BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – All eyes were on Deshaun Watson Thursday as he threw in front of reporters for the first time this offseason.
Here’s the top Brownie Bites from the sixth OTA of the offseason program.
Step by step – Watson took install reps and mental reps during team periods Thursday as he continues to follow the rehab plan for his right shoulder. “I think it's a really good combination right now of him getting mental reps, him getting some of the live reps, live reps that he can get in more of a jog through tempo, and then obviously the routes and the throwing when he can get in on his throwing days,” offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said. This isn’t Dorsey’s first rodeo working with a franchise quarterback coming off shoulder surgery, which is helping him integrate Watson amid a rehab program. “We went through a similar thing in Carolina with Cam [Newton] coming off of shoulder surgery where we had to make sure we're monitoring distance of throws, couldn't go past the surge yards, how many throws he's making at practice. All those things were basically throughout the entire year… You see [Watson] continue each day ramping it up a little bit more and more. He threw the ball down the sideline, a vertical throw today, and that's one I hadn't seen from him a lot. We haven't pushed him to do it, so that was good to see. So I think the more he grows and feels comfortable with it, the more you'll start seeing those things get ramped up more and more.” With some of the reps being done at half speed, it is difficult to assess where Watson’s arm strength is at, but he showed no signs of discomfort or limitations going vertical with the football. “He looks good,” receiver Elijah Moore said. “We always talking, we always checking in… I watch him work his ass off every single day. You see what I'm saying? That's all that we could ask for is for him to work his ass off. So I think he looks good.” As Watson eases into a throwing program, backup Jameis Winston is handling No. 1 duties during team periods and it’s not Watson’s arm that stands out to the former No. 1 overall pick in the draft. “I’ve seen intentional leadership of him taking mental reps like he is one of the best quarterbacks in this league,” Winston said. “I’ve seen a consistent growth and just him focusing on his shoulder routine, focusing on building that strength back and when he throws it, he spins it. So I haven’t seen anything of lack. I’ve just seen him just continue to grow, continue to lead these guys because it’s challenging when you’re not getting the reps. It’s challenging to have a presence when you’re sitting back from afar watching, and he’s done an incredible job just staying locked in, staying focused. I smile when he’s communicating to the receivers in the back, communicating to the offensive lines, talking protections because that is football and he’s not missing a beat.”
Kicked off – The new kickoff rules have consumed assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone this offseason. “It's a trial and error process throughout this whole development of the hybrid kickoff and the kickoff return play,” Ventrone said. “And we're just honestly just trying to feel it out and try to come along as fast as we can and take what we're seeing on the field and apply it to the next practice, the next meeting, and to see improvement in all areas.” This offseason, on the recommendation of special teams coordinators around the league, the NFL instituted a completely different kickoff play where the kicker will kick from their own 35 and look to drop the ball between the opposing goal line and 20-yard line. The kicking team will line up at the opposing 40 with two players outside the numbers, two more between the numbers and hashmarks and two more between the hashmarks. The receiving team lines up at their own 35 with three outside the hashmarks, one between them and two more outside the hashmarks at their own 30 in front of two returners. Nobody moves until the ball hits the ground or returner’s hands. “Obviously we are not having collisions now in the OTA setting, but we feel like we can figure out the timing at least in the spacing relative to where the ball is and where it's fielded and things like that,” Ventrone said. The league aimed to take violent collisions as the result of gunners running full speed downfield out of the play as well as reducing touchbacks and promoting returns. The new rules mean Ventrone will have more time in practice to work on returns too. “In the past you wouldn't be able to rep as many kickoff and kickoff return plays within a special teams period,” Ventrone said. “Now you have eliminated the running portion really that's why you wanted to have less reps back when it was back with the older kickoff. Now you can probably get more reps because you're eliminating the speed, you're taking more off of their legs.” Drives will start at their own 40 for balls kicked out of bounds or short of the 20. The receiving team is penalized a bit too if they catch the ball in the end zone the ball comes out to the 30. If the ball rolls into the end zone with no return, the ball comes out only to the 20. “I think across the league you're going to see more high-profile players back there,” Ventrone said. Ventrone is giving all skill players return reps this offseason and he believes offensive and defensive players are going to enjoy participating on special teams because of the rule changes. “I think you're going to see some more defensive players maybe wanting to get involved because first off, I think that this play is going to impact the game a lot more than people think,” Ventrone said. “I think that there's an opportunity for both the coverage team and the return team to have big plays. And a lot of times guys in the past I would say you'd have some pushback on starters wanting to be on the unit because it's being on the kickoff unit in the past was hard because you're starting to run, whether it was kicking off from the 30 or 35, that's a long way to run and then go right to a defensive play. That is hard. Okay, that's hard to do. Now you're eliminating the space of the run. There's a lot of elements of a defensive play in there. It's opportunities to get another tackle. It's an opportunity to make another play, to get another turnover. And then on the flip side of that, obviously it's another chance to make a play like an offensive play.”
Give me Moore – Moore found himself having to play defense Thursday as he responded to a question about his absence last week for the voluntary workouts. He specifically shot down any notion that he might be less than thrilled the team traded for Jerry Jeudy this offseason. “There's nothing to be mad about,” Moore said. “[There]'s a lot of stuff going on in the world, I'm not a person that looks at -- I've been invited by competition my whole life, so it's not like I'm mad because of Jeudy or I'm mad because of Coop or anybody else that comes in. I ain't never shy from nothing. I'm from Florida, so that's not nothing that I'm ever afraid of. If anything, that [trade for Jeudy] opens us up, which you guys don't realize, and I'm excited about what we got.” The Browns signed Jeudy to a three-year, $52 million contract extension while Moore enters the final year of his rookie deal. “If I think about it, I'm going to drive myself crazy,” Moore said. “So I feel like, it's kind of just like how I did my entire life, I just take it one day at a time. I focus on the task ahead. If I handle what I'm supposed to handle, I'm going to be blessed. You know what I'm saying? So that's just how I look at it. I don't really focus on that because it's not my time yet.” Moore is not only excited about having Jeudy in the fold, but working with him in a revamped offense under Dorsey and head coach Kevin Stefanski. “I just feel like it's going to be a lot more explosive,” Moore said. Although Moore set career highs with 59 catches for 640 yards and two touchdowns last season, the opportunities and production didn’t seem to align with how the Browns prepared to use him during last year’s offseason program. It’s not something he is focusing on this year. “I think the statement ‘Keep going’ is so slept on because that's what everybody says, but that's all that I can do. Nobody here has the answers to life. Nobody has the answers to why certain situations go the way they do. So I think that all we can do is put the next foot forward. You see what I'm saying? Focus on one day at a time and win all my moments. You see what I'm saying? So that's all I focus on.”
Seeing red – Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is the last to rest on the laurels of Cleveland finishing with the No. 1 overall ranked defense for the first time since the 1950’s in 2023. “We played really well in a lot of areas, red zone wasn't one,” Schwartz said. “We had too many mistakes there, and that's certainly an area that we can improve on. I don't talk a lot about our position, our defensive rankings or things like that because we sort of judge ourselves against ourselves and just because whatever we were number one in an area or number five in an area, it's all about us and our improvement as opposed to what the rest of the league is doing. So coming off of a pretty good year of defense, when you look at the film, there was a lot of room for improvement, not just in red zone, but in a lot of different areas. So that's sort of the challenge. We can't get complacent. We can't think that last year is going to mean anything right now. Last year means nothing. Everybody's right down to the bottom of the hill again and you've got to climb it again.”
The consultant – The presence of special consultant and former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was felt on the field throughout Thursday’s workout. Vrabel did a little bit of everything from running drills with players to running cards during practice. Vrabel was brought on to assist head coach Kevin Stefanski as well as the front office in just about every area of football operations.