Thoughts and observations from the Cleveland Browns 17-13 win over the New York Giants in the second preseason game.
There was a lot of enthusiasm coming off the Cleveland Browns decisive win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first preseason game, but the second week of the preseason was just a bit different. Yes, the Browns won 17-13, the final result is not really what matters in this case. The game was basically a scrimmage of backups, some things stood out from the contest.
The Giants are bad, but better than the Jaguars
The relative ease that the Browns dominated the Jaguars last week was not really there this week against New York. Overall the Browns have the edge in the talent department, but the gap is significantly smaller than when they faced Jacksonville. It is important to note that while this could be different when the starters are in, but as far as depth goes they are not that far apart.
KhaDarel Hodge made a play on the ball when another receiver didn’t
There was a sequence early in the game where Case Keenum dropped back to pass and proceeded to float a ball into the endzone that was eventually ruled incomplete. Given a second opportunity throwing to nearly an identical route to a different receiver the result was different. Keenum did manage to put more behind the pass and placed it in a spot where only KhaDarel Hodge could catch it. Hodge managed to make a play on the ball by high pointing it and coming down in bounds for a touchdown.
Thought this was Madden for a second 👀🎮@Browns | @ItsKhaDarel | @casekeenum
📺: #NYGvsCLE on @NFLNetwork (or check local listings)
📱: https://t.co/NGcyn9UWUm pic.twitter.com/XnNxR8LeG3— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2021
The previous play that resulted in an incompletion was thrown to Rashard Higgins. Higgins should have come back to the ball and bailed his quarterback out, but that did not happen. Later in the game when Davion Davis faced a similar situation while the team was looking to convert a first down, the proper adjustment was made and the first down was successfully converted. The stark difference in effort and decision making on the part of the receiver is quite notable.
Case Keenum isn’t going anywhere
If the honeymoon between Browns twitter and Kyle Lauletta isn’t over yet it should be. After an obvious overreaction to last week there was the rogue movement that was trying to reasonably suggest that the Browns should trade Case Keenum in favor of Lauletta. Well if anything that this game taught us it is that Lauletta is nothing more than Captain Checkdown and he can be prone to making mistakes in bunches. Mistakes such as throwing into coverage down and across the field for no reason and attempting to run the ball and taking an unnecessary hit as the half was ending in a preseason game, a hit which ultimately ended in a fumble. If this is what the Kyle Lauletta experience is the Browns would be wise to run away as fast as possible.
At the end of the day there is still no reason to trade Case Keenum because Kyle Lauletta is on the roster.
What about the Browns offense?
Through two preseason games we have learned pretty much nothing about the offense of the Cleveland Browns. The run game was utilized a fair amount of times, but that aspect of their roster is not really under evaluation at this point. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are firmly entrenched at their positions. That means that other position groups such as wide receiver and tight end are the focus of evaluation process, which leads to why they passed the ball as much as they did despite averaging 6.5 yards per carry on the day. Cleveland needs to figure out who of the bubble players who are pass catchers will make the roster. Running a higher volume of pass plays with those players gives the team a better idea of who to keep and who to let go.
