Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 16 - With the Buccaneers

CLEVELAND BROWNS TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 16 (8/23/16)

1. Welcome to Tampa: The Cleveland Browns held their first of two joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday, leading up to their preseason game on Friday. Practice started around 10:00 AM, and the temperature was 90 degrees with a “feels like” of 109 degrees.

Here is the “sideline tent area” that was reserved for Browns players and coaches:

2. Duke Johnson Back in Action: On Sunday, RB Duke Johnson left practice after being “tagged,” which led to some concern that he might have had a concussion. Fortunately, he passed the concussion test and was taking part in practice Tuesday.

3. Buccaneers Attack Gilbert Early: Last year, the Browns practiced with the Buffalo Bills for two days, and it’s been reported that Cleveland was basically “owned” in those sessions by Rex Ryan’s club. One of the consistent stories was that CB Justin Gilbert was being picked on repeatedly.

Early on, the Buccaneers also decided to target Gilbert early. The first clip shows QB Jameis Winston completing an out route to WR Mike Evans.

The other clip shows QB Mike Glennon hitting WR Adam Humphries. Both completions were during 7-on-7 drills, though, so you can’t put too much stock in to this...right?

And if you want one more for good measure, here you go.

4. Kicker Issues...in Tampa: While the Browns are trying to settle their own kicking competition, their fans are already getting a bit nostalgic about one of their former kickers:

We’re not talking about a legend like Phil Dawson. We’re talking about Patrick Murray. That’s because Roberto Aguayo, the kicker who Tampa Bay drafted in the second round this year, has missed two field goals and an extra point this preseason. According to Dan Labbe of Cleveland.com, Aguayo was “shanking a couple” during today’s practice too.

Back to Cleveland’s competition — the edge still goes to Murray over Travis Coons:

5. Browns’ Defense Log Interceptions: Cleveland’s defense was able to grab a couple of interceptions during the first scrimmage day. Let’s start with ILB Dominique Alexander, who intercepted a pass by QB Mike Glennon in 7-on-7 drills:

A little bit later in 11-on-11 drills, ILB Demario Davis tipped a pass by QB Jameis Winston, which was then picked off by CB Joe Haden (see one clip here). A better angle of the tip+pick is below:

After that, QB Mike Glennon had a quick slant bounce off his receiver and into the arms of CB Jamar Taylor:

Lastly, of Haden intercepting Winston during 11-on-11s.

6. A Few Notes About the Offense: Let’s get through a few notes about Cleveland’s offense:

• QB Robert Griffin III’s first pass of the day went to WR Josh Gordon (yay!)
• Rookie CB Vernon Hargreaves intercepted one pass by Griffin during 7-on-7 drills, and one during 11-on-11 drills. Despite the picks, though, it wasn’t one of those “RG III had a bad day” type of practices.
• Jason Gibbs of ESPN Cleveland likes what he’s seeing:

• I had wondered if WR Andrew Hawkins’ roster spot could be in jeopardy due to him having missed some time with an injury. However, this quote makes it sound like Hawkins is going nowhere:

• Even Tony Grossi was optimistic!

7. Public Opening Tomorrow: Wednesday from 9:45 AM to 11:50 AM, the Browns and Buccaneers will practice again, but this time it’ll be open to the public. Details are here.