ncsdawg

Hello! I am a long time Browns fan, but as a father I've decided not to support the current team leadership for obvious reasons. I've lived in NC most of my life, so am going to enjoy rooting for the home team with my kids. This has nothing to do with Baker, IMHO the jury is still out on him. Being that this is his 4th offensive system in 5 seasons, and having suffered through brutal injuries last season, he may not hit his stride for a couple more seasons. Which is unfortunate due to his age. But on to the Brownies... The defense should be the strength of this team, SHOULD being the operative word. They run a 4-2-5, base is a cover 3 or quarters. The defense is predicated on not giving up big plays in the passing game. Starting up front, Myles Garrett is a beast and should not be left alone with a rookie. He has been known to try to do too much, when this happens he can be moved out of position (see the NE game last year). He is also known for strip sacking QBs, so there's that. Clowney is also a beast on the other side, much harder to run against that side of the line. Their DT unit is very much unproven. The Browns don't ask much of them, mainly just maintain gap integrity and allow the ends to collapse the pocket. Even with Clowney and Garrett, they have trouble generating pressure against good o-lines. You will see either 2 or 3 LB's on the field. JOK and Walker are both exceptional and can make plays in coverage and in the backfield. Either one could have primary coverage responsibility on a given play. At corner Ward is as good as it gets on one side, and Newsome is becoming a top young corner as well. The safeties are Johnson, who is very good, and Delpit who is also very good when he's on the field. For the defense one big question will be slot. As dominant as this defense has the potential to be, they have never been consistent enough to live up to their billing. Last season they were infuriatingly inconsistent, often giving up the big plays underneath. Or as one poster already pointed out, making career backups look like all pros. They had some success towards the end of last season, we'll see if it translates to 2022. On offense the Browns play multiple blocking schemes, but their strength is outside zone. Starting with the offensive line, they are beastly and fast up front. Teller and Bitonio are the best guard tandem in the NFL. Wills has been a solid enough LT, great in the running game, and Conklin is all-pro at RT (though coming off an injury so we'll see). They will miss Tretter up front, C is unproven. At running back, Nick Chubb. Over the last four years he has ranked 1st in the NFL in yards after contact and missed tackles per rushing attempt. He also has the speed to take it to the house. His highlight real is full of plays where he ran over someone and then sprinted 50+ yards to the end zone. And then there's Hunt. Their best TE is David Njoku who has speed and has big play ability in the passing game, and is also a willing blocker. Depth beyond that is questionable, with Bryant showing potential but not putting it all together yet. At WR Amari Cooper is a solid #1 who can lineup just about anywhere, but they are unproven after that. DPJ has good speed and athleticism and the rookie Bell has looked good in camp. The Browns run a timing based offense requiring very precise route running. The lack of experience and depth at WR is likely to rear its head at some point. At QB there's Brissett, who I admire because of where he started and the fact that he's still in the league. If the defense plays up to its potential and the run game is working, and they win the TO battle, he's good enough to win. The biggest challenge with the offense has been play calling. Coach Stefanski will inexplicably stop handing the ball to Chubb with the game on the line. The best offensive play calling I've seen from that regime was the one game where Stefanski was at home in his basement. Thanks for reading, I hope at least some of this babbling makes your Sunday viewing more enjoyable.