DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Training Camp part 2

I kind of like that he has an attitude. How many times over the past decade have we seen our QB take a cheap shot and the o-line just stand there? Unless it's the last 2 minutes of a close game and we are driving (how often has that happened in the past decade?) then I want our lineman to do something about it. Penalty or not. Penalized or not.

Guys who are supposed to be some of our toughest guys act weak and submissive. Other teams walk all over us, many times with cheap shots and all we do is sit back and take it. The Browns need some toughness and attitude.

Imo, the Ravens and Browns are going to look awfully similar. Im not sure if that is an indictment on Ozzie or a compliment to Sashi.

I'm hoping we don't either. He's been a good Brown and has versatility and experience. I don't know how he looks post-injury, but I hope he sticks

I don't want to cut any of the top 13 OL. Sterup and Fabiano should last on the ps and both look decent. Greco at this point isn't in the long term so i wonder if ge coukd be traded so we dont have to cut drango or erving

Also I went to practice yesterday. Coley is the real deal. I didn't see him lose. Honestly he's more dominant than Myles which is saying something. He looks like a pro bowler and I know how outlandish that sounds. I'm not one to toot the horn but I've never seen an unknown guy do this well. The only reason Bryant is starting is because he's a vet.

What else did you see?

Hard to disagree with that

sorry couldn't resist

yeah that's kind of the first thing I thought of, obviously not the sharpest knife

https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/browns...nating-practice

Monday’s developments

Browns rookie safety Jabrill Peppers dominated practice so much the coaching staff may have a hard time keeping him out of the starting lineup for the foreseeable future.

Peppers practiced with the first-team defense Monday and stole the show.

“Outstanding,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said.

The 25th overall pick in this year’s draft, Peppers delivered a jarring hit to wide receiver Rannell Hall when he caught an 18-yard pass along the sideline from rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer in a short-yardage, third-and-1 drill and held on despite being blasted.

The brutal blow may have drawn a penalty in a game, but no flag was thrown.

“It’s football. I mean, you don’t want those [hits],” Jackson said. “They’re going to happen. It’s a live period. He’s trying to get the ball out. There’s no question he wasn’t trying to hurt him. He was trying to tackle him to get him down, and sometimes that’s a reflex by players. So it’s OK.”

Later, in a two-minute drill pitting the No. 1 offense against the starting defense, Peppers completely took control. He broke up two consecutive passes from quarterback Brock Osweiler, then on fourth-and-24, he intercepted the next one to end the period.

“He can do some things ’cause if he gets the ball in his hands, he’s probably going to score,” Jackson said. “… He’s growing and getting better every day. There’s been questions about if he can play in the post. I think he’s shown you he can play everywhere. I think he’s a very dynamic player, and I’m glad he’s here.”

Peppers had been mixing in with the starters for a while. But even after strong safety Ibraheim Campbell suffered a concussion in Thursday’s preseason opener, Justin Currie worked with the first-team defense opposite free safety Derrick Kindred in the next two practices.

Peppers lined up with the first unit from the beginning of Monday’s practice, and he didn’t waste the opportunity.

• Jackson loved the toughness Hall showed by hanging onto the ball when Peppers crushed him. “It was big time. It’s a big-time play,” Jackson said. “… That would have given us an opportunity to score points.”

• A day after Jackson used three live contact periods, the Browns practiced not only short-yardage situations, but goal line as well. There hadn’t been two consecutive practices of such a physical nature since Jackson was hired last year. “They haven’t blinked,” Jackson said. “They’ve asked for more, and that’s what I like about this team. They haven’t backed down from anything.”

• Asked why he didn’t demand as much from his players in practices last year, Jackson said, “Better football team [this year]. I expect more from this team. I want more from this team, and that’s the expectation. I really believe we’re going to be a better football team. We’ll put a better product out on the field than what we did a year ago because I think these guys understand where we are.”

• Peppers wasn’t the only first-round selection who had a good day. Rookie tight end David Njoku, the 29th overall pick, caught a pass from Osweiler between safety Kai Nacua and linebacker James Burgess in the short-yardage period and a 2-yard touchdown pass from Osweiler on a back-shoulder fade against linebacker B.J. Bello. Njoku had missed time recently with a back injury. “Just got to get in better shape,” Jackson said. “He’s been gone for a while. You’ve got to play. You’ve got to be out here every day grinding. It’s hard. This is a hard business and he’s a young man who’s learning how to play. I’m asking a lot of him. He’s trying, and he’s just got to continue to get better.”

• On the last play of practice, Kizer launched a bomb to Seth DeValve on fourth-and-15. The tight end caught Kizer’s pass with Burgess covering him at the 5-yard line and dragged the linebacker into the end zone for a touchdown.

• The play was reminiscent of the 52- and 45-yard passes Kizer completed as he led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter of the preseason opener. “When you have an opportunity in the National Football League, a guy that can make plays with his arm, it’s unbelievable,” Jackson said. “But there’s a lot that goes to that. It’s not just firing the ball down there. Everybody’s got to protect still. … Now I’m disappointed in the defense. We can’t let the ball go over our head in that situation.” Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams ordered his players to do up-downs immediately after practice because of the letdown.

• Jackson was asked about Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett and Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch recently protesting by sitting during the national anthem. “I think everybody has a right to do [it], and I get it,” Jackson said. “But the national anthem means a lot to myself personally, the organization, our football team. I haven’t really talked to our team about it. I would hope we don’t have those issues. I understand there’s a lot going on in the world. I like to just keep it here.”

• Hall inadvertently scratched the face of Al Saunders, 70, and drew blood while the receivers coach held pads during a drill. With a bandage on Saunders’ face, he kept coaching. “He took one in the face and kept on going,” Jackson said. “That’s what you do.”

Tuesday’s schedule: Practice from 3:25-5:55 p.m.

Love it!!!!!

Must watch video

The video in the article there has a couple things that were awesome, pass by kizer and the hit by peppers Special

Peppers is sure to be a "fan favorite."

I havent seen a rook throw the deep ball that well since Carson Palmer.

love seeing this about Peppers ... we need him to be dynamic

How about some love for Hall?

He caught that ball despite being hit helmet-to-helmet!

headcase.. dont trust him. hope he turns out though.

What makes him a "headcase?"

Even Hue Jackson was defensive on a big day for the Browns' defense

10:17 PM ET
Tony Grossi
ESPN Cleveland
Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

More takeaways from Day 14 of Browns training camp …

1. Defense reigns: In a closed practice populated only by an audience of VIP spectators, Gregg Williams’ relentless exhortations were heard in all four corners of the practice fields complex. And his units responded with a stellar afternoon. It started in the first team drill when Brock Osweiler went 3-and-out with the first team. The live tackling period started with short-yardage situations. The offense converted 2 of 9 plays. Then came goal-line, still in live tackling. Each of the four quarterbacks ran three plays from the 2. Out of 12 snaps total, the offense broke the goal line only twice – an Osweiler pass in the right corner to David Njoku and a Terrence Magee inside run out of the shotgun formation. In the next set of team drills (non-tackling), Osweiler was sacked three times in the first six snaps with two false starts making his life more miserable. Osweiler’s series ended with a Jabrill Peppers one-handed breakup, another Peppers breakup and then an interception by Peppers. Cody Kessler was sacked two times on a 4-and-out series. Then DeShone Kizer’s series was plagued by a false start and a sack before he ended the day completing a long pass to tight end Seth DeValve, who got behind linebacker Joe Schobert for the touchdown. Williams was so irate, he made the unit do a set of up-downs.

2. Speaking defensively: Even Hue Jackson got, well, defensive. When the coach was asked what got into the defense, he answered curtly, “I don’t think anything got into them. They practiced. I don’t think there is anything spectacular that got into them. They are just making plays.” A follow-up question did not agree with the usually affable coach. He was asked if he was getting concerned with his offense. “No,” he said. “We are practicing against each other. We have been practicing these same things since OTAs, so no, I am not concerned. I think you guys are more concerned about all of that way more than I am because you guys write all these numbers and we are doing … I don’t mean any harm, you guys have no clue what we are doing every day or what we are trying to attempt to do. I have heard it all, but trust me, I laugh at it all based on what you guys have been saying. Anytime you are mixing and matching like we are on offense, guys over there working – we haven’t really played as a unit yet – but at the same time, there are a lot of good things the offense has done. There are a lot of good things the defense has done. This is not offense against defense. This is the building of a football team, and that is what we are trying to do.” Yes, there were some highlights on offense – a pinpoint Kizer pass to DeValve down the middle seam on a second read, a beautiful Osweiler throw and catch by Njoku at the right sideline between safety Kai Nacua and linebacker James Burgess, and the final Hail Mary-like Kizer completion to DeValve. But there were at least seven sacks, three false starts, a bobbled snap, and an interception. Immediately after the last play, Jackson had the entire team take a knee and he addressed the players for several minutes.


3. Hot Peppers: Peppers was everywhere -- defending balls in the deep middle, applying pressure on blitzes and administering one of the loudest hits I’ve seen or heard at a Browns practice. Kizer fired a deep sideline out to receiver Rannell Hall, and Peppers blast Hall to the ground a millisecond after the ball arrived. Hall knew he was going to get hit and, to his credit, he made the catch and popped right up in a few seconds. That was as impressive as the hit. “It is a live period. He was trying to get the ball out,” Jackson said. “He wasn’t trying to hurt him. He was trying to tackle him and get him down. Sometimes that is a reflex by players. It is OK.” Peppers’ wild finish – the two breakups followed by the interception, which he took to the end zone – climaxed the afternoon. Peppers even provided Jackson a teaching moment; he should have just fallen down after the interception because it came on an end-of-game drill. “If he gets the ball in his hands, he is probably going to score because he has that kind of skill once the ball touches his hands,” Jackson said. “I was trying to explain to him in that situation, the game is over. Just get down. Game over, let’s protect the lead and that’s what we do. That is a teaching moment for him. He is growing and getting better every day.” Peppers defended those passes from the deep safety position, which was not supposed to be his best spot. “There have been questions about if he can play in the post. I think he is showing you he can play anywhere. I think he is a very dynamic player, and I am glad he is here,” Jackson said.


4. Quarterback update: From ESPN Cleveland’s Jason Gibbs, updated quarterback figures from team drills: Kessler, 4 of 7; 86 of 134 (64 percent) overall; Osweiler, 3 of 8; 112 of 190 (59 percent) overall; Kizer, 6 of 9; 76 of 136 (56 percent) overall; Kevin Hogan, 2 of 4; 34 of 57 (60 percent) overall.

http://www.espn.com/blog/cleveland/post/...-browns-defense

Sounds like Hue isnt liking the fact that Williams defense is kicking the ass of the offense on a daily basis lately.

Grossi got it wrong when he said Schobert got beat by DeValve. It was Burgess that he beat.

+1. How is Peppers a headcase?

Ive heard multiple Browns players talk highly of him in interviews. I've never heard anything about him being a headcase

I think that he's ticked off about the mentals on offense.

From the article:



That's a lot of screw ups on the offensive side of the ball. This team can't afford to put themselves behind the eight ball by making unforced mistake.

Corey surprised me. Impressive!

You think he can be that good consistently against ones? I would welcome that. Williams is working it hard.

I agree w/all of this. I don't think a lot of people [hello local media] understand how a practice works.

With that said, I think our offense is going to be horrible this year. There simply isn't enough talent on that side of the ball.

Or better Coaching !

If our offense looks good then people say our defense is sucking. When our defense looks good then it's our Offense sucks.
It's hilarious to read.

Anytime you see an offensive player doing up downs or running laps, it's because of their punishment for mental errors. Hue in not this most recent presser, but hte one before (i'll post a link at the end) seemed really agitated with the offense.

Mary Kay: "were the interceptions..."

Hue cuts her off: "Pissed me off... keep going".

... not to mention the sirens (indicating full contact) went off three times instead of the one or two usually. He's pushing that offense. I hope they respond to their head coach!!!!!!!!!


http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/media-cen...f5-2880b1a48740

Jabrill Peppers - DB - Browns

Browns coach Hue Jackson said first-round S Jabrill Peppers is "getting better every day."
Filling in at strong safety for Ibraheim Campbell (concussion), Peppers reportedly had himself a practice on Monday, making a big hit, breaking up a couple passes, and intercepting another. "I think he’s showing you he can play anywhere," Jackson said. "I think he’s a very dynamic player and I’m glad he’s here." Peppers has not officially cracked the starting lineup yet, but it seems just like a matter of time.

Source: ESPN Aug 15 - 9:29 AM

You can have playmakers all day long on defense but if your offense can't win TOP and put points on the board then it doesn't matter how much talent the D has cause by the 4th q. They will be on tired legs and poor techniques from fatique

Oh, I wanted to mention that Seth seems to be having a strong camp and has taken some sort of a step in his second year.

He may silently be going under the radar. I'm going to make it an effort to target his play come the next preseason game.

Jabrill Peppers' varied roles in Browns defense could expand
2:14 PM ET
Tony Grossi


Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

Takeaways from Day 15 of Browns training camp …

1. More to come from Peppers: Jabrill Peppers has taken practice snaps at strong safety and free safety, and at strong linebacker and weak linebacker. He’s the No. 1 punt and kickoff returner. Anything else still to come? “You might see him at middle linebacker, too, at times,” coordinator Gregg Williams said. Williams explained that he may have enough speed at the linebacker position to avoid stretching Peppers even thinner in his special packages. Williams then paid Peppers the ultimate compliment a demanding coach can pay a player. “You know what the definition of the position he’s playing? Football player. He can play football,” Williams said. “And he’s been a joy to be around, too. He’s real focused in the meetings, and in practice, and he’s starting to take advantage of a few snaps with guys that are going to be kept in the league (on the starting team).”



2. He can pick: Of all the plays Peppers made in a highlight-reel practice on Monday, he was most happy with the interception. “I think I showed flashes of what I can do, but I still got a lot to improve on,” he said. “It was good to finally get a turnover, to finally just play ball.” One of the knocks on Peppers in two years at Michigan was his one career interception. He said “every team” asked him about that in pre-draft interviews. Peppers owned it. “I had my opportunities,” he said. “We played a lot of man [coverage] my freshman year. I didn’t get my head around fast enough. I dropped a couple. The past year, I was playing more linebacker. My job was more in the run game and to take away athletic tight ends. I didn’t get many chances. But I did get some chances and I missed those opportunities. That’s something I can and will be corrected. Guys here believed in me and it’s time to show them what they saw in me.”

3. Another Haden warning: Williams put Joe Haden on notice in their first meeting in the spring. And he hasn’t stopped prodding him. Asked his opinion of Haden’s camp, Williams said, “Joe’s had a very good camp. A very, very solid camp. Physical camp. Even [Monday], some of the more physical plays in his total career was [Monday] on how physical he played. Been very pleased with him. Now it’s about being available. He’s got to stay healthy.”

4. Don’t overreact: Williams made a point of evaluating young players in their first training camp and preseason. “For you guys to watch the ones versus the ones, that is very important,” he said. “When you see me and us take one of the younger guys and make sure they are going against ones, I always love it when I see things or I hear things, especially even in our own building, about how this young guy had a great game in the fourth quarter. Yeah, he had a great game in the fourth quarter against everybody that team is going to cut. None of those guys are going to play in the NFL. Unless you are playing against people who are going to play in the NFL, it is just one more piece of maybe information, but it is not the deciding information.” If you apply this standard to quarterback DeShone Kizer, you might understand why he is not quite there yet. He has taken very few, if any, snaps against the No. 1 defense. Even when Kizer is given snaps with the No. 1 offense, they are generally against the No. 3 defense.

http://www.espn.com/blog/cleveland/post/...se-could-expand

Have you ever watched the Browns. They have sucked on both offense and defense. Not sure why that is hilarious? It's pathetic, actually.

I always love it when I see things or I hear things, especially even in our own building, about how this young guy had a great game in the fourth quarter. Yeah, he had a great game in the fourth quarter against everybody that team is going to cut. None of those guys are going to play in the NFL.

I am sure that is great motivation for guys like Boddy who was playing each snap like his career depended upon it. Means nothing none of you guys are gonna make the team anyway.

NFL players are supposed to shine against the bottom tier guys. If you cant separate then you arent going to make the roster but dont diminish what those guys did. I like Williams but that comment is about as stupid as believing a guy is a hall of famer because he played well in the 4th.

Gregg Williams sees solid progress from his defense, praises Myles Garrett and Joe Haden

by Scott Petrak August 15, 2017

BEREA — Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is never satisfied. So when it was suggested his unit has dominated the offense throughout training camp, he wasn’t having it.

“They are having some solid days, but we can be a lot better than we have been,” he said Tuesday.

Williams hasn’t softened, especially during practice, when he strains his voice with screams before, during and after every snap. He would fill a swear jar in a two-hour session and ended Monday’s practice by demanding the defense do up-downs because it gave up a touchdown on fourth-and-15 in a two-minute drill.

But he was in a good mood Tuesday before practice and handed out a few compliments.

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“They have been solid, and they have been very good in the practice setting,” he said. “Our guys played solid the other day in the game, but there were a lot of guys who didn’t play for the Saints. Solid is one thing, but we have a lot of places to get better.

“I am very proud with the staff on how they have adapted to the intensity of how I want us to be, and the players have done a very good job with that. They have said, ‘How do you want me to do it?’ That is pretty pleasing.”

The Browns beat the Saints 20-14 in the preseason opener Thursday. New Orleans played without quarterback Drew Brees and running backs Adrian Peterson and Mark Ingram — all Pro Bowlers — and the Cleveland defense held it to 3-for-13 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down. The Browns forced and recovered two fumbles and had five sacks.

Williams is starting to get a feel for just how good the defense can be but won’t know for sure until the regular season starts Sept. 10 against the Steelers.

“Now that you have the pads on, it is another indication, but we are still a long ways off on playing real people,” he said. “To be quite honest, we have come a long way, and I am feeling more comfortable about what these guys can and can’t do, so you will start to see us shrink the game plan a little bit and start focusing in.”

He said he still needs to do research on what certain players can and can’t do in his system. He’s already got a good read on rookie defensive end Myles Garrett, the No. 1 pick.

“I have never had a chance to draft the first overall pick ever, but I have had some pretty high draft picks. He is the one that has jumped out and fit in faster than any of the other ones, and I have had some really, really good ones,” Williams said.

Garrett started at the bottom of the depth chart, like all rookies under Williams. He stayed humble, climbed up the ranks and earned the endorsement of the veterans.

“He has done well,” Williams said. “He played the run very well last week. He was very disruptive on the things that we ask him to do in the pass game. I can tell you this, you go back and watch the film, they were pointing to where he was. The Saints knew where he was.”

Williams touched on a number of other topics:

** The importance of facing quality competition in practice and the preseason.

“I always love it when I see things or I hear things, especially even in our own building, about how this young guy had a great game in the fourth quarter,” he said. “Yeah, he had a great game in the fourth quarter against everybody that team is going to cut. None of those guys are going to play in the NFL. Unless you are playing against people who are going to play in the NFL, it is just one more piece of maybe information, but it is not the deciding information.”

** Cornerback Joe Haden in his return from offseason surgery on both groin muscles.

“He has had a very good camp. He has had a very, very solid camp, a physical camp,” Williams said. “Even (Monday), some of the more physical plays in his total career were (Monday) on how physically he played. I have been very pleased with him. Now, it is about being available. He has to stay healthy.”

** On screaming “get off” to his linemen before every snap in practice to stress aggression at the point of attack.

“Whatever was done in the past in more of that catch-and-read, two-gap on the line of scrimmage, we are never about that,” he said. “We are never about that vs. the run game or vs. the pass game being on the line of scrimmage. You can’t print what I say all the time when I don’t see their feet on the other side of the line of scrimmage on where they are going in life.

“How fast you are getting off the ball has a direct reflection to the production you will make on that play. Myles already naturally does it. The rest of them are starting to do a better job.”

** On five offside penalties against the Saints.

“Now, you would not want to print nor record what I said about (that),” Williams said. “All of them alignment. None of them jumping off the ball. We have had a little bit of a discussion about that and a few focus experiments on that this week. You can’t have a pre-snap nor a post-snap at the end of a play.”

** The competition to be the starting middle linebacker between Tank Carder and Joe Schobert.

“Both of them have been doing great,” Williams said. “Truthfully, it is 3A, 3B. They are doing very, very good, and you can’t have enough good guys like that.”

https://www.brownszone.com/2017/08/15/gr...-and-joe-haden/

Browns briefing: Gregg Williams submits encouraging progress reports about top picks Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers

By Nate Ulrich
Beacon Journal sports writer
BEREA: The Browns have botched so many first-round draft selections since their rebirth in 1999 that it’s hard to believe they could actually get multiple picks right in the same opening round.

Of course, it’s still way too early to know whether rookie defensive end Myles Garrett, the first overall pick, or rookie safety Jabrill Peppers, the 25th overall selection, will prove to be wise choices, but at least the early progress reports defensive coordinator Gregg Williams submitted Tuesday are encouraging.

Garrett has bounced back from a left lateral foot sprain he suffered June 14 during mandatory minicamp and ascended from the third-team defense to the starting lineup in his first NFL training camp. He has repeatedly punished rookie offensive tackle Rod Johnson, a fourth-round pick, but he’s also had bright moments against 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas on the rare occasions the future Hall of Famer practices in full.

“I have never had a chance to draft the first overall pick ever, but I have had some pretty high draft picks,” Williams said before the 15th practice of training camp. “He is the one that has jumped out and fit in faster than any of the other ones, and I have had some really, really good ones. The reason that he moved up the depth chart was because of him and his teammates, not because of my evaluation.

“One of the things we do is when those guys come in the door, they are dead last on the depth chart. How do you handle that? How do you handle the locker room? How do you handle the meeting room? How do you handle the field? How do you handle the walkthroughs? How do you handle being humble? How do you handle being respectful? He is a really good young man and a pretty good player, too.

“He handled the threes, he handled the twos, he got some spot time on [the No. 1 defense. Then] the veteran players came to me and said, ‘Hey, do you know we are better when he is in there?’ Really? Well, now you are going to own him. I don’t have to force him down your throat. You are going to own him. They just fit in together.”

In last week’s preseason opener, a 20-14 win over the New Orleans Saints, Garrett had a tackle and a quarterback hit in 15 snaps. He also pursued a play on the opposite side of the field, helping force rookie running back Alvin Kamara out of bounds.

“He has done well,” Williams said. “I thought he played the run very well last week. I thought he was very disruptive on the things that we ask him to do in the pass game. I can tell you this: [If] you go back and watch the film, they were pointing to where he was. The Saints knew where he was.”

Williams frequently barks orders at his defensive linemen to fire across the line of scrimmage as soon as the ball is snapped. Garrett sets the standard for the group.

“One of the best in the world that has ever done that was here [visiting training camp] a week or so ago in [Hall of Fame defensive end] Bruce Smith,” Williams said. “That was one of the things Bruce talked about when he was here. Myles already naturally does it. He naturally does it. The rest of them are starting to do a better job.”

As for Peppers, he’s also risen from third-string status to the No. 1 defense, appearing with the starters Monday during a dominant practice. He generated headlines with a vicious hit, two pass breakups and an interception.

“I showed flashes of what I can do, but I’ve still got a lot to improve on,” Peppers said. “It was good to finally get a turnover, to finally just play ball. I just feel like there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

The coaching staff has asked Peppers to do more during training camp than anyone else on the roster, serving as a strong safety, free safety, weakside and strongside linebacker as well as the primary punt and kickoff returner.

“He has done very well,” Williams said. “He has adapted very well. He has played really defensively every position but one that I might end up doing with him later on down the line. You might see him at middle linebacker, too, at times.

“Do you know the definition of what kind of position he is playing? He is a football player. He can play football. He has been a joy to be around, too.

“He has been really focused in the meetings. He has been really focused in practice. He is starting to take advantage of a few snaps with [the starters].”

Coaches are often afraid to overwhelm rookies by putting too much on their plate, but that hasn’t been the case with Peppers.

“When he was born, there was probably a football right next to him,” special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said. “It is just an innate ability for him. He understands, and his football intelligence is extremely high.”

Big picture for D

The players have bought into Williams’ system and philosophy, he said, and the defense has oftentimes dominated the offense in camp.

“They are having some solid days, and then we will pick and choose a play or two that pops out on us that the coaches and the players are learning it’s hard to satisfy me,” Williams said. “There is no chance we are ever going to be perfect, but we can be a lot better than we have been.

“Our guys played solid the other day in the game, but there were a lot of guys who didn’t play for the Saints. Solid is one thing, but we have a lot of places to get better.”

Key veteran

Cornerback Joe Haden has performed well in training camp after being plagued by injuries the past two seasons.

“He has had a very good camp. He has had a very, very solid camp, a physical camp,” Williams said. “Even [Monday], some of the more physical plays in his total career [were Monday]. I have been very pleased with him. Now it is about being available. He has to stay healthy.”

Other ends

Garrett receives the most attention from media among all the defenders, but Emmanuel Ogbah and Nate Orchard could be important ends, too.

Ogbah is listed as the starting left end opposite Garrett.

“Ogbah has fit in very well on what we have asked him to do,” Williams said. “I think he is growing each day, and I see week-to-week progress in him, but anytime you play with an impactful player [like Garrett] or you play with a player that you can trust to do his job, you will be better. Lots of times when you can’t trust the guy playing beside you and you try to overplay, there is where your mistakes come in.

Orchard is listed as a backup but had a strong preseason opener with two tackles, including a half sack, and at least two other pressures. He’s back at his most natural position, 4-3 end, after spending last season as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme and missing 13 games with a high-ankle sprain.

“He fits in very well with what we do, but I don’t have any hesitations in also incorporating some of the things that he got a chance to do last year here,” Williams said. “It is not wasted time. I do know he likes the way we are utilizing him better than last year. I know that. That is OK, but I think he has been making an impact. The big thing with him will be staying healthy and just keep on going. I don’t have to worry about his effort when he is out there. He is flying around. He gives it to you every single play he gets a chance to play.”

High expectations

Running backs coach Kirby Wilson said he expects “nothing short of a spectacular year” from starter Isaiah Crowell, who’s on the brink of entering the final season of his contract.

“Physically, he is gifted. He has what all of the good ones have, the special ones,” Wilson said. “He has great vision, outstanding instincts and the ability to change directions that are on par with anyone in this league. The physical tools are there.

“The work ethic arrived last year, and this year, he is taking it to another level because he is hungry. When someone is hungry and he wants something so bad, that is what you see. You see a guy who plays desperate because they want something so bad.”

https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/browns...jabrill-peppers

I wonder if they regret trading Davis for Pryor as it appears Pryor won't be on the team.

Good news about Peppers though ... and Orchard.

Also good to see Schobert showing much improvement because he wasn't very good last year

I don't think Davis was going to make the team [either].

most likely not, but I also didn't anticipate Tank Carder being a starting MLB here