There is no practice in Berea today.
The complete Browns roster has been in camp for three days, and had two full pads practices, and will enjoy a mandatory day off today. This is not your father’s NFL.
Gone are the ‘dog days’ of August with two-a-days practices. No more three straight weeks of camp with maybe a day off if the team has been working and practicing hard.
Browns’ coach Pat Shurmur said yesterday that the team had an off day, “but not a vacation day.” He reiterated that he expected them to act like professionals; to take care of their bodies and prepare themselves for practice on Wednesday.
That practice will focus on Red Zone offense and defense according to Shurmur. The team installed the information in team meetings and walk-throughs yesterday afternoon. By design, the team will have more meetings and a walk-through on Wednesday morning to “review what was installed” before going full contact at practice (open to the public) tomorrow afternoon.
That type of schedule will be repeated throughout training camp to accommodate the off days. While the Browns would prefer to do their full pads practicing in the morning, they will switch it up and go in the afternoon following an off day.
You have to wonder if the front office and coaching staff don’t have a little bit of fear about these off days.
Sure, there will be a player or two that will likely tweet pictures of themselves at Cedar Point, or off having fun somewhere in the city. And that really doesn’t or shouldn’t bother anyone.
It’s the headlines that the team is hoping to avoid.
Day after day, football fans that use twitter to keep up with the NFL see reports tweeted and re-tweeted about football players getting into trouble. Since the beginning of the year, anywhere from 23-30 players have been arrested, depending on who you get your information from. (Detroit leads the league with 6 arrests. Congratulations on wrestling the title away from the Bengals!)
It isn’t just arrests though. As Cleveland fans, we’ve come to expect the worst when it comes to motorcycles or recreational vehicles as well. You name it and NFL players have found a way to get in trouble because of it.
So enjoy the day off. But please, think before you act.
