Cleveland Browns crisp offense and other takeaways from their shortened practice Thursday
By Clay Goodwin
2. Effort is obvious
Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff have clearly been high on effort and instilled that into their team throughout camp. There is no walking around when at practice, but rather strictly business and trying to get better in the limited days they have, given the bizarre off season schedule.
All skill players continue to run even after being “tackled.” Ball carriers get tapped or wrapped up briefly during team drills as opposed to full tackling to avoid injuries – such as Mack Wilson and Nick Chubb earlier. Even after being “down” the players continue to run towards the end zone to promote never giving up on the play. The defense too continues to run after the carrier to work on relentless pursuit. Even both sides of the linemen follow the ball. It is really a good mindset to have and a great way to practice game situations.
On plays where the defense gets a turnover, they are running to the other end zone and celebrating their successes. They believe each turnover is going to turn into six points for the defense, and that is an excellent way to capitalize on mistakes by the offense.
The effort is evident when watching practice. Players want to be there and be better, as competition is rising for some position groups and the days inch closer to the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.