The Bigger Issue

The Oline is making D look like they issued but that is not the case. Theses need a bigger break than 3 and out. There worn out after 4 quarters of that.

 

When a defense is out there for 36 minutes compare to the other tabs 24 minutes. Yeah it's getting tested a lot more.

If mitch/ Canada did their job, guess what. Our defense isn't getting tested as much.

So no, our problem is not the defense. They even had 5 major turn over in the first game. That's insane good. And then they continued with some in the patriots.

Stop looking at the end of the game at points abs start actually watching the game.

 

The talking heads on NFL Network pretty much said same thing. It was background noise but I think they said our offense T.O.P. was near the bottom.

 

It looks like we have another DC who is afraid to blitz. And I don't mean bring five, bring 6-7+, sometimes you have to bring the house. Rex Ryan would never let a qb just stand in the pocket with all night to pass.

 

Rex has no job.

 

Missing Watt is monumental. Also the defense is on the field entirely too long. It’s like 40 min Vs 20 min. They just breakdown in the 4th but can you truly blame them. The offense go 3 and out time and time again down the stretch. Not all excuses. Middle linebacker is a huge weakness and so is the secondary minus #39.

 

defense has already quit, working on preserving themselves for 2023. they KNOW this offense BLOWS w no hope.

they are worn out ALREADY.

Bush sucks, Edmunds sucks, corners are suspect. over priced D, that is for sure.

Won't even be a Top 5.

Said that pre-season

 

We have a great defense until one guy gets hurt. I don’t mean THE guy. If anyone of the 11 get hurt they crumble. If we have depth and play well that is temporary because our offense goes three and out as many times as it takes to get our defense tired.

 

Mash re read the post. I said O is killing the D because they don’t have enough time to rest. And by the way I don’t care what happened the first game it’s over.

 

Not blaming the defense entirely for the loss. Problem is lack of overall rest. This defense spends 65 snaps or greater on the field; unreal at that. For that matter, I believe it was around 72 or so in the first game against the likes of Cincy. That alone cannot happen and ultimately, much of the blame goes to the Offense for its inability to sustain drives and score points. American Gridiron Football is the ultimate team sport for a reason; no one side of the field can dominate that much without the other two.


That all said though, even if the Defense is missing TJ Watt, the Run Defense has reared its ugly head once more. However, it is not just personnel that is the problem. Teryl Austin seems committed to calling multiple plays in which there are three IDL or fewer on the field. Yes, this is a passing based league but a run heavy team like the Cleveland Browns usually require more muscle up front to combat that.


To sum it up, the Defense is not blame free at all here. Play calling needs to get better from Austin. In addition, Ahkello Witherspoon needs to be better in man coverage for he has been roasted the past two weeks as it stands. All that said, having your defense out just over half of the game to over 40 mins in the case of the teams only win against Cincy is not a winning formula to begin with; a catastrophe awaiting every game.

 

I completely disagree with that think. The offense is killing our D because the D has no time to rest. 3 and out don’t cut it IMO.

 

I've read where good NFL teams are built from the inside out. They kept trying to get one more year out of an aging offensive line instead of using low round picks to rebuild it. Now, age is rapidly closing in on the defensive line. Cam can still play, but I've barely heard Tyson Alualu's name called out. Both he and Cam have a lot of wear and tear on them. They have an all-world player in Watt, a solid player in Highsmith on the other side. A good MLB in Jack and a bum with Devon Bush. They try to spell him with Spillane who is all heart without much else to work with. Cam Sutton is a good football player and Minkah is borderline second team/first team All-Pro. The rest of the secondary are cast-offs and bums. Watt makes the defense better than what they are because he is a splash play machine. With him out of the line-up, they are very average as a group.

When I watched last year's draft, I wasn't stunned they took Harris. I thought they'd go center/guard in round 2. Nope, TE. Then they took a left guard with every intention of turning him into a center when he had only three starts at that position at Illinois. Turns out he was a bust at center and not very good as a guard, either. I expected them to address guard/center again this year. Nope. They go, QB, WR, DE, WR, FB, LB, QB. Makes no sense. Now, people that are saying they should have used round one in 21 on the o-line are beginning to make more sense. Not that I don't like Harris, but good running backs are easier to find than centers and left tackles. They have snagged some good talent the last couple of drafts but schematically, the picks don't make a whole lot of sense.

 

It often appears he’s hopping backwards while throwing the ball. I can’t stand watching him anymore. And I’m fairly certain his receivers are losing confidence in his abilities. I remember #18 looking disgusted with him after one of their 3 and outs Thursday night.

 

Yeah, I remember that. I had hopes that he could at least be decent. Now I understand what Bears fans disliked about him.

 

Take your own advice. The defense didn't just wear down Thursday night. The Browns moved the ball at will starting late in the first quarter. The offense was helping them out in the first half and they were still having trouble getting a stop. They gave up consecutive long touchdown drives and would have allowed at least a field goal right before the half if not for a drop by Cooper. The time of possession wasn't entirely the offense's fault, either. The defense couldn't get enough stops on third down.

The defense then had halftime for a breather before watching the offense hold the ball for over five minutes to start the third quarter. Time of possession began to tip when the defense followed by allowing a seven-minute field goal drive. Yes, the three-and-out that followed was a killer (damn drop by Johnson), but one three-and-out shouldn't be enough for a defense to fall apart.

Yes, the defense was impressive before wearing down in the opener, but that was with Watt. We aren't going to see Watt for at least two more games, probably more. Without him, the defense is absolutely part of the problem. It was the primary problem Thursday night.

 

Which offensive lineman should they have taken over Harris? I can see the hindsight argument for Eicheberg or Dickerson.

I think the problem wasn't not taking one in the first so much it was not using a pick in either of the first two rounds to help the offensive line. Freiermuth is a fantastic young player, but man, passing on Creed Humphrey really hurt and many of us were saying that before the pick was made.

 

Let's see how Mitch looks after 10 games. MR was 5-4-1 and not always with a full deck playing with him. Right now, that looks pretty good. People got what they asked for. Pickett next?

 

Teams win games, not just quarterbacks.

 

It is a 3-4 defense. They aren’t putting 4 DL in their unless they run “big nickel” or goal line ?

This defense partially has conceded the run in order to stop modern passing attacks. No two-gap NT and no SS that can play in the box.

 

Agree, with our best defensive player out and we get no pressure on the QB the whole game and let Jacoby just sit there with not pressure, you would think we would of designed some blitz package with with either a safety or DB blitzing at times to get some more pressure. Can't believe with do nothing different and expect a different outcome. Do something different even if it's wrong.

 

You might want to go back and watch what Ryan’s defenses did to Brady.

 

My post was a little nebulous now that I re-read it. The Harris pick makes more sense to me IF they made an effort to add impact players to the offensive line. I didn't necessarily mean that to read the way it did, taking an offensive lineman instead of Harris. I agree. I think everyone and their brother thought that Humphrey would be the next pick. My thought was, "Well, let's see where they are going with this." I had visions of them grabbing a big time FA or targeting someone this past spring at tackle and/or center. To paraphrase you, the "hindsight argument " here is that adding all the offensive skill players is a head scratcher without a talented, dependable offensive line. O-line play was adequate Thursday. I don't know, maybe they'll get better. Looking back at how this line came together makes me feel as if adequate and average were what they were shooting for.

 

Crystal Ball boy