Catching up on the Cleveland Browns as they move one day closer to the season opener in Pittsburgh.

Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said Taylor Gabriel would be the team’s third receiver, behind Andrew Hawkins and Miles Austin. He said Hawkins played only in the slot when he was in Cincinnati, but has been used inside and out since he joined the Browns in March. Gabriel is an undrafted rookie free agent.

The Browns are 1-14 in season openers since 1999, the only win coming against Baltimore in the Jeff Garcia-Butch Davis era. Cleveland has lost nine openers in a row, and are 2-19 against the Steelers since the last time they won there in the Tim Couch-Davis era. The last first-time Browns coach to win his coaching debut was when Bud Carson won 51-0 in 1989 in Pittsburgh.

Linebacker Karlos Dansby can say he’s undefeated in Pittsburgh. This is the first time he’s played there. He said it’s the only visiting stadium he has not played in.

Though many are doubting the Browns' chances, coach Mike Pettine believes the team, as put together, can compete for the AFC North title. "I just think you cannot be a NFL coach and not believe that," he said. "I think it’s important that you’re confident through your preparation, and I don’t think an NFL coach would have gotten to where he is without having that belief that 'Hey, we can put this together.' There’s a reason 'any given Sunday' is a cliché, because I believe it’s true."

Offensive lineman Paul McQuistan (ankle), and defensive linemen Desmond Bryant (wrist) and John Hughes (hamstring) missed practice both days.

With Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel the only two quarterbacks on the active roster, the Browns have to decide on their third quarterback if one or both get hurt. Pettine wasn’t saying who it would be.

Special teams coach Chris Tabor saw nothing in preseason that affected his thinking on moving the extra-point back. He is staunchly against it because he feels it affects cold weather teams more significantly. "We’re not kicking in a dome. We’re kicking off a lake," he said. "To move it back at all, it doesn’t make sense to me."