The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Jackson: Griffin ‘ahead of schedule’
Hue Jackson, taking over a Browns roster he knew only from the opposing sideline, has done a lot of mixing and matching since spring practice began in early May.
Jackson used different combinations on the offensive line, wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker and the secondary during training camp to get to this point. He believes he is ready to roll out his best 22 players when the Browns and Buccaneers meet at 8 p.m. Aug. 26 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa in the third preseason game of the summer.
This is the infamous dress rehearsal game, though after practicing against the Bucs on Aug. 24, Jackson hinted he might play the starters more than usual in the preseason finale Sept. 1 against the Bears at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns are 0-2 in the preseason. The Buccaneers are 0-2.
“I need to see what the health of our team is first and foremost, and then we’ll make that decision (about playing time Aug. 26),” Jackson told reporters. “We still have a couple days. I’d like to see them play longer because everybody says the third game might be the last time that the starters play. I don’t know that for sure. I haven’t made that decision, but we’ll continue to work at it and get our team ready to go Friday.”
The one position Jackson did not experiment with is quarterback, and that seems to have paid off. Robert Griffin III has been the starter since the first day the CBA allowed players on the practice field in May spring practice. As training camp progressed, Jackson revealed backup quarterback Josh McCown told Jackson to give Griffin all the first team reps.
McCown’s thinking was if Griffin was going to be the starter, he should be the one getting the work. Plus, McCown said Jackson already Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III prepares to pass during a joint practice with the Buccaneers at One Buc Place in Tampa, Fla. Aug. 23.
knew what he, McCown, could do.
The result of putting Griffin first from the beginning is Griffin is ahead of where Jackson thought he would be a little more than two weeks before the start of the regular season. A play in the Aug. 24 practice with the Buccaneers illustrated that. During a seven-on-seven drill, Griffin threw a short touchdown pass to tight end Randall Telfer. Telfer wasn’t the primary target, but Griffin found him rather than force the pass. Griffin did throw a pass in traffic in the preseason opener and it was picked off.
“I think he is a little ahead,” Jackson said. “He’s done a good job. He’s working at it every day, along with the other quarterbacks
and (associate head coach-offense) Pep (Hamilton) and myself. The guys understand how we play.
“The most important thing is taking care of the team. You have to be very team-protective and that means taking care of the ball. We will do that at quarterback. We’ll give them chances to throw touchdown passes or hand the ball off, one or the other. We don’t care how we score. We just want to score. If our quarterback will do that for us, we’ll be fine.”
The game against the Bucs will feature wide receivers Corey Coleman, Terrelle Pryor and Josh Gordon on the field at the same time. It could prove to be a sneak preview of what to expect when Gordon
returns on Oct. 9 from an NFL-imposed four-game suspension.
“All the guys have different strengths so you want to show those and utilize them when you get those matchups,” Griffin told reporters. “When you don’t have those matchups, you have to make the appropriate throws and check the ball down. When we get our chances to get them the ball, we definitely want to do that and they’ll make the plays for us.”
Gordon missed the first two preseason games with a quadriceps injury. Coleman missed both games with a hamstring injury.
Pryor has three catches for 107 yards. One was a 50-yard touchdown pass against the Falcons on Aug. 18.