Browns Vs Eagles: 3 things to watch

The Cleveland Browns face off with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night in the second week of the NFL’s preseason. The game will be the Browns third after opening the preseason with the Hall of Fame game.

Cleveland is 1-1 with a victory versus the New York Jets while falling to the Washington Commanders last week.

We know that rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson will get the start but some uncertainty of who else will play. Staying healthy continues to be the team’s biggest goal in the preseason.

Browns fans are known for their constant interest in the team no matter who is on the field. If there are orange, brown and white-clad players, Cleveland fans will tune in. Here are a few things we are looking for in Week 2 against the Eagles:

DTR Make Josh Dobbs Expendable?

Thompson-Robinson has looked very good so far in the preseason and training camp. This week, he gets to go against the best Philadelphia defenders that they will put on the field. While they may not include the top veterans, the Eagles have a lot of talent on that side of the ball.

If DTR looks great, Dobbs’ future with the team could be up on the air. A solid veteran, Dobbs proved last year he could come in and give a team a spark. If Thompson-Robinson is ready, trading Dobbs would allow the Browns to keep just two quarterbacks on the roster and, likely, save the team a little bit of cap space.

Cleveland’s Defensive Line Versus Philadelphia’s Offensive Line

The Browns spent a lot of assets on upgrading their defensive line during the offseason. While a few of the key veterans might sit out the game on both sides, it will be fun to see if Cleveland actually has depth on the defensive line. The Eagles are talented on both lines of scrimmage so it should be a good test for Isaiah McGuire, Siaki Ika and the rest of the younger defenders.

Cade York

Very few analysts are strong in breaking down the kicking game portion of football. Either a player makes his field goals/booms his punts/places his kickoffs or he doesn’t. York has been inconsistent. Frustratingly so.

While the 4th round selection had a better percentage than Phil Dawson did as a rookie, it is easy to get frustrated with his misses. What almost all of us don’t know is why he is missing. Is it in his head? Is Corey Bojorquez an inconsistent holder (which some believe back to his Green Bay days)? Did Mike Priefer try to mess with his mechanics? What changes has Bubba Ventrone been working on?

Will not pretend to be an expert on kicking but York hasn’t made as many as most of us would expect. Another miss Thursday night could, finally, lead to competition being brought in this year.

Bonus: Austin Watkins Jr.

One of the NFL’s “winners” from the first week of preseason action, Watkins has a chance to make the wide receiver competition a really difficult one for GM Andrew Berry. At 6’3”, Watkins could provide DTR and the rest of the team’s quarterbacks with a nice-sized target. He’s put up over 100 yards on eight receptions in the first two preseason games.

What are you looking for in tonight’s Browns vs Eagles game? Join the comment section below to discuss