Live reaction and analysis as the NFL preseason slate begins in Canton, Ohio.
(Top photo by Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
Hall of Fame Game kickoff time, channel and game details
Jets optimism and concern: 10 talking points ahead of Hall of Fame Game
The New York Jets are through two weeks of training camp.
It has been an eventful two weeks, to say the least. But Thursday night, they’ll play in the Hall of Fame Game against the Cleveland Browns, the first time this season these players have gone against someone other than their own teammates.
Not many of the Jets’ most important players will actually play — namely, Aaron Rodgers will sit out — but some younger players with something to prove, like Zach Wilson and Mekhi Becton, will get in the game.
Before the first of four preseason games, this felt like a good place to reflect on what has happened in camp and look forward to what’s coming.
So, here are six reasons for optimism and four for concern.
Can the Browns make winning their new normal? There’s only one way to find out
While listening to Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam speak during their annual training camp state of the state address, I knew they’d continue to field questions about expectations, about Deshaun Watson and about the high stakes involved with the season ahead.
I knew that the Haslams would speak highly of Watson, express confidence in the people who head the Browns’ football operation and embrace any talk of high expectations without going into much specific detail. There’s a playbook here, and following it this year was nearly as simple as actually giving Nick Chubb the ball inside the 5-yard line.
After about 20 minutes, we got the answers we mostly expected. There were even a few chuckles. As the Haslams wandered back toward the Greenbrier Sports Performance Center and the rest of us headed for our laptops to dive further into their words, I was hit with a thought that I really haven’t spent much time pondering during my two-plus decades of covering the Browns and spending the early part of training camp wondering what twists, turns and five-alarm fires might be ahead.
What if the Browns have something resembling a normal season?
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Can the Browns make winning their new normal? There’s only one way to find out
