4 takeaways from Day 9 of Browns training camp starts with Deshaun Watson
BEREA The chance of rain led the Browns to close their ninth training camp practice Aug. 7. Despite the fact the sun was shining at the actual time of practice, they remained in the field house for the duration.The 90-minute workout was conducted strictly in helmets, which took the physicality back a touch. Only a touch, though.The more important point about the practice, besides it being the fifth consecutive practice out of six in a row, was what phase it started. Installation ended with the previous day's workout, meaning the real work on leaning into the identity they hope to establish on each side of the ball began.Subscribe to Browns Insider newsletterOf course, that offensive identity is a lot easier to establish with an established starting quarterback. That's where the Browns remain undetermined, although it was the initial takeaway to come out of the ninth practice.Deshaun Watson puts together another solid performanceDeshaun Watson was at the controls of the No. 1 offense, as he's been every odd-numbered practice to this point. For the second time in three days, and second time in as many days with the No. 1 offense, the veteran had what can definitively be called a good day.It wasn't without a bad throw or two. That included a pass that was overthrown and intercepted by cornerback Denzel Ward.However, on balance, Watson also had he share of good throws, the kind that tilt the conversation his direction. There was a nice sideline route to wide receiver Isaiah Bond, then a deep shot that wide receiver Jerry Jeudy pulled in for a touchdown in front of cornerback Tre Avery.The signature play, though, was Watson's final throw. The Browns were running a sequence where the offense was down four with 54 seconds remaining and starting at midfield.The final play, with four seconds left, the offense was at the 26 and Watson had to buy time against a three-man rush. He rolled to his left and threw into the end zone, where Bond was running across the back line and came down with the contested catch.Isaiah Bond, Jerry Jeudy starting to come alive in practiceThe first four days or so of training camp, it was hard to find a highlight, or even much to say about, either Jeudy or Bond. The two key non-rookie wide receivers were pretty much invisible, disappearing in their rookie teammates' shadow.The last couple of days, though, the two returning wide receivers have started to string together solid practices. The ninth practice may have been the best of the nine for the pair, each of whom had a touchdown.The quarterback competition is certainly creating some continuity issues for the wide receivers. However, they both seem to be settling into something resembling consistency, although there's still a ways to go for both.The better the two look over the course of camp, the higher the confidence may be to what they can provide once the regular season begins.Browns defense just continues to intercept everything their wayThe Browns defense had three more interceptions in practice. It's seems like a daily occurance because it pretty much is one, with only one of the nine practices days going without at least one.Ward picked Watson. Donovan McMillion tracked down a deep throw. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren intercepted Dillon Gabriel.That raises the total number of picks to 17. However you want to parse that, you may be right.Want to say the Browns have a defense capable of creating multiple takeaways in a game? You're right.Want to say the Browns have a quarterback situation that is, to be kind, unsettled? You're also right.Shedeur Sanders not bad, just not as good today as Deshaun WatsonSo where the Sanders thoughts? How about now?Sanders, who worked with the No. 2s, had good throws, although he was a little bit more inconsistent than some of the other days. Five days this camp, he's clearly been the better-looking passer, but this wasn't one of them.Again, it wasn't a knockout the way a couple early days had gone in his direction. Still, Sanders seemed a lttle off the mark, and continued to struggle at times with his accuracy.It's just one day, though, and the team is right back on the practice field Aug. 8. It will be the sixth of six consecutive days of practice, and expected to be the longest of the week at nearly two-and-a-half hours.Buy Cleveland Browns ticketsChris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter athttps://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 4 takeaways from Day 9 of Browns training camp starts with Deshaun Watson
Czech
Arabic
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Deutsch
Turkish
Dutch
Italiano
Russian
Romaian
Portuguese (Brazil)
Greek