BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns and Vikings got through two days of practice with some trash talk but no punches thrown.
“These are two teams with pros on either side,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Again, there's a lot of carryover. Guys know each other from growing up, from college, from playing against each other, playing with each other. So it's a spirited environment. It's football. We don't mind that. We enjoy that. We like guys that are talking trash on either side. That's just all part of it.”
Here’s the top Brownie Bites from day 15 of camp.
Hold the line – The Browns offensive line had a rough start to joint practices with Minnesota on Wednesday having been flagged at least seven times and allowing multiple virtual sacks. Quarterback Deshaun Watson had their back Thursday morning. “I'm very confident in my offensive line,” Watson said. “Each one of those guys, they work hard, they study hard, they try hard. So all that stuff can be fixed and that's why we go through training camps and we practice against different teams.” With Jed Wills still riding a bike and rehabbing from MCL surgery, James Hudson had been getting the reps in his place but this week a competition has been opened at the position with Germain Ifedi and Hakeem Adeniji. “They're going to compete and that's all we ask for is just to be able to be the best you and communicate with all the other guys up front to make sure we all on the same page and we know our standard when we step out on the field,” Watson said. Veteran All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio didn’t seem concerned prior to practice. “It was mostly just alignment, which is easy to fix,” Bitonio said. “We were a little bit too far off the ball at tackle, and then a couple operational issues, but it's something we're looking to fix [Thursday]. I think as practice went on, we really settled down into it, but that's just one of the things you have to look at and think, 'Hey, I can't be too far back in the backfield.' So I don't think it's a huge issue. It was obviously disappointing [Wednesday] to have so many flags, but I think we will get it fixed.”
What works – The good news is that the results of camp and these joint practices don’t really matter. What does is the film does and the coaching points from it, but we are entering the portion of camp where the Browns first team offense needs to start showing consistency. “I feel like I have a good base of what we do well potentially, that's all,” Stefanski said. “Obviously we got plenty of work to do, but I think we know potentially what we can do well.” Watson’s shoulder appears to be just fine and he’s not had a lot of time with his complete supporting cast during camp because of various injuries to them. There have been glimpses of hope like the sensational touchdown thrown to Jerry Jeudy Thursday and others where Watson has looked frustrated, but the quarterback says that is not accurate. “It's not that I'm frustrated or anything like that,” Watson said. “We all show emotion, but at the same time, like we said, we always want to strive for perfect and profession. And yeah, sometimes we might show a little shrug or head nod or things like that, but don't mean that we're frustrated. We just want to make sure we capitalize and be successful on each play. And that's what you want as a team.” Watson may not be frustrated but he and the first team offense are still working on finding consistency. They can't lean on Nick Chubb or the offensive line right now and after watching two days against the Vikings, there is nothing this offense does exceptionally well and they are running out of time to find out what that is before things start to matter.
Key takeaway – There were two elite players on the field these last two days – Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson. Both players are on another planet of talent. Jefferson's matchup with Martin Emmerson Jr. was a joy to watch with both players exhanging plays made while Garrett blew off the edge and plowed through double teams regularly.
Early departures – Tight end David Njoku started the day practicing during individual drills but didn’t partake in the team portion. Receiver Amari Cooper suffered an unknown injury and walked inside with a trainer. Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II also suffered an injury during 11-on-11.
Hall update – Rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall suffered a neck stinger during Wednesday’s practice with the Vikings that saw him walk off with trainers. Hall was arrested and arraigned Tuesday on a domestic violence charge stemming from an incident that occurred at his Avon home with his fiancé, her mother and two young children. Hall is accused of choking, dragging and threatening to kill his fiancé while pointing a gun at her head during an argument Monday night.
Roll Call – RB Nyheim Hines (NFI-knee), CB Greg Newsome II (NFI-hamstring), S D’Anthony Bell (PUP-shin), RB Nick Chubb (PUP-knee), T Jack Conklin (PUP-knee), DT Dalvin Tomlinson (PUP-knee), T Jedrick Wills Jr. (PUP-knee), LB Jordan Hicks (undisclosed), OG Michael Dunn (undisclosed), S Ronnie Hickman (back), WR David Bell (quadriceps), LB Nathaniel Watson (quadriceps), C Luke Wypler (broken ankle-will require surgery), WR Jaelon Dardon (undisclosed), LB Tony Fields II (undisclosed), DT Mike Hall (stinger) and CB Denzel Ward (concussion protocol)
