Cleveland Browns training camp primer

Jun 16, 2015; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas (73) during minicamp at the Cleveland Browns practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns open training camp this week with veteran players reporting on Wednesday to take a physical, meet with coaches and participate in a conditioning test.

Thursday brings the first of 11 practices in Berea that are open to fans holding tickets, and each practice session is sold out.

According to the Browns, fans lucky enough to have secured a ticket to attend a practice should arrive with their tickets and enter the training facility through the Beech Street entrance. The gates open one hour price to the schedule start of the practice session. The team will also have guest- and membership-services stations available inside and outside the complex to assist fans.

In addition, fans should know that:

Smoking is prohibited.
Weapons, noisemakers, animals and aerosol cans are prohibited.
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
Plastic bottles and boxed liquids are permitted. Cans and glass are prohibited.
Soft-case coolers are permitted. Hard-plastic coolers are prohibited.
Cameras are permitted but must not interfere with another fan’s enjoyment of practice. The images reproduced may not be used commercially. Commercial video equipment is prohibited.
Umbrellas, strollers, purses, fanny packs, backpacks, and diaper bags are permitted but are subject to inspection.
Portable folding chairs and lawn chairs are permitted but are subject to inspection.

Parking is available on the campus of Baldwin-Wallace University, near the intersection of Beech Street and Bagley Road.

If you have any questions, call team headquarters at 440.891.5050 or email Tickets@ClevelandBrowns.com.

Special Practices

In addition to the practices in Berea, the Browns will hold their annual Orange & Brown Scrimmage in front of 60,000 fans on Aug. 7 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

“We haven’t been very secretive about our identity. Let’s build on toughness, mentally and physically. You’ve got tough guys that are smart that love football, you’re really maximizing your chances to be successful.” – Head coach Mike Pettine

This is the second year in a row the Browns have taken the event to a college site, as last year they held the scrimmage at InfoCision Stadium on the University of Akron campus.

“The intrasquad scrimmage is an important element of our preparation for the 2015 season,” head coach Mike Pettine said in the news release about the game. “Ohio Stadium will provide a great atmosphere for our team to compete, and I’m confident our players and fans will enjoy the experience.”

The Browns will also hold joint practices with the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. and Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y. The two practice sessions will also serve as a run-up to the teams meeting in a preseason friendly on Aug. 20 at FirstEnergy Stadium, a game that will be televised by ESPN.

Tickets are required for both of the practices with the Bills. Tickets are available online only for the Aug. 17 practice at and are limited to four per order. There is also a $.75 per ticket processing charge for tickets acquired through ticketmaster.com.

For the Aug. 18 practice, at four per order, are available through a variety of locations, which can be found at the Bills’ team website.

Position Previews

One of the more interesting aspects of training camp is watching the various positional battles to see who will make the final 53-man roster.

To get up to speed on where the team stands at each positional group, check out our Dawg Pound Daily staff previews:

Preseason Friendlies

The Browns will begin to put all their hard work into practice once the preseason friendlies begin. The Browns will play:

at home against Washington on Aug. 13 at 8 p.m.
at home against Buffalo on Aug. 20 at 8 p.m.
on the road against Tampa Bay on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.
on the road against Chicago on Sept. 3 at 8 p.m.

Roster Cut Downs

In addition to the preseason friendlies, the Browns (and every NFL team) will make their first roster cuts on Sept. 1 by reducing their roster to a maximum of 75 players on the active list by 4 p.m. Final roster cuts take place two days after the final preseason friendly, as teams must be down to 53 players by 6 p.m. on Sept. 5.

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At the same time as the final roster cuts, according to CBS Sports, teams that have players in the categories of Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness must select one of the following options: place player on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform or Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; request waivers; terminate contract; trade contract; or continue to count the player on the active list.

Players who were placed on waivers during the final roster reduction can be claimed until 12 p.m. on Sept. 6.

All of it, of course, is leading up to the season opener on Sept. 13 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Jets.

“Football’s about making plays. It is. You want guys to be productive. Potential only gets you so far, height, weight. We’re playing the game. We’re not out there running races or lifting weights. We’re playing football,” Pettine told the team’s website. “Who’s doing their job? Who can make plays but also who can make plays within the structure of the offense or defense, guys that aren’t coming out of structure and going outlaw, as we call it, to try to stand out.

“We tell our guys, do your job and good things will happen. If they go out every day of a mindset of ‘I’m going to fill my gradesheet with plusses,’ there’s that trust factor with coaches that ‘hey, here’s a guy that all he does is go out and does his job.’ Those are the guys that, you have your superstars that are going to make plays for you, but that next tier of guys you want to be solid, dependable, trustworthy and go out and do their job every time. If everybody goes out and gets a plus, if we’ve structured the offense or defense right as coaches, we’ll have a positive result.”

Have you ever visited training camp? Do you have a favorite memory?

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