The Fundamental Failing of the Browns Defense
The most damning statement that can be made about the Cleveland Browns defense this season is they are unable to stop offenses that can both run and pass. Their success is predicated on the opposing offense becoming one-dimensional either by choice or the Browns having enough success early to force the change.
The Browns defensive tackle position is the worst in the league and somehow has managed to be worse than last year when it seemingly had nowhere to go but up. Still, when the Browns can focus entirely on stopping the run, they can play gap sound defense and make stops. They are better equipped to defend the pass, so it's not too surprising that they could have success when they know it's coming.
The problem occurs when opponents are able to consistently be a viable threat to both run and pass the ball. This happens primarily due to how ineffective the Browns have been at the line of scrimmage with those defensive tackles, ceding the line of scrimmage to the opponent on a weekly basis. The Browns defense is often trying too use their defensive ends to play contain in an effort to funnel plays inside. It makes opponents more predictable, but it's just as foreseeable that the Browns are going to get gashed when they are forced to stay back out of respect for the opposing passing game.
If the defensive tackles get blown off the ball or take themselves out of plays by charging up field for example, the opponent then has blockers available to get to the second level to cut off and overwhelm the linebackers. Whatever criticism is warranted for that position group, they are constantly at a massive disadvantage getting swallowed up by blockers.
Do they need to do a better job of avoiding and shedding blocks? Sure. But even if they do that half the time, the other half is still allowing seams to be exploited. That puts additional stress on a secondary that is trying to focus on the opposing passing game and asking them to not just support in run defense, but be the focal point.
To his credit, safety Grant Delpit did a nice job of that against the Dolphins, but some of those tackles were made five yards down the field, which would be okay in isolated situations but when that is the norm, it's indicative of losing football.
The grim reality is the Browns simply cannot overcome the defensive tackle issues they have. If they squeeze down the ends and try to clog up the middle, opponents will attack the perimeter more frequently and force the linebackers to cover more ground. That just creates a different set of problems. They could go to a five front, but that requires taking a better player off the field at another position for an inferior option up front.
It's a problem that was evident heading into the season and simply has not improved the way the team might have hoped. They can't truly address it until the offseason and it will become the top priority of their offseason, likely determining just how far this team can go in 2023.
That is also contributing to some of the tackling issues the Browns have experienced. Technique is paramount, but angles and numbers are critical components as well. Against the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns were able to play down hill and rally to the ball. They were also able to make some key tackles in space, but even in those situations, they were often coming down hill.
When particularly their linebackers are playing laterally, they are trying to make tackles with less help and at more challenging angles leading to poorer results. Ball carriers have a much easier time evading one tackler at a time as opposed to multiple at the same time.
Look no further than Browns running back Nick Chubb. When the Browns dominate the line of scrimmage and allow him to take on individual defenders, he can make some of the best defenders in the league a minor inconvenience.
The Browns may not suddenly become a great tackling team if the Browns had productive play on the interior of the defensive line, but it would certainly make a positive impact.
Predictability also plays a key role in run defense. Beyond the initial alignment and assignment, linebacker play boils down to a series of keys lead them to react in a prescribed manner. If they're reading guard and their guard pulls, their eyes go to a certain point and they look to attack. The level of difficulty goes up significantly when they have the variable of potentially having to dodge their 300lb teammate being driven into them at a high rate of speed akin to a boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Do these problems add up to Joe Woods losing his job as defensive coordinator? Possibly. If after the season, Kevin Stefanski decides he can do better, he should. However, it's difficult to ignore the difficult situation Woods has been put in for three years. In 2020, the Browns had their best defensive interior with Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi, but most of the rest defense outside of Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward was comprised of spare parts.
In 2021, the Browns released Richardson and allowed Ogunjobi walk in free agency, a decision which has proven prudent in hindsight. However, they have been unable to effectively replace them and reinforce the position. The Browns have attempted to use mid round picks to address the situation including Jordan Elliott, Tommy Togiai and most recently Perrion Winfrey.
Were those simply bad choices or a failure in development? Presumably the answer is somewhere in the middle although as it pertains to Winfrey, he is undermining his own opportunity with his interesting take on professionalism. The Browns attempted to bring in Andrew Billings which seemed like a great move in 2020. When the pandemic hit, he opted out over understandable concerns related to his health, but he returned in 2021 grossly out of shape.
Ahead of 2022, the Browns made the decision to acquire Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans. The second that happened, the Browns became a non-factor in free agency. Players weren't looking to go to a Cleveland team in limbo waiting for the Watson suspension to clear up while the team wasn't looking to overpay for a season they didn't feel they were contending. They took a swing on free agent Taven Bryan on a one-year prove it deal, but he's largely remained the same uninspiring player the Jacksonville Jaguars were content to let him leave.
It's hardly fair to hold Woods responsible for this team consistently putting the needs of the offense ahead of the defense, but little if anything is fair in the NFL. Stefanski will have to determine if his faith in the scheme Woods wants to run and his ability to teach and adapt his scheme is enough to retain him. Even if he comes to the conclusion to keep Woods, the Browns should be looking for ways to better support him including his staff.
Should the Browns decide to fire Woods and bring in another staff, it will be interesting to see if they experience the same type of transformation that went on at Ohio State this past season. The Buckeyes fired Kerry Coombs after an underwhelming defensive performance headlined by poor defensive line and linebacker play torpedoed the team's chances to contend for a national championship in 2021.
The Buckeyes brought in Jim Knowles, who had been the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. Knowles is an impressive coach with a terrific resume and he may simply be a superior coach compared Coombs, but it's impossible to ignore the glaring difference of talent on the team between 2021 and 2022.
The Buckeyes were able to lock down an outstanding recruiting class ahead of the 2021 season headlined by a star-studded group of defensive linemen. All of those players are now contributing as sophomores, giving the Buckeyes one of the most talented fronts in the country. Still with room to grow and improve, the difference in play has been staggering. It has coincided with major improvements at the linebacker level. Had Coombs remained in the job, he'd be benefiting from that improved play.
None of this is an attempt to discredit Knowles nor argue that the Buckeyes should have kept Coombs in the job. It's merely to point out how critical it is for any defense to compete for the line of scrimmage if they are to succeed on defense. That often boils down to talent. The Browns and Stefanski should endeavor to have the best possible coaching staff next year and every year, but it's a distant second to building a talented defensive line and the organization has to collectively own its current dysfunctional state.
