BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – It’s a good thing we’re already checking round trip flights to Los Angeles for February.
We kid, but seriously, Thursday’s joint practice with the New York Football Giants was a good one overall for the Browns, minus injuries to linebackers Sione Takitaki and Jacob Phillips.
Takitaki suffered a hamstring injury and Phillips and elbow injury the team said.
Back to practice, it looked at times like the varsity against the freshman. The Browns were the varsity.
The fields were split in two for scrimmages – Giants offense v. Browns defense on the west field and the Browns offense v. Giants defense on the east field.
“I thought it was really good competition on both sides,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I was on the far field there with our offense versus their defense, but I was trying to peek over between plays. I thought it was really competitive work. To be able to finish in a two-minute drive I think is a big deal because in these games you can’t predict if you are going to get a two-minute drive. It was good, solid work.”
Jarvis Landry welcomed the Giants secondary to Berea with a multitude of catches all afternoon, including an incredible one-handed grab in traffic over the middle during the first 11-on-11 session between the teams.
Once again, Landry set the tone.
“He is a very competitive dude. He wants to win every drill,” Stefanski said. “He wants to win when they do releases. He wants to win one on ones. He wants to win the team period. That sets the tone for our team. We understand that the wins and losses come on Sunday, but you really can be out here and be competitive and try to win each practice if you will.”
Running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt ran with ease, although without live tackling it’s hard to accurately gauge gains, but both runners appeared to get to the second level of the Giants defense regularly during scrimmage periods.
“I think the biggest thing for all of us who aren’t playing in preseason games is come out here and almost treat it like a game, get the reps, get the conditioning, get the finish in, feel that contact,” Chubb said before practice. “Try to make it seem like it’s a game so we can be ready whenever we do decide to play.”
Tight end David Njoku fared extremely well during drills Thursday, including catching a touchdown one-handed working against former Browns safety Jabrill Peppers.
Peppers joked after practice about the playful trash talk with Njoku and Baker Mayfield he had all afternoon.
The day ended with a bang in the 2-minute drill for the Browns.
With six seconds on the clock and the ball at the 19, Baker Mayfield got flushed from the pocket and rolled right before heaving one to the end zone. Receiver Rashard Higgins got himself in front of four Giants defenders and went up full extension to haul in the pass for a touchdown. As Higgins was coming down, he began to lose the football but regained control using his leg, securing it as he hit the ground.
Stefanski noted after practice that he was a split second from blowing the play dead and calling a sack on the play.
Rookie cornerback Greg Newsome II intercepted Giants quarterback Daniel Jones to end the practice, setting off a defensive celebration worthy of a Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation. Earlier in practice, Newsome just missed making another interception.
See ya in L.A.
Pump the brakes – Receiver Anthony Schwartz is used to going as fast as he can, but the Browns need him to slow it down for a bit coming off a hamstring injury.
“It is pretty tough just because I want to go out there and show what I can do and show off my biggest strength,” Schwartz said. “At the end of the day, it is all about staying healthy, it is all about being able to be out there and it is all about being available. I just have to know that you can’t run every play at 22-23 miles an hour. You have to pace yourself. You have to get through and you have to be able to just pace yourself the whole time.”
Schwartz, who did not practice Thursday as part of his recovery plan, admitted that watching how hard he pushes himself is difficult.
“It is a little hard just because I get into that zone and I am like, ‘OK, it is time to go,’” Schwartz said. “Sometimes you do not feel like it. You do not feel you are running fast enough so you want to go faster. At the end of the day, it is something that I have to learn, and it is something that I am getting better at learning and be able to do.”
The Browns selected Schwartz in the third round of the 2021 Draft in the hopes that the burner from Auburn would provide the offense with an element they lacked following the season-ending injury to Odell Beckham Jr.
last year – speed.
My guy – The Giants’ visit also marked the return of former head coach Freddie Kitchens to Berea.
Kitchens was fired after the Browns failed to meet expectations and went 6-10 during the 2019 season but Chubb still holds the Giants assistant in high regard.
“Freddie, that’s my guy. He’s my first NFL running back coach of my career,” Chubb said. “The biggest thing from him that I remember is every day I stepped on the field he said, ‘Make today your best day.’ That stuck with me forever. Every time I go on the field, I think about that. I only worry about today. I’ve got to get better today and nothing else matters.”
Keep your cool – Stefanski and Giants head coach Joe Judge met with their teams about controlling their emotions and not allowing the heat of competition to spill over into fights.
Prior to practice both teams’ leaders got together to review the rules of engagement for the practices and the message was received.
While there was plenty of trash talk, the closest we came to blows was when Giants cornerback Rodarius Williams, brother of Browns corner Greedy Williams, and Browns receiver JoJo Natson went back and forth verbally after Williams broke up a pass intended for Natson on the near sideline.
Status quo – There is still no new news regarding defensive end Takkarist McKinley’s continued excused absence from the team.
“I do not have an update there,” Stefanski said. “I am just going to keep that between Takk and myself.”
Roster move – Before practice the Browns cut defensive lineman Damian Square and signed receiver JoJo Ward.
An undrafted free agent in 2020, Ward spent 2020 on the Cardinals practice squad. The Hawaii product had 116 catches for 1,999 yards and 20 touchdowns in two college seasons.
Square was signed in May after he spent six years with the Chargers and appeared in 81 games.
Injury report – S Grant Delpit (hamstring), S Sheldrick Redwine (ankle), CB M.J. Stewart Jr. (hamstring), LB Tony Fields II (foot), DE Myles Garrett (hamstring), WR Ja’Marcus Bradley (neck), G Michael Dunn (back), CB Denzel Ward (soreness) did not practice due to injury.
DE Jadeveon Clowney, WR Odell Beckham Jr., CB A.J. Green, WR Anthony Schwartz also did not practice.
Up next – Practice with the Giants Friday afternoon at 2:25.
