Why you should feel great after the Browns first preseason game

Why you should feel great after the Browns first preseason game by Vincent Rapisardi

Aug 13, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) runs for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Washington Redskins in a preseason NFL football game at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

This is just going to be a quick list of the observations I personally made while watching the first preseason game between the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins.

I’ll get into depth on some issues as the preseason progresses, but these the areas that really stuck out to me while watching the game:

Josh McCown obviously looked solid and he is an instant upgrade from Brian Hoyer. One throw that McCown made, where he slipped as he was throwing, was a stronger throw than anything Hoyer made for the team last season.

Johnny Manziel needs some more work, but it is night and day from last season. Remember when the Redskins rattled him last season ad he gave the sideline the old Stone Cold single-finger salute? Washington tried hard to rattle Manziel early this game and nothing. If you think he looks just like he did in the preseason last year, simply put, you’re wrong.

Danny Shelton is an athletic beast. That being said, he wasn’t eating up two blockers as much as I would have liked to have seen.

Justin Gilbert. What can I say? Every day that passes feels more like Gilbert is a wasted draft pick. At least it was the pick that brought general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine together, so there’s always that.

and head coach together, so there’s always that. The Browns rush defense is still really porous and still need a lot of work.

of work. The special teams looked great.

Speaking of special teams, the acquisition of punter Andy Lee might just be the best, most unheralded off-season move of 2015.

Last year Connor Shaw was the anti-Manziel. I get it, I do. Blue collar Cleveland hated hard-partying, arrogant Manziel, and Shaw was the guy who worked hard and was a good kid. None of that takes away from the fact he still doesn’t have an NFL arm. He had one pass last night for around 25 yards that looked like he had to put every ounce of his body weight behind it to get the ball 25 yards.

I hope Terrance West gets his maturity issues worked out. From purely a running stand point, he was the best back on the roster last night. Better down field vision than Isaiah Crowell, and less dancing in the back field. I hope we can see Duke Johnson next week.

How could anyone think Brian Hartline would not make this team’s final roster? He’s a great possession receiver who is savvy and has great hands. He can move the chains. He’s a lock to start Week 1 assuming he stays healthy.

Nothing good or bad out of the tight end group. Did the Browns even put tight ends on the field? The lack of spotlighting the position surprised me for some reason.

I came into this game really high on the depth of the team, I’m not nearly as high after watching the game. I hope I’m wrong.

Nate Orchard has some real athleticism, we’ll have to see how he develops as the preseason progresses.

That’s it for now. Again these are just observations from this game. Everything is fluid, and I’ll have another Quick Hits after next week’s game.



What did you think of the preseason debut for the Browns?