BEREA, Ohio — The 2019 NFL season is fast approaching, and the Cleveland Browns are continuing to make their final preparations for the rigors of playing 16 games over the course of 17 weeks while formulating the 53-man roster.
The Browns wrapped up training camp at team headquarters in Berea ahead of today’s trip to Tampa, Florida for the third preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium Friday night.
From position battles to the development of chemistry, there was plenty of competition on the field at training camp, and here are three lessons learned from the month of work as a full team.
Team building is underway
Some of the Browns’ key pieces were not regular participants during the offseason program, and the acclimation of the new players has taken time on both sides of the football.
According to Browns coach Freddie Kitchens, that team-building is a continuous process that never stops.
“I think the beginning stages of becoming a team, being in it together and holding each other accountable maybe a little bit more than we did before are all things that are a necessity moving through an NFL season and into a week-by-week basis,” Kitchens said.
“The proof is in the pudding. We will see. I think we have a good start, but I think that is ongoing, continuing and building. Cultures just do not happen. Cultures happen by continuing to stack chips on top of each other, and then, having success with it. When you have success with it, it is easier to continue to stack those chips.”
Physicality
Kitchens wanted to set a tone and establish a new level of accountability early in training camp, and he knew just one way to do so, by having a physically demanding on-field work schedule.
Since the Browns were able to put on the full pads on the third day of training camp, there was less than a handful of non-padded sessions. The Browns carried their pads through 13 practices and one scrimmage, all of which ran longer than the scheduled end time in the quest to get things done correctly.
“We are trying to make this the norm for us, for how we prepare and how we practice on an everyday basis,” Kitchens said. “That is the whole point of all this. We have to raise our norm up a level. It can’t stay where it has been. You continue to do the same thing over and over, you are going to get the same results, and I go off that philosophy.”
Quarterback Baker Mayfield added, “I think he wanted to get his message across about toughness and discipline, and I think he’s done a great job of that and just being himself every single day, not wavering from what he told us from the very beginning. It’s going to be our team and he’s going to coach, but it’s up to us to decide to be all in and buy in. He’s the same guy every day, so it’s been a really good camp.”
Kicking is still an issue
After some inconsistencies throughout the first two weeks of training camp, rookie Austin Seibert and second-year kicker Greg Joseph looked to have things figured out with successful slates of kicks with the Colts, but in the preseason game at Lucas Oil Stadium, both missed from 50 yards out.
In the training camp practices after returning from Indianapolis, Seibert and Joseph missed several kicks, including three of four from 50 yards or more on Monday.
“We need them to get their act right,” Kitchens said. “We are not looking to replace them right now. We are looking to get these guys better and continuing to get better. The process of evaluation and the process of judging them has not concluded yet. When it concludes, then we will make that decision.”