Thanks to my dad, and fortified by tailgate BBQ and beer with the local Browns Backers club, I witnessed the Browns’ preseason debut game in Detroit last night. You can find full recaps elsewhere, but suffice it to say that it always feels better to win, even if the final score isn’t the main point of the game. Here are a few of my scattered observations:

Rookie Travis Benjamin was the standout in the first quarter, when most of the starters played. At this early point, he’s still ahead of Josh Gordon, though both stand to play important roles on a much-improved receiver corps.

Naming Brandon Weeden the starter in advance of this game makes good sense. He faces the preseason opponents’ best defenders, and he gets adjusted to the pro game without the added stress of job insecurity. So there were lessons to learn from last night’s performance. The long pass to Benjamin off his back foot was encouraging. But he’ll need to get better at adjusting to pocket pressure, and at avoiding ball-hawking DBs looking to jump routes.

All four quarterbacks had good moments, though past habits die hard, as McCoy took two sacks and Wallace’s first two passes landed out of bounds. Still, when was the last Browns game that four  quarterbacks each completed passes at least 20 yards downfield? Promising. Thaddeus Lewis seemed fast, and with more efforts like we saw yesterday, the Browns could find an excuse to save a few million bucks.

While I liked the passing scheme and the depth at both receiver and tight end, too many running plays seemed telegraphed. Maybe misdirection and surprise aren’t so important in preseason, but if Cleveland plans to run in obvious ways from obvious sets and simply enforce its will on the likes of Pittsburgh and Baltimore, it just won’t work, even with Trent Richardson at full speed.

As for the run defense, the front seven was too often collapsed, sealed off, or put on the ground, opening up easy cutbacks. DE Emmanuel Stephens was the only edge defender that even approximated effectiveness. Those who diminished the impact of OLB Chris Gocong’s loss ought to be chastened by the 198 yards yielded on the ground at an average of six per crack.

The defensive backfield was the strength of the unit, up and down the depth chart. Without much of a pass rush to help, they kept the Lions under 50% through the air. Speedy Buster Skrine is coming on at cornerback, though I fear he may end up making many a score-saving tackle on breakaway runs. Rookie draftee Trevin Wade also impressed as a developmental CB, far superior to returnee James Dockery, who yielded three completions for first downs.

This may also be unfair criticism for the first exhibition, but the game management strategy on the final drive was displeasingly passive. Down a point for a two-minute drill, two good gainers got the ball to Detroit’s 34. Then the Browns ran for naught, letting the clock tick. An eight-yard gain to Gronkowski got the ball closer, but the Browns again chose to run, netting nothing but a field goal try from the same distance that the kicker had earlier missed from. Fortunately, Jeff Wolfert converted, but I hope to see a more aggressive approach when the real games begin.

Overall, the special teams were a decided strength. Phil Dawson seems dedicated to touchbacks. Benjamin’s speed to the edge showed on a decent kickoff return. Jordan Norwood’s nifty 45-yard punt return helped set up the Browns’ first touchdown. Dawson and Hodges were both very solid. Aside from one blocking penalty and an ill-advised but clean fair catch at the six yard line, Chris Tabor’s unit seems way ahead of its pace of a year ago, even without maxing out Josh Cribbs.

With every exhibition game we see, the NFL is losing its bargaining power with its officials. These replacements are awful, and this game was no exception. I sensed a strong if unintentional home team bias last night. The upheld fumble call on Weeden when his arm was moving forward. A penalty differential of eight to one (the sole call against the Lions being a late hit to the QB in front of the Browns’ bench). Two ridiculously negligent non-calls against molested Browns receivers in the fourth quarter.

The refs (along with the incessant aisle traffic obstructing my view throughout the game) were annoying. The injuries — including another apparent concussion for Massaquoi and a leg injury to CB Dimitri Patterson, a key defender in light of Joe Haden’s possible upcoming suspension — are alarming. But overall, the debut of so many new Browns last night was a useful and positive, if not spectacular, step toward something resembling success.