BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The health of the Browns offensive line continues to dominate preparation for Sunday’s game in Baltimore against the first place and 7-2 Ravens but the secondary got some good news.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from Thursday.
Last resort – Left guard Joel Bitonio is an All-Pro, and the emergency left tackle for the Browns, who might be forced to call upon him this week following the loss of Jedrick Wills Jr. to an MCL injury for 4-6 weeks. Or will they? “We’ll see,” Bitonio said. “No, we’re working through that right now. Obviously Jed, a steady left tackle for us and a guy like that, luckily it’s not as bad as it could be. We’re kind of figuring that out this week and we’ve got a few new bodies in here, so we’re getting to know each other a little better and getting a little extra work in.” Moving Bitonio would seem to create an additional problem and hole to fill up front but in 2021 Bitonio was forced to play two games at let tackle. “I remember them,” Bitonio said. “That was a few years ago, but I know Bill’s working at trying to get our five best guys out there and we’ll see how it plays out.” James Hudson continues to work at right tackle, and it appears that newcomer Geron Christian, who is on the practice squad, could get a chance this week against the Ravens. “O-line is one of those positions as the year goes on, you make sure everyone stays healthy, but it’s a tough position so I think coach Callahan has had a lot of experience at mixing and matching guys and keeping us ready really for no matter what,” Bitonio said. “COVID kind of helped with that too because you have those random sicknesses, but it’s one those things where you just stay ready. For me, for Wyatt [Teller], for Po [Ethan Pocic], you’re just trying to understand the whole play book so if you do have to move out to tackle or do something differently you have an understanding of what’s going on out there and you can perform as well as you can.” After losing both starting tackles to injury, there’s concern about depth. Wills did not practice again on Thursday as he deals with shoulder and knee injuries. “Obviously, you were hoping at this point that is was Jack [Conklin] and Jed [Wills] out there and Dawand he’s trying to fight and get back,” Bitonio said. “So it’s one of those things where we’re battling and we know it’s football. Obviously, you would rather have the first five out there for continuity sakes, but we’re going to work this week and we’re going to try to our best.”
Going deep – With the return of Deshaun Watson comes the return of the deep ball. Watson found receiver Amari Cooper down field twice in the 27-0 win over Arizona last weekend. “He's always looking for ways to throw the ball downfield and for the right reasons,” Cooper said. “Obviously, one of those plays, it just puts you right in scoring range. So, it's something that we obviously, all the time talk about and work on, for sure.” Watson found Cooper in the first quarter for 59 yards and then again in the fourth for 49 more and in the four-time Pro Bowler’s opinion, no one throws it better. “[I] Think he's number one,” Cooper said. “The one I caught last week when were up 20, it was perfect. It was right on the money. I don't think I caught more perfect deep ball than that. I'll put him up there, No. 1.” Cooper leads the Browns in catches with 35, yards with 617 and he has both receiving touchdowns. The challenge is getting more explosiveness out of the rest of the receiving corps, who have combined for 46 catches and just 418 yards receiving among five players, including Donovan Peoples-Jones, who was traded to Detroit. “Well, anytime you double one guy, you're going to have to single some other guys up. So we got to win our one on ones there,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “Elijah [Moore] has done some really good things for us as well, Ced [Tillman] just really getting into it now. Expect to see him have some more productivity and then Dave. I mean, Dave's playing at an elite level right now from the tight end position both in the run and the pass game. So finding ways to spread the ball, using the backs more in the pass game, all that's available.”
Still got it – Odell Beckham Jr. will get to face the Browns for the first time since orchestrating his way out of town in the middle of the 2021 season and landing with the Rams where he helped them go on to win a Super Bowl. “He's always been a great receiver and able to make a lot of plays for those guys,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “Great hands, great routes. He's a great player. So, I mean, like I said, he's going to present a challenge for us as well as all their receivers and their entire team. They got a great team over there. But I think we're up for the challenge, though. Looking forward to it.” Despite his desire to leave, there never were hard feelings within the Browns locker room because Beckham was beloved by his teammates. “He's a good dude, man,” safety Grant Delpit said. “He gets a bad rep sometimes, but man, that's my dude. He's a great person in the locker room. He's great teammate. So I’ve got nothing but respect for that dude. But we step between these white lines, man it, it's game on.”Martin Emerson has heard nothing but good things about Beckham and how challenging of an assignment he is going to be Sunday. “They tell me everything about him,” Emerson said. “Great receiver, how he can change speeds, get out of breaks, great hands, great receiver. They told me a lot of stories about him when he wasn't here, so we got a matchup coming in, well going there actually.” Beckham, who has 19 catches for 218 yards, finally caught his first touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter of last week’s Ravens 37-3 rout of the Seahawks. “I was looking up to Odell when I was a kid,” Emerson said. “He's a fighter, man. Honestly, I feel like he's not explosive as he once was in his career. Still great receiver, don't get me wrong, but he got that fight in him and he know what he can do and confident it himself. So he’s a threat.”
Tight race – The AFC North is a dogfight this year with every team having won at least five games. “It's a tough division,” Ward said. “I mean, you obviously see it with the records that we all have. Just being close compared to other divisions and just the talent and the level of play that guys are playing at in this division has been tough. It's going to be a battle the entire season and see where we are towards the end of the year and trying to make the playoffs.” Sunday’s game is critical for the 5-3 Browns if they are to have a chance to chase down the 7-2 Ravens and win their first division title since 1989. “It's a division game. It's a big game in that aspect, but we play big games all the time,” Delpit said. “So I think every week in this league, as long as you stack wins, that's what we’re focused on and we go into each week that it's the most important game of the season, to be honest. So might have a little more riding on it, but it's our same mentality.” If the playoffs began this weekend, the entire division would be in. “It’s a tough division, obviously,” Cooper said. “I feel like some of the best games, the most memorable games for me are the ones that you feel like you have a lot on the line for. So yeah it's going to be a good game, a meaningful game. Just got to go out there and handle our business.” Baltimore would be the two seed, Pittsburgh No. 5, Cleveland sixth and Cincinnati seventh. “We're not worried about the outside noise or who's the best team in the league or things like that,” quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “It's the NFL. Everybody's good and anybody can get beat on any given day. So our main focus is execution and mastering this game plan and then once Sunday come, we got to go out there and play.”
Return of Proche – James Proche did a nice job as a game day practice squad elevation last week against the Cardinals returning punts. He had six total that went for a combined 55 yards with his longest return being 17, which was the longest for the team this season. “Very good judgment, good hands, smart kid, very hard worker, detailed, and is a guy that is going to get downhill,” special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Bubba Ventrone said. Proche would’ve had a better return average if it were not for penalties last week which bothered Ventrone. “We'll be cleaner this week. We'll be cleaner this week,” Ventrone said. Proche returns to Baltimore where he spent the previous three years, which should help the Browns in their preparations for the Ravens. “Obvious a lot, including the film study and the preparation that my coaches have done for me to put us in positions to succeed,” Proche said. “But being over there for three years, I'm familiar with the players and a lot of their tendencies, so it's going to be a fun, fun game.”
Newsome back – Nickel corner Greg Newsome II returned to practice after being idle since suffering a groin injury October 29 at Seattle. Wednesday Newsome was optimistic he would be able to play this weekend. “I hope to get back out this week, get out there with the guys and just progress day by day and see how I feel gametime,” Newsome said.
Injury report – DNP: WR David Bell (knee), WR Marquise Goodwin (concussion), OT Dawand Jones (knee/shoulder); LIMITED: WR Amari Cooper (rest, ankle), CB Greg Newsome (groin), TE David Njoku (knee), RB Pierre Strong (hamstring), DE Ogbo Okoronkwo (groin), DE Alex Wright (knee); FULL: S Grant Delpit (shoulder), OL Nick Harris (toe), QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder)
