**Kyle McCord: 'Pretty cool way to get your first one'**
Kyle McCord will have to watch the highlights to see his first NFL touchdown pass.
McCord said that after reviewing the tape from the Browns' preseason opener and the two joint practices this week, the offense knew to expect a zero blitz when the Eagles lined up at the Cleveland 9-yard line late in the first half.
"You know you're going to be one short in protection, so it's all about getting the ball out on time. I think that's how you show toughness as a quarterback," McCord said.
The rookie from Mount Laurel, New Jersey, knew that he would have to beat a free rusher, so he stood tall in the pocket and saw that wide receiver Ainias Smith won off the snap. McCord threw the ball and was knocked to the ground by Browns defensive end Cameron Thomas, who was called for roughing the passer.
Smith caught the ball on a slant for the score.
"I heard it. I heard it, but I didn't see it," McCord said. "I heard the crowd and then I saw Ainias celebrating in the end zone. Pretty cool way to get your first one."
McCord alternated with Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who started, and finished with 47 passing yards, the touchdown throw, and a successful conversion of a Tush Push play.
"It was pretty cool. I think that it was good to get that early on, feel like you're actually in the game, get hit, get tackled a little bit, get punched under the pile," McCord said of the Tush Push execution. "Obviously growing up, being an Eagles fan, within the last few years they've kind of trademarked that. We practice it a little bit in practice, but obviously it's not full contact, so it's really my first time doing it full speed. Pretty cool."
McCord, the former St. Joseph's Prep star who is coming off a historic season at Syracuse, played 27 snaps and feels his comfort level rising with each rep on the field.
"The game is definitely different," McCord said. "You're playing against the top 1 percent of athletes. I feel like at this level the biggest difference is everybody's a really good athlete. They all know what they're doing and they know how to try to deceive you and deceive your reads and stuff like that. It's a constant learning process. Sometimes as crappy as it is when you make the mistake, that's sometimes the best way to learn. Just constant, constant improvement, trying to get a little bit better each day.
"Game one, you're doing everything for the first time and now you have an expectation of what it's going to be like and think you know how to prepare throughout the week a little bit better and then you just feel more comfortable. I think every single rep that I get it's starting to slow down, which is what you want, and so stepping on the field, play one this week to first play one last week feels different." – Chris McPherson