Browns Must Solve Talented Jets Defensive Front

The New York Jets defensive front was impressive in their debut against the Baltimore Ravens, especially in stopping the run. If the Cleveland Browns are going to defeat the Jets, they will need to find ways to create running lanes or it could be a long day on offense.

Pete Smith | Sep 15, 2022

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Cleveland Browns

If the Cleveland Browns are going to get to 2-0, they must find a way to solve the New York Jets defense led by an impressive defensive front. Their defense was able to hold the vaunted rushing attack of the Baltimore Ravens to just 60 yards in the opener. The Browns ran for 219 yards against the Carolina Panthers in the opener and needed every one of them to win the game, so if they can't solve the Jets run defense, it could be a struggle to function offensively.

The Jets defensive line is anchored by Quinnen Williams. Not yet 25 years old, he's one of the best defensive tackles in the league and terrorized Ravens rookie center Tyler Linderbaum in the opener. For the Browns and backup center Ethan Pocic, that's problematic.

Pocic isn't all that powerful and occasionally found himself driven back off the ball against the Carolina Panthers. At least part of the reason that Jacoby Brissett threw such a duck on the rollout where he going back across the field to Amari Cooper was because Pocic was driven back into Brissett.

The Browns are going to utilize their guards to double Williams and try to take pressure off of Pocic as often as possible, but particularly in pass protection, he could get exposed and victimized.

Carl Lawson, the former Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher, will likely spend most of his time against Jedrick Wills. If Lawson studies the Panthers tape, he's going to see where their speedy pass rusher Brian Burns found success, an ongoing issue for Wills.

Burns did not have a great game and was kept off the stat sheet by Wills in terms of sacks and was unable to generate a ton of pressure, but he was able to cause some problems in the running game.

Far too many people have foolishly written off Wills at left tackle. He is exceptionally talented and when he's right, he can be impactful, especially in the running game. His pass protection is sound for the most part.

The problem Wills continues to battle is oversetting to his outside, leaving the inside gap vulnerable. When Wills was battling a bad ankle all year, this was understandable. Being worried that he didn't have the strength of quickness in his legs to get outside, he would have to overcompensate to make sure opponents didn't run around him.

Now, healthy, he needs to trust that he doesn't need to kick so hard to cover the outside to the detriment of his inside gap. As a run blocker, Wills will occasionally take poor angles that put him at an immediate disadvantage hitting a moving target. Burns found success going inside and blowing up some running plays. Lawson may not be quite as fast as Burns, but he's quick and has a little more size at 6'2" 265.

John Franklin-Myers poses a threat that the Browns didn't have to deal with last week. He's a 6'4" 288 pound base end that will kick inside on passing downs. He has the same role as Jadeveon Clowney but with an extra 25 pounds on him. In many ways, Franklin is a model for what the Browns hope Alex Wright can become. Regardless of whether James Hudson III or Jack Conklin is out there for this game, that will be challenging to deal with when trying to run the ball to that side.

Not unlike with what the Browns are trying to do with Clowney, Wright and Myles Garrett, Frankliin is powerful enough to collapse the pocket while being difficult to reach. If the Browns run zone to that side and he works up field, the tackle is going to be tasked with trying to drive him to the sideline. Easier said than done with someone of that size. They may try to run counter and trap to have a guard kick him out.

On passing downs, Franklin-Myers will line up next to Williams. Both of them can get after the quarterback, which could be difficult for the three on the interior, especially if the Jets also send additional pressure.

Sheldon Rankins is their base three-tech as the Jets are attempting to get the most out of Rankins after his tenure with the New Orleans Saint.. Rankins was the 12th pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, but dealt with injuries including a torn Achilles' suffered in the 2018 playoffs. He's still trying to find the form he had in 2018 where he generated eight sacks, but it may not be possible.

That doesn't mean the Browns are going to get a free lunch, but it does present an opportunity since they have All-Pro guards. If they can create space in the running game through Rankins, it may force the Jets to provide him with help, possibly creating opportunities in the play-action passing game.

If the Jets want more help to stop the run, they can bring in Michael Clemons, a 270 pound edge defender. When the Jets have their pass rushers on the field, they sub out Rankins for Jacob Martin or first round pick Jermaine Johnson. Both are lighter, quicker rushers trying to create problems with speed and agility. The Jets want Johnson to take over this role as quickly as he's able.

The Jets will also rotate Solomon Thomas and Stephen Shepherd on the interior. Thomas, the first top three pick, can still cause his share of problems and has become a sought after rotational piece. Shepherd is a backup nose with good size at 318 pounds, but he's a better pass rusher than run defender.

The Jets regularly rotated their defensive line against the Ravens. Quinnen Williams only played 36 snaps in the game. It will be a welcome sight when he's off the field and the Browns must take advantage. Unfortunately, that means the reps Williams is on the field are full speed. The Jets may be 0-1 but they have to feel good about their defensive performance that they were able to rotate a total of nine defensive linemen that all played at least 19 snaps a game when the defense played a total of 56 snaps.

By contrast, the Browns faced 53 defensive snaps in week one and their starters all played at least 41 snaps with Myles Garrett leading the way with 45. The second teamer with the most reps was rookie Alex Wright with 17 while Tommy Togiai had eight, Isaac Rochell had six and rookie Perrion Winfrey had five.

The Jets are confident in their front and based on the game against the Ravens, they should be. If the Browns can find ways to create running lanes against this talented outfit, they will have the capability to overwhelm the Jets and potentially control the game. If not, then the Browns are likely going to be relying on Jacoby Brissett to make plays in the passing game to win the game. Hardly ideal, that's exactly what the Jets will be trying to force the Browns to do.

Published Sep 15, 2022

PETE SMITH