The Browns' ability to recover was tested Thursday.
Not only were temperatures once again creeping into the 90s with unforgiving humidity, but they were also tasked to bounce back from their first day off of training camp. Sloppy practices are common after such an occurrence, and it was on Jackson, his staff and the players to avoid that kind of pitfall on the eve of Friday's scrimmage.
The mission was accomplished, but there were some speed bumps along the way, Jackson said.
"They came back, and they came to work," Jackson said. "Not that they didn't, but you like to keep the same momentum that you had for those five days. I think there's a little lull, but I think our guys were able to pick it up again, and finish the practice pretty strong. Again, there's not going to always be the enthusiasm and passion that you like to have all the time, but as long as we work, as long as we keep stacking good days, then good things can happen for our football team."
Here's what else happened.
-- After five practices as the backup to Joe Thomas at left tackle, rookie Spencer Drango moved over to the right side and worked with the first-team offense at right tackle. This is a familiar spot for Drango, who was a left tackle at Baylor but worked behind Alvin Bailey at the position throughout OTAs and minicamp.
Bailey on Thursday was at right guard behind John Greco, who participated in his first practice of training camp.
"I'm going to continue to make moves as we go," Jackson said. "I'm going to put the best five guys out there and continue to mix and match and see how can we become better. If somebody can do something better for our football team and they're deserving, then that's what we'll do. Nothing is kind of etched in stone. We're just going to keep working at this each and every day to get better to have the best football team that we can."
Third-round rookie Shon Coleman continued to work with the second team at right tackle.
-- With Cameron Erving sidelined because of an elbow injury, Garth Gerhart took the first-team repetitions at center. Undrafted free agent Mike Matthews backed him up.
-- Tight end Connor Hamlett had a strong finish to Thursday's practice, catching two touchdowns within a few plays of each other during a red zone drill.
Hamlett joined the Browns practice squad last year and was added to the 90-man roster after the season. He's been active throughout the first week of practice, working often with the first-team offense while Gary Barnidge recovers from offseason sports hernia surgery.
Earlier in the day, as he assessed the young tight ends behind Barnidge, associate head coach - offense Pep Hamilton said Hamlett has made "some amazing catches" during training camp.
"Those guys are working hard and (tight ends) Coach (Greg) Seamon is doing a great job and getting ready for the preseason," Hamilton said.
-- The Browns will open Friday's practice with some special teams work and individual drills before launching into their scrimmage. Jackson didn't set a time for how long it would run, stressing it would be by "feel."
"It's all by how I see our football team competing and what we're doing," Jackson said.
