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Terrelle Pryor: Cleveland Browns offense "could get ugly" with Josh Gordon

By Alex Butler

MIAMI, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Sometimes hideous is harmonious in its bewilderingly beautiful brilliance.

Some say that about the Cleveland Browns offense.

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In fact, that's what wide receiver Terrelle Pryor meant Sunday after the Browns lost to the Miami Dolphins when he said the team's offense will "get ugly" when Josh Gordon returns.

"This thing could get ugly," Pryor said. "It's ugly right now. We have great running backs: Duke Johnson, [Isaiah] Crowell, myself. Josh is coming back, myself...we've got Corey Coleman, Andrew Hawkins. We have the young rookies: Ricardo [Louis] and Higgy [Rashard Higgins], Joe Thomas, best tackle on left side in the league. Guys that are fighting all day on the offensive line and the defense. We just got to put it together and play hard. I'm going to make sure to the best of my ability. Guys will listen to me and I'm just going to keep on trying to be somewhat of a leader in a way. I like to lead by example. I'm going to try to go out and make plays and practice hard, let guys see me doing that. It starts with myself. I've gotta be better every play."

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Gordon didn't play Sunday, or the two Sunday's before that, and he won't play next Sunday. But he is on track for a Week 5 return against the New England Patriots. That game will also be Tom Brady's return from DeflateGate.

Pryor did almost everything Sunday. He was a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and even a safety. He completed 3-of-5 passes for 35 yards, while running four times for 21 yards and a touchdown, and caught eight passes for 144 yards.

After watching Pryor's performance, the All-Pro tackle Thomas said Gordon is "dying" to come back.

"As far as build goes, they are both extremely fast, big physical guys," Thomas said. "You put two of those guys on the field, and you put a Corey Coleman out there. I don't know how defenses would expect to be able to cover those guys. If you play man-to-man on Terrelle and Josh, you can just throw the ball up in the air and they will go and catch it and contest anything for a defensive back. If you try to double them and there is nobody outside the box, Isaiah is running really well."

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"[Gordon] is a football player, so he's dying to be out here," Thomas said. "He understands that he's gotta bide his time. One more week and we'll have him back. We know he's been around the facility working hard so he'll be able to step in right away and do good things."

Gordon hasn't taken an official NFL snap since December 2014. He hasn't played a full season since 2012. But for fantasy football team owners and the Cleveland Browns alike, his return can't come soon enough.

The Browns just don't have enough weapons without 'Flash.' Although Pryor's role prior to Sunday was a bit unexpected by the Dolphins, I don't see his presence disturbing higher-level defensive units. But when Gordon returns for the home contest against the Patriots, there might not be a defense in the league that could handle Pryor's speed outside of the pocket and Gordon running free routes outside. On Sunday, the Dolphins were able to play man defense at several spots against the Browns' watered-down pass-catching unit. That won't be an option in the future.

"We have a lot of great players and great athletes on this offense and defense," said quarterback Cody Kessler. "For us, offensively it's stuff that we can control. What we can control is how we prepare and how we go out and execute the plays that are called, no matter who is in there. Even with me, the guys believed in me all week and stuck with me and kept looking to me. It was great to have that support from your teammates and it makes you have a lot of confidence going into the game. We obviously came up a little short, but the effort was there and the guys really rallied around each other and kept working."

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Kessler completed 21-of-33 passes for 244 yards against the Dolphins. He didn't throw a touchdown or an interception. He is likely to earn another start next week, in place of the injured Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown.

The Browns battle the Washington Redskins at 1 p.m. Oct. 2 at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.

Gordon will still be couch-bound, along with his 17.1 career yards per reception. Gordon has also scored touchdowns in nearly half of his 32 career contests. His production is surely missed on a team averaging the fifth-fewest points per game in the NFL.

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