Phase three of non-voluntary OTA’s start today in Berea. Social media will be full of videos of Browns players on the field and I’m here for it. Can’t wait to see Deshaun Watson throwing to Elijah Moore. In these practices, fans will see more eleven on eleven and seven on seven drills. It’s that time of year when fans fall in love with some obscure player who has a slim to none chance of making the roster. The Browns have put out a list of uniform numbers the players have chosen, if you’re into that sort of thing. Which players show up will be another must watch item by those who are interested, most likely the local media who will be at practice tomorrow. Finally, rookie offensive tackle Dawand Jones will garner attention from the media to see if he throws up. You can’t make this stuff up. During the second week of June the non-voluntary OTA’s will occur. It’s almost time folks.
The roster seems to be set. I would still be more comfortable with a veteran offensive tackle as the number four tackle and not Jones, but he would never pass through waivers and make the practice squad. Another running back would also be nice. On defense, I’ll defer to new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz at the defensive tackle position. He might think he could turn Jordan Elliott or Tommy Togiai into good players. Frankly I don’t see it, but coach Schwartz’s opinion is the only one that matters.
There was some news out of the owner’s meetings, a few rule changes that might affect the Browns, especially the first two. Teams can now carry an emergency quarterback on the game day roster. This doesn’t change the final 53-man roster, but I’m of the opinion that the Browns will carry three quarterbacks on their final 53-man roster. Thursday night games during weeks 13 through 17 can now be flexed. The league will give teams 28 days’ notice and it can only happen twice during that time frame. This is attempt by the league to justify to Amazon Prime the company will have meaningful games late in the season, i.e., better ratings. The owners also voted to place the ball on the 25-yard line for kick-offs that are downed in the endzone, or fair caught, just like in college football. I’ll have to wait and see how this effects the Browns.
Finally, we found out about the passing of the great Jim Brown on Friday night. My father worked for a big CPA firm in Cleveland and could always get baseball and football tickets. He would take my brother and I to games. Jim Brown was the largest human being I ever saw. He was bigger than his offensive linemen. To a seven-year-old he was like a superhero. He wasn’t a perfect person, but then again no one is. But to me he was the greatest football player ever. R.I.P. Stay safe and Go Browns.
