Former Georgia Bulldog quarterback Jake Fromm is working at Browns rookie camp on a tryout basis. (TheLandOnDemand)
Browns already working on Carolina to break 17-year winless streak in season openers
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Soon as coach Kevin Stefanski learned the Browns open the season Sept. 11 at Carolina – the news came to him early Thursday morning, not at night when it was officially released – he assigned his quality control coaches to start breaking down video of what the Panthers’ coordinators like to do on offense and defense.
The Panthers are the most unfamiliar opponent of any to the Browns. They’ve met only six times – fewest of any Cleveland opponent in Browns’ history – and last played in 2018. Prior to joining the Browns, Stefanski last saw the Panthers in 2017 as an assistant coach with the Vikings.
So, facing the Panthers in the opener is actually another perk in the Browns’ schedule, because it gives them four months to familiarize with Matt Ruhle’s team.
Ruhle fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady with five games left in the 2021 season. He replaced him with Ben McAdoo, the former New York Giants head coach. McAdoo was an offensive assistant in Green Bay under former Packers coach Mike McCarthy from 2006-13. Stefanski was with the divisional-rival Vikings that entire time.
Ruhle’s defensive coordinator, Phil Snow, came with him from Baylor. So the Carolina defense is a complete unknown to Stefanski and the Browns.
“We have to get to know their coordinators and get to know their personnel, so that is something that we are working on now,” Stefanski said.
The Browns are 1-21-1 in season openers, of course. Stefanski is 0-2. But in each of Stefanski’s two seasons, the Browns ripped off three wins in a row to go 3-1 in the first month of their schedule.
He believes that is validation that he and his staff prepared the team well in training camp for the start of the real season.
“Both years in the last couple of years were different,” he said. “Obviously, the [first] COVID year was different and last year was a little different offseason and then having a preseason. We have learned things the last couple of years that we like that we will continue to do. There are a couple of things that we would like to tweak. Ultimately, we do feel like between the coaches, the strength coaches and the medical staff, I do think we are putting our guys in position to be ready to play Week 1.”
The main difference this year is the quality of opponent in Game 1. The Browns lost in Baltimore in 2020 and in Kansas City in 2021. Both were playoff teams.
The Panthers are one of five teams on the Browns’ schedule coming off 10 or more losses.
Stefanski can’t afford to fumble a golden opportunity to start off 1-0.
A leg up
Rookie Cade York, who will be unchallenged as the Browns’ new kicker, spent the morning of his first day on the job testing the turf and wind in FirstEnergy Stadium.
It happened to be one of the sunniest and warmest spring days of the year in Cleveland.
“It was awesome,” York said. “Got to get in there, see what the wind was like. Kicked a few balls. It was nicer than most games at LSU, honestly. I’m excited to see what it’s like when it’s windy.”
Be careful what you ask for, young fella.
York recently connected with Browns legendary kicker Phil Dawson and talked for 40 minutes about the nuances of kicking in Cleveland. And, yes, Dawson did speak of the special flag he had positioned in the west mezzanine to give him the most accurate gauge of the wind on game days.
“Phil just mentioned that, yeah, there’s going to be days that are tough. You just have to hit a true ball. You have to be OK with not hitting it down the middle every time. Just have confidence in what you do and not every kick’s going to be the same.
“He definitely talked about how Cleveland can be an amazing place to play or a hard place to play if you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do and you have to block it out when you have a bad day because everybody has bad days. Just like [in] Baton Rouge. If I wasn’t going well, [the fans] were going to let me know.”
York and the coaches do not expect him to become complacent without another kicker on hand in training camp.
“I think they know my mentality,” he said. “That I’m a very competitive person. Not only do I compete with other people, but with myself, and I think they know that. I think they want to give me a space to work. I’m very thankful for that. But just because there’s no one here I’m competing with in the facility doesn’t mean I’m not competing with every other kicker in the country.”
Brownie bits
Three of the 27 players on hand at rookie minicamp are there on a tryout basis. One is Jake Fromm, the former Georgia quarterback who beat Baker Mayfield’s Oklahoma Sooners, 54-48, in the Rose Bowl in a BCS semifinal game in 2018. Fromm was drafted in the fifth round in 2020 by the Bills. He was signed by the Giants the following year off Buffalo’s practice squad and made two starts, losing both. “Just taking a look at him,” Stefanski said. The other quarterback on hand is left-hander Felix Harper of Alcorn State …
The Browns officially listed seventh-round draft pick Dawson Deaton as a guard. He played center at Texas Tech, but he’ll have to show some versatility to stick around …
All the draft picks will stay in Cleveland after the weekend minicamp and join the veterans next week in Phase 2 of the offseason program. That will be an eye-opener for them.
