The Cleveland Browns have played two exhibition games, this means the “dress rehearsal”, which is what the third practice game has been called will take place Thursday night, against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Unfortunately, that’s really no longer the case, the starters usually only play maybe a half of the penultimate exhibition game any more.
What have we learned, if anything, about this year’s edition of the brown and orange.
The Browns have professional play at quarterback. Compared to last year’s forcing of rookie DeShone Kizer, who made a ridiculous amount of mistakes, with a pair of second year passers in Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler as his backups, having Tyrod Taylor, Drew Stanton, and rookie Baker Mayfield as QB’s is a monster upgrade.
We understand and support the decision to start Taylor. After all, when you are 1-31 over the last two seasons, there is no reason watch a rookie go through growing pains in regular season games.
That said, it would be nice to see Mayfield get some time with the starters, against the Eagles’ first team defense. That’s the next step in seeing how the first overall pick has developed thus far.
We have also learned that Todd Haley won’t abandon the running game. Last season, Hue Jackson would tell everyone every week that he wanted to run the ball, and when they feel behind in the first half!, he would start throwing the ball on virtually every play.
Haley came out Friday night running and Carlos Hyde gashed the Buffalo defense. However, what we more telling was staying with the run in the opener even though it wasn’t really successful. That was a good thing to see.
Remember, the Browns are still missing starting guard Kevin Zeitler, who hopes to be ready for the Steelers in week one.
Defensively, the Browns’ first unit looks to be the real deal, and if that’s true, it is amazing how having solid play at cornerback makes a defense look a heck of a lot better.
We have always believed you should learn from history, and the Browns’ best stretch in the last 35 years was fueled by having Hanford Dixon and Frank Minniefield at the corners.
This isn’t to say Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell are the caliber of the leaders of the “Dawg Pound”, but it makes stopping the run easier and it will make Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah better pass rushers.
GM John Dorsey must believe cornerbacks are similar to pitchers in baseball, when you think you have enough, you go out and get some more. We agree. In today’s NFL, slowing down the passing game is paramount. That’s why pass rushers and corners are at a premium.
The one problem we still see is depth, which is understandable for a young football team. We see a tremendous upgrade in talent on the first unit, both because of Dorsey’s acquisitions and the development of the draft picks from the previous two drafts.
However, there seems to be a big drop off when the subs play. Again, that’s natural, the Browns are still building, but it does mean we will probably see a lot of roster changes when the teams around the NFL cut down to the 53 man limit.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 