Preview.....Giants-Browns.

Cleveland Browns: 4 things to watch for in preseason game number two.

The regular season is fast approaching, yet the Cleveland Browns still have three more preseason games to play. There were some promising moments, but lows at times were seen too. Cleveland could be a surprising team this fall.
To do that though, they need to first figure out some key aspects of their roster. They will do that by evaluating what the coaches see in the coming weeks.
What should we look for as Cleveland gets closer to the regular season? Here are four topics to keep an eye on!

Browns head coach Hue Jackson came out on Wednesday and named Brock Osweiler the starter for the Cleveland Browns second preseason game on Monday night against the New York Giants. Osweiler will play with the first team offense against a good Giants’ defense.
Quarterbacks coach David Lee spent time earlier this week telling the media that rookie quarterback Deshone Kizer isn’t ready to start for the Browns despite his impressive play in the first preseason game and during camp the last few weeks.
Kizer will be the second Browns quarterback to play on Monday night, likely in the second quarter sometime. Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland reported that Jackson will not play Kizer until the Giants’ second team defense enters the game.
Kizer is taking some first team reps in practice but not against the first team defense.
This is the next step in his progression as he gets an opportunity to play against players that will be on the Giants’ roster. Kizer excelled in game one against the New Orleans Saints’ third team.
The way the Kizer performs on Monday night under the bright lights of national television against his toughest professional opponent so far will be telling.

The Browns’ third first round pick David Njoku missed the first preseason game with back soreness, according to clevelandbrowns.com. Thus, Monday night will be the young tight end’s debut.
Njoku is from Cedar Grove, New Jersey which means he grew up watching the very Giants he will be lining up against on Monday.
Njoku was plagued with dropped passes early in training camp. Browns coaches noticed that the pass catching tight end was pressing in his first few weeks. However, since he returned to practice on Sunday, he has had his best week of camp to date and is looking like the offensive weapon they hoped they were getting when they drafted him.
We will get our first look at Njoku in game action Monday night and it should be interesting how much of impact he makes on the game.

The Browns lost two offensive linemen to injuries this week. Starting left guard Joel Bitonio will miss Monday night’s game due to an ankle injury and is considered week to week by Jackson, per clevelandbrowns.com. Veteran John Greco will fill in for Bitonio.
Reserve tackle, Cameron Erving was also sidelined because of injury this week and he will miss Monday’s game because of a calf. The issue here is that starting left tackle Joe Thomas is sitting out his second consecutive preseason game and Erving was set to start in his place again.
Erving’s performance against the Saints left a great deal to be desired after single-handedly killing the team’s first drive. Rookie Roderick Johnson will get the start against the Giants in place of Thomas and Erving at left tackle.
It should be interesting to see how the line plays with Greco and Johnson starting. Greco is solid and should be just fine.
Johnson is in a tough spot though. Imagine if he outplays Erving. What would that mean for Erving’s future with the Browns? It’s certainly something to keep an eye on.

Wide receiver is a position of some contention for the Browns. Second year man and first round draft pick Corey Coleman has a lot to prove after an injury plagued first season.
Kenny Britt is a nice veteran player but he had a poor first preseason game. He struggled to get off the line of scrimmage and failed to drag his second foot on a would-be touchdown pass in the back of the endzone.
The rest of the Browns’ wide receiving corp will likely be made up of the other three receivers drafted in 2016. The Browns are hoping that at least one of those three players will step up and contribute.
So far, Ricardo Louis has looked like that guy. He has put together a good camp and had several nice plays with the ones in their first preseason game.
Rashard Higgins and Jordan Payton will both likely make the roster considering they were drafted by this regime. Payton caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Kizer against the Saints and saw an uptick in reps this week in practice.
That leaves the sixth and possibly final wide receiver roster spot available for the taking. Jordan Leslie, Josh Boyce, Richard Mullaney, Mario Alford and Rannell Hall are the remaining wide receivers competing for the final spot.
Mullaney had a big game against the Saints but gets lost in the mix during practice. Leslie may have the advantage right now as he has proved to be a dependable target and has had a good camp.

THE STORYLINE:

The second preseason game is a much more serious affair than the first. All of the team’s healthy starters should play, providing a better indication of where this team is at and potential trouble spots. You may or may not think it is premature to worry about aspects of the team, but there are early indications that the offensive line and running game could be issues once again. Defensively, the team looks strong but there are concerns about depth in the secondary. Of course, many eyes will be on Aldrick Rosas and whether or not he can be relied upon.

THE INJURY REPORT:

RB Shaun Draughn (ankle)
WR Dwayne Harris (upper body)
WR Darius Powe (hamstring)
LB Keenan Robinson (concussion)
LB Mark Herzlich (stinger)
LB J.T. Thomas (knee)
CB Eli Apple (ankle)
S Duke Ihenacho (hamstring)
S Ryan Murphy (lower body)


NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE:
The blocking up front remains a concern. Against the Steelers, center Weston Richburg and right guard John Jerry did not have good games. And tackles Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart have been inconsistent in practice. The running game against the Steelers was putrid despite Ben McAdoo’s desire to focus on that aspect of the offense. There are still questions about whether or not Paul Perkins is a legitimate NFL starter.

We should get our first look at the real first-team offense with Eli Manning at quarterback and Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shepard at wide receiver. Much attention will be on how the offensive line protects Eli and opens up holes for Perkins. Can the line provide Manning with enough time to utilize all of his dangerous weapons? Can the running game keep him out of 2nd-and-10 and 3rd-and-9 situations? When this offense is in true regular-season mode, Shane Vereen is the third-down back and a feature in the passing game. We’ll probably get a good indication on how seriously the Giants are taking this game by how much Vereen plays (Vereen tends to get nicked up so the Giants probably won’t play him all that much). It will be interesting to see if the Giants also send tight end Evan Engram on more vertical routes or whether the team is “hiding” that for the regular season. Up front, now is the time for D.J. Fluker to make a serious push for playing time. Jerry has opened the door for him. Jerry is the better pass protector and Fluker the better run blocker.

In terms of competition for roster spots, Geno Smith seemed to take the lead in the quarterback battle over Josh Johnson, but Smith made a stupid killer mistake in the Steelers game. Smith can solidify his chances with a sound game. If Johnson out-plays Smith in Cleveland, things will start to get a bit dicey. It will be interesting to see if Davis Webb plays in the second or third preseason games. Snaps are limited.

Among the tight ends and receivers, Matt LaCosse has been a camp all-star again, but we need to see it in games. Right now, it looks like Rhett Ellison, Evan Engram, and Jerell Adams are the locks with LaCosse and Will Tye on the bubble. Things are more cloudy at wide receiver once you get past the top four of Beckham, Marshall, Shepard, and Dwayne Harris. Tavarres King was a favorite at one point, but he has missed a lot of time due to an ankle injury. Roger Lewis is coming off a bad game and remains inconsistent. Darius Powe now has a hamstring issue. Travis Rudolph just may not have enough athletic ability. Could someone like Jerome Lane now sneak into the picture? On the line, much attention will be focused on back-up tackles Adam Bisnowaty and Chad Wheeler again. Both had rough moments against Pittsburgh.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE:
The starters looked good against the Steelers, but keep in mind that Pittsburgh also sat their starting quarterback and best weapons. The Giants appear to be in good shape with multiple all-stars on the defensive line and in the secondary. But depth at safety (3rd and 4th safeties) and cornerback (5th corner) remain areas of concern. The linebacking unit has also been a bit nicked up.

Up front, the concerns about the defensive tackle spot alongside Damon Harrison appears to be diminishing with the strong efforts of Jay Bromley and Dalvin Tomlinson. Robert Thomas missed the first preseason game and should now get a chance to show his wares. Jason Pierre-Paul also did not play against the Steelers. Olivier Vernon looks set for a big year. But again, is there a back-up pass rusher on this team? Kerry Wynn had a strong game last week. Can he build upon it?

At linebacker, B.J. Goodson was a bit inconsistent, but he looks much more athletic this preseason. Combine that with his physical, aggressive nature and the Giants are willing to live with some growing pains there. What is interesting is that Calvin Munson appears to be making a serious push for a roster spot.

Landon Collins was all over the field against the Steelers. He’s one of those guys you want to get out of the game as soon as possible. He’s ready. Darian Thompson will be the other starter. Regardless of his upside, Andrew Adams is the primary back-up here. Nat Berhe is coming off a rough game and time may be running out on him. If Eric Pinkins makes it, it may be solely for special teams. I’m not sure the 4th safety is on this team yet. And I’m not sure the Giants really want Adams being the primary back-up. At corner, the big story is the emergence of Michael Hunter as a viable NFL cornerback. If he truly pans out, the Giants are in very good shape and ideally only need to find that 5th corner in case injuries start piling up. Valentino Blake and DaShaun Amos are coming off a rough game. The coaches seem to like Donte Deayon but he doesn’t offer and special teams value.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
Both Aldrick Rosas and Mike Nugent went 2-for-2 last week and both hit long field goals, though Rosas was more impressive with his 52 yarder in the rain. In the event of a tie, one would think the Giants would go with youth over the fading veteran. But we shall see. The Giants did not use Dwayne Harris last week. Will they continue to keep him in bubble wrap in the preseason? (He had the hell beat out of him last year).

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH:
Ben McAdoo on the second preseason game: “We want to stack some success with the way the game management went last week. We had 11 guys on the field each play, and that is easier said than done in the first preseason game. And just keep continuing to build. Go good to great on defense. Offense, be more productive. We are going to have everybody in the mix there and special teams, continue to improve.”

THE FINAL WORD:
My focus will be on pass protection and the running game on offense. I’m starting to get worried about both these areas again. Defensively, can Jay Bromley and Kerry Wynn string together two good games? What do the Giants have in Robert Thomas? How worried should we be about the back-up safeties? Of course, the field goal battle is a primary focal point. This is actually one of those games where you may want to see drives stall in enemy territory so you can get a better read on Rosas.

McAdoo is very focused in test the O-Line (mostly in the running game) and on the other side he gonna try to give Aldrick Rosas some chances to score medium-long range FG's. Eli (and the 1st offense) will play a pair of drives with Geno playing the 2nd quarter and Johnson hammerit) playing almost the whole 2nd half, leaving 1 drive to Davis Webb.

Giants 1st Defense is expected to play during the entire 1st half.

I'd bet for a low score tonight.