Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report - Days 11 and 12

On a week where a scheduled Sunday padded practice was lost to a COVID-19 false alarm, the Browns ended up spending only a half day in shells on Thursday due to social injustice considerations, and then were forced to move practice inside to a 50-yard indoor facility on Friday because of inclement weather.

For Kevin Stefanski’s first year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns the old adage “when it rains it pours” could not be more fitting.   With slightly more than two weeks left to go before they open in Baltimore against the division champion Ravens, the Browns have yet to tackle to the ground during a team period in practice and still look like they are in the middling stages of installing a new offensive system.    In a normal world they should be a few practices away from installing a game plan for the Baltimore Ravens.

This oddest of offseasons may have reached its climax on Thursday.  

A wild 24 hours.

On Wednesday night, NBA players engaged in what LeBron James termed a “boycott” of the night’s scheduled games to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  The Milwaukee Bucks were the first team to act and the remaining NBA teams followed in solidarity.  There were rumors that in the heat of discussions regarding the issue, NBA superstars LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard pleaded for a cancellation of the remainder of the NBA playoffs.

On Thursday the player “boycotts” leaked into the MLB and the NFL.   While we do not know exactly what went on behind closed doors in Berea, we do know that the Browns players and their leadership counsel decided that the players would practice, but only for about an hour and then would retreat indoors to further discuss what could be done to advance the fight against social injustice.

Let me preface what I’m about to say by noting that whatever my personal attitude and opinions are about the hundreds of individual federal, state and local policing units across this country, I support professional athletes’ decision to follow their conscience in attempting to become a force for good in their community.   That said, the decision to truncate the Browns’ practice on Thursday passed strange.   

If the point of the “boycott” was to draw attention to a cause, I’m not sure what reducing the duration of practice and changing its time did in that respect.  If the Browns’ players recognized that they cannot afford to miss time on the field in this already shortened off-season, it is unclear why they needed to give up an hour of precious practice time.  It seems like there would be plenty of down time where players relax and recuperate from the physical work of training camp that could be devoted to discussions of advancing a social platform.   A united statement to the press from the leadership counsel probably would have done more than a shortened practice to draw attention to the cause.

As a side note, it is really difficult to come up with a fitting term for the NBA action that was followed by the MLB and NFL.   Since it involved labor refusing to work, it would ordinarily be called a strike. It did not involve, however, any issue involving wages, hours or working conditions of the union members themselves that would be protected by the National Labor Relations Act.  The word “boycott” really doesn’t fit either.  A boycott is commonly considered a concerted refusal to have dealings with a person or organization to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions.   The NBA has bent over backwards to empower the Black Lives Matter movement and its messages.  The concerted player action did not directly involve their economic relationships with police.   The presumptive penalty was apparently meant invoke a reaction from the ultimate consumer of the sport – at least for baseball and basketball. I'm still trying to understand the point of cancelled football practices.

Who was on the field Thursday?

Returning to the field Thursday were David Njoku,  Terrance Mitchell, Damion Ratley, Tae Davis and Chad Thomas.   Absent were Adrian Clayborn (groin), Kevin Johnson (liver), M.J. Stewart Jr.,  J.C. Tretter (knee), Greedy Williams (shoulder) and Mack Wilson (knee).

A better day for the offense.

Baker Mayfield and the Browns offense got off to a shaky start.   Baker’s first pass of practice was tipped by big defensive lineman Eli Ankou, plucked out of the air by linebacker Sione Takitaki, and returned for a touchdown.  Mayfield continued to struggle to complete passes during his second drive of the first team period as well.

In contrast, Case Keenum looked good during the first team period.  After having a ball bounce of the chest of wide receiver J’Mon Moore (a common sight during training camp), he hit rookie sixth-round draft pick Donovan Peoples-Jones streaking behind cornerback Robert Jackson for a long touchdown pass.  Keenum continued to do good things in his second drive.

Baker picked it up a little during red zone 7-on-7 drills.   As I cannot stress enough, a competent quarterback should look good during these drills.   Baker was alright.  After misfiring to Jarvis Landry on his first attempt, Baker threw a good ball to tight end Pharoh Brown that should have been caught in the end zone.

Going back to a team period, Baker completed a pass for a ten yard gain to Rashard Higgins on the sidelines in front of Denzel Ward.   He also had a pass thrown slightly behind Austin Hooper that Hooper failed to haul in and completed a short pass to Ja'Marcus Bradley underneath coverage before the drive stalled.

Keenum came in with the second unit and pushed the ball down the field for a long completion to speedy wide receiver Taywan Taylor. He finished the drive with a touchdown on a screen pass to D'Ernest Johnson.

Stefanski then put the offense in a team red zone situation and Baker started to find his connection with Higgins, who was working against Robert Jackson.  On the first play of the drive, Baker hit Higgins for a touchdown on the endzone's sideline with a perfectly-thrown pass.   Two plays later Baker seemed to predetermine where he was going with the ball and tried to jam it in to Hooper, who was surrounded by the trio of Goodson, Phillips and Sendejo. Mayfield was lucky that pass found the ground.   Baker later threw his second touchdown pass to Higgins at the back of the endzone, as Robert Jackson again attempted to cover him.   Baker had a clean pocket on the play and found Higgins in his progression after first looking to his right.

Observations.

Time to spare.  It was unclear whether Stefanski asked Garrett and the defensive line to throttle it back for a practice, but the quarterbacks seemed to have ample time to throw on Thursday.   I’m not sure if that is a good sign for Wills and the offensive line or a bad one for a pass rush that might have to cover up the Browns’ back seven this season.

Next man up.  Robert Jackson had a particularly bad day in coverage on Thursday, giving up three touchdowns by my count – two to Higgins and one to Peoples-Jones.   It will be interesting to see if A.J. Green and Donovan Olumba start to eat into his practice repetitions from this point forward while Kevin Johnson, M.J. Stewart and Greedy Williams remain sidelined.

Mix and match.   For the first two weeks of camp, Stefanski has been mixing in the skilled players who line up with Baker almost indiscriminately.   He seldom has both OBJ and Landry on the field together on days that they are both active.    It will be interesting to see if this changes next week.   It seems that Baker needs to get his timing down with players who will be on the field with him.   It might also help bolster his confidence.

Growing concern at center.  J.C. Tretter still hasn’t practiced.  Stefanski told the press Friday that it is in the plans for Tretter to play the opening game against the Ravens, but if he cannot fifth-round rookie draft pick Nick Harris will be ready.   Although Tretter showed his toughness all last season, it is starting to look like more of a possibility that Harris might open the season at center.  The Browns brought in another “true” center - Jon Toth – this week.

Who is the third wide out?  The Browns showed more three tight end sets on Thursday than they had in the past, so it is unclear how much the Browns will rely on three-receiver sets this season.   The battle that KhaDarel Hodge led early has become a three-horse race with Higgins and Peoples-Jones coming on fast.  Hodge and Peoples-Jones might still have an advantage, especially if three receiver sets are rare because both can fill special teams needs on the active roster as well. On the other hand, Mayfield has a level of familiarity with Higgins that might help his cause.   The dark horses are Taylor and Ratley, who was available to practice for the first time on Thursday.

Keenum is more comfortable.  As is to be expected, Keenum looks more comfortable in Stefanski’s offense right now and is making more plays than Baker.   Baker looks slow coming off his first read and doesn’t seem to have much of a trust factor with a lot of the guys Stefanski is mixing in on offense. Hopefully a greater mastery of the offense will come with time and his superior skill set will start to show.

Friday’s practice.

Friday’s practice was moved indoors and was closed to media.  Stefanski told the media after practice that wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge returned to practice after a leave for personal reasons and that Peoples-Jones, who left practice on Thursday, was a full participant. Clayborn (groin), Kevin Johnson (liver), M.J. Stewart Jr.,  J.C. Tretter (knee), Greedy Williams (shoulder), Mack Wilson (knee), Landry (scheduled day off) and Joseph (scheduled day off) did not participate.

Stefanski also reported that Mayfield had a good practice.