<
>

Hue Jackson will name his starting quarterback on Wednesday

Editor’s note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

Have you seen enough of the Browns’ quarterback competition?

Hue Jackson has, too.

After Brock Osweiler failed to score in two possessions and DeShone Kizer put up 10 points in four possessions, Jackson all but declared the quarterback competition over.

It is getting in the way of the offense developing as a whole.

“I think I’ve seen enough,” the Browns coach said after a 10-6 preseason victory over the Giants. “I’ve done this long enough in my career to know what it looks like. I think we’re at that point where we can move forward and feel good about it.”

Jackson said he will name his starting quarterback on Wednesday.

Osweiler (6 of 8 for 25 yards, one interception) once again was plagued by penalties. He termed it “improvement” that he was able to produce two first downs in his two possessions. There was another first down on a Giants penalty.

Kizer (8 of 13 for 74 yards, two sacks) played two series against the Giants’ first-team defense, and made a couple first downs in his second one. When the Giants second team came in following a fumble recovery by cornerback Jason McCourty, Kizer completed a 28-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown sneak, and then had a 15-play drive that resulted in a Zane Gonzalez field goal.

Although Osweiler failed to produce a point in six series total in parts of two games, it sounded as if the coach is leaning toward naming him the starter for Saturday’s Game 3 in Tampa, and also for the season opener.

He said Osweiler might be evaluated on “a little different scale.”

“I think you guys all understand and know it is hard when you don’t have an established quarterback,” Jackson said. “That is just part of it. That is what it looks like. Until you start traveling down that road with one guy and you start giving him those reps the way you can do it over and over and over again -- repetition is the mother of learning.

“You just have to keep doing it that way, and eventually, it gets righted. That is why this game coming up is so important. To get to where we need to be before we play Pittsburgh, there needs to be a jump in execution on offense. I get that. You all get that. I know how that works. We are going to get that fixed.”

On his first series, Osweiler faced second-and-17 because of a Kevin Zeitler holding call and then second and 17 because of a Rod Johnson false start. His interception on the next play came on pass deflected at the line of scrimmage.

Kizer’s first series started with a Kenny Britt holding call and ended after three plays. On his second, he was sacked three times (one negated by a defensive penalty), and he ran twice, for gains of 8 and 12 yards.

“He has to learn to get down,” Jackson said. “He has to learn how to slide. I don’t care how big you are. These quarterbacks have only so many hits in their bodies.”

On Kizer’s third series, a screen pass to fullback Dan Vitale netted 16 yards to set up Kizer’s 1-yard sneak over the goal line. Kizer opened the second half for one more series. He had an interception negated by a defensive holding penalty to extend the drive. He missed a possible TD to tight end David Njoku by inches and then positioned the offense for Gonzalez’s 39-yard field goal.

“I have complete trust in the process,” Kizer said of the impending quarterback decision.

Keeping the Giants out of the end zone was the highlight of the night for the Browns.

Defensively, Joe Schobert and Myles Garrett had sacks, and Briean Boddy-Calhoun has an interception. Boddy-Calhoun also knocked Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. out of the game with a low hit after a catch. It looked like Beckham’s knee was injured, but the Giants said he suffered a sprained ankle.

Boddy-Calhoun received some glares from Beckham after the play, but he was exonerated by Giants coach Ben McAdoo.

“It’s football,” McAdoo said. “You can’t hit a guy high. You can’t hit a guy low. You try to hit him in the middle. It was one of those balls where Eli [Manning] had to drive it and he left his feet. It’s a tough play for a DB.”

The play of his quarterbacks notwithstanding, Jackson declared the night a success for his team after its second straight preseason win.

“I am watching a team that is growing and getting better in some areas,” he said. “We are seeing some pieces of our team start to really make a jump.”