BEREA, Ohio -- In his quest to excel in the West Coast offense, Browns quarterback Colt McCoy couldn't think of anyone better to help teach it to him this off-season than future Hall of Famer Brett Favre.

McCoy called Favre and asked if he could come to his hometown in Hattiesburg, Miss., to work with him on the precision scheme, one that Favre ran for 20 years. Favre obliged, and the two spent about four days together pouring over the offense and throwing passes.

"Since I couldn't get coached, it was a great opportunity to pick the brains of a guy who's played in this system for 20 years," McCoy said through a team spokesperson. "It was a chance for me to get a lot of questions answered. We worked on footwork, progressions, reads and things like that. It was definitely a positive trip."

Favre, an 11-time Pro Bowler, spent seven seasons perfecting the West Coast offense in Green Bay under Browns President Mike Holmgren, then the Packers coach. The offense run by Pat Shurmur was handed down from Holmgren to Eagles coach Andy Reid to Shurmur, so it's as close as McCoy could get.

During four of Favre's seven seasons with Holmgren, he earned a passer rating in the 90s. He also threw an average of 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions during five of those seasons. Together, Holmgren and Favre rode the scheme to a Super Bowl victory over the Patriots in 1996.

McCoy, who organized four lockout workouts to help teach the offense to his teammates, also spoke on the phone with former NFL head coach and Holmgren protege Jon Gruden about the scheme.

McCoy saw some early results from his work. Despite just 11 practices before the preseason opener, McCoy completed nine of 10 attempts for 135 yards and a touchdown. He earned a 152.1 rating, which is not far off a perfect 158.3.

Cleveland Browns training camp, August 15, 2011 12 Gallery: Cleveland Browns training camp, August 15, 2011

Yates retires: Backup guard Billy Yates showed up for work Monday morning and informed Shurmur that he was retiring. Shurmur tried to talk the eighth-year pro out of it, but Yates had already left the Browns facility by the time practice started. Later in the day, he was placed on the reserve/retired list.

"It surprised me a little bit," said Shurmur. "I like Billy. Billy's been doing a good job for us." Yates, signed by the Browns on Sept. 16, 2008, played in nine games last season, starting three at right guard. During his three starts, the Browns were 2-1 and allowed only four sacks. Yates went down with a biceps injury in November and was placed on injured reserve.

Down in the mouth: Safety T.J. Ward arrived at the Browns facility Monday morning with a tooth problem that caused the side of his face to swell. He missed practice to see a dentist. "If you didn't know any better, you'd have thought somebody punched him in the chin," said Shurmur. He said he expects Ward back in the lineup soon.

Safety help: Rookie safety Eric Hagg underwent minor knee surgery Monday and the Browns claimed free safety Brett Johnson off waivers from Seattle.

Originally signed by Buffalo as an undrafted free agent out of California in 2010, Johnson spent time with Philadelphia and St. Louis before being released prior to the regular season. He was signed to the Bills' practice squad on Dec. 22, where he remained for the rest of the season.

"We'll bring him in and see how he does," said Shurmur. "We're hoping [Hagg is] not out for a long period of time."

Free safety Usama Young is also sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Mitchell's surgery: Shurmur explained that receiver Carlton Mitchell had screws inserted into his finger to stabilize it after it got caught in a teammate's jersey last week.

"You're always hopeful a young guy will shine," he said. "That's what we're waiting to see. Greg Little, there were a couple plays in there were he did a real nice physical job of blocking."

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