Browns Notebook: First Weekend of Practices

The Cleveland Browns have taken the practice field for two days with shells. They'll have full pads on Monday when they practice and the intensity will pick up, though Donovan Peoples-Jones and Kevin Johnson did get into a small dust up this morning.

Baker Mayfield had a media availability on Friday and much was made of what he said. Specifically, the phrase "hold me accountable" drew rave reviews. That's fine, but he's always said he's accountable. In games where he turned the football over, he was quick to say it was his fault. It's notable, but no one will care if he goes out and plays poorly this season.

More important when it came to the conference call was Mayfield's introspective look coming off a unique offseason. He's by no means closed off and answers questions he's asked, but he offered up the thought process he had last season and why it was such a challenge for him.

"Going and having success all through high school and college and having that standard so high and then the past couple years have been a rollercoaster of emotions and not nearly as much success as I am used to. I would say I lost myself not having that success, not finding out what was working. I tried different ways of trying to have that success, and I didn’t find it. I lost myself in that, and I wasn’t able to be who I am for these guys on the team. I have told them that, and I told them that if I am not doing that, hold me accountable. Just finding that and getting back to the basics, establish myself in this new system and attack it." - Baker Mayfield

Again, no one will care if he goes out and plays poorly, but it was just interesting to listen to his perspective and how he processed everything that went into last year. He's trimmer now, opting to go away from the padded approach that some quarterbacks have gone for to help absorb hits, trying to improve his maneuverability and quickness to avoid them.

Mayfield doubled down on his intent on kneel this season and defended the position, saying that "Right is right, and wrong is wrong".

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com framed the question, saying he has received backlash and essentially asking if he was okay with that. She did same the thing with the Haslams on Sunday and I wish she hadn't. It's a good topic to cover, though I wish she would've simply asked about the reactions how they impacted their willingness to stand firm, so that they could potentially fill in the blanks. What have the reactions been to your decision to kneel and how have they shaped your decision? Maybe he tells a story about how ugly the back lash can be or maybe a really positive reaction that reinforced the choice.

In both situations, I think it would've allowed them to open up on the subject and provide some insight into where this conversation is rather than answer it for them in the question.

Speaking of the Haslams, they held a conference call with the local media on Sunday and they said they were supportive of the stances their players were taking on social issues. It wasn't a statement. It wasn't a quote. It's a video where people, both players and fans can see them answer the question publicly. It feels more personal, more meaningful.

Their perspective was interesting, because they weren't necessarily coming out and endorsing one stance over another. They simply noted the lack of a civil and open dialogue in this country and encouraged people to learn more about why they are making those decisions.

Jimmy Haslam finished the call by asking fans to wear masks.

J.C. Tretter had surgery this past week and depending on where someone looks, he might be ready to go the first game of the season or he might be out as long as the first month. It's easy to take Tretter's toughness for granted given the number of games he's gutted through in terms of sheer pain. If he's able to gut it out, he probably will, but the Browns have to prepare like they won't have him.

Currently, rookie fifth round pick Nick Harris is getting what amounts to be the starting reps. Evan Brown, signed in free agency, is getting the reps with the second unit. Harris is an extremely intelligent player with the movement skills to play the position. He looks like he's confident in his assignments. It's largely a question of whether he's ready to handle the sheer physicality of the NFL as he's only 21 years old and he fell to the fifth round because he is short.

It may take him a few seasons to develop an NFL body that truly makes up for his lack of size. In college, he occasionally struggled with oversized noses that could overpower him. The opt out of Andrew Billings hurts the Browns as they try to find out if Harris can step in and do the job for a week or few to start the season.

It's good news that he is able to get his assignments down this quickly, able to step in and allow the team to rep. That not only says good things about Harris and the type of learner he is, but seemingly speaks well to the virtual offseason the Browns utilized.

Odell Beckham looks healthy. His speed isn't really what stands out. It's his cuts, changes of directions and ability to contort his body. He made a few really impressive catches in Sunday's practice, but the most notable was working over the middle, going up for the ball, exposing his midsection and then as he catches, twisting his body around to start working up field.

Baker Mayfield-Odell Beckham Jr. connections never get old.

Video Courtesy of the Cleveland #Browns. pic.twitter.com/AEPtuWQR6H
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) August 16, 2020

Whether it was a 'groin' or sports hernia, consider what those type of movements would do to exacerbate that type of pain. The fact Beckham is able to practice at all is promising but that type of freedom of movement is promising, gives hope that he can be the stud receiver the Browns were hoping for in the trade with the New York Giants.

Jarvis Landry has been cleared from his hip surgery, but he's not quite over it. Landry has said he will be eased back into action. Perhaps his definition of being eased in is different than everyone else's, but he was a participant in both unpadded practices and looked good. The Browns may hold him out of some of the padded practices to avoid unexpected hits and allow him to fully recuperate, because that's the only way Landry will slow down and ease himself into anything football.

Practice pacing has been interesting to watch. On Sunday, the Browns repped a ton of players. Mayfield, Case Keenum and Garrett Gilbert all took part in team reps. Weapons including Stephen Carlson, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Taywan Taylor all took reps with Mayfield.

The overall pacing of reps was pretty quick in large part because the first team offense would take a few reps and then the second team would hustle onto the field, run a couple plays and the third team would follow. When periods are going, they are trying to get as many plays off as they can in order to have as much to evaluate players as possible. They still want to be able have eyes on all the players, so they don't appear to be utilizing multiple fields at the same time, but they are still trying to maximize reps.

Two Final Things: Mentioned this before camp, but Kevin Johnson has been effective in coverage early and if that continues, he is going to give Greedy Williams all the competition he can handle. Johnson is slated to be the primary slot, but when the Browns only have two corners on the field, he wants to be the one opposite Denzel Ward in pursuit of a lucrative contract. Both will play, but it's still worth watching.

The stripes are back on the helmets for training camp. Can we all finally admit that the 'earning your stripes' concept was incredibly childish for an NFL team? Chances are most people didn't notice the difference just saw the Browns practicing without thinking twice.