The Browns didn’t score a victory on Saturday, but they did score some playing time. I was excited to see the young guys battle it out and some stood out. As Minnesota travels to the ‘Land for joint practices and the Saturday preseason showdown, we should look for these position groups to continue to grow and battle for roster spots.
My keys to the game:
- STAY HEALTHY
We all know that injury bug loves to travel just off Lake Erie and find the Browns and as we continue our march to the regular season staying healthy is KEY
- FIND the RUN – STOP the RUN
Against the Packers, the Browns averaged 2.7 yds per rush and only accumulated 56 rushing yards, compared to Green Bay’s 4.6 yds per rush and 155 rushing yards. Dominating the line of scrimmage and establishing a rushing attack will set the offense in rhythm.
- Start Fast, Play Efficient & Be Physical
Starting off fast will only set the tone for the rest of the game. Being efficient throughout the game, especially on 3rd downs will continue drives and will allow us to get more looks at the offense. Being physical is something the Browns defense does so well and must continue to do so. After a few WR injuries to the Vikings, it was reported this week that in the first joint practice Coach O’ Connell stepped over to the Browns sideline to ask them to tone down the physicality, something to keep an eye on Saturday.
This week’s position group battles:
QB’s
We saw extensive work for our depth pieces on offense as we held the ball for over half the game, (despite the lack of points) including QBs three and four in Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Tyler Huntley. We already know Winston is the direct backup to Watson, but the real battle occurring is for that 3rd spot as the Browns likely will not keep four QBs on the roster and any one of the two that gets dumped to the practice squad will likely get scooped up by another team. So, heading into this week’s matchup with the Vikings, we should continue to look at the competition between DTR and Huntley. I thought both played well last week, with DTR getting the edge for preseason Week One.
WR’s 4-6
As previously noted, a major position group that is battling for roster spots and playing time is the depth wide receiver group. David Bell, Cedric Tillman and Michael Woods II started the game, with Jamari Thrash and Ahmarean Brown following against the Packers. Tillman didn’t really show up, Bell left the game with a thigh injury, and each ended up with only one catch. Out of the group, Thrash had the most receiving yards and ultimately shined the most.
LB
We saw the game start with newly obtained Devin Bush and 2nd-year UDFA Mohamoud Diabate at Linebacker. Bush truly was the star of the first quarter, he was all over the field and came up big in stopping a 3rd and 4th down on the Packers 2nd drive of the game. He ended the game with six tackles with two being solo. Diabate flashed his speed and athleticism with an open-field tackle against the pro bowler Josh Jacobs and showed he would fit in nicely right behind JOK on the roster. Diabate also was an excellent pass rusher in college playing for Florida before transferring to Utah, so I would like to see him in some blitz packages.
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