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Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 9 - QBs Thrive

By Chris Pokorny
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns took to the field on Tuesday for Day 9 of training camp, and with 3,372 fans attending the session, it means that all eight sessions in Berea have had over 3,000 fans (the ninth, of course, was in Akron). The weather continues to hold up beautifully for these morning camp sessions, too -- no rain, and the temperatures are very pleasant in the mid-70s. Let's check out what happened at practice today.

CLEVELAND BROWNS TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 9 (8/5/14)

  1. Quarterback Delight: It was viewed a milestone day for the top two quarterbacks on the roster, with both QB Brian Hoyer and QB Johnny Manziel drawing rave reviews from the fans and media in attendance. Several reports said that it was the best both quarterbacks have looked during camp. Defenses often have the edge at the start of camp, but eventually, the offense finds its rhythm.

  2. Recapping Hoyer's Day: Although both quarterbacks took some reps with the first-team offensive line for certain drills, for the most part, QB Brian Hoyer was back to working with the first-team offense. The Akron Beacon Journal says that he was 8-of-12 in the 11-on-11 team drills, with one highlight being a 35-yard completion to WR Taylor Gabriel down the left sideline with CB Buster Skrine in coverage.

    The more interesting part, perhaps, was the "challenge period" described by Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer, in which the offense had to move the ball at least 20 yards. Hoyer was successful in both challenges, with the key plays in both situations being completions to WR Josh Gordon -- one for 17 yards, and the other for 25 yards (fingers still crossed on the appeal hearing results!).

  3. Recapping Manziel's Day: Statistically, the Akron Beacon Journal had QB Johnny Manziel as 8-of-16 during 11-on-11 team drills, but the consensus was that he played like the exciting player that he is in camp Tuesday. Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer said there was a stretch in which Manziel completed four straight passes -- the first one being a 15-yard rollout pass to WR Nate Burleson, and the other being a 15-yard rollout pass to WR Josh Gordon. Manziel later had an "improvised run" for a touchdown, but it was called back due to an illegal formation penalty.

  4. Benjamin Drops a Breakaway: One of the highlights for QB Johnny Manziel should have been connecting with WR Travis Benjamin on a 50-yard bomb. Benjamin was reportedly open by about 15 yards -- some reports say it was because he burned CB Pierre Desir, while others say that a playaction fake got the safeties to bite hard. The bad news is that Benjamin just flat out dropped the pass. Thankfully for Benjamin's roster spot, his duties as a punt returner should help him secure a spot on the team.

  5. Boxing Gloves Continue: On Monday, CB Joe Haden was piloting the boxing gloves during practice. On Tuesday, it was CB Buster Skrine's turn to sport them around. I wasn't sure what they'd look like, but here is a photo that was posted to Twitter:

  6. Orange Jerseys Stay With the Defense: Despite the big day for the quarterbacks, the defense still came away with the honor of wearing the orange jerseys on Wednesday. The defense took 3 of the 5 challenge sessions to end practice; QB Brian Hoyer reportedly was 2-of-2 in his challenge sessions, as we noted earlier. CB Justin Gilbert reportedly broke up a pass for WR Anthony Armstrong, thrown by QB Johnny Manziel, in the final series.

  7. Injury Report: S Tashaun Gipson (knee) is getting close to returning and is expected to play this Saturday against the Lions. TE Jordan Cameron (shoulder) and TE Jim Dray (shoulder) were both held out of practice. Other absent players included OT Reid Fragel (lower leg), OL Randall Harris (knee), and ILB Tank Carder (foot). CB Isaiah Trufant (knee) was back to practice, and NT Phil Taylor was getting some reps with the first-team unit.
  8. Brownies: CB Leon McFadden picked off QB Tyler Thigpen, according to Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland. ... CB Justin Gilbert broke up a nice pass from QB Brian Hoyer that was intended for WR Andrew Hawkins. ... WR Charles Johnson finally had a couple of notable catches in a practice, but it came at the expense of WR Willie Snead who was "invisible." ... ILB Karlos Dansby and RB Isaiah Crowell reportedly got into a little scuffle during practice. ... RB Jim Brown attended practice. ... TE Gary Barnidge received recognition for this one-handed catch from QB Brian Hoyer. ... I will be attending Wednesday's session of training camp, weather permitting.

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