Cleveland Browns: 5 Thoughts on the Defense

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Sep 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver /

3. Secondary Can’t Cover Anyone

Certainly, good run defense and a consistent pass rush will help a secondary, but neither of those were all that bad against the Eagles. The Browns hit Wentz nine times and sacked him twice. The run defense had some breakdowns but the Eagles still only averaged 3.9 yards per carry.

There were a ton of breakdowns. Wentz made some perfect passes in tight coverage and deserves all the credit for them. However, especially on play action that had crosses over the middle of the field, there were a number of plays with receivers that were simply wide open.

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The Browns had multiple situations where bad technique got them beat. On the touchdown to Nelson Agholor, Haden took false steps, opened the hips to the inside as Agholor released to the outside. Wentz made a great throw and Haden was simply out of position to make a play.

Taylor preemptively turned his hips to bail to cover a fade and was nowhere close when the receiver stopped for a comeback. Derrick Kindred got completely turned around on an out route by Zach Ertz.

Getting beat happens, but the technical failures need to be reduced significantly. The breakdowns that leave receivers wide open need to be eliminated entirely. This was an issue last year for the Browns and was awful against the Eagles.

One damning statistic encapsulates the secondary’s day. The Browns’ had just one pass deflection against the Eagles. Haden managed to get his hand on a pass where he was actually out of position and was able to recover. Pass rushers accounted for three pass deflections. Rookie pass rushers Carl Nassib, Emmanuel Ogbah and Joe Schobert all managed to get their hands on passes, which is good, but they got to the ball more than the secondary did.

Next: Chris Kirkey's Expanded Role

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