Browns quick hits: Amari Cooper looking to 'touch the ball early' in pass game

BEREA − It's not about how you start, but how you finish. That's not just a way to judge the Browns season to date, but also receiver Amari Cooper's production during individual games.

When Cooper has gotten involved in the pass game early on, it has generally resulted in big games out of the four-time Pro Bowler. However, in games such as the opener at Carolina and last Sunday at Atlanta, it's taken awhile, if at all, for him to get even a target, let alone a catch.

Those two games, not surprisingly, have been his worst two games since arriving in Cleveland.

“As a receiver, you want to touch the ball early," Cooper said Thursday as the Browns prepare to host to the Los Angeles Chargers. "That kind of gets guys going at any skill position. It is very important, but at the end of the day, my job is more than just catching the ball. Whatever they ask me to do as far as blocking in the run game or getting other guys open. I have a huge responsibility. Whatever they ask me to do, I am going to do it.”

The first time Cooper was targeted against the Falcons was on the second play of the second quarter. It ended up as a 9-yard reception.

The Falcons played primarily a zone coverage against the Browns, in large part to try to take away Cooper. It worked, as he was only targeted three times and ended up with just that one reception.

“Every team is structured different," Cooper said. "We have some really great running backs on our team. Anytime you are playing against a team that plays a lot of zone, especially two-high zone, it behooves you to run the ball a lot and try to exploit that. At the end of the day, they did some really good things on both sides of the ball, offense and defense. They just played better. It had nothing to do with whether or not I was getting targets. There is more than one way to win a football game. At the end of the day, they just outplayed us and won the game. If we had won that game with me getting four targets or however many targets, we would not be even talking about targets.”

In the opener, Cooper was targeted six times, which was the second-highest total on the team. However, he only had three catches for 17 yards, as well as drawing a pass interference penalty in the end zone to set up a touchdown.

Conversely, Cooper had 21 combined targets against the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, which resulted a combined 16 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

"Some games you might not have any catches," Cooper said. "Some games you might have 10 catches. It's just the ebb and flow of the game. Obviously from my perspective I just want to help the team win in whatever way. But the ball don't always come your way. Sometimes the games go by really fast. Sometimes they go by really slow. It just all really depends on how the flow of the game is going. Obviously, the coaches know the personnel we have, the pass catchers, guys who can carry and run the ball. I think they're going to always put us in the best position to win or at least try."

Joel Bitonio, David Njoku, Harrison Bryant back at Browns practice

Three players who missed Wednesday's practice due to injury issues − left guard Joel Bitonio (biceps/rest), as well as tight ends David Njoku (knee/rest) and Harrison Bryant (illness) − were back on the field Thursday. So, too, was Cooper, who has regularly had Wednesdays off as rest days.

Bitonio has been battling a bicep injury since the Sept. 18 game against the Jets. However, the All-Pro guard isn't too concerned about any long-term issues.

“It’s getting better," Bitonio said Thursday. "It’s just a little maintenance thing that we have to deal with but it’s getting better.”

Right tackle Jack Conklin missed Thursday's practice as a rest day. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney remained out with his ankle injury.

Defensive tackles Taven Bryan (hamstring) and Jordan Elliott (knee), defensive end Myles Garrett (shoulder, biceps), linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (groin) and cornerback Denzel Ward (back, ribs) were all limited in practice for the second day in a row.

Keenan Allen again doesn't practice for Los Angeles Chargers

Receiver Keenan Allen once again didn't practice for the Chargers on Thursday as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. Allen has been out since after the season opener.

Kicker Dustin Hopkins (right quad), receiver Josh Palmer (ankle) and tight end Gerald Everett (hamstring) were limited on Thursday. Quarterback Justin Herbert (ribs), running back Zander Horvath (quad), nose tackle Austin Johnson (shoulder), tight ends Tre' McKitty (quad) and Donald Parham, Jr., (hamstring) and linebacker Kyle Van Noy (back) were full participants.

Browns 'live and die by the analytics' with fourth-down decisions

The Browns' offensive philosophy since Kevin Stefanski was named head coach in 2020 has been to be aggressive on fourth down. The previous two seasons, they were a combined 20-of-53 on fourth down, a 37.7 conversion percentage.

They've actually exceeded that significantly this season, converting 6-of-9 (67%) so far through four games. However, that philosophy came under attack a bit following a decision to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the Atlanta 4 on the opening drive last Sunday instead of kicking the chip-shot field goal.

The Browns' counter to that complaint? It's basically, we're going to be who we're going to be.

“I think we live and die by the analytics and whatever gives us the best chance to win that game in that situation," offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. "I think we are always going to be aggressive. That is just our style. They say it is green and it is green, we are going.”

Los Angeles Chargers start meat of Browns' schedule

The first four games of the Browns' season were seen as a chance to get off to a fast start. Instead, two disappointing fourth-quarter showings against the Jets and Falcons have them sitting at 2-2 as the strength of schedule is about to pick up.

According to Pro Football Focus' power rankings, the Browns' remaining 13 games are the third-toughest finishing stretch in the league. Only their AFC North rivals, the Steelers (first) and Bengals (second), are tougher according to PFF.

That stretch begins with Sunday's home game against the Chargers. It also includes, in the next two months, home games against the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and road games at the Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills.

"We’re kind of at .500 right now, a real turning point in the season because the farther you get a long the less games there are to play and you can’t afford to throw ones away," Bitonio said. "But we don’t really look at it in a ‘Oh we got the next nine games’ because it’s such a week-by-week league where you don’t know if you’re going to be playing next week if someone gets hurt or someone’s banged up or things happen so we’re really focused on the Chargers and what they’re going to bring to us but we know we have tough teams on our schedule and we know we have big games that we’re going to have to win down the stretch. But right now it’s really just week-by-week and it really is a week-by-week league so we’ll see after this game who we got next.”

Tommy Togiai relishes first start, even in loss

Ohio State product Tommy Togiai made his first career start on Sunday in Atlanta at defensive tackle due to the injuries along the defensive line. Togiai played a career-high 37 defensive snaps, which was equal to the combined totals he had the previous two weeks against the Jets (26) and Steelers (11).

A 2021 fourth-round pick, Togiai had played numerous times before but admitted the fact he was in the starting lineup was a different feeling.

"It was like, I even told my family, 'I'm going to be starting this week,'" Togiai told the Beacon Journal on Thursday. "So even in my mind, it's like, 'Oh, I'm starting this week.' It's different than just being in the rotation and stuff. I took a little bit more. I'm starting to take a lot more reps, too, that game, so I put a little bit more on my plate. I was ready for the moment and just did my job and what I could do for the team."

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Amari Cooper looking for early touches in Cleveland Browns pass game