CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – With the Browns’ season close to circling the drain, the bat signal has been sent.
Here’s the top Brownie Bites from Wednesday.
Batman returns – Nick Chubb was designated to return to practice along with fellow back Nyheim Hines and guard Michael Dunn Wednesday morning. The moves open the 21-day window for them to be activated or else they will be out for the season. “With any guy that's working through injuries and rehabbing, you're always excited when they're back in pads and that type of thing,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Nick's been here every day, so he's not far from what we're doing and far from what we're thinking about. And he's in every meeting. He's here very early, so this is just the next natural progression for him and for Nyheim and Mike.” Chubb was placed on reserve/PUP with a knee injury. Hines was placed on reserve/non-football injury with a knee injury. Dunn was placed on reserve/non-football illness. All of those moves came on August 27 with the cut down to the initial 53-man roster.
Numbers game – Through four games Deshaun Watson has yet to throw for 200 yards, marking a first in his career. “I don’t care about the stats. I just want to win. So, none of that stuff matters.” Cleveland enters Week 5 with the 29th ranked passing game that is averaging 151.5 yards per game. “We don’t get too wrapped up in statistics,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, we want to win games, we want to score points, and oftentimes that comes with yards in the run and the pass game. So we’re not concerned with that stat in particular, but we do want to be more efficient and more explosive, for sure.” In the 20-16 loss to the Raiders Watson completed 24 of 32 passes and looked comfortable. “Every week is a step forward,” Watson said. So, the more I’m out there, the better I’m going to get, and the better I’ll be and the more confident I’ll be.”
Daniels dimes – Unlike Watson, Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is off to a blistering start to his young NFL career. “Usually when you look at and evaluate rookies, they're kind of like not trying to make too many mistakes, kind of like tempo a little bit and not really trying to do too much and sometimes it may seem frantic, but he's a quarterback that obviously keeps his tempo,” linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said. “He actually does a good job in not hurrying up and not making those mistakes, obviously, No. 1 completion rate, so he's not forcing things. He's a guy that will take the check down and just chip and dime you until you get tired, take the free access, does his thing.” Daniels’ 82.1 completion percentage is the highest in the NFL and is the best four game stretch to begin a career in league history. “He’s taking what’s there, but he’s making tough throws as well,” Stefanski said. “So, at that number, at that clip, he’s making good decisions, he’s making quick decisions, he’s getting the ball out on time and accurately to his guys. And it’s a challenging scheme. They really try to put you in conflict as much as they can. So, he’s just doing a nice job within their scheme, and he also has the ability to make plays off schedule as well.” Daniels, who has thrown three touchdown passes, has also rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns making him a dynamic duel threat. “He's smart when he runs, is not necessarily looking to take the big hits, put his team in jeopardy, but just doing enough,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “It has been very effective. He's going through his reads, his progressions, well. He doesn't spend a lot of time back there. Ball's coming out quick, whether it's in a short game, if you have space, he's taking it and they're keeping him on rhythm. It's, it's good to see from a young quarterback like him. So for us, our job is to make him uncomfortable and try to disrupt their passing the game.”
Wrap up – Sure the Browns defense only gave up 20 points last week but missed tackles became a problem in Las Vegas. “We just got to make sure that we're finishing the tackles,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “I know for myself, I got to wrap up and just get guys down to the ground and just taking a lot of shots out there, trying to just make a quick play but got to get guys on the ground, wrap up and finish the play, get the guys down on the ground.” The Raiders ran for 152 years after coming in rushing for a total of 153 on the season and missed tackles were largely to blame. “For me specifically, it's about my technique, it's about my fundamentals,” Owusu-Koramoah said. “Even when I beat a tackle or beat a guard or whatever, it may look like, I got to not lunge and I have to run my feet through the tackles. And a lot of that, obviously, we have to be prepared for those situations. We want to get off the field, so maybe we're not in those situations where we have to deal with that. So there's a lot of calls to the affect that you guys are seeing, but we have to find ways to correct those things.”
Roster move – Linebacker Nathaniel Watson was signed from the practice squad to the active roster. Watson takes the spot vacated by running back Gary Brightwell, who was waived on Tuesday.
Injury report – DNP: RT Jack Conklin (hamstring), DE Myles Garrett (Achilles), LB Jordan Hicks (ribs, elbow, triceps), C Ethan Pocic (ankle), OT Jedrick Wills (knee), DE Alex Wright (triceps), CB Greg Newsome II (personal), DE Ogbo Okoronkwo (illness); LIMITED: RB Nick Chubb (knee), RB Nyheim Hines (knee), RB Pierre Strong (hamstring), G Michael Dunn (illness), OT James Hudson III (shoulder), OT Dawand Jones (knee), TE David Njoku (ankle); FULL: Martin Emerson Jr. (gameday concussion evaluation), WR Jerry Jeudy (knee), LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (hand)
