CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans! It's sorta-kinda-almost a Cleveland Browns game day!
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
Thursday was a relatively uneventful day here at OBR World Headquarters. The team didn't practice, there was no major news, Shedeur Sanders advocates didn't come up with any new conspiracy theories, and I didn't even have any moments of clarity due to watching old people make music.
Instead, I made futile attempts to finally get my act together and organized, a process which is ongoing after 40 years of effort, posted a video which was something about Ratbirds, and generally carried on like a guy trying to run a small media empire which mostly consists of a website, a video repository, and a bunch of insane people who are, for some reason, still following the antics of the Cleveland Browns.
So, instead of dwelling on the recent past, today's bloviation is focused on the FUTURE.
Namely, the immediate future.
Namely, tonight's mostly-meaningless pre-season "game" between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers, during which we hope to get a sense of potential breakout players and hope that no one gets hurt.
I'm going to start a thread for our VIPs on the Insider Discussion board where I'll gather as many OBR team members to join in and offer their two cents, an activity akin to herding particularly erudite cats. In fact, here is the thread right here.
For those of you who decidedly *don't *want to watch a game with a webdork prone to vapid emotional swings during the game and providing links to things, I'm sure there will be a Watercooler thread as well.
For those who don't desire the best "second-screen experience" available to Browns fans, you can find the game on NFL Network nationally or on one of the local stations here in Cleveland, if your video provider does not offer NFL Network.
Of course, most eyes watching the game will be focused on one quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, who is getting the start and will likely play a lot of time. The remainder will be played by Tyler "Snoop" Huntley, the recently reacquired and well-traveled quarterback who has had an entire 72 hours to prepare for becoming a field general this evening. It just goes to show you how focused Kevin Stefanski is on attaining a victory tonight, a desire so intense he's putting quarterback Joe Flacco in bubble wrap and not risking further injury to Dillon Gabriel or Kenny Pickett.
Regardless of the team's approach to this "game", which is akin to a televised scrimmage, there will be some things of interest for Browns fans to keep an eye on today.
One thing I'll be interested to see is how the offensive line (minus several bubble-wrapped starters) is adapting to the return of the wide-zone scheme and whether Sanders' tendency to drift in the pocket is something they're able to play around.
Harold Fannin
Browns rookie TE Harold Fannin (Photo: Getty)
Several players are exciting to me to watch aside from Sanders. This will be our first real glimpse of Harold Fannin, who is drawing practice during training camp, and I'm hoping to see an impressive performance from WR Jamari Thrash, who will get playing time in the absence of Jerry Jeudy and Ced Tillman. This is our first chance to really see what Luke Floriea and Gage Lavardain are up to, since both have been on the receiving end of passes from Sanders extensively in camp.
Depth on the offensive line is another issue worth being concerned about, and the Browns seem to be counting on Lorenzo Thompson to play a role across the line. He'll be one to keep an eye on tonight. In addition, the Browns' second safety position beyond Grant Delpit needs definition, so I'll be watching Ronnie Hickman and Chris Edmonds tonight.
I'm also very intrigued by what's happening with edge rushers not named Myles Garrett. There's a competition going on for the spot opposite the league's best pass rusher, with Isaiah McGuire, Alex Wright, and Cameron Thomas all names to watch there.
All in all, there's enough going on to attract the attention of Browns fans beyond the Shedeur-curious, and I hope you join me in the VIP game thread tonight so we can watch it together.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS! Newswire Bloviation Archive
OBR STUFF
VIDEOS
Browns 3D-SHEDEUR SANDERS and the Cleveland Browns DON'T CARE what the National media thinks - (youtube.com)
Browns Preseason Madness, Conspiracy Nonsense, Shedeur's Opportunity, Depth Chart and more - (youtube.com)
ARTICLES
4 Cleveland Browns with Something to Prove in Friday's Preseason Opener vs Carolina - Jacob
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 8/7: The Lucky Ones - Barry
OBR Daily News Ticker 8/7 - Barry
Why The Third Cleveland Browns Tight End Will Show Us Harold Fannin's Role - Jack
Deshaun Watson Cleveland Browns Insurance Explained - Jack
FORUM POSTS
Preseason Game 1 Keys to look for? (VIP)
Judkins - Legal stuff (VIP)
Dawand Jones (VIP)
Anyone going to game Friday?
LiveWire Thread for 87 - Twitter, Video, Articles
Judkins Update
Snow Globe game
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Intuition and a Devoted Dog Guided a Man to An Unconscious Couple Whose Lives He Saved - (goodnewsnetwork.org)
A positive story from Pittsburgh, of all places, a mountainous hellscape where bad things typically happen, at least from the perspective of Browns fans, and their best edge rusher lines up over the right tackle to pad stats. It's a sort of weird parallel Cleveland, where people willingly wave urine-colored hankies and put fries on salads.
Nonetheless, a local and a dog teamed up recently to rescue an unconscious couple because the dog was able to get the local's attention by barking and leading the Pittsburgher to a spot where he saw the couple. Oddly for that area of the country, he (the guy, not the dog) had access to a working phone, which he used to dial 911.
All of this is to praise the dog, since I write about dogs here frequently, and I can pretty much guarantee that the dog was the brains of the whole operation. We don't deserve dogs, and Steelers fans especially don't deserve them. But that's a good dog, regardless of location.
WRAPPING UP
When not remembering how horrific Pittsburgh is, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter@barrymcbride or write him atbarry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
CONTACT Barry to sponsor the OBR. We have plans for nearly any budget!
OBR Across the Internet
OBR on BlueSky
OBR on Twitter
OBR on Threads
OBR on LinkedIN
OBR on Youtube
OBR on Twitch
Handy Links:
Sign up for our newsletter
Sign up for breaking news text alerts
OBR Unpublished RSS Feed
If you have made it this far, you must subscribe to the OBR. Them's the rules.