to anoint us after [the preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers],” McCoy said. “[On Friday,] we faced a good front, a good defensive football team, and we had our ups and downs for sure.

“I don’t think I got hit [against the Packers]. [The Lions] put some pressure on us. They came at us with some pressure that we hadn’t seen, and for the most part, we did OK.”

McCoy played for most of the first half and completed 10-of-18 passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He finished with a passer rating of 110.2 and was not sacked.

“They were bringing the safety, they were bringing the linebackers and a couple of full blitzes in there actually,” Shurmur said. “That’s good. We need to see that kind of stuff, and you have to be able to execute in the face of pressure.”

Return on horizon?

Running back Montario Hardesty might play in his first preseason game of the year Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

After working on the side with a trainer for two weeks during training camp, Hardesty fully participated in practice this past week. He appeared to be comfortable running and making cuts on his surgically repaired left knee.