A pretty good preseason start sets up the most crucial week of Browns training camp

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Kevin Stefanski would never admit it, but Preseason Week 1 in Charlotte, NC, couldn’t have been scripted any better.

* The joint practice with the Panthers came off flawlessly – amid threatening skies, but no rain – and without any injuries.

* Shedeur Sanders enjoyed a much-needed 47 snaps in the game against the Panthers, won by the Browns, 30-10.

Sanders struggled in the first 17 snaps against the 32^nd-ranked Carolina first-team defense (5 of 10 for 43 yards, one scramble for 10 yards, and converted 1 of 4 third downs and 0 of 1 fourth downs).

After the Panthers pulled their defensive starters, Sanders settled down and got comfortable. He completed 9 of 13 for 95 yards, with two nice TD throws to Kaden Davis. The first, for seven yards, came on play-action from under center on which Sanders, moving left, layered the ball between coverage in the corner of the end zone. The second, from the shotgun, was a bullet from 12 yards in the middle. Sanders also led a third touchdown drive in his six possessions against the Panthers’ second- and third-teamers.

Sanders didn’t commit a turnover (except for a throwaway on fourth down while scrambling for his life) and managed the offense soundly, often getting plays off with plenty time on the play-clock. Operationally, he was very good.

Sanders graded himself a C+ because he missed some open receivers early on. He also was slow to deliver the ball at times and drifted backwards under duress, which resulted in some long scrambles to avoid negative plays.

But the overall performance (106.8 passer rating) served to invalidate the ignorant take charging the Browns with setting up Sanders to fail and also established Sanders as a legitimate competitor for QB2.

* The game itself was a coach’s dream – a victory on the scoreboard in a game  filled with a wonderful cross section of unscripted situations from which the younger players can learn.

“[We had] a couple of backed-up situations where I think we’re inside the 10-yard line and those are great for our football team,” Stefanski said. “I think the other thing in these preseason games, with really both sides, you don’t want to show much, but also you want to put your players in positions where you can evaluate them.

“So, you want to get the screen game going to the running backs and the screen to the wide receivers. You want to try different route combinations for guys to show what they can do. Different run schemes. We had wide zone, tight zone, gap schemes. We kind of did it all [Friday night], including a jet sweep to Gage [Larvadain] for the touchdown. We want to win because they’re keeping score so, ultimately you want to do that, but you also want to vary your run types, vary your pass types so you’re learning more about each one of your players.”

The only injuries reported were a hamstring suffered by wide receiver Luke Floriea and a concussion by cornerback Lamareon James.

Now the Browns can head into the crucial week of training camp – two joint practices and a game against the defending NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles – on a positive note.

Stefanski was still unsure whether QBs Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel would be full participants in the work week or game. It’s doubtful either can make a belated run at the starting QB job firmly held by Joe Flacco. But the rest of the QB order is still very much up for grabs. Also on the line is the receiver pecking order after Jerry Jeudy, the starting competition at left defensive end, the nickel cornerback job and third safety.

There’s also an elephant-in-the-room situation brewing with Dustin Hopkins, who missed a PAT to the left.

Other takeaways from Carolina week:

1. Rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham and linebacker Carson Schwesinger continued to look like immediate impact players in Jim Schwartz’s defense. Schwesinger was credited with six tackles and was on the field for only 13 snaps.

2. Davis emerged as a candidate to make the 53. He caught Sanders’ two TD passes and had three receptions overall on three targets. He also had a punt return for 16 yards.

3. Cade McDonald had the most snaps (43) among the young receivers. Along with Davis, the most productive were Gage Larvadain (two catches on three targets for 23 yards, a 4-yard TD run on a jet sweep and punt returns of 30 and 8 yards) and Floriea before his hamstring injury. Floriea had the catch of the game – adjusting well to a Sanders scramble and pulling in the ball with his left hand for a 30-yard gain. Floriea also had a kickoff return for 25 yards and punt returns of 4 and 5 yards.

4. Bubba Ventrone’s special teams committed only one penalty, and that came after 2 minutes were left in the game. In fact, four of the Browns six overall penalties occurred in the fourth quarter with the last vestiges of the 90-player roster on the field.

All in all, a pretty good week for the Browns.