Tardy notes

Full disclosure: I was unable to access live coverage of the Browns' 17-15 home exhibition loss to the Washington Commanders last Friday night, delaying the latest rant until now after watching it on tape early Monday morning on NFL Network. Observations on the game.

First glimpse of the starting offense, albeit with just one possession, was an impressive sneak preview of what fans can expect once the 2023 regular season commences at home on Sept. 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Although the 12-play, 67-yard, seven-minute drive begat no points, getting to within a yard of the end zone, it was a product of near flawless football, looking a whole lot different than just about anything we saw last season.

Deshaun Watson looked nothing like thd semi-lost quarterback in the final six games of 2022. He was confident as he ran what, for the most part, was a vanilla scheme that didn't produce a third down until the eighth play. That scheme changes against the Bengals.

Watson dropped back to throw five times, completing the only three passes he threw for just a dozen yards, and scrambled for 17 more yards while escaping the pocket, displaying a keen awareness that appeared to be missing last season.

The drive bogged down on third down at the Washington 1 when head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski went conservative and the Commanders' defensive line beat the Cleveland offensive line off the ball twice and stuffed Demetric Felton Jr. and John Kelly Jr. at the goal line on plays that had no chance to succeed..

The Cleveland defense rescued the offense, putting up a safety two plays later when ZaDarius Smith drew a hold penalty in the end zone. Those were the only Cleveland points in the first 30 minutes.

Stefanski apparently had seen enough by that time and gave his offense the rest of the rainy evening off and let his other three quarterbacks battle to see who Watson's backup is this season. It's going to be either veteran Joshua Dobbs and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The best Kellen Mond can hope for is the practice squad.

Dobbs right now is the leader in the clubhouse by virtue of his seven years in the National Football League. But anyone with 20/20 vision can see DTR is the better quarterback now regardless of experience.

Dobbs' four series in the first half resulted in three punts and an interception. DTR had the huddle for the first two possessions of the second half that yielded a missed 46-yard field by Cade York (more on that later) and the first touchdown of the evening after Washington took a 17-2 lead midway through the third quarter.

Once again, the rookie was poised beyond his years, He threw with confidence, hitting on all but one of his 10 passes for 102 yards, including a beautiful seven-yard scoring strike to David Bell on a quick slant. The coaches had to notice the difference.

It's only a matter of time now before DTR, who runs the RPO as well as Watson, works his way past Dobbs.

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In his first two games as a Brown, even though they don't really count, Austin Watkins Jr. is slowly making it difficult for Stefanski and his offensive crew to determine what the wide receivers room will look like this season.

Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Elijah Moore, rookie Cedric Tillman and Marquise Goodwin (when healthy) are locked in. They're not going anywhere. Bell is on the bubble. A few of the others, except Anthony Schwartz, who will be cut, are practice squad-bound.

That includes Watkins. But how do you ignore his eight receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown in two games. Yes, he's doing all this against second- and third-stringers. But he seems to have the innate ability to make himself available and catches just about everything with his hands.

Add a 6-3, 210-pound frame and you have a player who thus far makes plays. It is hoped Stefanski and his minions on that side of the football like what they see and continue to feed Watkins. 

Also bear in mind the buzz this might be People-Jones' final season in Cleveland. This is going way, way, way out on the limb, but Watkins seems to be the kind of receiver who would fit in well with Watson. I trust my eyes.

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Can't say enough about Jim Schwartz's swarming and very active defense. The starters played the first two series, making life difficult for Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, who fared much better when they became spectators.

Throughout the game, Schwartz mixed up his coverages, every so often allowing members of the secondary to make plays at the line of scrimmage where they helped blunt Washington's run game. Howell later took advantage of a rare zone look from Schwartz, hooking up with Johan Dotson for a 26-yard touchdown on the first of two second-quarter scores. 

On the next Washington possession, old friend Jacoby Brissett, who will probably will be the opening -day starter for the Commanders, engineered an eight-play, 89-yard march, scrambling the final 12 yards untouched when not a single Brown played contain. 

Those kinds of blown assignments were the hallmark of last season's team. Schwartz is the kind of taskmaster, however, who will make certain that doesn't occur this season, if at all. The performance of the starters in this one gives rise to that hope.

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The two rookie offensive linemen from Ohio State played well. Dawand Jones makes reaching his quarterback almost impossible. His impossibly-quick feet is his greatest asset and his 6-8, 375-pound frame creates poor visibility of his quarterback. His only mistake was a false start when he reacted to the movement of a Washington linebacker off the ball.

Luke Wypler began the evening in the second half at left guard next to center Nick Harris, who replaced starter Ethan Pocic and played until the final quarter. Wypler then moved to the pivot to finish out the game. He and Jones played big parts in the Browns' two touchdowns. Guess here is both young men will eventually crack the starting lineup. 

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Finally . . . Stefanski after the game said he isn't worried about York, who has missed field goals from 48 and 46 yards, both wide right. He delivered a typical head coach word salad that never really answered the original question. He knows the importance of a reliable placekicker. He's worried, all right, but doesn't want you -- or York -- to know it. . . . Schwartz (Anthony, that is) is as good as gone. The only way he stays is clearing waivers and joining the practice squad. That won't help. He needs to concentrate on his professional career as a world-class sprinter. . . . Question of the week: Are two interceptions by rookie Ronnie Hickman good enough to wind up in the secondary room this season and make it four Buckeyes on the roster?