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Thomas will be a first ballot HOF'er. I expect that most of us believe that whomever takes his spot will not perform at the same level. So you're right..."We got to adjust".

tab, they talked about Corey Coleman being up and down. They said that Haley gave him a tongue lashing and then he made a good play right after that. I would say that is inconsistent.

The qbs did look short. It looked like Taylor had a really hard time seeing downfield on two throws and the same thing happened to Baker on another. He checked down to the left.

Myles and Orchard are playing well and the reports are that the LT position is far from settled and that there are multiple candidates.

I know that there were several articles and videos, but that stuff was all there.

I was hoping for a little less of an “adjustment” for us for once ...

Can you provide a link to a story?

I Googled him and my search results were all pretty much positive stories about him:

'Buffalo Bills training camp recap: Day 3 sees pads go on, Josh Allen impresses'

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2018/7/...resses-injuries

'Bills Links, 7/29: Josh Allen looks the part on Day 3'

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2018/7/...ack-competition

Etc.

interesting to hear that Orchard has played well?

It'll be at least all couple years before we realize if we made the right choice with mayfield.... I liked Allen... hope we does well... praying we were right with mayfield,,,

New photo of the RV

That's hilarious

Nice to hear Jamie was back and in there.

I think that has been his history. However When the season starts, he seemingly disappears.

I actually forgot all about him

LOL, he makes it easy to forget once the season starts.

Why Browns safety Jabrill Peppers expected to find himself in fight for starting job: ‘I can hardly watch tape of myself from last year’

By Nate Ulrich

Beacon Journal/Ohio.com

BEREA: Jabrill Peppers isn’t the least bit surprised that he finds himself in a battle with Derrick Kindred for the Browns’ starting strong safety job.

And, for the record, Peppers absolutely views it as a legitimate competition.

When General Manager John Dorsey acquired free safety Damarious Randall via a trade with the Green Bay Packers in March, it was widely assumed by fans and media that Peppers would move to strong safety and start opposite Randall.

Peppers did in fact switch positions, giving him a chance to play more frequently in the box after routinely lining up 20-25 yards away from the line of scrimmage last season as the “angel” free safety for defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

However, there’s no guarantee Peppers, the 25th overall pick in last year’s draft, will receive the starting nod over Kindred, a fourth-round selection in 2016. They shared first-team reps in spring practices, and Williams called it a “lights out” competition as mandatory minicamp wrapped up last month.

Then training camp opened Thursday with Peppers sidelined because of a groin injury he said he suffered while working out. On Friday, Peppers said he expects to practice “soon,” and coach Hue Jackson said he hopes Peppers is back in action “in the next week.” His setback has allowed Kindred to register more time with the starters.

“The production DK had last year, no one can knock that,” Peppers told the Beacon Journal/Ohio.com. “I can’t just expect to come in and just play strong safety just cause they drafted me. No. Do you see what he produced last year? I came into it expecting to compete.

“My mindset is I don’t know that [version of myself] last year. I can hardly watch tape of myself from last year. So this year, I don’t care what I’ve got to do, I’m proving to everybody, especially to myself, what I’ve got to offer and what I can do ‘cause last year that’s not what I did. So especially after my performance last year, no way I came into it thinking they were just about to say, ‘Here [is your starting job].’”

As a rookie last season, Peppers started all 13 games in which he appeared, missing three with toe and knee injuries. The coaching staff believes his best position is strong safety, but he primarily played free safety last year because Williams concluded there wasn’t a better option on the roster.

Peppers finished with 57 tackles, three passes defensed, a fumble recovery and few impact plays. His lone interception came in the season finale, when he played strong safety in a 28-24 loss at Pittsburgh that dropped the Browns to 0-16.

“You can’t run from [the record],” he said. “Yes, it’s a whole new team [this year], but at the end of the day, I was a part of that. I know me. I never ran from anything — good or bad. I take it on the chin. I know I had my part in that. I know we are going to do everything in our due diligence to make sure it never happens again. We know what we could’ve done more.

“Being the laughingstock of the league is something you take very, very seriously. All the disrespect thrown our way, we’re not going out like that again. I definitely can say that. We’re not going out like that again. I know a lot of guys are predicting Super Bowls and all this and that, but I’m not the predicting type. But I will say we’re not going to have another season like last year.”

Peppers, 22, is also determined to ensure his individual performance will never be as poor as it was in 2017. He got a shot a strong safety late in the year while Kindred missed the final two games with a wrist injury. Kindred started 10 of the 14 games in which he appeared and tallied 55 tackles, six passes defensed and an interception. The coaches praised him for his performance as a run defender.

Peppers said Kindred was “one of the best strong safeties in the league” last year.

“Last year, some guys didn’t have people pushing them. They just had their spot,” Peppers said. “This year, man, it’s literally every guy has got to compete for his spot at every position, and that’s how it should be. That brings out the best in people.”

Peppers was one of the players who started by default last year on what was the NFL’s youngest team. Dorsey replaced former head of football operations Sashi Brown, fired Dec. 7, and acquired 14 veterans of note this offseason to go along with nine drafted rookies.

“We’ve got almost a whole new team, a lot of guys who have proved themselves at different places, who come from winning, who call out things that guys do when it doesn’t result in winning — ‘You’re loafing on this play. You’re not touching all the lines,’” Peppers said. “I remember when Damarious first got here. We were doing ladder drills in OTAs. He was like, ‘Yo, we’ve got four more ladders. Y’all not finishing.’ Just things like that, we didn’t have that before.”

Randall’s presence frees Peppers to compete at his more natural position. Peppers never blamed his performance last year on being tasked to play so deep. He pinned it on himself for often over-thinking and thereby hesitating. Now he insists he knows the playbook much better and will be able to play faster. He’s also comfortable at strong safety.

“I’m just very instinctual around the ball. I’ve just always been like that,” Peppers said. “It’s the physicality aspect of it. Some games I barely got any tackles. That’s a testament to the line and the guys up front, but I like hitting. I feel like down there, the chances of me getting penalized for the way I like to hit are definitely minimized.

“We’ve got a lot of things that we can throw at an offense, and I want to be up there to reap some of the benefits. If [defensive end] Myles [Garrett] gets a strip-sack or something, go pick it up, so it just gives you more opportunities.”

The Browns are expecting significant improvement from Peppers.

“He is going to be playing a position that I think he feels is very natural, playing down around the football,” Jackson said. “So I am expecting big things.”

First, he’ll try to beat out Kindred, yet no matter how it plays out, Peppers is confident Williams will find ways to get the dueling strong safeties on the field at the same time.

“He’s a mastermind with that. He has different packages for whatever the offense is trying to do. That’s not what I’m worried about,” Peppers said. “I’m worried about staying healthy and being a completely different ball player than I was last year.

“People can say what they want. I have the highest expectations for myself, and I can’t watch film of myself last year. So with that chip on my shoulder, I’m just ready and willing to do whatever.”

https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/browns...-from-last-year

It was all some of us could do to watch the games last year as well. Why was it not bothering him then? Watched film, no?

It's like the scene from Happy Gilmore after Adam Sandler is like "I'm dumb, you're smart. I was wrong, you were right. I'm ugly, you're attractive."

and Chubbs says: "Okay, as long as you're willing to admit that ... now let's get to work"

At least Peppers admits it ... now get to work

Browns middle linebacker Joe Schobert doesn’t see his role changing despite arrival of Mychal Kendricks

By Nate Ulrich

Beacon Journal/Ohio.com

BEREA: Ever since the Browns signed Mychal Kendricks in early June, there’s been rampant speculation about which starting linebacker could be knocked out of the lineup by him.

But perhaps Joe Schobert, Christian Kirksey and Jamie Collins will remain starters while Kendricks, who can play all three positions, rotates with one or more of them.

For what it’s worth, Schobert said Sunday before the fourth practice of training camp he thinks his role will be the same in 2018 as it was last season, when he played every snap at middle linebacker and made the Pro Bowl after being voted a first alternate.

Kendricks recently returned from ankle surgery he had in March and has been limited in the early stages of camp. When he has been on the field, he’s worked at weakside linebacker, where Kirksey played every snap last season.

“It’s exciting,” Schobert said of Kendricks’ arrival. “It’s just a lot of competition. Every single position this offseason has gotten ramped up in the competition aspect, and it’s going to make the whole team better. Adding him into our room, his experience, obviously [winning] the Super Bowl [in February with the Philadelphia Eagles] … it’s another mind to pick in terms of all different aspects of football, and it’s going to be a great addition to our room.”

Schobert, a fourth-round draft pick in 2016, ascended from third to first on the depth chart last summer after the Browns traded Demario Davis and Tank Carder suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a preseason game. He tied for the league lead with 144 tackles, according to NFL.com’s count, and now he’s hoping to start a Pro Bowl streak.

“[It’s] not as important as winning games,” he said. “But for your personal benefit, you want to have goals, and that’s obviously a goal after achieving it last year.”

https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/browns...ychal-kendricks

Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie says moving left guard Joel Bitonio to left tackle is plan ‘Z’

By Nate Ulrich

Beacon Journal/Ohio.com

If the Browns can’t become comfortable with starting Shon Coleman, Greg Robinson, rookie second-round draft pick Austin Corbett or even undrafted rookie Desmond Harrison at left tackle, they could finally ask left guard Joel Bitonio to move there.

In other words, Bitonio would only be summoned if all else fails in the Browns’ quest to replace future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas, who retired in March.

“That’s the last [option],” offensive line coach Bob Wylie said of possibly moving Bitonio when the longtime assistant addressed media Sunday prior to the fourth practice of training camp. “Like if you’re going to go A down, that would be Z. That would be Z.”

On Saturday, Bitonio suggested he also considers moving to left tackle a last resort. He took a couple of reps at there in the spring but the rest of his work as been at his usual spot, left guard, where he’s started all 47 of the games in which he’s appeared since the Browns drafted him in the second round in 2014.

“If they want me to do [move to left tackle], like, cool, whatever makes the Browns better,” Bitonio said. “But I’ve been happy at left guard for the last four years going on five now.”

Hue Jackson revealed he hopes the Browns don’t need to move Bitonio, but the coach provided a timeline for when he would like to make a decision one way or the other.

“A guy needs to go play in a game, in a real game, against No. 1 starters,” Jackson said. “So hopefully by that third preseason game [Aug. 23 against the Philadelphia Eagles], if we’re going to do that, he would need to go out there and play and do it.”

Shon Coleman, the team’s starting right tackle last year, has taken all of the first-team reps at left tackle since camp began.

“Shon’s fighting, and he’s doing well at the spot,” Wylie said. “… He’s doing what he needs to do as a good pro. Now we just need to transfer it to when the ball is snapped.”

https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/browns...ackle-is-plan-z

Coach believes Shon Coleman's holding penalties last year may have been psychological as much as physical

Tony Grossi
ESPN Cleveland

Let it go: One of the keys for Shon Coleman to lock down the starting left tackle position is to reduce his holding penalties – significantly.

Starting at the unfamiliar right tackle spot last year, Coleman co-led offensive linemen with seven holding calls. According to The Football Database, Denver’s Garett Bolles also had seven. Chicago’s Charles Leno and Buffalo’s Richie Incognito each had six.

Offensive line coach Bob Wiley feels the problem was mostly between Coleman’s ears.

“When guys hold a lot, it’s because they’re afraid to fail,” Wiley said. “They’re afraid to get beat. You can’t be afraid to fail and play at the highest level you need to play at. You gotta go play. And if you make a mistake, you make it and you play the next play.

“That holds true in life, in general. Most people in life are afraid to fail. Fail’s not the problem. You’re going to be defined in life by how far you’ve risen after you fail. That’s what you try to tell those guys.”

Wiley said he opens every meeting exhorting the linemen, “Don’t be afraid to fail.”

Although the left tackle competition won’t be decided until probably the second preseason game, Wiley likes the chances of Coleman, who has been No. 1 since OTAs. The others competing are Greg Robinson, and rookies Austin Corbett and Desmond Harrison.

“Shon got himself bigger, stronger,” Wiley said. “He works every day. He starts early and stays late. He’s doing what he needs to do as a good pro. Now we just need to transfer it when the ball’s snapped.

“He’s got long arms, got some range. We need to get him to bend a little more. He’s got some nasty in him. That’s what we got to get him to do, play nasty. Now, we need his footwork better, and to do some other things. But he can do those things.”

Wiley said he’s confident that the season’s starting left tackle will come from the group of four. He said moving Joel Bitonio to tackle is Plan Z “if you start with A.”

Four of a kind: The addition of ex-Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks presents coordinator Gregg Williams with the option of using four linebackers on the field together in some packages. Kendricks has played inside and outside in his career.

Kendricks has still not joined team drills while he finishes up recovery from offseason ankle surgery. Middle linebacker Joe Schobert said that Kendricks has been an attentive participant in meetings and should be on the field soon.

Schobert agrees a four-linebacker alignment could be used at times by Williams. Schobert was one of four NFL defensive players to play every snap for his team last year – teammate Christian Kirksey was another – but Schobert doesn’t believe that workload took a toll on him.

“Honestly, it was kind of weird,” Schobert said. “Some of the games that I felt I didn’t do as much I felt worse on Monday than some of the games I had a lot of tackles and Monday came and I felt fine. Sometimes weird bounces and weird angles you get hit at. If you can avoid that – it takes a lot of luck. I didn’t feel my body felt any worse after the season [after playing so much].”

Lombardi Field flashback: The Browns replaced the silver aluminum grandstand overlooking the fields with a new one that is the identical green-and-gold color scheme famous to Green Bay’s Lombardi Field.

Ex-Packer JC Tretter said he did a double-take when he first saw it.


“The guys upstairs [ex-Packers personnel execs Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith] might have just brought them in the U-haul with them. I had to laugh when I came out the first time and saw them,” Tretter said.

Tretter came through last year as a free agent by shaking off the injury bug he acquired in Green Bay. Packers coach Mike McCarthy had predicted Tretter would benefit from staying at one position rather than filling in everywhere for the Packers, and he was right.

Tretter said he added 10 pounds in the offseason and officially crossed the 300-pound barrier, reducing by one the dwindling number of NFL offensive linemen still under 300 pounds.

The Browns still have two linemen listed under 300 – right tackle Chris Hubbard (295), and Harrison (295).

“This is one of the few times in my career I’m not the lightest one in the [offensive line] room. New territory for me,” Tretter said.

http://www.espn.com/blog/cleveland/post/_/id/5183

Great catch by Higgins

https://twitter.com/Browns/status/1023666569258430464

Scott Petrak ct
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@ScottPetrak
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Some thoughts from a much more intense practice on #Browns second day in pads: Shon Coleman struggling again in pass pro; Corey Coleman catching ball today; David Njoku isn't.



Garrett has the day off

Nate Ulrich
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@ByNateUlrich
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Good day for #Browns WRs so far. Corey Coleman and Rashard Higgins have made several nice catches. Rookie Damion Ratley back from hip injury and making some plays. Jarvis Landry continues to get open as usual. Other notes: LB Mychal Kendricks had TFL. TE David Njoku a few drops.

Nate Ulrich
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@ByNateUlrich
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#Browns HC Hue Jackson said he called LT Shon Coleman to the side after a team drill to tell him he needs to meet Hue’s standard for what he expects.



Andrew Gribble
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@Andrew_Gribble
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Hue Jackson and others today been very encouraged by new RT Chris Hubbard. “He’s been a really good find for us.”

Mary Kay Cabot
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@MaryKayCabot
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#Browns Jackson: “Baker Mayfield is everything I thought a QB should be thus far and he’s exceeding those things”




Nate Ulrich
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#Browns HC Hue Jackson said Baker Mayfield is an outstanding listener, he’s doing everything a QB should do, he’s exceeding expectations, more than that, he’s built bond with Tyrod Taylor and Drew Stanton, he’s about the team

Nate Ulrich
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@ByNateUlrich
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#Browns HC Hue Jackson said WR Corey Coleman declined to take a scheduled day off for rest and impressed during today’s practice

Baker-Colt comparisons might be accurately solely due to the southern, charming cherub vibes that they give off.

This is the type of thing I fully expect a head coach to do. However, IMO it is NOT the type of thing he should be relating to the media. SMH, Hue's still throwing players down the stairs.

I have a few things to say about Peppers:

--I never wanted us to draft him. I was very vocal before the draft about that. I thought he was a dynamic returner and a "flash" player, but I thought he was bad in coverage.

--I was surprised last year that he was so bad in the return game. I thought he would stud-out there. It makes me question his speed.

--He was absolutely horrible w/his tackling in the open field.

--He was slow to react when receivers made moves while he was in coverage.

--He often looked confused.

--I do think he is suited to SS way more than FS.

--I think he won't be so good in coverage, but he can be a TJ Ward type. Blitz, make some big hits, play the run well.

--I like what he said. He's "owning it." I respect that.

--I do think he is a hard hitter.

--I think he wants to be good and that is important.

--I'm keeping an open mind on him this year. I hope he improves and at least comes close to his lofty draft status.

Tranlation: He's getting his ass handed to him.

That is lame. He didn't throw him down the stairs. The dude has been reportedly getting his ass handed to him and Hue was questioned about what he said.

You guys just look for reasons to slam Hue. It's old.

Shon Coleman is not the answer, at least it would appear

Good to hear C. Coleman and Higgins had a good day.

I have a hunch that Higgins might develop into a decent receiver. I really liked the guy coming out of college. I haven't given up on him.

Coleman might perform better because he is feeling the heat from the coaching staff. Some think that players need "safe spaces" and should never be called out. Those people never played football. It's a tough game and it's not for everyone.

It's early. We gotta hope he improves.

More TE injures: Browns’ TE Seth DeValve left today’s practice with a quad injury and Cleveland TE Devon Cajuste has a concussion.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1023699155988959232

Devalve sounded like a precaution, but we'll see

I'll maybe warm up on Baker if the kid actually gets to sit this year and actually learn what it is to be an NFL QB...its more then just reading plays and throwing the ball....Baker needs to grow up, and this is the year he can do that, but he needs to watch how Stanton and Taylor do it this year...you hear someone do well, you see someone do well, then YOU do well...thats what Mickey told rocky, and thats what Baker needs to do.

Next year, im all about giving Baker a legit shot to be our starting QB....however if he takes even one snap in a reg season game this year its a failure....if both Stanton and Taylor would get hurt, you do what Bellichik and Parcells would do, sign a guy off the street and keep Mayfield on the benc...we will probably have a bad record if that happens anyways and we gain nothing by putting Baker out in that.

If Baker gets a year to sit and a clean slate next year, the chances of him working our increase exponentially...we just need to be patient as a fan base and let Baker grow into the role.

Hue Jackson praises Baker Mayfield’s accuracy, attitude
Browns head coach says No. 1 pick living up to expectations, and then some

DARYL RUITER
JULY 29, 2018 - 6:57 PM
Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson talks with quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during training camp at the Cleveland Browns Training Complex.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

CATEGORIES: NFL Browns
Berea, OH (92.3 The Fan) – Prior to the NFL draft a lot of things were said about Baker Mayfield as a person and leader.

Most were not complimentary.

Since he was selected No. 1 overall and joined the Cleveland Browns, that perception couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Head coach Hue Jackson has noticed too.

“Baker Mayfield has been everything I thought a quarterback should be for our organization thus far,” Jackson said. “He’s doing the things that we want him to do the way we want him to do it and he’s exceeding those things because he’s putting in the time. He doesn’t have a pride or authorship any kind of way.

“I think his thing is, ‘you guys tell me what you need me to do and I’m going to do it’ and that’s what he’s done since he’s walked in the building and that’s exciting, because that’s a player that’s eager to learn.”

Sunday, Mayfield was laser sharp slinging the football on time and on target all over the field during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work.

“Baker’s deadly accurate with the ball,” Jackson said. “So is Tyrod and so is Drew. I think our guys have been throwing some pinpoint passes, so the receivers, all you’ve got to do is be in the right spot at the right time, they’ll put the ball in places where you get a chance to catch it.”

Mayfield’s accuracy is something Jackson pointed out as a part of his game that has gotten even better since the spring.

“I just think he understands his teammates better and he knows where to place the ball to give them a chance to make a play,” Jackson said. “I mean, he threw a ball behind the ear to someone today and, I mean, to me, it was outstanding.

“Those kinds of things that he’s doing, along with standing in the pocket, I think he’s seeing the offense unfold a little bit better, because I think he understands the system better. So, I think he’s making really good progress, which you want to see from your quarterback.”

Since April, Mayfield has built a tight relationship with Tyrod Taylor and Drew Stanton and is taking advantage of learning from the pair of experienced QBs.

It was Mayfield that heeded Stanton’s request and had an RV delivered for training camp for them to use. It is parked in the players lot right outside the facility.

“When you’re the first pick of the draft and you walk in, normally, some guys walk in with their chests out, it’s about me, me, me,” Jackson said. “He’s not about that. He’s about the team. He’s truly about the football team and about getting better. That’s why I’m glad he’s here.”

https://923thefan.radio.com/articles/cleveland-browns-baker-mayfield-living-hue-jackson%E2%80%99s-expectations

No, Hue is lame for propping himself up at his players' expense. Like I said, I'm fully aware that those kinds of conversations need to take place but they should remain between the coach and the player. This kind of [stuff] is how a coach loses a locker room.

that's high praise for Baker thus far

I think you are full of crap on this issue, Dave. He is praising Baker, C. Coleman, and a host of others. You ignore that and b.........about him saying next to nothing about S. Coleman.

Hue is our coach and you bashing him over NOTHING is not productive.

Who gave the praise? Hue?

According to Dave and several others, all Hue does is throw players under the bus to "prop himself up." LMAO