Deshaun Watson's joint practice is reason for Browns fans to worry
Story by Mark Powell • 15h
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is set to play his first full season since 2020, but training camp isn't off to a flying start.
Deshaun Watson hasn't exactly looked bad in preseason action thus far — of which the Browns have played two games — if only because he hasn't received much time on the field. In practice, though, Watson has received positive reviews from his teammates.
Against rival competition, though, Watson has been outplayed by the likes of rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. In this week's joint practice against the Philadelphia Eagles, Watson has looked like anything but a former Pro Bowler against the defending NFC Champions.
Eliot Shorr-Parks @EliotShorrParks #Eagles v Browns, Day 2 W/L verdict:
This ended up being a blowout
After a lackluster Day 1 the Eagles were the better team on Day 2 when it mattered most. The Browns didn’t play poorly (and actually started good). The Eagles were just better
The Eagles defensive and offensive lines both won their matchups after the offensive line struggled on Day 1
In biggest 11v11s of the day the Eagles 1st/2nd team offenses both got TDs on beautiful throws from Hurts and Mariota. Both 1st/2nd team defenses got INTs
Coaches should be very encouraged by this performance
VERDICT: Eagles win
Sirianni and Hurts are now 7-2 in joint practices 2:51 PM · Aug 15, 2023 · 289.1K Views
To be fair to Watson, there are many quarterbacks who would look foolish against the Eagles secondary. However, most of the players didn't reset the QB market. link
Joel Bitonio: Eagles took cheap shots at Deshaun Watson in joint practice By Michael David Smith
Published August 16, 2023 04:10 AM
Browns left guard Joel Bitonio was not happy with players on the Eagles following Tuesday’s joint practice, accusing them of “cheap shots.”
Specifically, Bitonio accused Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat of knocking the ball out of the hand of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, a no-no in practice, when quarterbacks are not to be touched.
“You’re not supposed to that,” Bitonio said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
Bitonio said quarterbacks are supposed to be off-limits on the practice field.
“I mean it’s just in our practice, you protect the quarterback,” he said. “You don’t want to come close to the quarterback, you don’t want to take cheap shots, things like that where there might’ve been a couple of questionable plays both ways today.”
Tuesday was the second of two joint practices between the Eagles and Browns, and Bitonio said it’s good they’re not doing three days of practice.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “I mean that’s why you do two days because three days it’d be a blood bath the last day, so even two days gets a little bit chippy the second day. You go back, you watch the film, you’re like, oh, we’ve got to do this better, or they got to do this better, and the next day’s going to be a little bit more ramped up.”
The Eagles and Browns will meet for a preseason game on Thursday night.
None of us know exactly what's going on but we all hear the bits and pieces of news. Is anyone starting to get that sinking feeling we've all felt in the past?
Browns guard Joel Bitonio accuses Eagles players of taking 'cheap shots' at Deshaun Watson
Yahoo Sports TYLER GREENAWALT August 16, 2023 at 11:24 AM link
Tuesday's joint practice between the Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles got a little too chippy for Joel Bitonio's liking. Specifically, the Browns guard didn't like how some Eagles defenders were playing against quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“I mean it’s just in our practice, you protect the quarterback,” Bitonio said Tuesday. “You don’t want to come close to the quarterback, you don’t want to take cheap shots, things like that where there might’ve been a couple of questionable plays both ways today.”
Bitonio added that Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat knocked the ball out of Watson's hand during a play. The two sides had also been more physical and reportedly had to be separated throughout the practices.
“We’re going into this week trying to get better in practice and work and sometimes there are some cheap shots and things like that where you want to defend yourself,” Bitonio said. “I don’t know the exact situation, but there were a couple shots today where we’re trying to make sure we’re getting the best out of practice and not fighting. But it was just a little heated second day. It always gets a little bit more fired up.”
The Browns and Eagles face each other Thursday night in Philadelphia.
Watson himself had a few bad moments against the Eagles defense this week after Philadelphia safety Reed Blankenship reportedly intercepted Watson three times in two days.
The Browns certainly need Watson to rebound after a poor six-game showing in 2022 when he returned from his 11-game suspension for sexual assault allegations. Watson said earlier in training camp he felt "really good, comfortable" around the team now after his shorter campaign this past season. But he's still a $230 million man who completed less than 60% of his passes with only seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
That won't cut it against the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.
That post he made about watson sort of reminds me of most everything we hear about training camp. A bunch of reporting about things that make no difference at all in the regular season.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I wish Bitonio had NO COMMENT...rather than playing the victim card, claiming the Eagles were cheap shotting us.
I don't know how the Browns escape the image that has developed over the the team the last few years.
The best response by Bitonio and the offense would have been to turn the offensive intensity up a bit and put some touchdowns on the Eagles cheap shot artists, but the Browns didn't do that either.
Football is an intense, emotional game that has not changed since the beginning. If a team doesn't standup for themselves when challenged, your team might be nothing more than a loser.
Tell me, do the Cleveland Browns even have an identity...?
Deshaun Watson's joint practice is reason for Browns fans to worry
Story by Mark Powell • 15h
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is set to play his first full season since 2020, but training camp isn't off to a flying start.
Deshaun Watson hasn't exactly looked bad in preseason action thus far — of which the Browns have played two games — if only because he hasn't received much time on the field. In practice, though, Watson has received positive reviews from his teammates.
Against rival competition, though, Watson has been outplayed by the likes of rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. In this week's joint practice against the Philadelphia Eagles, Watson has looked like anything but a former Pro Bowler against the defending NFC Champions.
Eliot Shorr-Parks @EliotShorrParks #Eagles v Browns, Day 2 W/L verdict:
This ended up being a blowout
After a lackluster Day 1 the Eagles were the better team on Day 2 when it mattered most. The Browns didn’t play poorly (and actually started good). The Eagles were just better
The Eagles defensive and offensive lines both won their matchups after the offensive line struggled on Day 1
In biggest 11v11s of the day the Eagles 1st/2nd team offenses both got TDs on beautiful throws from Hurts and Mariota. Both 1st/2nd team defenses got INTs
Coaches should be very encouraged by this performance
VERDICT: Eagles win
Sirianni and Hurts are now 7-2 in joint practices 2:51 PM · Aug 15, 2023 · 289.1K Views
To be fair to Watson, there are many quarterbacks who would look foolish against the Eagles secondary. However, most of the players didn't reset the QB market. link
trash piece by a nobody....
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
DE Myles Garrett liked what he saw out of the Browns' retooled defensive line in their two joint practices against one of the best offensive lines in the league.
Garrett and the defense played very well Monday, bringing pressure to QB Jalen Hurts and having their way against an Eagles offensive line that boasts three Pro Bowlers. On Tuesday, Hurts and the Eagles offense showed why they were Super Bowl runner-ups, bringing high intensity back to the Browns defense, who still remained solid throughout the day.
"I think we're flying around (with) a lot more energy, a lot more juice down the field because it's for the ball, and there were fewer mistakes," Garrett said. "But those guys over there were in a position to win it big for a reason. They executed at a high level, made some big plays, and hats off. We must keep executing and finish each play on top like we can."
Eagles long-time center Jason Kelce, a Pro Bowler in each of the last four seasons, praised the Browns defensive line, saying they were one of the better end-to-end groups in the league.
"It means a lot," Garrett said. "He's seen a whole lot. He's been around for a while, and he's played against some really good ones. Definitely it's an honor coming from him. We got to make the most of it. We appreciate the words, but we got to keep on putting the work in
Garrett was impressed with Isaiah McGuire, Siaki Ika and Ogbo Okoronkwo — all newcomers to the Browns' defensive line — after they played well against the Eagles offensive line that is regarded as one of the best in the league.
"They were going against big-time talent," Garrett said. "You're seeing a variety of skill sets from a team who's very talented, what they do. And that allows you to start adapting to what else you're going to see in the league and create a little bit of a variety of your pass rush moves and what you see works for you and what works for you across the board instead of just one style."
The Browns' defense aims to improve their sack totals this year and Garrett is confident in their ability. However, he doesn't want to be compared to other defensive lines in the league.
Not until they have a chance to prove it when the games count for real.
"There's many different styles of being an aggressive production, heavy defense or deep combined," Garrett said. "And we'll find our own way, we'll carve our own path. We have different guys who bring different things to the table, so we have to play with what we have and I think we can be a very talented on line."
I noticed that you didn’t post about day 1 where the Eagles beat reporter (Eliot Shorr-Parks) said the Browns win the day.
pd...there was no Eagles forum until this morning and the headline today was focused on the day 2 practice.
Originally Posted by Pdawg
I noticed that you didn’t post about day 1 where the Eagles beat reporter (Eliot Shorr-Parks) said the Browns win the day.
The Eagles writer did mention the Browns looked better on day1 but pointed out that day 2 was worse, when (not sure why) it mattered most. Regarding Powell, he lost credibility with me when he pointed out DTR's success when it is not unusual for a 3rd string QB to look great in pre-season, mainly because they play against opponents who likely won't be in the league in a month.
Look, I don;t know if Watson will play like an all pro, perform very average or be a flop for us. But can the "media" wait until we get far enough into this season to find out before they annoint our season lost. Besides, if DTR was so impressive to this writer, we should be fine.
I tried to stream WEWS last game and it wasn't available live. I think NFLN has it though
"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."
I'm assuming I'll have nothing in Fort Wayne. Probably have to mosey up to B-Dubs.
Browns/Eagles is televised nationally on the NFL Network, excluding local blackout (shown on WEWS in the CLE market), which Ft Wayne should not be considered local.
Mosey back home and enjoy watching Austin Watkins become our modern day Josh Lenz (unless you do not have NFLN, than mosey to BDubs).
Cleveland @ Philadelphia 7:30 PM ET NFL Network Chris Rose, Joe Thomas WEWS (ABC/5 - Cleveland) WBNS (CBS/10 - Columbus) WTOL (CBS/11 - Toledo) WYTV (ABC/33 - Youngstown) WHIO (CBS/7 - Dayton)
Practice is run situationally. First downs, third downs and different yardage etc.
Defenses have the advantage. Key players absent in key situations.
And some reporter from the Eagles says DW was 50% etc. And people jump off the cliff?
Please. Teams are trying different things. Trying to find what works and what does not. There are 25 days till the season begins.
The pre-season games will not have starters play. The real playbook is not exposed.
When a baseball pitcher is on a rehab assignment and is trying to get a feel for a pitch. Does his ERA mean anything? NO.
I listened to a video of Aditi who is a professional. Knows the game. Has seen tons of football up close. Has covered the league from the inside. Been to tons of practices. In the video after watching the Browns and covering practice. She told her Steeler fan husband: "Watch out DW is not the guy you saw last year."
Bone I want you to be right. If DW plays well we'll have a team that can play with anyone. I really believe our D will be much, much better than last year if we stay healthy.
I am becoming a DTR fan. You have to be impressed.
This guy does not play like a rookie. He is a cool character behind the LOS.
I want to see him for the half. We cannot predict the future. However, if he continues to play as he has done so far. When his rookie contract expires. He may have high trade value. If he were to fill in because of injury and play at a high level. He will get attention.
He has demonstrated legs and arm. He has shown poise.
Has anyone heard if the Eagles plan to sit their starters too?
"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."
I think you're quite right. I do think one has to consider the competition level he has been playing against thus far but nobody can take away those tangible traits you mentioned. His arm, legs and poise have all shown through. Tonight he should be playing against a somewhat higher competition level as the starter and I hope those traits continue to show.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I noticed that you didn’t post about day 1 where the Eagles beat reporter (Eliot Shorr-Parks) said the Browns win the day.
I agree. Last year the Eagles came into Berea and laid a beat down on the Browns both days and this year the Browns made the Eagles look bad day 1 and the Eagles turned their intensity up and won day 2. I read a report that stated the Browns sacked in the scrimmage type scak Jalen Hurts 7 times on Monday. No talk of that.
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
"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."
