New Browns safety John Johnson is looking forward to opening the season against the Chiefs, and he feels the vibe in the building. (Cleveland Browns)
John Johnson says Browns defense will be ready for Chiefs in Week 1, but will be better as season goes on
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from another dog day Browns practice and interviews …
New Browns safety John Johnson says he doesn’t wear a mouthpiece on the field because he likes to always be talking.
He was like that as a kid “long before football,” he said, always wanting to be the center of attention.
This is a good thing on the field because his job description requires talking, or communicating.
He said he’s taken to that part of his job because of “just wanting to see everybody succeed."
"If I know a guy is misaligned and he might not do his job that play, I don’t want to see him go down like that and I don’t want to see the team go down. I think me talking helps other guys talk. Everybody’s comfortable, everybody’s aligned in the right place. So have fun with it.”
From Johnson’s vantage point at the back of the defense, he can see the entire unit unfold on every play, at practice and in games. So I asked him what needs to be corrected on a unit that hasn’t played fully together yet this summer because of injuries.
“I’d just say discipline,” Johnson answered. “Just locking in and doing your job each and every play. I think that’s the hardest thing in the NFL. The margin for error is so small. I don’t think it’s a skill thing, I don’t think it’s a talent thing, I don’t think it’s an effort thing. I think it’s just locking in, being disciplined every play.
"It might just be a small read you have to make 100 percent of the time to be successful. Once we get to that level of discipline, I think we’ll be just fine.”
At this point of preseason, the monotonous repetition in these dog days of August interfere with that discipline, he said.
“You kind of go through the motions, then, boom, that play goes for 50 [yards] and a touchdown. On defense, you can’t do that, especially in the secondary room,” Johnson said.
Like everyone else, he’s longing for Sept. 12 and the season-opener in Kansas City. Johnson said he feels “a vindictive vibe” about that game in the building because of coming so close to unseating the AFC champions in a 22-17 divisional playoff loss.
When Johnson first signed with the Browns as a free agent from the Rams, he dialed up the game on his team-programmed iPad and watched it “from start to finish.”
“I just wanted to see what went wrong. And it was a close game, so it’s not like we were far off. Just a few more things, like I said those discipline plays that can really hurt you in the end …”
He felt Cleveland’s pain as backup QB Chad Henne scrambled for 13 yards at the end to set up the fourth-and-1 “backbreaker,” that short completion to Tyreek Hill in the right flat.
I asked Johnson if there are certain plays that are unstoppable and if that were one.
“No, that wasn’t an unstoppable play,” he said. “[I would say it’s a] tough play to stop, but it’s definitely stoppable. I think that type of play, you just got to see it coming. You know when Tyreek goes in motion and he’s in a position where he can beat you to the flat, especially that down and distance, I think that’s something you have to alert the whole defense before it happens.”
So that’s where Johnson’s value will apply this year – alerting the defense about Hill going in motion. Things like that.
Which is why he’s so looking forward to opening the season against the Chiefs, and why he isn’t concerned about whether Joe Woods’ unit will be ready to play.
“I think we can do all that we can to be ready for Week 1,” Johnson said. “But it constantly gets better as the season goes. You learn more about each other, you install new schemes depending on the week you’re playing. So, getting to Week 1 with whoever it may be out there, it’ll be a challenge. But you have to be a professional. You have to do that.
"But as the season goes on, we’ll be completely different in Week 15 than in Week 1.”
Takk is back
Defensive end Takk McKinley, who last practiced on July 31 and was later excused or personal reasons, has returned to the club.
McKinley left practices on Days 3 and 4 because of illness. Because the issue McKinley was dealing with was not football-related, the club has been respectful of McKinley’s privacy and hasn’t disclosed what kept him away.
“I think we support all of our guys,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “In the building, outside the building, so he has our support, has my support and then I think the guys are excited to have him back. He’s in a good place, ready to go.”
Johnson said, “It’s awesome. He came in with me in this whole free agency class, so it was good to have our team back strong. Hopefully, whatever he was dealing with is done and he can get back to work. But it’s good to have him out here.”
McKinley spent the one-hour practice inside the facility. Stefanski said McKinley would return to the practice field “soon.” Playing Sunday night in Atlanta might be a stretch, however.
Right on right
Rookie tackle James Hudson had an interesting take on his first training camp under offensive line guru Bill Callahan.
Hudson made every one of his 11 career starts for Cincinnati at left tackle. Callahan has cross-trained him at right tackle and it has opened up his eyes to his faults at left tackle.
“I have some bad habits on the left side,” Hudson said. “On the right, they taught me a lot of new things, so I think I feel more comfortable on the right than I do left. Because sometimes I go back to things I’ve done at Cincinnati and the position I’ve practiced at all these years. I wouldn’t say it’s overwhelming though. I feel I can handle both sides.”
Hudson said he is soaking up everything Callahan and assistant line coach Scott Peters teach him. He also received some valuable advice from Browns legend Joe Thomas, who texted him the night he was drafted by the Browns and has kept in touch.
“He told me when you’re a rookie, you’re going to have some bumps and bruises. Every day is not going to be a good day. It’s just about how you come back the next day. Try to pick one thing out to get better each day and then by the end of camp you’ll be a lot better than you were at the beginning,” Hudson related.
Brownie bits
Receiver Davion Davis has been suspended without pay for the first two games of the 2021 regular season for violating the NFL Policy and Program on Substances of Abuse. Davis will be able to participate in the remainder of the preseason, including Sunday’s final preseason game. The suspension is the result of Davis pleading guilty to a charge of careless driving in October of 2019 while a member of the Vikings …
The Browns practiced only one hour on another steam-bath day and now will lapse into Stefanski’s regular-season practice schedule, he said …
Rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was kept out of practice after needing stitches on his forward as a result of a weight room “accident,” per Stefanski …
Stefanski said there is “nothing to add” about the kicking situation. It’s Chase McLaughlin’s job to lose now. No kicker was brought in to challenge. The only move the Browns made was to release Cody Parkey from injured reserve, further indication they didn't think he could beat out McLaughlin ...
Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett were among the big names who rejoined practice in brief team drills on Tuesday. Odell Beckham Jr. was in uniform but did not do much. Notables besides JOK not involved were Denzel Ward, Grant Delpit, Anthony Schwartz, Sione Takitaki.
