The Browns aren’t having Camp Cupcake.
Freddie Kitchens has had his team in pads 11 times in 14 practices, including the Orange and Brown scrimmage.
“This has been a pretty tough camp for these guys,’’ Kitchens said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I think it’s been kind of a culture shock, but I think they’ve embraced it. We have a lot of guys that are willing to pay the price. We understand that now. A lot of guys have bought in to what we are trying to do.’’
The Browns practiced the day after the preseason game. They will continue to practice in pads until the rules say they can’t.
It’s all in the name of building toughness.
“Oh, definitely,’’ Kitchens said. “I said that at the very beginning. They’ve embraced the challenge of keeping the tempo up on a regular basis. At the end of the day, when you get into the season, you’re allowed one day a week with pads on. This is the time that you have to build some of that toughness. This is a tough game played by tough people. Sometimes you have to look inside yourself and make sure that you are tough. Sometimes you have to demonstrate that to realize that you are. I think that they have embraced all that.”
Kitchens called it a “no-brainer” to practice in pads as much as possible because “the game is played in pads.”
As for complaints from the team’s leadership council, Kitchens said he doesn’t have one.
“I have me, and that’s it,” Kitchens said. “I don’t get into that stuff either. That’s all a façade for excuses to blame other people. I will take the blame.”