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Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 13 - Haden's Big Day

By Chris Pokorny
Erik Drost on flickr

In my recap of the Browns' rainy practice on Monday, I said that the Browns did not announce how many fans attended practice. They ended up making the announcement early Tuesday morning, though -- 2,878 fans toughed things out in the rain.

On Tuesday, that number went back up to 3,263 fans. Per the Browns, they are projected to have the second-most fans in a "training camp year," with 2006 projected to just barely remain out in front. How is that possible? Well, in 2006, the Browns had 29 training camp sessions open to the public (the old CBA rules). This year, there are just 13 practices open to the public. Let's take a quick look at what went down on Tuesday.

CLEVELAND BROWNS TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 13 (8/12/14)

  1. Big Day for Joe Haden: Fans who have been reading our training camp reports for years know that we used to lead off talking about the "star of the day" at camp. To an extent, that's what DT Jacobbi McDaniel was at Family Day, for example. However, I think so much media attention is focused on the quarterback competition that some of the other players get left with little recognition.

    CB Joe Haden doesn't need any more recognition to be popular, but he was the "star of the day" on Tuesday. On a pass thrown by QB Johnny Manziel to WR Anthony Armstrong, Haden ripped the ball away from Armstrong for an interception. Later on, with the orange jerseys on the line, Haden led the defense to victory.

  2. Getting Gimmicky on 4th-and-1: When the orange jerseys were on the line at the end of practice, only one play decided it this time. According to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, it was a 4th-and-1 situation. If the offense converted, they won. if the defense made the stop, they won. The offense decided to run an end-around to WR Miles Austin, but CB Joe Haden stopped the play for a loss or no gain.

  3. Gilbert Returns to Action: Rookie CB Justin Gilbert returned to practice after being out for a little bit with a minor injury. Gilbert could make his debut against the Washington Redskins on Monday, and if S Tashaun Gipson plays too (he returned to team drills on Tuesday), it will give head coach Mike Pettine a complete look at his first-team secondary.

  4. Hoyer Thrives: It was QB Johnny Manziel's turn to run the first-team offense again on Tuesday, but QB Brian Hoyer out-performed him with the second-team offense. In most practices, we've heard about both quarterbacks being on a pretty even scale in terms of performance, so this was one of those rare sessions in which one out-performed the other. Ashley Fox of ESPN was at practice on Tuesday and compared the performances of the two quarterbacks.

  5. Injury Report: WR Nate Burleson sat out again with a hamstring injury, as did WR Josh Gordon who has an abdominal injury. TE Jordan Cameron continued to practice (non-team drills) with the non-contact jersey on. Other players who sat out included DL Billy Winn (abdomen), DE Desmond Bryant (wrist) and ILB Darius Eubanks (shoulder). OT Reid Fragel returned, which might help the second-team offensive line this week. FB MarQueis Gray was also back in action.
  6. Brownies: WR Taylor Gabriel and WR Charles Johnson were both praised in multiple media reports as having stood out again. ... We're hearing less and less about WR Anthony Armstrong as the days go on, which makes you wonder if his roster odds are rapidly slipping. ... QB Rex Grossman was a spectator late in the day at camp.

    One play we could see this week is RB Ben Tate getting a pitch, and then pitching the ball to WR Travis Benjamin on a reverse, since they practiced it. ... It sounds like OG John Greco's "big block" against the Lions might have single-handedly won him the starting right guard role. ... The Browns practice Wednesday morning, are off Thursday, and then have their final practice for the public on Friday (which I will be attending).

Link Collection / Training Camp Sources

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