A steamed Todd Monken abruptly cuts practice short after several defenders cross the line; calls everyone in for a strong rebuke

BEREA, Ohio — For the second time in Browns training camp, a steamed coach Todd Monken angrily cut practice short and sent his players off the field. The first time was on Day 11 of camp on Aug. 10, when Monken threw his radio after multiple procedural penalties by the offense and called it a day. On Tuesday — Day 15 of practice — Monken abruptly cut the session about 15 minutes short after several defenders crossed the line. Monken stopped practice, yelled at his players, and called everyone into the huddle for a strong rebuke. There were 11:00 minutes left on the clock when he halted the session. How did Deshaun Watson play vs. the Bears? The reason behind the reason for the Dennis Schröder deal: Terry’s Talkin’ podcastWhere Browns stand entering preseason Week 2: Tuesday’s Sports 4 CLEBrowns 6th-round QB Taylen Green will play in the 3rd preseason game vs. the Patriots; Mike Hall Jr. returns to practice on Day 15: Quick hits It began with defensive end Benton Whitley making contact with Shedeur Sanders’ arm in a move-the-ball period at the end of practice. Quarterbacks are off limits in practice and can’t get touched. Monken promptly kicked Whitley off the field and to the sidelines. In Deshaun Watson’s next turn at an 11-on-11 drill, defensive tackle Adin Huntington knocked Quinshon Judkins hard to the ground on a run to earn his own banishment to the sidelines. On the next play, a Judkins’ run to the left, Jared Verse grabbed Judkins by the shoulder and jarred his Guardian cap loose. Verse had just spoken to the media on Monday about driving his teammates to another level with trash talking, yelling and violence. That last encounter was more than enough for Monken, who also had what Cleveland Browns Daily — the team’s in-house radio show — described as “an animated discussion between coach and his defensive coordinator behind everyone as well.” Some of Monken’s harsh words in the team-wide huddle could be heard by reporters covering the practice, but it’s against the Browns’ media policy to report on things overheard at practice or even to paraphrase them. The first time he truncated practice eight days ago, he apologized to the offense for getting “emotionally hijacked” in the heat of the moment. “I told them that in that moment, what I should have done and what I didn’t do,” he said. “And I’ve said to them and us, we’re human. I got fired up. I was p——. And that was awful. That was s----- football. And that is going to get me fired up. And I have to own some of that.”On Tuesday, Monken was miffed at his players for not taking care of each other during a long, padded practice in high heat and humidity. The tongue-lashing came on the same day that defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. returned to practice for the first time since he was blocked hard to the ground on his back by Judkins in a non-padded practice on Day 4 of camp on Aug. 1. Monken met with Judkins about the blow, and Hall, who played only a snap or two afterwards, disappeared from practice for the next 10 days. His injury has yet to be disclosed, because the Browns don’t have to do so until the regular season. Monken acknowledged that Judkins’ hit on Hall was a mistake.“There’s a certain amount of regret at the moment when it happens,” Monken said. “You’ve got to fight to not get hijacked emotionally in a highly emotional game for all of us, whether it’s in our work or our personal lives.”Judkins said he learned from it.“For me, it was just basically you’ve got to protect the team, got to protect your teammates,” he said. “Even though you’re out there competing, at the end of the day, we’re not against each other. So that’s really the main goal. And that’s what everybody has on this team as far as the vision is to go out there and win each and every football game and making sure your guys are healthy.”On Monday, Verse, who goaded rookie left tackle Spencer Fano into an on-field fight last week, described his philosophy for nastiness during practice. “Fighting is necessary when you get to football,” Verse said Monday. “You have to have that edge. I talk crazy. I’m very disrespectful when it comes to the way I compete, especially when I try to drive my teammates to another level.”He’s tried to instill an edge in his teammates with his on-field demeanor. “When you see the way I’ve attacked the game, I’m very physical, very violent, very loud, very ... expressive is a very good word to use for it,” he said. “You see everybody else’s personality start to match it. With a lot of people, when you’re mixed with a lot of different people, you can’t show your full personality on the field. I have no problem with that. When you see somebody like me go out there yelling and screaming, you have no problem showing your true character and you see everyone’s personality start to flourish on the field.”Verse’s attitude about toughness aligns with that of Rutenberg, who recently described what he wants to see from his players. “Heart, mind, fist, and the ball is oxygen,” Rutenberg said. “Really, it’s our heart, our connection to each other, playing hard for each other and celebrating. And then it’s our mind, being on our jobs and executing. And then it’s the fist, we’re going to choose violence, and we’re all going to finish at the ball.But Monken’s on-field lecture Tuesday probably came at the perfect time. The Bills are coming to town for a joint practice on Thursday, and Monken doesn’t want it ruined by fighting. The events of Tuesday will give him plenty of teaching tools before the two AFC foes square off in two days.