BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – There was no singing in the rain but there was football practice in it on Monday.
“Got to get used to playing in the conditions,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said in the pouring rain prior to practice.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from what was a soggy afternoon.
Forbes, Ford depart – Monday’s practice saw a pair of players leave early due to injuries. Backup offensive lineman Drew Forbes was carted off the field with a back injury. It is unclear how he sustained it. No. 2 running back Jerome Ford suffered an injury to his right leg that saw him hobble off the field before walking inside with a trainer. Demetric Felton and John Kelly will likely compete for Ford’s reps until he returns.
Getting’ hot – Deshaun Watson got hot during a 7-on-7 drill from the 10-yard line. After overthrowing Donovan Peoples-Jones to begin the drill, Watson zipped touchdowns to David Njoku, David Bell, Peoples-Jones, Elijah Moore and two more to Peoples-Jones. Six of his eight throws were for scores. “I feel like we have a better understanding of how we think, how each of us thinks when it comes to tight ends, quarterbacks, tight ends, receivers, receivers, quarterbacks,” Njoku said. “We know what each other, we're thinking together. I think that helps a lot.” Rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was second in the quarterback rotation Monday and he was victimized by linebacker Sione Takitaki twice in three plays – an interception and pass break up in the end zone. “I definitely like this style where they're going to un-handcuff us and we're going to just fly around and make plays,” Takitaki said. DTR threw TDs to Schwartz and Cedric Tillman. “Good days are good for the Browns,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I think both sides are pushing each other. Again, when you're at your best, somebody wins a period and the other side wins a period and that's just getting good at football is really just pushing each other.”
Highlight reel suppliers – Nick Chubb is in midseason form. So is Elijah Moore. Chubb could’ve gone the distance in an 11-on-11 backed up near the goal line drill after taking a handoff and cutting twice through traffic before hitting the open field. Late in practice, Chubb ended a two-minute drill by sliding short of the goal line to run out the clock after another big run into the open field. Moore opened the afternoon of team work by making a beautiful sliding catch of a Watson pass and he made another later in the practice after getting behind the secondary. You can count on Moore to make one or two plays every day, and he is going to be a ton of fun to watch this season. “Elijah is exceptional,” Njoku said. “He plays very passionately. He wears his emotions on his sleeves. I just love seeing him compete. I think you guys saw the one-on-one [Sunday] to end it. You live for moments like that, so I'm so hyped to see him progress, see him compete, see him have a lot of fun.”
Jones-ing for improvement – Rookie offensive tackle Dawand Jones has come a long way since rookie minicamp that saw him struggle to get through drills to playing all 74 offensive snaps in the Hall of Fame Game. According to Pro Football Focus, Jones did not allow a single pressure. “I really thought his pass protection took some major steps,” Callahan said. “He still has a long ways to go yet. We're still working on the run technique aspects of his play to make him a more complete player. But it was good to see him perform under the lights against good competition, taking third-down sets, which are so critical to protection. Yeah, a lot of positives. we came away pleased. Again, as you look at it, just a broad brush looking at it, you say, God, that was really good because he stayed in front, he got his man, he finished off. But there's so many little things that he can improve upon and self-admittingly, he agrees with that. He can see where he can improve his hands and his feet and his body posture and obviously some of his overall reactions and counters.”
Big year – After having his fifth-year option exercised in the spring, the Browns seem pretty pleased with left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. “I think he's really progressed,” Callahan said. “We came out of last year's film evaluation, the scheme eval from off season and we saw a lot of positive things in his play. We saw steps. Now, we want it to be more physical. We want it to be, I would say, more consistent in terms of the finish. We like to see that finish become more violent, more physical. I think we're pushing that. We've had long conversations about that. And Jed, he's a great kid and he takes constructive criticism well. He takes challenges well, so he's up for it. He wants to get better. He's shown that in the offseason, he's shown that in training camp, he's becoming a more consistent pass protector. We've added some things to his repertoire in terms of technique. So we're really hopeful. And I know that he's really challenged to get better and improve because there are some big things out there ahead of him.”
Injury updates – Defensive ends Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas will “miss some time” with knee injuries according to Stefanski causing the team to sign defensive end Charles Wiley Monday morning. Both players could miss the start of the regular season. Tight end Harrison Bryant remains sidelined. It's a medical condition. I can't really comment on it,” Stefanski said.
Roll call – CB Greg Newsome II, WR Jaelon Darden, WR Marquise Goodwin, LB Matthew Adams, S Tanner McCalister, TE Harrison Bryant and DT Trysten Hill worked on the side. WR Amari Cooper, CB Denzel Ward, S Rodney McCleod, RT Jack Conklin and DE Za’Darius Smith appeared to have the day off.
