Monday, Aug. 17 (AM) – The best thing the Browns could be doing at this point of training camp is exactly what they’re going to be doing today and tomorrow, and that is to practice against another team. They will work against Buffalo at the Bills’ camp site at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. How important is this? Very much so. The fact they haven’t practiced against anybody other than themselves in nearly a decade is part of the reason why the Browns have struggled so much during that time. I really, truly believe that. In fact, I think it’s kind of obvious when you get right down to it. The Browns have been in a rut in that span. They have been running in quicksand. They work against the same players at the same place day after day after day. As such, they’ve not been getting better. Rather, they’ve been staying the same, and if you’re staying the same, you’re actually getting worse. After a while, each offensive player has a full scouting report against each of the defensive players he’s facing. And likewise, each defensive player has a full scouting report against each of the offensive players he’s facing. There are no surprises – none at all — for once you’ve countered every move you’re facing from your opposition, there is nothing more you can do. There is no room for growth – no possibility of growth. The Browns desperately needed to get out of their training facility in Berea, which is a terrible place to hold camp, and get out on the road and see a whole team of new faces. That’s the only way you’re going to get better, to get your nose bloodied, so to speak, and then learn how to overcome it. The fact they’re going against the Bills is even better since their new head coach is Rex Ryan, whose resume says he builds toughness and physicality wherever he goes. The Browns certainly need to face that kind of foe. Their inability to run the ball is superceded only by their inability to stop the run. That was evident yet again in their 20-17 loss to the Washington Redskins last Thursday night in the preseason opener. The Browns finished dead-last in the NFL against the run last season, and, judging by the way the Redskins manhandled them en route to amassing 153 yards rushing, they’re going to seriously challenge for that dishonor again. When you can’t stop the run, and also can’t run the ball, it’s a recipe for disaster. You have virtually no chance to win, especially in the AFC North, a division that, because of the climate, dictates that a team must – must — be good in the running game on both sides of the ball. We’ve already discussed au nauseum the Browns’ problems in moving the ball on the ground. It serves no purpose to do it again and beat a dead horse. But the running defense woes are even more troubling because the Browns have a defensive-minded head coach in Mike Pettine. His hand-picked defensive coordinator is, for the second straight season, Jim O’Neil. If this run defense doesn’t get better – much better, and soon – then it will be time to begin asking some very serious, very pointed and very important questions of both of those men. In the work against the Bills, and then in the preseason game against them on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Browns have to take major strides in defending against the run. So, whether they like it or not or whether they are willing to admit or not, it’s a big week for Pettine and O’Neil. At least the Browns are taking some positive steps in their practice habits, and that’s a good thing – though long, long overdue. With that, then, let’s hope this habit of practicing against another team – especially on the road — becomes a staple for the Browns in future training camps.