Although the Browns’ Sept. 9 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles is three months away, the 28-year-old Weeden feels every day is a chance for him to progress within the Browns’ offense.
“I’ve come a long way from day one, even at rookie minicamp, and just getting adjusted to what we do offensively,” he said. “I’m starting to get comfortable, get acclimated with what we’re doing and I feel really comfortable, a lot more comfortable than the first day I stepped on this field. I think that comes with reps; the more reps I get, the better off I’ll be.”
The Browns’ veterans will be done with their offseason workouts when the team concludes Friday’s 10th and final organized team activities session at the Berea training facility. However, the rookies will be in Berea for two more weeks before going through a Rookie Symposium at the end of June.
Since starting OTAs and going through the team’s three-day mandatory minicamp, Weeden has rotated repetitions on the first team with several experienced veterans. With the first-team reps in practice, Weeden has shown an ability to run the West Coast offense.
“I’m not surprised,” Browns coach Pat Shurmur said. “I see the process each day of learning and I feel good about his ability to learn it and come out here and execute it. I still see some mistakes that you see from a first-year guy out here, but it’s very rare you see mistakes repeated. I think that’s the beauty of practice, so when you look out there and say, ‘Quarterback A missed this throw or that throw,’ when he had it again in practice, it may not be obvious because he completed it, but there was some learning. I feel good about what he’s accomplished to this point, just like the other quarterbacks.”
Weeden has enjoyed the minicamp practices and OTAs without pads because, in his opinion, it allowed for teaching and learning before the team reports for the start of training camp at the end of July. He says the practices allow for the fixing of throwing mechanics and timing with the wide receivers.
“There are a few throws where maybe your feet aren’t completely set and you make a bad throw,” Weeden said. “Unfortunately, it happens. You try to minimize those, but there are days where you don’t feel the ball’s coming out of your hand like it does other days. We all have that. When you’re throwing those routes and it’s not feeling it that day, you’ve got to stay dialed in and really stay focused.
“I think that starts with the feet. I always work from the ground, up. If your feet are in-line, if your feet are underneath you, at this level, you should be able to complete 100 percent of your balls. There’s timing there and it’s getting comfortable.”
