Was listening to Sirius NFL Radio today and they were talking about how the new Browns defensive coordinator has taken a bunch of unknown players (outside of guys like Hayden and Kruger) and crafted one of the top defenses in the league.
Mike Zimmer in Cincinnati has turned several lesser players into near-household names.
So, I started thinking about the Giants defense. Lots of names, but no results.
So it is bad enough that we have guys playing below expectations -- but when was the last player to consistently perform above expectations under Perry Fewell?
So basically, the Browns "unknown" defense was built with 6 top 35 draft choices. The Browns were basically picking up second rounders a few steps away from our first rounders. The mystery would be if they didn't have a good defense.
We're not scoring any points... We're not getting any first downs... For the most part the D has played 12 pretty solid quarters in each game. When you take into consideration the injuries, the turnovers and short fields gifted to the opposing teams and the overall pedestrian LB corps, I've been less irritated by Fewell than I have been before.
JPP 2011.
Prince 2013.
Rolle is a floater... hard to give him a fair grade.
I don't know if any defense in this league outside of one or two could possibly be considered "good" under these circumstances.
If the offense was anything resembling what they've been in the past, this team would have at least 2 wins right now and we'd probably be talking about how the defense has looked a bit better this year rather than finding every way possible to blame the DC for whatever we can.
time of possession stats - ( New Window )
This is a guy we have to roll out as a starter now because of injuries and he's actually made some plays (he's also given some up but he hasn't been awful.. and I've killed him in the past)
32nd in plays per drive
32nd in yards per drive
29th in yards per drive
32nd in INTs per drive
30th in Fumbles per drive
32nd in turnovers per drive
30th in points per drive
The offense has 56 possessions, which is 2nd in the NFL. The league average is 47. This makes the aggregate #s look a little bit better, but when you break it down by drives you see how bad we are. We're playing really high-possession games because the hands it back to the other team so quickly and often.
The defensive drive stats aren't great either, but it starts with the O. Plus the O and STs have given up 4 TDs in 4 games and the defense has had the worst average starting field position in the league.
32nd in plays per drive
32nd in ToP per drive
29th in yards per drive
32nd in INTs per drive
30th in Fumbles per drive
32nd in turnovers per drive
30th in points per drive
The problem imo is that the d overall has been disappointing during his three years and four games. He has inherited aging vets and truly a lack of young talent. I think if the Dline were 07 good then we'd see a back seven that thrived. I think last year proved that that unit could produce turnovers. Unfortunately our DEs are old and hurt and the D overall suffers.
I have never been a fan of his approach, but with this talent level I dont think there are many DCs that could make a huge difference.
I think a lot of the guys like Butler, Mike Johnson etc. were guys who benefitted from a very strong front 7. If you put those guys in the defensive backfield with the front 7 we have right now, I don't think they'd fare all too well.
We didnt stop Peyton in the 2nd half, and Carolina scored on 6 straight possessions between the 2nd and 3rd quarter. KC offense is bad, but still had some success against us.
Like people have said, the only reason the defense doesnt get shit on more is because our offense/special teams are worse. But lets not act like our defense is something special.
We are ranked last in sacks and 3rd down conversion (again). Going by yards is bad since our offense is off the field a lot. But if you arent stopping them on 3rd down and not sacking the QB - how good is your defense really?
I'm not under the illusion that this is a dominant defense but there just are not defenses in this league save for a very small few that would be able to succeed under these circumstances. The offense is giving them NOTHING. No points, no sustained drives.. almost nothing but 3 and outs and turnovers.
Peyton has been shredding everyone this year so I don't know if there's anything we could have done there.
There's really not much excuse for the Carolina game though. It looked like they just flat out quit. They looked deflated. But again.. the offense was just pitiful.
Our offense is converting 22.9% of our 3rd downs. Worst in the entire NFL.
But I believe our offense is going to get better. I am not quite sure about the defense. With not getting pressure, bad LBs, and some banged up corner, I feel at the end of the year we will be complaining more about the defense than offense.
Problem is I keep saying that every week and the offense continues to do nothing when we need them to.
The Eagles D fucking blows so this has to be the week.
It's funny how it's one extreme or another. The defense giving up home run balls left and right while the offense has to score points. And now we are on the other side of the spectrum. Defense is not as bad and can say they are much better than the offense, and now the offense is the biggest shit show out there.
At this point clean slate both coordinators and keep TC here.
I will say this, if one of the DE's showed up for a game on the pass rushing side of things, they'd be in pretty good shape on D. I still think teams are capable of dinking and dunking them all over the field and that the coverage will also tend towards looser, reaction style, but I think they've played better this year. I still can't stand Fewell and think someone better could be doing better, but they're good enough to win if your offense did anything and your pass rush woke up.
Stevie Brown is a great answer.
Overachieve is a strong word, but I think we got more out of Deon Grant than we expected.
Stevie Brown is really the only real answer I can come up with.
We just can't seem to get things moving in all aspects. And then on top of it, the special teams have been fucking awful. Josh Brown can't make a field goal and we have guys taking punts to the house on us every other week.
You can make a montage of special plays breakdown. Defense is average to below average. The offense is a BOOM or BUST and now it's totally done. So what else? Since Ross has taken over our drafts have gotten worse. There need to be changes.
that would only cover the last year.How about 5 guys to the right of center???? Poor directional kicking, offsides on third and one...Running out of bounds and coming back in after 40 yards.
Touching the ball on the two after being in the end zone...with three other guys there.
PISS POOR TACKLING !!
Average????? I think not.
Did you know Cowher, who people on here want, had Tim Lewis and Gilbride as coordinators? What happened? The steelers kept Cowher, cleared the coordinators, and hired a guy named Whisenhunt & a guy named Dick LeBeau. Next, they won a SB.
I'd keep Coughlin, but clear the coordinators. Maybe we can bring a young OC, who can be groomed to be HC, and bring in an aggressive DC.
His coordinator hires I am not a fan of Hufangel, Lewis, Sheridan, and fewell. Fewell won a SB and that saved his job I believe. But props to him, fair is fair, even though I dislike his system.
I would force his hand again. In fact, I would contend that if our record is just shit show quality, he may do it because it's so bad it's that or get fired.
In terms of quality of players, the pressure falls on Ross. FA players falls on Reese.
Looking at the Browns' D there seems to be 2 players who are definitely overachieving & that's Desmond Bryant & Buster Skrine. As an UDFA DE, Bryant has 3.5 sacks, which are 1.5 fewer than he had in his best of 4 seasons as a DT w/ Oakland. Moving him over 1 spot on the DL or getting the hell out of Oakland (hell & Oakland are more than a tad redundant) MAY be the only major differences. Skrine, a 5th rounder, already has 6 PDs, 21 tackles & 1 INT. He had 11 PDs, 0 INTs & 72 tackles last year, his 2nd.
Mingo, the 6th player drafted this year, has 3 sacks. D'Qwell Jackson, a 2nd rounder, leads in tackles by a large margin.