This offseason, the wide receiver position has been the talk of camp for its performance, which contrasts heavily from a year ago. That continued into the first preseason game. As for the quarterback performances? It was certainly mixed, but a turnover from each quarterback didn’t help matters. After a 10-0 start, the Browns were shut out the rest of the way, losing 34-10. Cleveland was out-gained 430 yards to 314 yards, but won the time of possession battle 34:03 to 25:57.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns‘ first preseason game against the Chicago Bears.
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Quarterback
|
Pos |
Player |
Plays |
% Snaps |
Stats |
|
QB |
33 |
50% |
11-of-15 (73.3%) for 126 yards. 3 rushes, 4 yards (1.3 YPC), 1 fumble. |
|
|
QB |
17 |
26% |
6-of-11 (54.5%) for 79 yards, 1 INT. 2 rushes, 3 yards (1.5 YPC). |
|
|
QB |
16 |
24% |
5-of-8 (62.5%) for 23 yards, 1 INT. 1 rush, 6 yards (6.0 YPC). |
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There’s been plenty of discussion about the Browns’ quarterback situation, but no one is blowing anyone away. I think Deshaun Watson looked more comfortable than he has in previous years — which is like treating his play with kids gloves, but it is a slight improvement. He did the least to hurt his stock.
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Shedeur Sanders‘ pass may have slipped for the interception. Mistakes happen, but if this is a competition, that still stands out as a negative, as do the two throws that he had batted down right over the middle. Sanders looked exactly how I thought he did last year — you see a lot of the tools for him to be a capable starting quarterback, but I don’t think you’ll get the consistency on a lot of those finer things around the edges.
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Dillon Gabriel looked lost. Compare that to last preseason when he was as crisp as could be. I know he’s working with the back-end of the roster, but so were the Bears’ third- and fourth-string quarterbacks, and they looked sharp.
Running Back
|
Pos |
Player |
Plays |
% Snaps |
Stats |
|
RB |
Ahmani Marshall |
19 |
27% |
6 carries, 4 yards (0.7 YPC). 3 catches, 19 yards (4 targets). |
|
RB |
15 |
23% |
4 carries, 6 yards (1.5 YPC). 2 catches, 43 yards (2 targets). |
|
|
RB |
14 |
21% |
2 carries, 9 yards (4.5 YPC). 2 catches, 7 yards (2 targets). |
|
|
RB |
Davon Booth |
10 |
15% |
4 carries, 53 yards (13.3 YPC). |
|
RB |
8 |
12% |
4 carries, 9 yards (2.3 YPC). |
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After the game, we learned from Todd Monken that it’s a battle between Ahmani Marshall and Raheim Sanders for the third running back spot. The backup offensive line looked rather putrid to me, so I guess it’s hard to evaluate the backs. But Marshall certainly didn’t fare too well in those circumstances.
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Davon Booth came on during the final series and picked up some big runs, but I wouldn’t look at that as him getting a promotion any time soon, since it was garbage time.
Wide Receiver
|
Pos |
Player |
Plays |
% Snaps |
Stats |
|
WR |
Denzel Boston |
26 |
39% |
1 catch, 15 yards (2 targets). |
|
WR |
25 |
38% |
0 catches (2 targets). |
|
|
WR |
KC Concepcion |
25 |
38% |
3 catches, 27 yards (4 targets). 1 carry, 14 yards (14.0 YPC), 1 TD. |
|
WR |
24 |
36% |
4 catches, 37 yards (7 targets). |
|
|
WR |
21 |
32% |
1 catch, 8 yards (1 target). |
|
|
WR |
Luke Floriea |
17 |
26% |
1 catch, 35 yards (2 targets). |
|
WR |
Kole Wilson |
16 |
24% |
1 catch, 7 yards (2 targets). |
|
WR |
13 |
20% |
No stats registered. |
|
|
WR |
9 |
14% |
2 catches, 18 yards (2 targets). |
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I thought there were a couple nice routes that Denzel Boston and Isaiah Bond ran that the quarterbacks didn’t get them the ball on.
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KC Concepcion remained the star of camp in my book. He handles the ball well on everything, including a big punt return too.
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Gage Larvadain and Luke Floriea followed up their stellar camps with some big catches again. Meanwhile, Cedric Tillman did not play (injury), as the odds of him being a roster casualty continue to rise.
Tight End
|
Pos |
Player |
Plays |
% Snaps |
Stats |
|
TE |
Carsen Ryan |
30 |
45% |
1 catch, 6 yards (2 targets). |
|
TE |
25 |
38% |
1 catch, 6 yards (1 target). |
|
|
TE |
24 |
36% |
No stats registered. |
|
|
TE |
Harold Fannin |
9 |
14% |
0 catches (1 target). |
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Harold Fannin was only targeted once on a quick throw over the middle, but dropped it.
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Carsen Ryan might have been responsible for an alignment issue that forced the Browns to call a timeout.
Offensive Line
|
Pos |
Player |
Plays |
% Snaps |
Stats |
|
OL |
45 |
68% |
||
|
OL |
36 |
55% |
||
|
OL |
Spencer Fano |
33 |
50% |
|
|
OL |
33 |
50% |
||
|
OL |
33 |
50% |
||
|
OL |
33 |
50% |
||
|
OL |
Austin Barber |
31 |
47% |
|
|
OL |
23 |
35% |
||
|
OL |
Jack Conley |
23 |
35% |
|
|
OL |
10 |
15% |
||
|
OL |
10 |
15% |
||
|
OL |
10 |
15% |
||
|
OL |
10 |
15% |
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For what it’s worth, the Browns’ highest-rated linemen per PFF were C Kingsley Eguakun (74.6) and OG Teven Jenkins (74.6).
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The rest of the Browns’ starting line only played the first two series (10 snaps), but they gave rookie LT Spencer Fano the first half.
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Dawand Jones was playing well into the second half, which surprised some people that he was still in there.
