Norv Turner is liking what he seeing in the Cleveland Browns. The offensive coordinator came over after being fired by the San Diego Chargers and so far, he is impressed with his new team. Many have wondered what the true identity of the Browns is. A lot of pressure is being placed on second-year players like Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson to bring the team some success. As training camp wraps up, Turner is happy with the progress.
Despite head coach Rob Chudzinski continuing to stress a competition at the quarterback position, Weeden has taken every single first-team snap over backup Jason Campbell. It is nice that Chudzinski is trying to push the competition aspect on Weeden, but it is pretty clear the second-year quarterback is the go-to guy once the season begins. The Browns brought in quarterback guru Turner to help steer the offense into a more productive direction and Weeden is thriving under him.
It has always been known that Weeden had a strong arm, but that has only been spotlighted more in Turner's presence. The coordinator also worked on Weeden's footwork and accuracy in training camp, no longer seeing any negatives while watching the quarterback work.
"I'm excited about what Brandon's been able to do," Turner said at a Sunday press conference. "The thing that we've spent a lot of time working on is trying to find out the things that he does best, and combine them with the things our players do best. And a lot of the things that we do on the practice field, it's not experimental, but there's a process you go through to get everyone on the same page. Hopefully when we get everyone in the games, we feature all the things that our guys do best.
Weeden has gone 18-of-25 for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the preseason. The key stat is zero interceptions thrown. Along with Weeden's climb the preseason, wide receiver Josh Gordon is also turning into a productive player.
Last season, the Browns ranked 24th in points scored, something the team is really hoping improves this upcoming season. As training camp ends, Little could be a key to that progress. After a few eye-popping catches in the preseason, Turner has nothing but positive things to say about the young receiver.
"The thing that you love about Greg is there's no one out here that works harder or practices harder," Turner said.
Meanwhile, Richardson is just plugging along. The running back had 33 yards on six carries against the Detroit Lions. Turner is increasing the running back's role on the offense, but will remain careful to not overload him in order to protect Richardson's health.
The Browns are hoping to climb out of the depths of the NFL rankings and finally be a team to contend with in the 2013 season. Richardson is already picking up where he left off, so it is up to Weeden and the young receivers to carry the rest of the offense. Turner can make it happen.
