The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Scrimmage settles nothing at QB
Observations from the Orange and Brown Scrimmage on Aug. 4 at First Energy Stadium:
• Nothing was settled in the quarterback derby being contested by Cody Kessler, Brock Osweiler, DeShone Kizer and Kevin Hogan.
Hogan actually had the best drive of the night when he went 5-for-5 for 71 yards to set up a 22-yard field goal by rookie seventhround draft pick Zane Gonzalez.
Numbers compiled in the press box had Kessler 4-for-6 for 33 yards and sacked three times, Osweiler 10-for-16 for 94 yards and sacked once, Kizer 7-for-14 for 46 yards and Hogan 5-for-5 for 71 yards and sacked three times.
Coach Hue Jackson said he might alter the quarterback order for practice Aug. 7 as he ponders naming a starter for the preseason opener against the Saints on Aug. 10 at First Energy Stadium.
He added whoever starts against the Saints won’t necessarily start against the Steelers in the season opener.
“You want somebody to be head and shoulders above everybody else. But let’s be honest, when you have four guys that you’re giving a bunch of reps to, it’s hard to do,” Jackson said. “Pretty soon, we have to stop that part of it and move forward with who we think can really go play quarterback for us. That’s the fair thing to do.”
Jackson said he wants to name his starter before playing at Tampa in the third preseason game.
• Kizer was 1-of-3 for minus three yards until the final possession in which he was 6-of-11 for 46 yards. He was hard on himself for overthrowing Duke Johnson in the end zone from the 30.
“For him to be that wide open and for me to miss is unacceptable,” Kizer said. “I’ll go back and obviously, check out the footwork on that play, check out the read, where my eyes are and make sure that we can make the correction going into tomorrow to continue to get better as much as we can.”
Kizer’s final pass on fourth down was thrown across his body and should have been intercepted by Calvin Pryor.
• I was hoping to see rookie defensive end Myles Garrett go against Joe Thomas in the scrimmage, but Jackson put them both on the Brown team. Garrett, going against backups, sacked Hogan twice. The quarterbacks were not actually tackled, so a “sack” was a judgment call. By Jackson’s count, Garrett had four sacks.
“I was (disappointed) when I saw the roster,” Garrett said. “I was prepared to go against (Thomas). I have to be ready for anybody I go against.”
Garrett, the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, will be a starter when the season opens Sept. 10 against the Steelers. That comes as no surprise, but Garrett and Thomas could both benefit from facing each other in pass drills. We’ll probably see that back on the practice fields in Berea.
• There will be times this season when Garrett causes a sack but doesn’t get credit for it. He did that in the second quarter when he rushed around the right side and forced Osweiler to step into the arms of linebacker Dominique Alexander.
• Some pages of the
playbook look good when they’re drawn up in April — not so good when they come to life. The Browns tried some razzle dazzle with Kizer flipping the ball to wide receiver Corey Coleman. Coleman tried throwing a pass that fluttered lamely and was picked off by defensive back J.D. Harmon.
• The calendar worked against the Browns for getting a large crowd to the Orange and Brown scrimmage. A mile south on East 9th Street, the first pitch in the Indians-Yankees game at Progressive Field was scheduled for 10 minutes after the scrimmage was due to end at 7 p.m. Aug. 4 or Aug. 5 were the only days the Browns could have scheduled the scrimmage because the preseason starts Aug. 10.
• The battle for the kicking job between incumbent Cody Parkey and Gonzalez could go down to the final preseason game. Gonzalez kicked a 39-yard field goal to end the first half and then kicked a 22-yarder when the drive by Hogan stalled. Parkey kicked a 40-yard field goal at the end of an Osweiler drive.
• The kick and punt return need major upgrading. Mario Alford returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but
then muffed a punt. Jabrill Peppers had a mixed review as a punt returner. He called a fair catch on his first opportunity when he had room to return the ball. He returned the next punt seven yards and then slipped on his third return.
• The chances of injury are doubled in an intrasquad scrimmage for the obvious reason a team has 22 instead of 11 on the field at the same time. Starting inside linebacker Christian Kirksey suffered an injury on the third play of the scrimmage but limped off on his own power. He did not return.
• It happens every summer — a wide receiver comes out of nowhere and looks like a Pro Bowl player. That player this year is Jordan Leslie. Leslie caught four passes for 53 yards in the scrimmage.
“Jordan is a playmaker, and it’s not just tonight,” Osweiler said. “Jordan has been making plays since the spring. He’s someone I have a ton of confidence in. I told the coaches that. He consistently catches the football.”
Tight end J.P. Holtz falls into that category, too; he caught six passes for 41 yards.