BEREA: The Baylor boys stole the Browns’ show.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III provided reasons to believe he may still have some Pro Bowl-caliber performances left over from his remarkable season four years ago, and rookie Corey Coleman looked the part of a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver who’s worthy of the 15th overall draft pick.
This is training camp. It’s early August. The Browns haven’t faced an actual opponent. So don’t get carried away.
But, for what it’s worth, the connection between former Baylor University standouts Griffin and Coleman provided coach Hue Jackson’s offense with undeniable big-play electricity Friday night in front of an announced crowd of 2,693 during the team’s scrimmage.
Griffin completed 6-of-7 passes for about 150 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, according to the Beacon Journal’s unofficial count. Those statistics exclude a two-minute drill at the end of practice in which he ran once and threw three incomplete passes, including a Hail Mary.
“Some of the balls that he threw today, the location that he put them at, it was amazing,” cornerback Tramon Williams said. “I actually went up to him on the field after he threw the ball into the corner of the end zone and I told him, I said, ‘Man, if you throwing the ball like that,’ I said, ‘You’re going to throw a lot of touchdowns this year.’ ”
The Browns hope so because it’ll be a mere formality when Jackson names Griffin the starting quarterback sometime before the Aug. 12 preseason opener on the road against the Green Bay Packers. Griffin has received all of the first-team snaps since camp started with the exception of two given to Josh McCown on Friday. McCown’s only pass with the starters was intercepted by Williams.
“Robert is protecting the football,” Jackson said. “That’s what’s going to give us the best chance to win games. I’m loving the big plays, and that’s what quarterbacks do in the National Football League, but ... you have got to be able to take care of the football.”
Griffin ought to target Coleman early and often when the real games begin. Coleman caught four passes Friday, all from Griffin. His unofficial haul included receptions of 35, 53 and 41 yards, the last of which was a touchdown scored against the first-team defense.
“That’s why we drafted him,” Jackson said. “He’s a tremendously talented young man.
“He can make contested catches. He has the ability to adjust to the ball in the air. He has the ability to make plays down the field. That’s what he did. He’s a fantastic player.
“He knows how to get from here to there very fast and get the ball in the end zone. He’s proven that, but he’s got some things to clean up. I don’t want to anoint this young man yet. It is way too soon.”
Although Jackson is correct about the dangers of premature praise, Coleman just keeps giving the Browns reasons to be excited about him.
He beat cornerback K’Waun Williams with a double move on his 35-yard reception.
“I’ve seen some rookies come in and they don’t catch on that fast,” Tramon Williams said.
Like a savvy veteran, Coleman yanked on Tramon Williams a bit to gain position and grab the 53-yard pass on a go route. Williams was penalized for unnecessary roughness.
“It was a push off?” Coleman said with a laugh. “I didn’t see no flags.”
Added Tramon Williams with a smile: “We got to talk to the refs about that. It’s part of the game. Some of those calls, you’ll get, and some of them you won’t.”
Coleman’s 53-yard gain set up Griffin’s 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Connor Hamlett over inside linebacker Chris Kirksey in the back left corner of the end zone on third and goal. Hamlett scored against the starting defense despite someone grabbing his face mask.
Later, Coleman caught Griffin’s perfectly placed 41-yard touchdown pass in the back right corner of the end zone over cornerback Justin Gilbert, managing to keep his feet inbounds.
“It was third and long, and I wanted to keep us on the field and score a touchdown,” Coleman said. “We weren’t having a good drive. I think we had a penalty that drive that pushed us back, so I knew that I had to go up and make a play.”
Gilbert wasn’t burned on the play, even though he surrendered the touchdown.
“He was in great position,” Tramon Williams said. “I told him to forget about that.”
After Griffin fit his deep throws to Coleman into tight windows, Coleman told him, “Good job. Let’s keep it going.” Griffin, 26, and Coleman, 22, didn’t play together at Baylor, but they’ve known each other for years. They developed chemistry this summer while working out together for a few days in Los Angeles under the watch of throwing guru Tom House.
Griffin and the No. 1 offense stalled on their first two series, and it happened against the second-string defense. But the starting offense scored touchdowns on each of its next two drives, both of which were against the No. 1 defense.
Two other touchdowns were scored, one by the No. 2 offense and the other by the third unit.
McCown connected with rookie wide receiver Ricardo Louis over K’Waun Williams for a 30-yard touchdown during a two-minute drill. On third and goal, quarterback Austin Davis threw a 10-yard scoring strike to undrafted rookie tight end J.P. Holtz, who was open and corralled the ball with one hand in the middle of the end zone.
Rookie quarterback Cody Kessler helped the third-team offense set up a 50-yard field goal in a two-minute drill. Travis Coons missed the kick, then made it after the coaching staff granted him a mulligan.
“The other day, the offense kind of got off to a fast start against the defense and had them on their heels, and then it flipped,” Jackson said. “Today, the defense got off to a fast start and kind of had the offense on their heels. For me, like I told our team, that’s the making of a good football team. If the offense is always dominating the defense or the defense is always dominating the offense, then we’ve got a problem.”