The Cleveland Browns will look at this week’s preseason game as an opportunity to build on some things from a week ago, here’s how to gauge their success.
The Cleveland Browns welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to town on Sunday following joint practices that were held this week in Berea. We’ll now get to see them down at First Energy Stadium in a preseason Week 2 matchup.
There will be a lot to watch for in this game. We know Deshaun Watson won’t be playing as he’s been suspended for the first 11 games of the regular season. Despite the fact that he could still play in a preseason game, the Browns don’t plan on playing him Sunday.
There are however several other things to be watching for in this contest. We also want to see the team progress and improve on last week’s performance down in Jacksonville. So, with that in mind, here are three things to gauge if it’s been a successful Week 2 preseason game for Cleveland
3 ways to gauge Browns success in preseason Week 2
No. 3: The offense finds rhythm
In the first preseason game, Watson and the first team offense were off.
We know now that Watson will be suspended for the first 11 games of the season. This means that quarterback Jacoby Brissett will take charge of the offense for the foreseeable future.
Even so, in this Week 2 preseason matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, it will be Josh Dobbs as Brissett and Watson are both sitting out.
He was decent in his first appearance for Cleveland and can win a spot if he keeps up the good play. As for the rest of the offense, they too need to step up and have a solid outing. They don’t have to go crazy but as long as they look better than they did in Jacksonville, that will be a win.
No. 2: Anthony Schwartz has a better performance
Cleveland receiver Anthony Schwartz was awful in the first preseason game — there’s no other way to explain it.
He was targeted on several plays by Watson and failed to hold on to the ball. He was supposed to be this young speedster who could open the field up for the Browns. To be fair, Clevland hasn’t invested a lot of time in finding more reliable veterans other than Amari Cooper, who they just picked up in a trade from the Dallas Cowboys. Cooper is yet to take the field for the team but should be a solid receiver.
Schwartz doing better on Sunday would be a nice step in the right direction. I’m afraid another poor performance in this game will force the team to consider cutting Schwartz.
While he’s got some upside because of that speed, he doesn’t have much more to offer the team, but if he can start catching the passes that are sent his way then he’ll still be a big part of the team’s future. It will start with the first catch on Sunday. Let’s just all hope that he doesn’t let a perfect pass hit him in the number again to start the game.
No. 1: Jerome Ford and other reserve players step up
A 41-yard run by rookie running back Jerome Ford was one of the headlines of the first preseason game down in Jacksonville for the Browns. Let’s not forget about that impressive interception by new cornerback Martin “MJ” Emerson that he ran back 74 yards for the score. It was a good night for many of the second-teamers. Hopefully, that type of effort is seen in this Week 2 game.
There are many questions about who will make up the final — but not final — 53-man roster. If Ford can duplicate the good performance again on Sunday, then a player like running back D’Ernest Johnson might be out of a spot on the 53-man roster. There’s also the possibility that Kareem Hunt might be on the move in a trade. He requested one a few weeks ago and now that could be more realistic with another strong game by Ford.
The Browns now know they will have to go without Watson for the majority of the season and that means all these backup players will become even more valuable this season. They can’t pin their chances on a top 10 NFL quarterback like Watson anymore. However, they have many good players up and down the roster. With good coaching and a focus on a team effort every week this team should manage to be in the playoff picture.
I like the team’s chances with Brissett at the quarterback spot. You throw in a running back named Nick Chubb, a wide receiver in Cooper and a defense led by defensive end Myles Garrett and this group is still a very good team.