Cleveland Browns vs St Louis Rams: 10 Things Browns Fans Should Watch
Game No. 2 of the NFL Preseason is no different from game one since most of the first teamers get a chance to play in a drive or two, then they take a seat for all the rookies and younger players to try and earn a roster spot for the upcoming season.
The Cleveland Browns made a splash in week one versus a very potent offense and a very solid defense in Green Bay.
Now the Rams come to the shores of Lake Erie and the Browns have a chance to beat up on another rebuilding team that is a bit further back than where the Browns currently are in their own rebuilding process.
This a a game where young players can really shine and open up the Browns' coaches eyes since they will play against a far less talented team.
The following are 10 key things that all Browns fans should keep their eyes on when the football is on the tee and ready for kickoff on Saturday, August 21 at 7 P.M. EDT.
Marcus Benard To Start at Outside Linebacker
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Benard has been making him name more and more known since he registered two sacks against the Steelers last November.
Now with starting inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson injured and out another six to seven weeks, Scott Fujita moves inside next to Chris Gocong and Benard takes Fujita's spot on the outside opposite of Matt Roth.
Last week against the Packers, Benard was all over the field with the second and third team defensive unit, but now he gets to go up against the Rams' first team offensive line and he may easily find himself on the receiving end of more quarterback sacks and a final roster spot on opening weekend of the new season.
Colt McCoy Take-Two
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McCoy had a rocky start to his NFL career with a two interception performance against the Packers and he was taken to the locker room for X-Rays on his throwing hand after he bashed it against the helmet of an offensive lineman.
He should play at least another quarter of play versus the Rams and hopefully he will improve over last weekend's debacle.
At least it is comforting to know that their are two quarterbacks in front of him on the depth chart so he needs to go through the growing pains of learning the NFL game and throwing picks too.
Progress is all Browns fans should look for with McCoy since he will not see the football field this season barring any unfortunate injuries.
Will Jake Delhomme Get More Than Just One Drive?
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Last week Delhomme played on a fantastic opening drive against the Packers' first team defense and he led the Browns right down the field and into the end zone for a score.
This could have been looked at two different ways with the first being that the Packers' defense was shaking off the dust, the second is to say that Delhomme is ready to move on from the turnover label he has gotten recently.
It was the perfect drive to have with all the critics that our out in NFL Nation who think Delhomme is washed up.
Against the Rams, Delhomme should see at least two drives in a row before getting yanked, but honestly if he puts together another strong first drive as he did last week, then he might just get yanked for Seneca Wallace early on once again.
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Let's See More Of Wallace!
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In continuing with the quarterback theme of the past two slides, who doesn't want to see more of Wallace at quarterback?
A threat with both his powerful arm and quick feet, Wallace is a great backup to Delhomme and there are rumors that Wallace will see snaps during games this regular season too.
Don't expect a real quarterback rotation where Delhomme is in for a play or two, then Wallace comes in for a couple and vice-versa, but Wallace will get playing time at quarterback in the season in order to give opposing defense even more headaches.
Defensive game planning for one quarterback is easy, but when you have the threat of a guy like Wallace coming in randomly to take a few snaps, then that throws a wrench into everything and somewhere there will be a gap in the game planning for defenses and Mangini wants exactly that to happen week in and week out.
The Safety Play Of Those Not Named T.J. Ward
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Ward had a fantastic first game leading the Browns in total tackle and he was disruptive every where on the field.
But the play of his fellow safeties were less than desirable including the play of fellow starting safety Abe Elam.
Elam needs to set up his game especially since Ward has obviously stepped his game up already and get better in his pass coverages over the middle of the field where tight ends love to hang out.
It will be hard to keep your eyes on Elam, since Ward is much more fun to watch, but at the very least keep one eye on Ward and your other eye on Elam.
Isn't that why we have two eyes anyway?
Will Josh Cribbs See The Field?
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The Browns are being very cautious with the newly invested playmaker, Josh Cribbs.
Cribbs will be seen a lot and every where on the field this upcoming season, but what good is he if he got injured in preseason?
Head coach Eric Mangini kept Cribbs' reps to a minimum against the Packers and it may be more of the same against the Rams too.
But with the game being played in Cleveland, Cribbs will at least see some playing time just to give the Browns fans a quick glimpse of their favorite Cleveland athlete.
Don't Get Your Hopes Up For Rookie RB Montario Hardesty
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Every single Browns fans is dying to see Hardesty play some football especially after all the glaring reviews he was getting literally from the moment the Browns drafted him, up until the first day of training camp when the Browns announced Hardesty's injury.
There was a slim chance that he would be able to play against the Rams, but that has been crushed by Mangini who said that Hardesty could see minimal playing time in the third preseason game, followed by much more in the preseason finale.
Patience is needed with Hardesty right now, because it is better to be overly cautious than throw him into the fire.
At least the Browns have a good stable of running backs to allow Hardesty to heal in the mean time and those other backs get more reps which improves the Browns' depth at the position too.
Is CB Eric Wright Ready?
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Wright is entering his final year of his rookie contract and he has looked like he is ready to breakout during many training camp practices this month.
Having rumored to have intercepted approximately seven passes in the evening sessions of training camp alone, has got Browns fans buzzing about their young and talented starting corner.
He has the confidence, and he says that he is "wright," when it comes to predicting his dominance over opposing receivers this year.
Hopefully he will get a chance to play some reps against the Rams after injuring his hamstring early last week.
Will Browns Fans See a Pass Rush This Week?
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The Browns had both starters Wright and defensive lineman Shaun Rogers out against the Packers, which many say hurt the Browns' ability to rush the passer.
This is partially true, but remember that the Browns were without Rogers when they improved both their team record and yards given up on the run after Rogers went down with an injury.
This all leads most Browns fans to believe that once both he and Wright are back in the starting lineman, the pass rush will once again be strong and it could be downright scary if Rogers is rushing the passer from a defensive end position too.
This will probably have to pan out once the regular season is upon us.
How About a Running Attack?
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With Hardesty still out, Jerome Harrison is the starter and he also had a touchdown run last week too.
Behind him Peyton Hillis, James Davis, and Chris Jennings.
Out of all three Jennings showed the least amount of anything versus the Packers and he really needs to step his game up to the next level because once Hardesty is back, someone is going home unemployed.
The Browns struggled to run the ball last weekend, but they should show more focus on that aspect of their offense this week going up against a run defense of the Rams that gave up the sixth most yards in the NFL in 2009.
Training Camp Ends
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Browns training camp ends with their evening practice on August 19 at their training facility in Berea, OH.
Another year has come and gone, but that just means that regular season is quickly approaching and as of the publishing of this article the Browns have 23 days, nine hours, and 42 minutes until opening day of the 2010 NFL season begins!
(Also posted on Dawg Scooper: THE Cleveland Browns Blog)
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