BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Deshaun Watson returned to practice Thursday increasing the chances he could play Sunday at Indianapolis.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites with all eyes on Watson’s return to the practice field.
At long last – Watson threw at practice for the first time since the last week of September when he was very limited and unable to throw with any length or volume due to a right rotator cuff injury. “Ramping him up, getting him ready, getting him back, so we will see how it goes [Thursday],” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said, “but excited to get him back out on the field. I know he's excited.” Watson’s last full practice was September 22. Thursday afternoon Watson warmed up, handed off to running backs and threw nearly two dozen times, including a 30-yard deep ball to Amari Cooper. “It'd be a huge boost [to get him back],” Cooper said before practice. “I mean, Deshaun is our guy, you know what I mean? At the end of the day, we all know who Deshaun is. We've seen all the plays that he's been able to make throughout his career. It's just like any other team, you’re confident when your starting guy is in the lineup 100 percent. So it'll be a huge boost.” While Watson, who described the injury Wednesday as a strain involving micro tears, was first up in the rotation during drills, he was limited in the reps he took as he skipped a few turns. It is unclear if he will be able to play Sunday against the Colts. “As soon as he feels well enough to be able to make all the throws on the field, that's probably when he'll be ready to go,” Van Pelt said. “I'm not sure when that'll be, but it's part of the process. Yeah, I'd hate to ask anybody to go out there limited, especially when you're a quarterback and that's your living is throwing the ball so he's got to feel good about it. We have to also have to feel good about it, but I think we're seeing him get better every day.”
Maintaining focus – With his defense off to an historic start through five games, coordinator Jim Schwartz isn’t taking any victory laps. “Well, they don't give out any trophies for five weeks,” Schwartz said. “I think we all know that. It's a long season, and we're going to have to survive a lot of highs and lows throughout the season. We have some experienced players. We have some experienced coaches that have been there, that know that. And I think that's one of the things that keeps us grounded. So let me know when the five week stats are part of the tiebreaker. When they are, we'll really concentrate on that.” Cleveland leads the NFL with just 1,002 yards allowed, the fewest through five games since 1971. The 52 first downs allowed and 23% conversion rate on third down also lead the NFL. Safety Grant Delpit appreciates Schwartz’s approach. “He knows what it takes to win,” Delpit said. “That's what we need. We know that we have a lot of things to clean up.” After stifling the 49ers, who were averaging over 33 points per game, everyone is starting to pay attention to the turnaround in Cleveland under Schwartz. With the haters quiet, can they handle the love? “I don't really see it as an issue, man,” Delpit said. “Good or bad. We flush it week to week so we know that we have a reputation uphold now as the number one defense.” It seems pretty clear the defense isn’t getting carried away reading their press clippings, ans Schwartz is the reason why. “Coach Schwarz, he's never going to let his foot off the gas and he wants to improve every single week,” defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson said. “So if we did good last week, we have to do better this week. It's always room for improvement.”
Unsung hero – Tomlinson isn’t stacking stats, but he has been a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the Browns defensive line. “I feel like I'm used to being an unsung hero,” Tomlinson said. “As long as the team wins and the defense is doing good, I'm happy. You feel me? So yeah, I don't really always look for the accolades and stuff like that. That's what comes with being a selfless player.” Tomlinson has a half sack and six tackles in five games but those numbers don’t tell the full story on what he has meant up front. “DT’s a monster, man,” Delpit said. “He doesn't get a lot of praise. He had one tackle last game, but if you cut on the tape, he's everywhere. He's disrupting. He's in the backfield and that frees up our linebackers to make plays.” Tomlinson, who signed a four-year deal worth up to $57 million in the offseason, is a big reason for Cleveland’s improvement against the run so far. This week the Colts throw running backs Johnathan Taylor and Zack Moss at them. “I like stopping to run, I like hitting people, so I'm super excited,” Tomlinson said. “I always love the challenge with a good running back. They got a good running back group and they're one of 32 for a reason, so always embraces the challenge of going against a good running back.”
Getting Cooped – Cooper’s leaping sideline grab last week against San Francisco made all the highlight reels and went viral but to the veteran receiver, it wasn’t anything special. “It felt pretty easy,” Cooper said. “I mean, something I've been doing my whole life. So I guess imagine something that most people think is difficult that you've been doing for a long time, that's easy to you, so it's the same thing.” Cooper high-pointed the ball from quarterback P.J. Walker over 49ers cornerback Charvarious Ward and got both feet down on the far sideline for 26 yards early in the third quarter. NextGen stats said it was the most improbable catch of the week. “I don't know how they come up with those numbers, but it was impressive, I guess,” Cooper said. Cooper’s quiet personality and propensity to not celebrate after big plays or touchdowns tends to keep him off the radar, but he has made plenty of ridiculous catches in his career and he plans to continue to make them routine going forward. “I mean, given the opportunity, I'll definitely try to go up there and make plays like that as much as I can,” Cooper said. “It's really a routine catch, so as long as I get the opportunities, then somebody will get Cooped every week.”
Going streaking (again) – Joel Bitonio’s bid to keep his streak of 102 consecutive games played and over 6,800 consecutive snaps came up short last week after the four-time Pro Bowler underwent a knee scope during the bye week and needed more time to rehab. “I wanted to [play] bad,” Bitonio said. “I was probably being a little selfish, honestly. Not just for the streak, but the competitor in me wanted to be on the field because I feel like I can help the team when I'm out there. But we all decided that it was probably best to not play on 13 days post surgery for the remainder of the season, for the twelve other games we have. But it was a tough decision. I was trying to get back there, but it wasn't quite ready. So it was the right decision to wait a little bit longer.” Bitonio had been dealing with some nagging pain in his knee for a few games, which led to a checkup and ultimately surgery. “Last time I sat, was the Pittsburgh playoff game, I was at home for that, for COVID,” Bitonio, who wore an earpiece on the sideline to listen in on the play calls during the game, said. “But this one was different, being on the sideline.” Bitonio admitted sitting out was hard because it’s not something he’s accustomed to doing, even though injuries his second and third years forced him to miss a total of 17 games. He played nonstop the last six plus. “When I first got in the league, I thought it was just common practice because Joe Thomas had never missed a snap. Alex Mack had never missed a snap, and Mitch [Schwartz] had never missed a snap,” Bitonio said. “So I was like, ‘I guess you don't miss snaps.’ You know what I mean? And so I came in and I didn't miss a snap for my first year and I was like, all right, this is easy, and then I got hurt in my second year and that went down the drain. But it was definitely fostered of this toughness and guys were playing through injuries and Mack had the appendix thing and he played through it and crazy things, you know what I mean? And it was just a pride thing that you wanted to be out there for your guys. And so yeah, I hope we're still carrying that on, but it was definitely from those guys that kind did it.”
Injury report – DNP: LG Joel Bitonio (knee); LIMITED: QB Deshaun Watson (right shoulder), TE Harrison Bryant (hip), RB Kareem Hunt (thigh), CB Greg Newsome (hamstring), LB Anthony Walker (concussion), WR Amari Cooper (rest/ankle); FULL: WR Cedric Tillman (hip)