There's no disputing the difference right guard Wyatt Teller has made in the Browns' running game. (DawgPoundDaily)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
The best news of the week the Browns received (so far) was right guard Wyatt Teller returning to practice after missing two games with an ankle injury.
The difference in the Browns’ running game with the road-grader Teller in the lineup has been undeniable.
In 10 games with Teller on the field, the Browns are 8-2 and average 5.06 yards per rush attempt with 16 rushing touchdowns.
In five games without Teller, the Browns are 2-3 and average 3.58 yards per rush attempt with three rushing touchdowns.
Nick Chubb also was out in two of the five games Teller was out. But Chubb has had two of his three worst rushing games with Teller sidelined. In the last two games without Teller, Chubb rushed for 50 yards against the Giants and 28 against the Jets.
Chubb wouldn’t pin the Browns’ rush futility entirely on Teller’s most recent absence.
“It is a lot of things to it,” he said. “I feel like as a whole we have not been doing the things we need to do as a team and as an offense. I think it is more just on everybody who is playing than the guys who are not.”
Neither Chubb nor Teller was active in the 38-7 loss to the Steelers in Game 6. A 24-0 deficit contributed, of course, to the Browns’ puny 3.4-yard rushing average that day (75 yards on 22 attempts).
“We were fortunate enough not to see Chubb last time,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We will not dodge that bullet this time. I have a lot of respect for him and his game and their game when he is playing.”
More good news
Left tackle Jedrick Wills returned to full participation at practice after missing the Jets game. If there are no setbacks, the Browns should have their full starting five on the offensive line for the Steelers.
“We have a starting five that went into the season who we prepared most with and who has the most reps together so when you are able to get Jed back and get Wyatt back, all of that work, all of that timing and all of that communication all kind of settles in a little bit and everybody feels a little more comfortable,” said center JC Tretter.
Said Chubb, “I was excited to see Wyatt and Jed today. Small steps, but I hope we get the receivers in later and we will all be back together soon.”
That will happen on Thursday if the final Covid-19 tests turn up negative for receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge and Donovan Peoples-Jones, and linebacker Jacob Phillips.
Presidential order
Tretter, the NFLPA president, had no problem with the NFL declining to reschedule the Browns-Jets game after the Browns lost six players to a positive Covid test and five others as high-risk contacts.
“I think it has been pretty clear that games will not postponed because of some sort of competitive disadvantage due to high-risk close contacts,” Tretter said.
“If there is active spread within a team and there is a lack of containment, it is not safe for that team to come back together, let alone put them with another team. You just can’t do that. That is what we have seen examples of games being postponed is when there is active spread and the virus is moving through and we can’t contain it. That is when you have to start pushing the game back because you can’t bring one team let alone two teams together.
“If there is an incident where players are deemed high-risk close contacts, those have always continued to be pushed forward. We knew that going into the season. That is why practice squads were expanded and that is why we have had increased roster flexibility for those exact examples.”
The NFL has taken some criticism for plowing through its season through the coronoavirus pandemic, but Tretter believes the league should get credit for not pulling resources from communities and for keeping player safety the No. 1 priority.
“I think that the amount of work that went into it and the amount of adaptability that it caused – which is not always a strong suit of any business, let alone the NFL – of being willing to evolve and change, and this year needed it for it to work,” he said. “I give both the NFLPA and the NFL a ton of credit for working through all of those issues and leaving the ethical issues in the forefront and making them the most important to start the whole conversation.”
Baker update
Chubb was asked to give a state-of-Baker after the quarterback took the loss to the Jets hard because of his three fumbles.
“He was locked in. He was focused. He was not saying much,” Chubb said. “He was going out there, practicing hard and leading us. That is about it.”
Mayfield had an edge to him in his Zoom interview. He took to sarcasm when asked if his three-fumble game would motivate him against the Steelers.
“No, I was thinking I was probably going to use it as a disadvantage and maybe drop the ball four more times,” he said.
Next question.
Brownie bits
It’s a good thing safety Ronnie Harrison appears ready to make his first appearance since injuring a shoulder on the first play of the Jacksonville game on Nov. 29. With Andrew Sendejo and Karl Joseph on Covid-reserve, it appears that a Harrison and Sheldrick Redwine safety tandem is in the offing. It would be the Browns’ fifth different starting safety lineup of the season …
More evidence of Mayfield being “locked in” to redeem himself from the Jets game and beating the Steelers to earn the team’s first playoff appearance in 18 years: “I have had my back against the wall many a time in my life. I think I handle that type of stuff correctly. Just one at a time until Sunday. I can’t win it right now. Have to move on from the game and work to get there.” And this: “The mentality here is we are in our playoffs just one week early. It is win or go home. That is the mentality for our guys. We have the talent and we have the scheme. We just have to go out there, execute it and do our jobs.” ...
Coach Kevin Stefanski on playing Mason Rudolph instead of Ben Roethlisberger: “Mason Rudolph has played a lot of football in this league. He has done a nice job. We just have to get to know him and really kind of figure out how they are going to adjust with their scheme or not adjust at all. That is where we have to have a plan and then be ready to adapt based on how the game unfolds.”