Berea, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – We all know the adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens is applying it this week to the 2-6 Denver Broncos and their new starting quarterback Brandon Allen.
Allen, in his third NFL season, has been thrust into the starting lineup after Joe Flacco suffered a herniated disk in his neck in last week’s 15-13 loss to the Colts in Indianapolis.
“We have to prepare for him just like he is a starter,’’ Kitchens said Wednesday. “He is officially now an NFL starter. We have had experience with that before and guys have been successful against us. We have to prepare for him.”
Denver has lost multiple heartbreakers this year starting in Week 1 with a 16-14 last second loss to the Bears, 26-24 to Jacksonville in Week 3, and last week at Indianapolis.
“This is a very, very good football team we are playing,” Kitchens said.
Denver’s defense is allowing 18.9 points per game, ranked eighth overall, fourth against the pass and total yards and they although they’re ranked 19th against the run, they allow an average of 33.5 fewer yards on the ground per game than the Browns do.
“They’re very good, very active. They have good active guys inside that we struggled with at times with last year,” Kitchens said. “Von Miller speaks for himself. He is one of the best in the league. The secondary is good. When they have given up 40 yards of less rushing, they have created six turnovers and they have won the game. When they did not, they lost the game and even those games came down to a last second field goal.”
Bouncing back – Nick Chubb responded in a big way Sunday after he fumbled on his first two carries Sunday at New England to roll up 131 yards on 20 carries to average 6.6 yards per.
“There [were] some things I could’ve fixed, and that’s what I did during the game,” Chubb said. “I corrected it and knew if I did things right mentally and stayed focused it wouldn’t happen again.”
Unfortunately, his longest run – 44 yards – resulted in his second fumble. The first fumble came on the second series of the game when left guard Joel Bitonio accidently kicked the ball out of his hands while hitting the turf. Dont’a Hightower scooped the loose ball up and returned it for a touchdown.
“I didn’t know what happened, I just saw the ball out in front of my face,” Chubb said. “The film showed it got kicked out.”
So how does Kitchens expect Chubb to respond this week?
“The same way that he responded during the game,” Kitchens said. “Nick is a professional, high character and just all of the intangibles that you have in a football player, Nick has. I have total confidence that Nick is going to continue to work, and I would expect him to have a good game, just like he always does.”
Chubb, who is averaging 5.5 yards per carry, credited his teammates and coaches for picking him up Sunday and helping him to refocus.
“I put it on myself to not let it happen again,” Chubb said. “That’s what I did. I put it behind me and went out there on the field and I let loose. I wanted to win that game so bad. I felt like I let my team down and that’s why it was so easy for me to put it behind me because I knew I had to keep going forward.”
Landry and OBJ limited – Receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry were both limited during Wednesday’s practice according to the team’s injury report.
Beckham is dealing with a groin injury and Landry is still feeling the effects of a shoulder injury suffered against New England that saw him land hard on it in the fourth quarter.
Dead deadline – The Browns stood pat Tuesday and did not succumb to temptation to make another splash before the end of the trade deadline.
“John [Dorsey] and I do a good job of communicating the possibilities,” Kitchens said. “We're always going to look to improve our football team.”
Kitchens declined to say if a deal was close to getting done.
“I'm not going to comment on that. You can ask John that,” Kitchens said.
LB added – The Browns claimed linebacker Tae Davis off waivers from the Giants Wednesday.
Davis started 5 of the 18 games he’s appeared in for the Giants registering 38 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 5 QB hits and a pass defensed.
Davis takes the roster spot vacated by defensive end Genard Avery, who was traded to the Eagles Monday.
Hue again – Former Browns head coach Hue Jackson is returning to the sidelines.
Jackson was named a coach for the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl along with his good friend Marvin Lewis, who is working with Herm Edwards at Arizona State, for the game to be played on Jan. 18.
Injury report – DNP: S Damarious Randall (hamstring), TE Pharaoh Brown (concussion)
Limited: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (groin), DT Daniel Ekuale (calf), WR Jarvis Landry (shoulder), S Sheldrick Redwine (hamstring)
Full: OT Kendall Lamm (knee), S Jermaine Whitehead (hand)
