Hue Jackson

Hue Jackson's offense showed signs of life on Thursday night.

(Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- You know what Hue Jackson and Robert Griffin III seem to really understand? They have guys that can go catch the deep ball. Three long touchdown passes in two preseason games for the starters. That's not too shabby.

If you were wondering if Terrelle Pryor really had taken a step forward as a receiver, you got your answer when he caught a touchdown pass over Desmond Trufant. It's also a stark reminder that Mike Pettine and his offensive staff had no use for this guy.

We also got a glimpse of Gary Barnidge making a beautiful catch down the right sideline for a touchdown. It was good to see for any number of reasons, not the least of which was Barnidge making a big play.

It's not hard to let your mind wander to what will happen when Corey Coleman gets back. Talk about a downfield threat.

It's only preseason game No. 2, but it went much better than preseason game No. 1 and that means we can all take a sigh of relief in regards to the Browns offense, at least for now.

Tyrelle Pryor just ran by a guy who ran a legit 4.36😳😳😳 https://t.co/MJ7ExBeguQ — Jared Tokarz (@NFLDraftInsider) August 19, 2016

Here are more of my instant observations from Thursday night's game:

* Third down is a real problem for the defense. The Falcons converted three on their opening drive, including Devonta Freeman's 19-yard touchdown run. The Falcons' first-teamers failed to convert their final two, but the last one was a clear drop by Nick Williams on a good ball from Matt Ryan. There were some real flashbacks to third downs from a year ago.

* I don't know when it's time to start worrying about Danny Shelton, but the first two preseason games haven't been encouraging.

* Same goes for Cam Erving. If Griffin's your quarterback, you better have a guy that can snap the ball in the shotgun at center.

* Cam Johnson got snaps outside before Barkevious Mingo. Dominique Alexander and Tank Carder got them inside before Mingo. That's not good for Mingo.

* If you're scoring at home, Mingo got in at inside linebacker at the end of the third quarter.

* If you're still scoring at home, Mingo started making plays, too. Got through the line on a run and had a tackle for loss. Then he had a pass defended. Of course, I would hope a first-round pick could perform well in the fourth quarter of a preseason game.

* It's really nice to see Carl Nassib making plays. He was one of the draft picks I wasn't completely sold on after the spring, but he's been good so far in the preseason.

* Generally speaking, it's good to see young players making plays in the preseason. Derrick Kindred did a nice job in spots, too.

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