3 positives from first days of Cleveland Browns 2021 training camp
By Randy Gurzi
1. Communication is better
Last year was a strange year for the entire world and football was no exception. As we all tried to navigate through the unsure waters around us during a global pandemic, the NFL was trying to figure out how to have a football season.
They ended up pulling it off, but there were a lot of things that were different. One of those was the fact that all their offseason meetings happened virtually. This made it especially difficult to install a new system on both sides of the ball. Even with the issues, they still managed an 11-5 campaign and a playoff win.
As impressive as that is, it could just be the tip of the iceberg. This team is still young and learning to do things the way head coach Kevin Stefanski wants them done, but they’re already ahead of the pace they were on in 2020. Starting quarterback Baker Mayfield touched on this, saying the communication is superior at this year’s camp.
#Browns Baker Mayfield said there's a lot more communication going on within the team compared to last season thanks to the accessibility they didn't have this time last year.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) July 29, 2021
Clearly, this is to be expected given how the team is now entering year two in this offense. What makes this even better is knowing that all 11 starters are back, meaning they’re likely all on the same page from day one.
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Defensively, things could be a different story since there will be roughly eight new starters. The talent is vastly improved, which in itself gives us hope for an improved defense in 2021.