Colt McCoy: The Good, the Great, and the Ugly
Colt McCoy was a great pick up for the Giants this offseason. He is a proven pro and a respected veteran signal-caller in the NFL. What makes McCoy such a great addition in New York is that he mimics similar traits as Daniel Jones.
This is a golden opportunity for Jones to continue to improve as a pro in that quarterback room with McCoy. And should the unthinkable happen, and Jones be unable to play, in McCoy, they have a replacement that has proven he can be productive and win games in the NFL.
The Good: McCoy is deceptively athletic
People have always underestimated McCoy's athleticism, mostly because he followed one of the best college quarterbacks ever, Vince Young. Just because McCoy isn't on Young's level in terms of athleticism doesn't mean he is not athletic. The result has been a college and professional career full of large-chunk runs for McCoy.
In this first clip, Washington is running a play-action pass out of a double tight end formation. McCoy tries to run the play-action on the snap, but when he comes up to try to throw, he has a Patriots defender in his face.
He is able to escape to his right and running while looking down the field until he realizes there is no place to throw the ball. Once he realizes that he can't throw it, he takes off and runs down the field, picking up a good chunk of yards in the process and getting safely out of bounds.
In this next clip, Washington is up against the Cowboys in the shotgun. McCoy feels like the pocket is collapsing too quickly. He again escapes to his right and takes a quick look downfield to find an open receiver.
After he sees there's nobody open, he takes off. As several Cowboys give chase, he accelerates down the field and runs out of bounds after he passes the first down marker.
In this final clip, Washington was in an empty formation. The offensive line slides to the left and leaves a Houston blitzer free off the right side on the snap.
McCoy dips underneath the free rusher and takes off towards the sidelines. He is able to outrun three defenders before he is finally pushed out of bounds for a first down.
The Great: McCoy is very accurate with intermediate passes
McCoy has built a very nice career off completing the passes he has to complete. His talent has been not getting receivers killed by throwing the ball into compromising areas. He also is good at throwing the ball to receivers in stride, allowing them to gain extra yards.
In this first clip, Washington is backed up near their endzone. McCoy gives two play-action fakes on the snap, one to a receiver running jet motion and one to the back coming downhill.
The tight end to the defensive right is being covered man to man. He is fighting to work downfield, but the defender is all over him when he breaks his out route as 12 yards he is able to create a little separation. McCoy not only hits the tight end in stride for a 15-yard gain but keeps him from taking any unnecessary big hits.
This clip is McCoy operating from another play-action scheme. He does a good job of not just making rudimentary fakes, and because of that effort, he pulls defenders up that might otherwise be in coverage. This allows him to find a receiver on the numbers breaking towards the sideline.
He delivers a strike even as pass rushers are bearing down on him. The ball hits the receiver in stride and allows him to gain extra yardage up the field without fear of taking a defender's hit.
This final clip is a straight dropback pass for McCoy in the red zone for Washington. The offensive line gives him really good protection, and he is able to scan for an open receiver.
He is able to place the ball just over a defender in coverage and just out of reach of a diving defender into the hands of his receiver in stride for a touchdown. The ball was placed so well that it would not matter where Washington's offense was on the field; the results would have still been a touchdown.
The Ugly: McCoy can get a little anxious with pressure
In this game against New England, McCoy was consistently under pressure. So much that it caused him to make decisions based on getting rid of the ball. This results in premature check-downs throws for modest gains when significant gains were available and bad choices.
In this first clip, McCoy is in the shotgun. He is in a three-step drop. The Patriots are rushing four with a stunt into McCoy's sightline. This makes him rush a throw to a receiver in the flat to his right, which is a completion, but two defenders immediately close in on him.
If he would have stayed calm and looked back to the middle, his running back was open with no defenders around him. That could have resulted in a significant gain for the offense.
In this next clip, McCoy is once again unnecessarily rushing a pass. He gets the snap and throws the fade ball to the receiver on his left side.
He gets to the depth of his drop and releases the ball, but he had an opportunity to step up into the pocket, decide if the fade was the best route to throw and check it down to the running back. Open short middle.
In this final clip, McCoy is running a bootleg to the left. As he fakes the run, the tight end is running across the field wide open. McCoy has an opportunity to boot out and find an open receiver.
The tight end should be in his view, but he holds on to the ball. When he finally tries to flip his hips, he is met by a defender who is assigned to make him throw the ball. McCoy takes the sack!
Final Thoughts
Despite his shortcomings, McCoy is a quality backup in New York. He is a mentor, and his athleticism and intermediate accuracy make him a factor if needed. Daniel Jones will benefit from hanging out in that quarterback room because McCoy has now crossed over to the territory of becoming an extra coach.
