NEWS OF THE DAY: Coach Hue Jackson showed little patience and perhaps some panic by changing the left side of the first-team offensive line.
Gee, don't try and experiment during TC. That would be dumb. You must plug a guy in during OTA's and leave him there no matter what. If not, you are showing signs of panic.
NEWS OF THE DAY: Coach Hue Jackson showed little patience and perhaps some panic by changing the left side of the first-team offensive line. Joel Bitonio was moved from guard to tackle and Shon Coleman was demoted.
I disagree with the panic comment. From everything I have read Coleman hasn't been cutting it. With our 2nd and 3rd options hurt it is imperative that we find a replacement. Joel will need time to learn the position, something we don't have a lot of. If Robinson or Harrison can get back to practice and show anything then I feel Hue can go to them.
" Now here you are running these dirty old streets tattoo on your neck fake gold on your teeth, got the hood here snowed but you can't fool me, we both know who you are"
Anyone hear anything about Howard Willson? I have high Hopes for him
i think he's already deemed out for the year (and basically forever)
What the heck happened? Last year he was hurt in minicamp....how is he still out?
" Now here you are running these dirty old streets tattoo on your neck fake gold on your teeth, got the hood here snowed but you can't fool me, we both know who you are"
Cleveland Browns Training Camp Recap: Day 6 - Major Change at Left Tackle A snapshot of what happened at Browns training camp on Wednesday. By Chris Pokorny@DawgsByNature Aug 1, 2018, 9:58pm EDT SHARE
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports After a day off on Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns were back at it Wednesday for Day 6 of training camp. Our full practice report summary is below.
Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report - Day 6 (8/1/18) 1. Your New Left Tackle: With a day off to evaluate, the first huge storyline of minicamp is that head coach Hue Jackson has decided to move Joel Bitonio to left tackle with Austin Corbett bumping up to the first-team offense at left guard.
Bitonio spent the majority of practice at left tackle; there were only brief spurts when Shon Coleman was back with the first teamers at left tackle, with Bitonio sliding back to left guard. But based on the post-practice comments by Jackson and Bitonio, this is a change the team is committed to now after evaluating the tape from the first five practice sessions. They are going full-speed ahead with it.
We have much more on the left tackle situation in Mike Hoag’s article here.
Jake Burns @jake_burns18 I caught a ton of flack on these twitter streets about my doubts in Shon Coleman. Glad they’re figuring it out even before the preseason. Bitonio is a natural. He’ll be serviceable until the 2019 off-season if that’s what it comes to.
2. Drill of the Day: Today’s drill we are featuring is of the running backs working on their pass protection in one-on-one situations. First up, we have RB Duke Johnson against LB B.J. Bello, followed by RB Carlos Hyde getting a good pop on LB Christian Kirksey.
Dan Labbe ✔ @dan_labbe Pretty good pop at the end of this one.
4:01 PM - Aug 1, 2018 30 See Dan Labbe's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy 3. A Change at Right Guard: Some more news on the offensive line with the first-teamers: Kevin Zeitler is out at right guard, and Spencer Drango is in. “What!?!” you might be screaming. This one is for a very different reason, though — he suffered a calf injury during practice, so the team pulled him and will evaluate him.
4. Two-Minutes Drills (Taylor): The Browns worked on some two-minute drills on Wednesday, which always adds an exciting element to practice. How did everyone do? From what we can gather, the scenario for the first- and second-team offenses were that they were down by 4 points, so they needed a touchdown, not a field goal.
QB Tyrod Taylor got hit unit close with this connection to WR Antonio Callaway. However, the defense was able to force an incomplete pass into the end zone to conclude the series on downs.
Emory Hunt @FBallGameplan Tyrod operating well in the 2-min drill. #Browns
Twitter Ads info and privacy 5. Two-Minute Drills (Mayfield): QB Baker Mayfield has been sharp this camp, but one of the stories that might matter more short-term is the production the team is getting out of WR Rashard Higgins, who is stringing together good practice after good practice. Below, you can see him making a short catch, but then putting a “slick move” (as Emory Hunt of Football Gameplan puts it) on the defense to get a few extra yards.
Emory Hunt @FBallGameplan Mayfield’s up next... slick move by Higgins to split defenders #Browns
Mayfield went right back to Higgins for another good gain. However, Hunt (and others) say that Mayfield took a sack on the next play, which pretty much ended the drive’s momentum and eventually led to a turnover on downs.
6. Some Third-Team Love: Per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, the third-team offense got some work with QB Drew Stanton. The scenario must have been a little different for them, because they were able to go for a 40-yard game-winning field goal attempt, which K Ross Martin connected on.
7. Mesmerizing: I mentioned this drill a couple practice sessions ago, where the quarterbacks try to drop the ball into the bucket. Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 the Fan recorded a minute of it, and it is pretty mesmerizing to just stare and anticipation to see which (if any) of the quarterbacks (or coach) get it in.
Daryl Ruiter ✔ @RuiterWrongFAN QBs trying to throw the 🏈 in the 🗑 #Browns
Ruiter also said that the quarterbacks “practiced throwing balls high and deep out of bounds.” Hey, sometimes you do need to really make sure those intentional out of bounds passes aren’t left lazily in play for a defender to make a tiptoe-sideline interception, right?
8. Kicking Competition: According to Scott Petrak of the Chronicle-Telegram, there was a kicking competition at camp on Wednesday. Each kicker got three attempts: from 37, 47, and 52 yards. Zane Gonzalez was 2-of-3 on kicks, missing from 47 yards. Ross Martin was a perfect 3-of-3.
9. Brownies: LB Mychal Kendricks returned to action and has received credit for the presence he has. ...CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun continues to see some action with the safeties. ... Before practice, CB T.J. Carrie acknowledged that he hasn’t had a dominant day of practice yet, and that puts him on eggshells knowing the competition in camp this year. ... LB Christian Kirksey laughed it up saying how his teammates say he is playing up to the cameras for Hard Knocks. ... A total of 61 puppies have been adopted at the Browns Puppy Pound at training camp this year. ... Smoothie King had tons of smoothies available for players and VIP’s against the fieldhouse, per Jeff Ridson of Browns Wire. ... QB Baker Mayfield has upgraded his RV.
Dan Labbe ✔ @dan_labbe Looks like the quarterback RV has been upgraded, as promised.
10. Next Up: The Browns will practice on Thursday from 3:00 PM to 5:55 PM before Friday’s shortened “Orange & Brown Scrimmage” in Berea.
Anyone hear anything about Howard Willson? I have high Hopes for him
i think he's already deemed out for the year (and basically forever)
What the heck happened? Last year he was hurt in minicamp....how is he still out?
I think the tear he had last year in MC did not heal up (without surgery) like they had hoped. As it turned out, he DOES need to have surgery on that knee as rehab didn't heal it up on its own.
Haven’t heard a peep about Gaines ... hopefully Mitchell is getting first crack cause he’s playing well and not because Gaines isn’t playing up to snuff ...
Haven’t heard a word about Ward either ... or Randall or Kindred ... Peppers has been hurt ... were not hearing about may of them .. *L* ..
we havent heard much about the kickers thus far... bummer to see that Zane missed today from 47
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
yep, coleman clearly has been BAD in the coaches' eyes ... making a change this early (without much thought to go back to him it seems) is pretty telling
Corbett is now a starter IMO. Bitonio is just our best option at LT
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun continues to see some action with the safeties. ...
I assume backing up Randall
I haven't been able to tell who's been starting at S
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
David Njoku works overtime on his hands. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com) Njoku caught an 18-yard pass over the middle from Tyrod Taylor in the two-minute drill Wednesday, and has rebounded from his four-drop day on Sunday. With Seth DeValve sidelined with a quad injury, the Browns need Njoku to be on point. "Those tough ones happen,'' Njoku said of his bad day. "You just have to focus on the next play. Things happen, and you just have to make the next play."
Pretty much everything in this article has been posted but there are some nice pics.
Haven’t heard a peep about Gaines ... hopefully Mitchell is getting first crack cause he’s playing well and not because Gaines isn’t playing up to snuff ...
Haven’t heard a word about Ward either ... or Randall or Kindred ... Peppers has been hurt ... were not hearing about may of them .. *L* ..
Ward has been praised multiple times.Randall does have a pick (off Njoku's hands)but not much more has been said.
• Rookie third-round draft pick Chad Thomas participated in team drills Wednesday for the first time since he had sports hernia surgery in June. He lined up at left end with the third-string defense. Thomas revealed he had the hernia the past two seasons at the University of Miami and basically ignored it. He was hesitant to have surgery when the Browns recommended it. “I had to be a grown-up and think it’s a business, so let me just get my body right at this moment and not wait until later because it will probably get worse,” he said.
But what about the park where he said the reporters ask too many questions. Was it a joke?
He may have been half joking. He said that the media asks too many questions of his staff, not him. I assume he thinks they should be asking him those questions. Not sure why you have a problem with this?
If he was serious, I didn't see a video, then he is basically asking the reporters to not do their job.
But what about the park where he said the reporters ask too many questions. Was it a joke?
He may have been half joking. He said that the media asks too many questions of his staff, not him. I assume he thinks they should be asking him those questions. Not sure why you have a problem with this?
If he was serious, I didn't see a video, then he is basically asking the reporters to not do their job.
60% of NFL Network coverage tonight has been the Browns.. really cool stuff for those of us far away that don't get a lot of coverage..
Watching Willie McGinest talk to Myles Garrett about pass rushing and Steve Smith JR talk to Jarvis Landry about the nuance of different route running techniques was pretty cool..
60% of NFL Network coverage tonight has been the Browns.. really cool stuff for those of us far away that don't get a lot of coverage..
Watching Willie McGinest talk to Myles Garrett about pass rushing and Steve Smith JR talk to Jarvis Landry about the nuance of different route running techniques was pretty cool..
Time to set the DV-R!
---------------
Anyway, looks like i was wrong about Shonn Coleman and this being temporary.
Joel Bitonio it is i guess. Hopefully Corbett is ready to step in at LG as well.
Looking at FA, Jake Matthews is a Free Agent next year. With Matt Ryan and Julio Jones' contracts, i wonder if he might be able to slip through the cracks (and is he a LT?)
LT and WR are gonna be the positions we're gonna have to address next year. The two we missed this year........
60% of NFL Network coverage tonight has been the Browns.. really cool stuff for those of us far away that don't get a lot of coverage..
Watching Willie McGinest talk to Myles Garrett about pass rushing and Steve Smith JR talk to Jarvis Landry about the nuance of different route running techniques was pretty cool..
As a person who lives far away from Cleveland, I find it weird that on any given day I can go into a bar and ESPN shows/heads are all about one of our teams or another.
It used to be...gotta be on a good team to get coverage. Now it's...gotta be on a Cle team to get coverage.
Is Drango still on the team? He held his own at LT last year.
Still on the team, but it seems he's moved back to guard which is a more natural position for him.
I, too, thought he did a pretty good job at LT. I see him more as swing depth, who can play any position if required, but it seems the Browns are encouraged by Shon Coleman.
CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun continues to see some action with the safeties. ...
I assume backing up Randall
I haven't been able to tell who's been starting at S
Kindred at SS, Randall at FS. With Peppers back, expect him to quickly re-earn first-string SS reps. I know he's not the most popular guy, but the coaches love Peppers.
Is Drango still on the team? He held his own at LT last year.
He was probably better than anyone else we could have thrown into the fire there, but he certainly did not hold his own. In 9 games, he allowed 10 sacks.
For comparison, Coleman, who people lambaste, allowed 8 in 16 games. (though Coleman also had 10 penalties)
Neither was really acceptable.
I am not saying that I don't think that Drango has a place on the team. I think that he could be a quality interior line backup, but should only be used at LT in the most dire of circumstances. He was asked to do the impossible last year, and replace Joe Thomas. He couldn't even come close. No one on the team could have. However, there is no way we could, or should, go into this year with Drango as even on of our A-Z options at LT. I do think that he has a chance to be one of the swing OL active on gamedays, though.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun continues to see some action with the safeties. ...
I assume backing up Randall
I haven't been able to tell who's been starting at S
Kindred at SS, Randall at FS. With Peppers back, expect him to quickly re-earn first-string SS reps. I know he's not the most popular guy, but the coaches love Peppers.
Thanks
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
Cleveland Browns Joel Bitonio found out yesterday on their day off that Hue Jackson decided to move him from left guard to left tackle as they continue to find a replacement for Joe Thomas. Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018.
I'm concerned about this move for several reasons.
1. It's not a good thing when the HC feels like you already need to replace your starting LT before the preseason game. Still, it's better to make the change now that later on in the preseason.
2. Moving one of the league's best LGs to another position just doesn't sit well, although Andrew Whitworth made the transition rather well.
I'm hoping Corbett can slide right in there to LG and we end up having a nice Nevada combo on the left side of the line.
At DT, context and meaning are a scarecrow kicking at moving goalposts.
BEREA, Ohio -- It always felt, despite what Bob Wiley said about Plan Z, that Joel Bitonio was going to get a real shot at playing left tackle for the Browns. The fact that it came this early is a little surprising.
It's also telling.
"We made the decision that maybe our best five right now is putting Joel out at left tackle, putting (Austin) Corbett at left guard and going from there," head coach Hue Jackson said.
In doing so, Bitonio bypassed a number of internal options, although two of them are out with injury.
Corbett, the No. 33 overall pick, is one of those. Greg Robinson would be another, but he is in the concussion protocol and has already been unable to hold down the job with two other teams. Desmond Harrison, an undrafted free agent, is on the radar, but he hasn't practiced yet due to a toe injury.
Still, the rush to kick Bitonio to the outside just six days into training camp seems unnecessary if those internal options are anywhere close to getting back on the field. It means either Shon Coleman is nearly unplayable there, even in practice, or those other options on the roster aren't worth waiting on.
The Browns will scrimmage here on Friday night and they play their first preseason game next Thursday against the Giants. The talk of moving Bitonio this camp has come with the caveat that he could use a few weeks -- more than a few live reps -- to adjust to playing on the outside.
It's hard, even at this early stage of camp, to not look at this as a more permanent solution, even if no one wants to say that right now. This is asking one of your best players, a Pro Bowl alternate a season ago who, when healthy, has proven to be one of the league's best left guards, to move to a new position.
This is taking one strength and turning it into two question marks. It's a significant move with a significant ripple effect and that's why it shouldn't be shrugged off simply as an experiment.
"It's just a different animal and it's something I've got to learn," Bitonio said. "Playing guard, I knew the nuances of the position. I knew if this guy does this or this guy does this, you understand what's going to happen to you. And at tackle I'm still trying to develop that as we go through camp."
We don't know what will happen between now and the season opener in September. Maybe Bitonio belongs as an interior lineman. If that's the case, there's real trouble. Maybe Bitonio grows in his confidence at the position and thrives. It is, in theory, easier to replace an interior lineman than a tackle.
For now, it's Bitonio in line to replace Joe Thomas. It feels like this i s setting up for that to be the plan a month from now, too.
"Moving Joel Bitonio to left tackle this quickly feels like a longterm solution, not just a quick fix"
Could very well be. But if this was the case, why not just move Bitonio there from the get-go and move Shon down the depthchart immediately at the start of camp?
At DT, context and meaning are a scarecrow kicking at moving goalposts.
This isn't a bad article...but it's missing the things that would make it really good.
Since the end of last year, the Browns have brought in the following Offensive Tackles:
Hubbard (now starting at RT)
Stephenson (now sitting on his couch)
Corbett (drafted; but has always been talked about as a guy likely to start his NFL career on the interior)
Bowen, Kevin (flyer on a dude who hasn't gotten his health right since leaving college)
Harrison (UDFA flyer on a guy with freaky skills but less technique than S Coleman)
Robinson (flyer on a former 1sr Rd pick who is probably a G regardless of where he was drafted)
Tretter (I'm stretching here a bit, but he HAS been talked about at LT)
When you look at what the Browns have said AND done since the end of last year, there is no surprise that Coleman isn't working out or that JB is moving to LT. The article could have been some real reporting had he looked into that fact.
