Cleveland Browns: Danny Shelton Battling Unrealistic Expectations

Cleveland Browns’ nose tackle Danny Shelton has a lot to live up to in terms of his draft status and his importance to the team, but he’s also dealing with unrealistic expectations and poor analysis of his play.

Between the pressure he put on himself publicly last year and the egg he laid against the Green Bay Packers, Danny Shelton has been the target of criticism coming out of the Atlanta Falcons game. While Shelton was hardly dominant, this was his best game as a pro to date. Shelton was consistent in doing his job and creating opportunities for teammates to make plays.

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Perhaps a matter of unrealistic expectations or simply not knowing how to evaluate the nose tackle position, Shelton’s performance has been panned by both media and fans alike. If Shelton struggled, the Falcons should ask for a refund from the steep contract they paid Alex Mack this past offseason.

Shelton wasn’t dominant, and he’s not yet where he was expected to be as the 12^th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. Still, he was able to stonewall the Falcons interior offensive line, take on double teams and hold his ground, so that teammates had opportunities to come in and make plays. That’s his role in this defense.

One obvious example was coming out of the half when Shelton shoved the Falcons’ backup center into the backfield, allowing linebacker Dominique Alexander to knife in to stuff a play at the line of scrimmage.

Coming off the performance against the Packers, it was fair to ask if Jamie Meder was better than Danny Shelton at nose tackle. Hue Jackson even said Meder’s play warranted time with the starters. Ultimately, that manifested itself in Meder playing out of position at the 5-technique end with the starters, which is a terrible experiment that needs to end immediately.

Shelton showed against the Falcons why he is the better of the two, both in that game and for all he can offer at the position, but he needs to do this consistently. In addition to Shelton having more sheer size at the position, his athleticism and range are far superior to Meder’s.

Meder, to his credit, has shown that he is a credible nose, and the two could form a promising tandem in the center of the Browns defense. They can push each other, keep each other fresh and keep up the pressure against opponents.

As it turned out, the Browns actually had Meder and Shelton in the game in the middle of the defensive line and ran a twist that allowed Shelton to put pressure on the opposing quarterback. This works to show off Shelton’s mobility for having such an enormous body.

Pad level has been the nagging problem for Shelton, and that showed up against the Packers. When he played high, he got driven back off the ball. He also seemed to be looking for the ball, like he was trying to make plays on the ball carrier, which was both awkward and ineffective.

Against the Falcons, Shelton played with a low base and was able to hold his ground consistently. Facing Kyle Shanahan’s zone scheme, Shelton was pretty good at doing this while being stretched out and having to work on the move. As always, he also showed the hustle and willingness to chase plays down to the sideline.

The middle of the Browns defense was a sieve against the Packers. Shelton was not great, and inside linebackers were unable to make even the most basic plays, making it look awful. Against the Falcons, the middle of the defense was surprisingly effective– not dominant by any means, but effective.

The Falcons did most of their damage attacking the edges. They had multiple substantial gains getting to the sideline, as the Browns couldn’t seal the edge and missed countless tackles. Nick Hayden was consistently victimized on the defensive line.

It is important to note this was a zone scheme. Shelton is remarkably well equipped to deal with a zone blocking scheme, because he is pretty agile while being so big. He held his own quite well against Alex Mack and the Falcons interior.

The challenge for Shelton is to be able to hold up against a gap blocking team that just wants to run right at him. Will he stay low, anchor effectively and be able to not only stalemate the offensive line but occasionally collapse the pocket? Or will he end up getting too high and being driven off the ball?

For now, Shelton is the far better option when it comes to dealing with teams that want to move their offensive line. Meder isn’t as big nor as athletic. On the other hand, Meder has shown he can get low and make a pile when teams want to run downhill, which is why he was utilized in so many short-yardage situations last year despite Shelton’s draft status.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to provide a better test for Shelton in this respect. Shelton has played a ton of reps against the Falcons, but he’ll see the opposing starters much longer in this game. It’s also an offense predicated more on a power running game.

Obviously, this is the type of blocking scheme Shelton sees in practice each day, so the hope is the Packers game was a case of nerves and trying to do too much. It hopefully provided a wakeup call, and the Falcons game showed what he can be. Now, the Bucs game should confirm what Shelton is and can be.

Being effective and doing his job is good and an improvement over last year, but the ultimate goal is for Shelton to dominate the line of scrimmage. That is what he was drafted to do last year, and it’s something he’s shown glimpses of being able to do. Consistency is everything with Shelton at this point, especially when it comes to pad level.

The unrealistic expectations with Shelton need to die. Brandon Williams of the Baltimore Ravens is one of the best nose tackles in the NFL. In the past two seasons, Williams has played all 32 regular season games. In all, he has 59 solo tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two recoveries and two pass deflections.

Damon Harrison, now of the New York Giants, is as good of a run-stopping nose tackle as there is in the NFL. In his past 32 games as a member of the Jets, Harrison compiled 69 solo tackles, half a sack, and ten tackles for loss.

Nothing about those numbers is flashy. That’s not what a true nose is supposed to do. His job is to create opportunities for his teammates. In the same way Joe Thomas and Joel Bitonio are there to create opportunities for the running and passing game, Shelton, Williams, and Harrison are there to create opportunities for other defenders.

A sign of a job well done is the opponent being stuck in third down and long with the nose tackle on the sideline with pass rushers in to hunt down the quarterback. That is where the Browns are hoping to get with Shelton.

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With the precarious state of the defensive line, it is critical for Shelton to show that the Falcons game was more indicative of the norm rather than an outlier. Meder is a solid player, but they need Shelton to be the player he was drafted to be for their defense to have any hope this season. It would also prove an enormous setback if they were forced to replace him in the coming years, given the amount of holes that side of the ball already has. The Buccaneers will be a great test for Shelton– and the Browns in general.