Friday, August 11, 2017

Krunch Time With Katelin: 5 Takeaways From The Browns First Preseason Game



By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE


The Cleveland Browns defeated the Saints 20-14 in the first week of the preseason. Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer played the entire second half and lead the team to a win with a 45 yards touchdown pass to take the lead with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter. The game was an up-and-down game for the Browns. They committed 12 penalties most of them being either false starts or because of being lined up offsides. With that being said here are five thing that stood out to me in the game against the Saints.

1. Myles Garrett looks the part as the consensus number one overall pick. Garrett got into the backfield a number of times. Both in passing and run stopping situations. But what was most impressive about Garrett was when he chased down the Saints running back 15 yards down field after he broke a tackle. That was the play that sticks out most to me. Garrett's hustle and speed to run all the way down field to help force the running back out of bounds is exactly why this defense will be vastly improved.

2. The defense causing two turnovers. Both were forced fumbles because the defensive linemen swatted at the ball when attacking the quarterback. If the Browns are going to win games this year this is exactly what they need to do. Give the offense a short field to work with and then capitalizing on it. Which they did, the first fumble recovery ended with a touchdown run from Matt Dayes. And the second was the game clincher with 17 second left.

3. Cam Erving isn't good. Its that simple. At this point I don't know if he will even make the team. The guy tries and gives 100% effort on every play, but at some point the Browns will have to give up on Erving. The tape shows that he looks lost out on the field and the amount of times he gets manhandled on the line is concerning. Yes, he'd be another first round bust for the Browns but at this point I don't think fans care much about that.



4. Brock Osweiler didn't play well statistically. 6/14 for 42 yards. But there were some issues with the Browns receivers though. Kenny Britt had some issues in the red zone. Brock threw a great pass into the corner of the end zone but Britt couldn't get his second foot in for the touchdown. Osweiler also had a nice pass to receiver Ricardo Lewis down the seam but Lewis broke in from his route and the pass sailed incomplete. Brock also had a couple of miss throws. One to Seth DeValve which he just missed him for a touchdown, and on a third and long were Brock took a shot down field but threw the ball out of bounds. Overall I think Brock did okay. He seems to have a nice command of the offense and will probably start next against the Giants but he didn't do anything that would give him a commanding lead in the quarterback competition.

5. I know it was only one game and it was against the Saints second-fourth team, but DeShone Kizer made a nice name for himself last night. He lead the Browns to victory and did a nice job moving the ball down the field. Kizer still has a lot to learn. He was sacked three times and each time it seemed like he held onto the ball way to long. Without a doubt Kizer has the best "arm talent" on this team, as we seen on both of his deep balls and he already has shown an ability to step up into the pocket and throw. It will be interesting to see what Hue Jackson does with Kizer for the game against the Giants. I don't think he'd start Kizer but I do think Coach Hue wants to play Kizer with/against better talent.

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