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Cleveland Browns (3 Viewers)

'nxmehta said:
So, Browns starters have had 3 series in this preseason game. That's probably it for them. Couple of observations:1. Brandon Weeden looks pretty good. Made a tough throw to Travis Benjamin on the sideline. Good zip and accuracy on his balls. Is not afraid to throw the ball away either. Bad INT though.
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Weeden making some bad decisions. Bill Bentley should have two interceptions already.
 
'Donnybrook said:
'nxmehta said:
So, Browns starters have had 3 series in this preseason game. That's probably it for them. Couple of observations:1. Brandon Weeden looks pretty good. Made a tough throw to Travis Benjamin on the sideline. Good zip and accuracy on his balls. Is not afraid to throw the ball away either. Bad INT though.
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Weeden making some bad decisions. Bill Bentley should have two interceptions already.
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That missed INT is on Gordon. That was as lazy a route as I've ever seen. Second one is all on Weeden though.
 
I wasn't able to watch the game, but I was drinking a sample pack of Cleveland's finest, Great Lakes brewery. Just showing my support.

I read the reports and it basically sounds like a team playing a bunch of rookies and 2nd year players on offense. Not going to read too much into this. On a positive note, it appears that Travis Benjamin might be a ballplayer. Read that Cameron was in the mix as well.

Patience Monty, patience.

 
Hey Browns Marketing department-

If you draft a big ole, strong armed, not very mobile QB for the love of god DONT LET HIM WEAR #3!

I got heart burn just watching him stride out there in DAs #.

 
'Clifford said:
Guys, any word on how Little is doing this camp? Have not heard a peep.
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He slimmed down a bit and is in better physical condition. Heard he's catching the ball better. We'll see. I'm sure having a full off-season to learn the system and having a QB who can throw the ball on a rope will help. By all accounts, the guy is driven. Pretty young corp, but you have to be excited about Little, Cameron, Benjamin and Gordon.
 
:lmao: Love Bernie announcing the games. Yup, terrible describes Hardesty's first run to a T.

ETA: Hardesty does seem to have more burst than last season though... hope he stays healthy.

 
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Is anyone else concerned that Benjamin has missed practice and now a preseason game for "soreness"? I don't recall ever seeing "soreness" on an injury report.

 
'Bucky86 said:
How does Gordon look tonight?
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Game just started. He has 1 catch. Weeden threw a bullet. Gordon caught it with his hands, 1st down. This is the first time I've watched the Browns and Hardesty's burst is what I'm happy about. He looks a lot better than last year.
 
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Nice, a fumble. The young defensive tackles are getting some push. Rodger is just Rodgers and making the correct read.

Are we at the point where every single time there's a turnover, we're going to have instant replay?

 
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'GreatLakesMike said:
Nice, a fumble. The young defensive tackles are getting some push. Rodger is just Rodgers and making the correct read.Are we at the point where every single time there's a turnover, we're going to have instant replay?
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Yes, it's a new rule this year to review all turnovers.
 
'jurb26 said:
'GreatLakesMike said:
Nice, a fumble. The young defensive tackles are getting some push. Rodger is just Rodgers and making the correct read.Are we at the point where every single time there's a turnover, we're going to have instant replay?
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Yes, it's a new rule this year to review all turnovers.
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My bad. Had no clue. And I'm learning new rules as GB just got hit with a 15 yard unsportsmanlike for challenging. Jesus. Can we just go back to humans officiating the game?
 
The Browns need to work out their screen game. So far it's looked like a hot mess on every attempted screen pass.

- Weeden has good pocket presence and spins the ball well

- Hardesty appears to have better burst. On the first carry fumble he just got Woodson-ed while going down

- Gordon looks the part at wideout. He seems to get out of breaks but dropped an easy one trying to run before he caught it.

- In the middle Mack seems to get okay push on outside runs, creating some decent cutback lanes. That could mean good things for Richardson??

On defense it's difficult to miss Haden. On most plays he's been glued to his wideout.

 
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'trader jake said:
The Browns need to work out their screen game. So far it's looked like a hot mess on every attempted screen pass.- Weeden has good pocket presence and spins the ball well- Hardesty appears to have better burst. On the first carry fumble he just got Woodson-ed while going down- Gordon looks the part at wideout. He seems to get out of breaks but dropped an easy one trying to run before he caught it.- In the middle Mack seems to get okay push on outside runs, creating some decent cutback lanes. That could mean good things for Richardson??On defense it's difficult to miss Haden. On most plays he's been glued to his wideout.
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Pretty much agree. It seems like the issues on offense are simply guys not being on the same page which is to be expected considering all the 1st/2nd year guys on the field. You repeated my thoughts on Hardesty, and so far, Little looks really good.
 
Can someone explain to me why Haden is still in the game?

ETA: And TJ Ward and various other EXPERIENCED starters.

Seriously, Joe Thomas is still in?

Weeden is locking onto guys.

 
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'Yenrub said:
Browns fans when is Richardson expected back?
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link
Cleveland Browns coach Pat Shurmur said Sunday he remains hopeful that prized rookie Trent Richardson, the No. 3 overall pick in April's draft, may play the season opener Sept. 9.

"Trent's getting better every day, so his progress has been outstanding," Shurmur said. "He's about where we thought he'd be, probably a little bit ahead. So he'll be out here soon."
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Was out at camp this morning. We'll be seeing this Weeden to Gordon deep sideline route for a long time. Did it twice today and Gordon made great catches both times. Love Weeden's arm. :thumbup:

 
Browns think Weeden, rookies can lead offense out of the dark ages

Albert Chen

BEREA, OHIO -- It happens for all of them, sooner or later: the Welcome to the NFL Moment, the moment that smacks every rookie hotshot across the face and says, Son, you're not in college anymore. For Brandon Weeden that moment came during his very first practice in Browns training camp in late July. "We were running a six-yard hitch to my right side," said the Browns' rookie starting quarterback. "Joe Haden was playing cushion, probably eight yards off -- and I just turned my back a little bit to throw a quick hitch out there, and he leaped in, and batted the ball down. I just shook my head and said, 'Wow.' That never happens in college."

It is late afternoon, the hazy Midwestern sun is fading into the distant hills, and here, sitting on a bench just off the Browns' empty practice fields in Berea, Ohio, is the 28-year-old gunslinger who rewrote the Oklahoma State record books a year ago and is now tasked with leading one of the boldest youth movements in recent NFL history. The 2012 Browns are expected to start four rookies on their offense, a unit that will be headlined by Weeden at quarterback and first-round pick Trent Richardson at running back. Over the last 44 years, only three teams have opened an NFL season with a rookie quarterback and rookie running back in the starting lineup. The Browns -- assuming Richardson recovers from knee surgery in time for the start of the season -- will become the fourth on Sept. 9, when they open against the Eagles.

"With the young guys we have, there are going to be growing pains, no doubt," said Weeden. "But let me tell you, I'm so pumped." The Browns' fans are pumped, too: they've been showing up at Berea in record numbers, sweating through their shirts in the 90-degree heat, to catch a glimpse of a team that went 4-12 last season with an offense that was mostly unwatchable.

But this summer there's been a great new energy in the crowds, littered with fans wearing Weeden's No. 3 and Richardson's No. 33 jerseys. The Baby Browns have somehow made Berea a worthwhile stop on the training camp tour. There's the quarterback who passed for 4,727 yards with a preposterous 72.3 completion rate for Big 12-champion Oklahoma State, there's the running back who rushed for 1,679 yards for national champion Alabama. There are also two dynamic rookies at wide receiver: Josh Gordon, who was one of Robert Griffin III's favorite weapons at Baylor in 2010 before a series of incidents ended his college career, and Travis Benjamin, the burner from Miami.

"It is kind of crazy, with all the rookies walking around here, guys you watched on Saturdays on TV," said another rookie, Mitchell Schwartz, an All-Pac-12 offensive lineman at Cal who is expected to start for the Browns at right tackle. "Trent has been on the national stage for a while. Brandon's a little more new to it, but he was spectacular last year -- they beat Stanford [in the Fiesta Bowl], which, as a Cal guy, I love. But it is a little surreal looking around, being teammates with these guys."

There are days in Berea where you see Weeden float gorgeous completions to the corner of the end zone, where you see Gordon make spectacular twisting catches and you see Benjamin's glitzy speed, and you can almost picture a world where the Browns win as many games as they lose in 2012. No one, of course, actually thinks Cleveland could be a real AFC sleeper, not in a division with two titans, the Steelers and the Ravens, and the rising Bengals, and not with a cruel schedule that's the third-toughest in the NFL.

But here's why the great experiment in Cleveland might actually work better than anyone thinks: the Browns will go as far as their quarterback, the most important rookie on the team, can take them. And Brandon Weeden could not be more prepared for this moment.

"I always got so ticked off when people said it was the system," Weeden said. "Well, if it was the system, everyone would be running it and scoring a ton of points."

Weeden is talking about the breathless Oklahoma State offense he led the last two seasons in Stillwater. He put up mind-boggling numbers, but few outside Stillwater seemed interested in giving him his due -- everyone seemed to want to attribute his success to the system at Oklahoma State. "The thing about that," said Mike Gundy, the Oklahoma State head coach, "when Brandon was going to start, I decided to change offenses to fit Brandon's style of play. We tailored the offense to be a pocket-style passing team -- we just eliminated any passes on the move, we just let him sit in the pocket and throw it, and let him make a decision based on what the defense was trying to present him to stop us.

"The reason why we could do that is that there just aren't many guys walking the face of the earth who throw the ball like Brandon does. I've been coaching for over 20 years, I've played against some great ones, but I've never seen anyone like him. He can throw the deep ball on time, he can throw the line drive, he can throw the short ball, the screen, the quick ball. He does it all."

Leading up to the draft, Gundy fielded calls from NFL teams that didn't really know what to make of this quarterback who spent five years in the Yankees minor league system as a pitcher before joining the Cowboys in 2007. "When the scouts and coaches and owners would call, they had concerns about his age," says Gundy. "My opinion was, his age is an advantage, because he's not 22, 23 years old, where those young guys get a lot of money, they're single, they're young, they go out at night, they live the lifestyle. He's older, he's more mature, he's married, he goes home, he studies the game.

"The other thing is that he's very healthy," says Gundy. "He didn't get hit here. He didn't take many hits because we get rid of the ball so fast, because the system's set up that way. There were concerns about him not having many years left. He hasn't taken as many hits as some of these quarterbacks that were taken who were 22, 23. I see him having six or eight years left."

Gundy believes that Weeden's great gift, aside from his arm, is his short-term memory: "That comes from his many years of being a pitcher in baseball -- he talks about it all the time, you give up a home run and you have to go back on the mound and shake it off. He's carried that approach to football. He made mistakes, but he could also wipe the slate clean really fast."

Weeden will rely on that short-term memory this year -- things could get ugly fast as the Browns open up with a brutal stretch of games that includes the Eagles, Bengals, Giants and Ravens. And Weeden and the offense won't get much help from the Browns defense, which struggled last year and has struggled this summer, and might see cornerback Joe Haden suspended after a failed drug test, which would be devastating.

But when it comes to their quarterback, the Browns love what they see so far. They love how he commands the huddle, they love how he isn't afraid to pull guys aside. "I think he's very comfortable in his role as a guy to lead the team," said Browns coach Pat Shurmur. "I see him make progress every practice -- I see him not repeating mistakes. He's got a very strong arm, he's accurate, he's a very fine thrower -- I think that in itself will give him the chance to develop quickly. But we do need to remember: he's still a rookie."

With all the love in Berea, with all the excitement in Cleveland, it may be easy to forget that there will be a lot of losing before the winning begins. But Weeden and the Baby Browns have already given the great football city and the long-suffering faithful there something they haven't had in a long time: hope.
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Can explain why the Browns are playing a preseason game against someone on their schedule? I know it's happened before, but it never makes sense to me. You've made one week of preseason (in this case the usually key 3rd week) almost pointless because you're too afraid to give something away.

I mean they've know for years that they would be playing the NFCE this season.

 
'PlasmaDogPlasma said:
Can explain why the Browns are playing a preseason game against someone on their schedule? I know it's happened before, but it never makes sense to me. You've made one week of preseason (in this case the usually key 3rd week) almost pointless because you're too afraid to give something away. I mean they've know for years that they would be playing the NFCE this season.
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The NFL schedules the first 3 weeks of preseason, and then schedules the regular season. Ask them.
 
'Captain Quinoa said:
'PlasmaDogPlasma said:
Can explain why the Browns are playing a preseason game against someone on their schedule? I know it's happened before, but it never makes sense to me. You've made one week of preseason (in this case the usually key 3rd week) almost pointless because you're too afraid to give something away. I mean they've know for years that they would be playing the NFCE this season.
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The NFL schedules the first 3 weeks of preseason, and then schedules the regular season. Ask them.
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Did not know that. I thought the teams set up preseason dates with each other.
 
'Bobcat10 said:
'GreatLakesMike said:
Can someone explain to me why Haden is still in the game?ETA: And TJ Ward and various other EXPERIENCED starters.Seriously, Joe Thomas is still in?Weeden is locking onto guys.
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They are barely going to play against Philly.
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I read the reports after I posted that. However, just read today that the 1st string will be playing most of the 1st half again this week. Probably should have expected as much and I'm probably just paranoid with all the injuries to this point.
 
Is Pinkston drunk tonight? He looked awful on about every play that drive.

No points, but what a good looking drive they had going.

 
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'PlasmaDogPlasma said:
'GreatLakesMike said:
Is Pinkston drunk tonight? He looked awful on about every play that drive.No points, but what a good looking drive they had going.
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The plan of expecting guards that weren't good last year to be better this year isn't paying off in this game.
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Pinkston improved as the year went on last year and looked decent by the season's end. He has looked good in the preseason up until tonight. He was better on the limited plays in the 2nd series. We'll see.
 
Holy crap. There could have been 2 holding calls on that 3rd down play.

Pretty impressed with Winn and JMJ so far.

 
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