Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden could hardly believe his eyes. He was glancing at tweets from his team's fans after his performance in the preseason opener in Detroit, which lasted all of 15 plays.

One might have thought the world was coming to an end. But the rookie quarterback didn't take the tweets seriously.

"Sometimes I just laughed out loud," he said. "It's comical. I can't say I'm surprised They're passionate. But you ask anybody in sports, especially at this position, and they'll tell you that you can't grade [someone] on 15 plays. I might be 28, but it's still a big jump from college to the NFL."

Weeden has less distance to travel in making that jump after his performance Thursday night in the 35-10 win at Green Bay. He looked far more comfortable in the pocket, as he hit his receivers in stride and didn't turn the ball over. He was particularly effective passing over the middle. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 118 yards and engineered a touchdown drive late in the first quarter.

"I did a lot better," he said. "I got 40 plays and I was able to get into a rhythm. Everyone was critical of me for 15 plays. You can't get into a rhythm in 15 plays."

The offense could have lost its rhythm after one play. RB Montario Hardesty opened the game by losing a fumble that the Packers turned into a touchdown and 7-0 lead. Weeden took a leadership role in getting the players back on track.

"I told the guys, 'Let's rebound, let's go answer," he said. "Obviously, Montario wanted it back. We had 59 minutes left and we were still excited about what was ahead of us."

Hardesty rebounded to gain 45 yards on 12 carries and score a touchdown, pleasing coach Pat Shurmur.

"He responded well," Shurmur said. "He ran very hard. At times there wasn't much there, but he got his four yards. It was like, 'there's not much here, so I'm going to slice it in there.'"

Enough praise to go around: Shurmur was happy with the performance of the young players on his front seven against the Packers. He cited the efforts of LBs James-Michael Johnson, Craig Robertson and L.J. Fort, as well as DTs John Hughes and Billy Winn.

Robertson and Hughes were particularly impressive in Green Bay. So was rookie CB Trevin Wade until he was carted off. Shurmur said after the game that Wade was just sore. Wade participated in practice on Friday.

Brad on the bubble?: Rookie FB Brad Smelley prefers not to think about his status with the team. He could be battling Owen Marecic for a roster spot unless the Browns keep three tight ends. That might not be likely -- they would be hard-pressed to cut any of the four.

"I don't try to think about that kind of stuff," Smelley said. "I don't want to clutter my mind on that and not focus on playing that day."

Smelley has emerged as a far better pass-catcher out of the backfield than Marecic. But coach Pat Shurmur said the performance of the rookie Thursday night in Green Bay proves he has a long way to go.

"I think he would tell you that he could have played better," Shurmur said.

Feeling a whole lot better: Shurmur didn't get specific when asked about what he was most pleased with in the win over the Packers.

"To travel to a storied football environment and win the game -- I get that it's the preseason -- it's an important thing," he said. "We have a lot of young guys who played fast and played hard and enjoyed the experience." 

Stay dialed in on the Cleveland Browns on Twitter at @CBSSportsNFLCLE throughout the season with on-site updates from CBSSports.com RapidReports correspondent Marty Gitlin.