Moving the Chains: Gilbert shines, Corbett needs to hit the pine in Week 2 of the preseason

Welcome back to the second edition of my Moving the Chains column. The Cleveland Browns are closer to the Super Bowl than the first overall pick. And that is surreal and for real. No, seriously.

The Kickoff

Yes, it is the preseason but the Browns look good—really good. From top-to-bottom, the roster is performing on all cylinders.

Cleveland was without arguably their six best players as Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Myles Garrett, and Denzel Ward were all held out for rest or in the case of Beckham Jr. and Ward, as a precaution.

The Browns dominated the Colts both offensively and defensively in their 21-18 win over Indianapolis. The defense forced two three-and-outs in the first half and limited the Colts to four plays on another. The offense put behind two relatively poor offensive drives to start and followed them up with two touchdowns on the ensuing two series. 

The Browns may have their backup quarterback

Before the game, I had a conversation on Twitter regarding the backup quarterback position. I had mentioned that I get the sense the Browns aren’t “thrilled” with the guys they have behind Mayfield. Solid backups are few and far between in the NFL. There are only so many Tyrod Taylors, Teddy Bridgewaters, and Jacoby Brisetts.¹ There are more of the likes of Cooper Rush, Sean Mannion, and Chad Henne. I felt the passers behind Mayfield fell in the latter category.

Garrett Gilbert took my take, balled it up, and threw it in the trash with his performance against the Colts. He lit up the Indianapolis defense featuring All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard with a 13-of-19 showing, recording 151 passing yards and two touchdowns. 

Three incomplete passes which included a drop by D.J. Montgomery on the opening drive erased a near-perfect performance from Gilbert. Head coach Freddie Kitchens was well aware of the drops too.

“If the receivers were catching the ball, he would look much better,” Kitchens told WEWS sideline reporter Jon Doss at the end of the first half. 

Gilbert was fantastic in the deep passing game, completing six passes that registered 10 yards or more. He also contributed back-to-back touchdowns, including an answer to the Colts first score of the game. 

The former starting quarterback of the AAF’s Orlando Apollos, he has made tremendous strides since spring camp. Gilbert has gone from a flier to putting himself in the conversation to backup Mayfield this season. 

As an added bonus, Mayfield succeeded Gilbert as the quarterback at Lake Travis High School. Furthermore, Mayfield is close to Gilbert’s brother Griffin, and he was even in Mayfield’s wedding. Solid quarterback play behind Mayfield and familiarity are both working in Gilbert’s favor at the midpoint of the preseason. 

Next man up

With the injuries of Dontrell Hillard and a fair share of receivers resting their legs, a few guys made a great impression filling in for their teammates.

Replacing Hillard was D’Ernest Johnson and he was no Jim Brown but he certainly proved to be more than a capable backup running back. He averaged 5.3 yards on 10 carries and racked in all three of his targets for 26 receiving yards and a touchdown. 

Johnson went from being on the roster bubble to likely locking himself into a roster spot. The former USF running back runs hard and with determination. I like his spot behind Chubb. 

D.J. Montgomery played great too. His three receptions for 77 yards led all Browns receivers in the game. Additionally, he caught passes of 21, 24, and 32 yards. 

With OBJ, Antonio Callaway, and Landry out, Montgomery has gone from an afterthought to a strong case to make the roster. 

Browns still need a kicker

For the second consecutive week, the Browns ended the first half with a penalty. Fortunately, this time around that penalty did not push them out of field goal range but it did set Greg Joseph up for a 53-yard try.

His field goal attempt went wide right; Another miss by a Browns kicker. Last week Joseph missed an extra point late in the game against the Redskins. At this point, Joseph seems to join the likes of Travis Coons, Zane Gonzalez, and Cody Parkey, not the Phil Dawson and Lou Groza club. 

Austin Seibert, the Browns fifth-round pick in this past April’s NFL Draft, added insult to injury by missing a 52-yarder near the conclusion of the game. The guy that tees up the first field goal in the regular season is likely not on the roster at this rate.

And the defense?

The stats do not work in the Browns favor. The defense allowed 23 first downs, 382 total yards, 309 passing yards, and no turnovers. However, they did pass the eye test, especially in the first half. Aside from the lone touchdown drive and last drive of the half, the Colts offense only ran 10 plays. Overall, they only allowed three third-down conversions on 13 attempts. 

Flags

The Browns registered 13 penalties costing themselves 119 yards. The Colts were worse, getting flagged 16 times for 164 yards.

Former Browns

Derrick Kindred and Pierre Desir have both found their way onto the Colts roster. Desir had a pass breakup and a tackle; Kindred had one tackle himself. 

Concluding Thoughts

1. Great job by Kitchens to hold Mayfield, Beckham Jr., Chubb, etc. out from Saturday’s game. We have hit the tail end of training camp and following two competitive practices against the Colts earlier this week, there was more opportunity for injury in the game itself. Next week against the Buccaneers it would be nice to see what the Browns have when at full strength but hopefully only for a quarter at maximum.
2. James Gillan, also known as the ‘Scottish Hammer’, indeed has a booming leg. His 74-yard punt against the Colts proved that. He is relatively new to American football and is inexperienced. The talent is there but I believe Britton Colquitt will be the guy once the regular season rolls around. Maybe Gillan latches on elsewhere or perhaps back on the Browns on the practice squad.
3. A second-round pick in 2018, Austin Corbett is John Dorsey’s first big bust with the Browns. He was abysmal.
4. I am intrigued by Rico Gathers. The Browns claimed the former Baylor basketball star from the Cowboys last week. He has magnificent size and speed. I doubt he cracks the roster but the measurables are there.
5. This is no secret but Kitchens does a great job running the offense. All offensive units moved up and down the field with ease both this week and last. Once Mayfield is commanding the ship with Beckham, Landry, and Chubb, it has the potential to be Chiefs/Rams-esque. 
6. Also, Hue Jackson was so terrible across the board. The play calling compared to last year’s preseason is night and day. Not that it matters. 
7. I think we could see some movement behind the starters on the offensive line. The reserves are not particularly great.
8. How about Jaelen Strong. He has been a touchdown machine during training camp and added another today. I loved him coming out of Arizona State and was surprised how far he slid in the draft. He looks great following his recovery from a torn ACL. I think he cracks the roster.
9. I wish there was a stat in the preseason to count missed tackles. Maybe there is and maybe I just don’t know about it. I know who doesn’t wish there was a stat to count missed tackles: Kitchens and Steve Wilks. There was quite a few of them on the Browns side. 
10.  My column has an early bye week next week against the Buccaneers. We will resume in the fourth and final week of the preseason against the Lions.

1. Editor’s Note: Super Bowl Champion Nick Foles could have also been mentioned on that list prior to signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. [↩]