Boom! Browns crack top 10 in SI Power Rankings, are “team to beat in the AFC North”
November 13, 2014Cheaters, Big Hero 6, Snow, and pretty acoustic music… While We’re Waiting
November 14, 2014The Cleveland Browns are in first place after beating the Cincinnati Bengals on national television last Thursday. The Browns completely dominated the Bengals, beating them 24-3. Their defense played in what may have very well been their best game of the season, forcing four Cincinnati turnovers. The unit was able to hold the Bengals’ offense to just 165 total yards in the game.
So what were the keys to the defense playing this well versus the Bengals? The improved run defense and the the shutdown pass coverage were huge for the Browns as a whole. The defense has improved over the past few weeks and has really started to live up to many people’s preseason expectations. This game, however, was what we have all been looking for since Mike Pettine arrived on the scene.
So take a seat and enjoy this week’s defensive film room. After you have read through my thoughts, let me know what you saw on defense by commenting below. Enjoy!
Improved Run Defense
The Cleveland Browns defense has struggled all season defending against the run, but that was not the case versus the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday. The Browns allowed only 86 yards of rushing in the game. The big reason for the improved run defense was the improved containment by the outside defenders and the better play by the defensive linemen.
Better Containment
The Browns have allowed a lot of yards on the outside because of the lack of contain the Browns have had all season. But against the Bengals, the Browns defense allowed only 10 carries for 33 rushing yards toward the outside of the guards. This shows that the outside rushers are staying true to their assignment and keeping contain on the runners. Here is an example of the improved containment.
This play was late in the first quarter and it really portrays how well the Browns were able to contain the run versus the Bengals. Here is how the play transpired.
The play is a designed run to the left end by running back Jeremy Hill. The Browns have three defensive linemen with a linebacker Jabaal Sheard on right end and linebackers Paul Kruger and Craig Robertson on the left end. Linebacker Karlos Dansby and safety Tashaun Gipson are a few yards off the line in the box.
The key to this short yardage stop is the containment on the left end of the line by linebacker Paul Kruger. Kruger completely shuts off the outside, forcing Hill to cut back in to the inside. As you can see here, if Kruger had not done his job here, Hill would have a lot of space on outside with few defenders to stop him.
The cutoff by Kruger on the edge makes Hill go inside and get caught by the interior of the Browns defense. This stop shows how containment is key to defending the run and how the Browns did it against the Bengals.
Better Play by the Defensive Linemen
A lot of the responsibility of the run defense falls on the play of the defensive line. The Browns’ defensive line has really struggled so far this year, in part because of injury, but for the most part because of lackluster play. The Browns defensive line has played undisciplined and with not penetration. But versus the Bengals, the Browns defensive line played much better. Here is an example of the improved defensive line play.
This runs stop was midway through the first quarter on a 3rd-and-2 play. Defensive lineman Phil Taylor makes a two yard stop on the play to force a punt (sadly the punt was fumbled again!). Here is how the play was made.
The play is a designed run to the right end by running back Jeremy Hill. The Browns have three defensive linemen and a total of seven defenders in the box.
The play is blown up by the penetration of defensive lineman Phil Taylor and linebacker Jabaal Sheard. Both players get into the backfield and shutdown every angle for Hill to run.
This play shows how getting penetration into the backfield can completely disrupt the run play. It also shows what the Browns have missed without Phil Taylor. Taylor played very well versus the Bengals and he helped the entire defensive line play much better. His ability is unmatched by most of the Browns defensive linemen, so having him back should help the Browns’ defense play better at the line of scrimmage.
Shutdown Pass Coverage
The Browns completely shut down the passing attack of the Bengals in Thursday’s win. The Browns made Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton look pretty bad. Dalton completed 10 of 33 for 86 yards and three interceptions. The Browns pass defense was completely suffocating towards the Bengals receivers, especially corner Joe Haden and Buster Skrine. Here is an example of the good coverage by the secondary, plus examples of the great individual coverage by Haden and Skrine.
Coverage by the Secondary
This is a play in the third quarter with the Browns up 24-3. The incompletion was one of many where Dalton had nowhere to throw it. Here is how it happened.
The Bengals have three receivers out wide with a tight end on the left end and a running back to the right of the quarterback. The main route that Dalton chooses to throw to is the post route by Mohamed Sanu.
The Browns are in perfect coverage for this play. They are in a Cover One with man coverage on the targets in the play. On Sanu, the Browns are doubling him with corner K’Waun Williams underneath and corner Buster Skrine over top of him. Safety Donte Whitner is the deep safety on the play.
As you can see here, there is no target open for Dalton to throw to. He chooses to try and go deep with Sanu, but the Browns have three players to defend this pass perfectly. The secondary was unwieldy all day against the Bengals passing attack.
Joe Haden
This is just one example of Joe Haden’s excellent coverage versus the Bengals. In this play, Haden shadowed AJ Green underneath and practically ran the route like the receiver, dropping the easy interception. Haden was matched up versus Bengals star receiver AJ Green for most of the game. And he once again won the matchup and held Green to a below average day. Green was targeted 10 times but only had three receptions for 23 yards. Haden was blanketing all day and should have had a pick if he would have held on to the pass, which landed right in his hands. He is truly playing like the number one corner and earning his new contract.
Buster Skrine
This is one of the two interceptions Buster Skrine had in the game. In this play, Skrine ran stride for stride with receiver James Wright and made a great diving interception. Skrine played one of his best games this season in Thursday’s win over the Bengals. According to ProFootballFocus, Skrine had the best grade in coverage of all the Browns defenders. He only allowed two receptions for 10 yards in the game. Skrine paired up with Haden making the Browns defense really tough to throw against in the game.
Defensive Highlight
The defensive highlight of the game is the entire defense. The Browns’ defense dominated the Bengals in all phases of the game. The defense shut down the explosive Bengals receivers, holding the every pass catcher under 30 yards of receiving. The Browns’ defense was also stout in the run game. They only allowed 86 yards rushing in the game. It was a great performance for the entire defense of the Cleveland Browns.
Defensive Lowlight
The defensive lowlight of the game is the injury to safety Tashaun Gipson. Gipson’s concussion really could make a hole in the secondary. He has been a ball hawk all season and has really made a great duo at the safety position with Donte Whitner. Hopefully he can return quickly from this concussion.
10 Comments
Fantastic work, Joe. Let’s bronze this one as a game where everything went right on defense.
We are getting such solid/stellar performances on the defensive side this year, and yet it seems we still have much room to improve, especially on the d-line. Both Sheard and Rubin have been relative non-factors, and if their production ramps up (and if Mingo can find a way to make some impact on the game) our defense has an even higher ceiling.
I’m guessing the D-line improvement is also impacting that DB improvement. When Haden was getting beat earlier, it was often later in plays. Skrine rarely gets “beat”, he just gets outsized, which is easier to find later in a play as well.
Nice stuff. A little surprised you didn’t mention how many more blitzes O’Neil called, especially in the first half. He was mixing it up and the early pressure clearly unnerved Dalton. His eyes were extra wide for pressure the rest of the game. His lowlight was when Kruger read the screen and Dalton was so spooked he couldn’t improvise at all, just turfed the ball two seconds after the snap.
I noticed that too. They dialed up the pressure as soon as they smelled blood. Also, the confidence as a defensive unit over the past two weeks is growing like the Grinch’s heart. I guess that’s what success begets…confidence. The DBs, for one, needed a dose of that. Good to see Skrine and Gilbert get a little bounce back in their steps.
Will be interesting to see how they fare against Houston and Mallett head…whether they go blitz heavy or not. Foster is a good pass protector and a good outlet. And he’s not too shabby running the ball I guess.
Reports now saying Phil Taylor isn’t practicing because of a knee. Surprised no one has mentioned this since he look like he reinjured it near the end of the Bengals game. Too bad – I think he was a very big reason they played so well Thursday night.
Yeah good point. They blitzed the hell out of Dalton and I expect the same against Mallett
Is there a breakdown somewhere of how many times we sent more than 4 rushers?
I know that on one of Des’ sacks we only sent 3 and could have sworn there were other occasions we were getting pressure with just 3 and 4 guys. It was part of the reason why Dalton was so flustered in that he was reading blitz by how quickly we were getting to him, but there were still 7 guys in coverage.
In both the Haden & Skrine GIFs above you can see that we only sent 3 guys and in both cases got at least moderate pressure on Dalton.
But, I am saying all of the above without actually having charted how many times we blitzed. So, this is purely off memory and that isn’t always the best way to do things (ok, it never is).
yes, we discussed last Friday that he left and the team provided no information after it. I think we were all hoping that it wasn’t anything major since the team didn’t leak anything. losing Phil would be a huge blow as Joe outlined above pretty well.
Great breakdowns Joe.
I was most amazed at Skrine actually turning back to find the ball. He always seems to be in perfect position only to never look for the ball and have the WR just grab it. It might take a few games before QBs realize that he’s finding it now (hopefully, fingers-crossed) and that could result in some INTs for him.
Phil was a huge lift to the DL as was having Des actually play like he did last year. It was the first time this year that he actually stood out.
The injury to Gipson is scaring me too. The only low-light besides the fumble by leonard.