Browns vs Vikings could be greatly impacted by travel and schedule plans
The Cleveland Browns face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5 from London, England. Not only did the team not request a bye week following the trip, but they also decided to practice in Berea, Ohio, on Wednesday afternoon, then get on a flight to London. The team landed early Thursday morning at Heathrow Airport before being bused about an hour and a half to their hotel outside of the city.
Thursday’s injury report will be based on estimates, as the team got some stretching and a walkthrough in a quiet, remote facility on the outskirts of London. The location should help keep distractions to a minimum on this quick trip.
Team staff, coaches and players were obviously feeling the impact of the travel:
In an interesting note, special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone noted the difference between how Cleveland has handled the travel schedule versus when he was a player:
After speaking to the media, S Grant Delpit noted that he was excited to get some sleep and planned to wear his sunglasses to the interview to hide how tired he was, but forgot to grab them.
With the Vikings scheduled for back-to-back games overseas, the Browns are behind the eight ball to get ready for Saturday. Not only does the team have practice tomorrow, but players are expected to be a part of a flag football event after practice.
As Ventrone notes in the video above, we will see if the schedule is a problem or not on Sunday. For now, it is a concern how big an acclimation time difference the two teams have. I will attempt to get a comment from HC Kevin Stefanski when he speaks to the local media onsite in London on Friday.
Category: General Sports
