Jim Schwartz new DC

[D Bone]

6 minutes ago, Orion said:

...but maybe that's how you play defense.  Play fast because you can think fast.

There's only so much 'scheming' a coach can do and in the end every dude needs to win his 1 on 1 assignment... easier said than done I know, but it really is that simple and always will be. 

I'm hoping he weeds out the pussies and we can have a defense that other teams call thugs as they leave with a loss. 

[ballpeen]

On 1/17/2023 at 8:17 PM, hoorta said:

Yeah, can we say having two great outside pass rushers (Myles and Clowney) doesn't do much good if teams can gash you up the middle for 5 yards on every snap. Need I mention Browns LB play was subpar on top of that?   

Great team defense in any sport is always built from the inside out.  The browns seem to have taken a different approach, and it shows.  baseball is a prime example.  teams don't start by looking for great left field and right field D.  They don't start with great corner infielders. 

 

They start with catcher, middle infield, and center field.

[Flugel]

22 hours ago, tiamat63 said:

For a man whose defenses are consistently bottom 1/3 in blitz rate, seeing excitement from posters who wanted Joe Woods to blitz more as an actual defensive solution is interesting.

Blitzing has always been smoke and mirrors football.  The right QBs can consistently beat the blitz IMO.  Someone will bring up the 85 Bears, which was a fun team to watch.  That said, Dan Marino kept them from a perfect record.  Aside from that, that defense only won 1 Super Bowl as impressive as it was to see.  Frequent dependence on robbing Peter to pay Paul means that Paul stops getting paid at some point. 

Today, there are quite a few teams that want to get to the QB with their front 4.  Schwartz said it best in the presser that pressure from the front 4 sets up blitzing on our/his terms.  That's when it's effective as opposed to going to the well too often.

What I like best about Schwartz is his NFL experience.  The man has seen everything and worked with some great defensive minds starting right here in Cleveland.

[gumby73]

Myles Garrett has got to be excited about this hire..

"To play free and be more productive"

"We'll hold our best players the most accountable"

"Failure is a wicked teacher"

So your telling me, Myles Garrett can be moved or scheme protected vs repeated doubles? Schwartz Wide 9 here we come

“Every offense we’ll play will probably start with that. How do we neutralize Myles Garrett and how do we keep him from wrecking this game?”

Schwartz said. “And it’s my job to give him some answers and to be able to put some pieces, scheme-wise and personnel-wise, around him to allow him to be free and more productive.”

 

What a brilliant genius idea  💪   LFG! 

 

[nickers]

40 minutes ago, Flugel said:

Blitzing has always been smoke and mirrors football.  The right QBs can consistently beat the blitz IMO.  Someone will bring up the 85 Bears, which was a fun team to watch.  That said, Dan Marino kept them from a perfect record.  Aside from that, that defense only won 1 Super Bowl as impressive as it was to see.  Frequent dependence on robbing Peter to pay Paul means that Paul stops getting paid at some point. 

Today, there are quite a few teams that want to get to the QB with their front 4.  Schwartz said it best in the presser that pressure from the front 4 sets up blitzing on our/his terms.  That's when it's effective as opposed to going to the well too often.

What I like best about Schwartz is his NFL experience.  The man has seen everything and worked with some great defensive minds starting right here in Cleveland.

He's Gregg Williams without the fire and brimstone evangelical cadence... or  3G Lite

[hoorta]

3 hours ago, Flugel said:

Blitzing has always been smoke and mirrors football.  The right QBs can consistently beat the blitz IMO.  Someone will bring up the 85 Bears, which was a fun team to watch.  That said, Dan Marino kept them from a perfect record.  Aside from that, that defense only won 1 Super Bowl as impressive as it was to see.  Frequent dependence on robbing Peter to pay Paul means that Paul stops getting paid at some point. 

Today, there are quite a few teams that want to get to the QB with their front 4.  Schwartz said it best in the presser that pressure from the front 4 sets up blitzing on our/his terms.  That's when it's effective as opposed to going to the well too often.

What I like best about Schwartz is his NFL experience.  The man has seen everything and worked with some great defensive minds starting right here in Cleveland.

85 Bears? How about those 01 Ratbirds?

[SdBacker80]

3 hours ago, Flugel said:

Blitzing has always been smoke and mirrors football.  The right QBs can consistently beat the blitz IMO.  Someone will bring up the 85 Bears, which was a fun team to watch.  That said, Dan Marino kept them from a perfect record.  Aside from that, that defense only won 1 Super Bowl as impressive as it was to see.  Frequent dependence on robbing Peter to pay Paul means that Paul stops getting paid at some point. 

Today, there are quite a few teams that want to get to the QB with their front 4.  Schwartz said it best in the presser that pressure from the front 4 sets up blitzing on our/his terms.  That's when it's effective as opposed to going to the well too often.

What I like best about Schwartz is his NFL experience.  The man has seen everything and worked with some great defensive minds starting right here in Cleveland.

You can’t give most of these QBs ample time to sit in the pocket and diagnose coverage.  
 

It is any defensive coordinators wet dream to bring 4 and drop linebackers and safeties in coverage.   If you scheme it up well and/or have the right personnel and/or win one on ones upfront no one is asking for zero blitzes.  
 

BUT when you can’t get to or disrupt the QB with the front four…you got to bring others.  We’ve had analysts over the past couple years point this out repeatedly during our games. 

[gumby73]

27 minutes ago, SdBacker80 said:

BUT when you can’t get to or disrupt the QB with the front four…you got to bring others.  We’ve had analysts over the past couple years point this out repeatedly during our games. 

2 fold again..

We have not seen any interior pressure since Ma'leak McDowell ran naked into Florida  

Just large center escape lanes where our 2 DE's had really no chances of getting there.. even, Slow Joe Flacco was running over our 220 lb soaking wet LB'er's 10 yards down field

Oh Great !Now  I sound like, I've turned into Browns149     🤣it's time to step away today

[Flugel]

1 hour ago, SdBacker80 said:

You can’t give most of these QBs ample time to sit in the pocket and diagnose coverage.  
 

It is any defensive coordinators wet dream to bring 4 and drop linebackers and safeties in coverage.   If you scheme it up well and/or have the right personnel and/or win one on ones upfront no one is asking for zero blitzes.  
 

BUT when you can’t get to or disrupt the QB with the front four…you got to bring others.  We’ve had analysts over the past couple years point this out repeatedly during our games. 

BINGO!   I actually like blitzing when you have better personnel up front.    For example, the first time Schwartz here and Saban was the DC - we blitzed when we had good personnel upfront. 

[Ghoolie Always Ghoolie]

On 1/17/2023 at 12:13 PM, Neo said:

I watched the Bucs get spanked by the Cowboys and Tom Brady throw like 50 times. Don't know why Stefanski's offense is so pass heavy with Watson and he has Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Make it easy for the defense when they know you're straight passing.

Ask Depodickbreath. He calls the plays.

[Ghoolie Always Ghoolie]

On 1/17/2023 at 9:00 AM, Zombo said:

Let's go!

Z

I won't be surprised if it makes no difference. We hire a lot of guys with great resumes, then 2 years later we run them out of town, bashing them with after the fact wisdom on how they were never the right pick.

I hope this guy IS the shit, but I have a pessimism locked in to Depofuckstick and DickBerry.

I still believe that they have very tight reins on the coaches and play selection.

We sure as fuck better see some $230 million quarterbacking.

[hoorta]

21 minutes ago, Ghoolie Always Ghoolie said:

Ask Depodickbreath. He calls the plays.

LOL Tom, according to you.. This sounds like DePo's job description..You can decide if he's very good at it or not.     Actually , it's from Cynthia Frelund over on NFL.com    

"NFL franchises use contextualized data to create competitive advantages. In order to realize an edge, teams need to employ the right data in the right way at the right time. This means distilling, interpreting and applying only the most influential data in a framework that accounts for personnel, opponents and evolving game situations. My goal is to be your the Browns analytics department. Each week this season, I want to work for you by giving you a peek into which numbers flag in my models as the most impactful ... or the most misunderstood.

As always, let me know if your eye test is picking up on something interesting, or if there's a stat/trend you'd like me to take a deeper look at. You can hit me on Twitter @cfrelund. As with any great analytics department, the more collaborative this is, the more value we can create."

[syd]

super bowl baby

[Ghoolie Always Ghoolie]

6 hours ago, hoorta said:

LOL Tom, according to you.. This sounds like DePo's job description..You can decide if he's very good at it or not.     Actually , it's from Cynthia Frelund over on NFL.com    

"NFL franchises use contextualized data to create competitive advantages. In order to realize an edge, teams need to employ the right data in the right way at the right time. This means distilling, interpreting and applying only the most influential data in a framework that accounts for personnel, opponents and evolving game situations. My goal is to be your the Browns analytics department. Each week this season, I want to work for you by giving you a peek into which numbers flag in my models as the most impactful ... or the most misunderstood.

As always, let me know if your eye test is picking up on something interesting, or if there's a stat/trend you'd like me to take a deeper look at. You can hit me on Twitter @cfrelund. As with any great analytics department, the more collaborative this is, the more value we can create."

I know this much. Every couple years this shit starts all over. We keep hiring "finally, we got the right guy" only to fire him and once again go after "the right guy".

My feeling, my experience with idiots like Haslam, is that ShitMyPantski and everyone under him, are coffee fetchers.

I don't think these fucktards have the authority to change locker room toilet paper, let alone a play during a game.

So, here is my prediction. The 2023 Defense will again be all over the place. The DC will get a pass because after all..."he didn't have enough time to accumulate the right talent.

Then he will get shit canned.

Larry, we have seen how many changes with this ass fucl ownership? With every change, the team has the exact se pathology.

Lack of discipline, penalties, dropped passes, players making drama, ridiculous play calling, a physically soft team.

I hope I am wrong, but I think this hire is just another crock of shit to protect Depodesta.

Depodesta runs the Browns. That's all there is to it.

[Flugel]

6 hours ago, Ghoolie Always Ghoolie said:

I know this much. Every couple years this shit starts all over. We keep hiring "finally, we got the right guy" only to fire him and once again go after "the right guy".

My feeling, my experience with idiots like Haslam, is that ShitMyPantski and everyone under him, are coffee fetchers.

I don't think these fucktards have the authority to change locker room toilet paper, let alone a play during a game.

So, here is my prediction. The 2023 Defense will again be all over the place. The DC will get a pass because after all..."he didn't have enough time to accumulate the right talent.

Then he will get shit canned.

Larry, we have seen how many changes with this ass fucl ownership? With every change, the team has the exact se pathology.

Lack of discipline, penalties, dropped passes, players making drama, ridiculous play calling, a physically soft team.

I hope I am wrong, but I think this hire is just another crock of shit to protect Depodesta.

Depodesta runs the Browns. That's all there is to it.

Ghoolie is 100% correct.

It's kind of sad that we have to hope they get stuff right by accident.  It's pretty pathetic when God tries to intervene and help the Browns with "Okay, here's what I will do for you: I'll give you a choice of QB Scott Milanovich (prior gambling problems at Maryland) or the guy I'm going to make the 1999 NFL MVP Kurt Warner in your expansion draft.  Not to worry, You will also have the 1st overall pick in your 1st draft re-joining the league 1 slot ahead of the worst team in football last year (Philly).  If you GIVE them McNabb they will be in the playoffs 8-9 of the next 10 years with 5 Conference Championship appearances and 1 Super Bowl game vrs making the playoffs only twice from 1999 to 2022."  

If that wasn't enough, here's what else God offered Cleveland.  "Okay, so you wanted to out-think my charity when I wanted to stop you from getting bullied by more intelligent ownerships and FOs.  No worries; because I'm also going to have all of these QBs available for you in the draft:  Tom Brady (but overthinkers/glue-sniffers are gonna be high on Spergon Wynn), Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Phillip Rivers, Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson (before he played for the Sodom and Gomorrah Texans),and Josh Allen to name a few.  You can even trade back and add Lamar Jackson plus more draft picks. And didn't I give you Paul Brown and 10 Consecutive Pro Football Championship Games in 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, and 1955 where you won 7 of them?  You won another Championship in 1964. And remind me how far away from Cleveland I placed the Ohio State Buckeyes that you've refrained from on draft day as much as possible.  Today, it's a passing era and you're still avoiding their WRs as frequently as possible.  I let Mike Thomas last all the way until #47 overall in round 2. Last but not least, I sent the devil (Art Modell) to Baltimore in 96 and after 3 years your franchise rose again from the dead.  For the last time, I'm telling you this is a passing era and challenging you to do something about it. Speadsheets don't win football games or hold HUMANS accountable - Coaches like Paul Brown, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Belichick, Don Shula, Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll, Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi do/did.  I've never asked you to think outside the box - I just keep putting it all right on your door-step."

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Flugel

[Orion]

ST coordinator Mike Priefer, DB coach Jeff Howard told their jobs are safe

[Canton Dawg]

On 1/19/2023 at 11:25 AM, hoorta said:

85 Bears? How about those 01 Ratbirds?

The ‘85 Bears had a much better resume.

They faced QB’s like Joe Theisman, Danny White, Phil Simms, Joe Montana, and Dan Marino. (that’s 4 HOF’ers).

Their 72 QB sacks is still the season record.

[SdBacker80]

Some of you are saying this happens every year.  No. 
 

I believe we had the entire coaching roster together for three years.  That is unheard of.

 

[Dutch Oven]

The Jets asked to talk to Bill Callahan about possibly taking their vacant OC job, but the Browns extended BC's contract, so he'll be here for years to come.

[Orion]

3 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

The Jets asked to talk to Bill Callahan about possibly taking their vacant OC job, but the Browns extended BC's contract, so he'll be here for years to come.

The OL took a step backwards this year though.  Injuries at center and sporadic injuries on the right side.....but there's always going to be injuries.  (not saying we shouldn't have signed him up...but he's gotta get Wills to block for longer than 3 seconds on pass plays)

[Ghoolie Always Ghoolie]

17 hours ago, Flugel said:

Ghoolie is 100% correct.

It's kind of sad that we have to hope they get stuff right by accident.  It's pretty pathetic when God tries to intervene and help the Browns with "Okay, here's what I will do for you: I'll give you a choice of QB Scott Milanovich (prior gambling problems at Maryland) or the guy I'm going to make the 1999 NFL MVP Kurt Warner in your expansion draft.  Not to worry, You will also have the 1st overall pick in your 1st draft re-joining the league 1 slot ahead of the worst team in football last year (Philly).  If you GIVE them McNabb they will be in the playoffs 8-9 of the next 10 years with 5 Conference Championship appearances and 1 Super Bowl game vrs making the playoffs only twice from 1999 to 2022."  

If that wasn't enough, here's what else God offered Cleveland.  "Okay, so you wanted to out-think my charity when I wanted to stop you from getting bullied by more intelligent ownerships and FOs.  No worries; because I'm also going to have all of these QBs available for you in the draft:  Tom Brady (but overthinkers/glue-sniffers are gonna be high on Spergon Wynn), Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Phillip Rivers, Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson (before he played for the Sodom and Gomorrah Texans),and Josh Allen to name a few.  You can even trade back and add Lamar Jackson plus more draft picks. And didn't I give you Paul Brown and 10 Consecutive Pro Football Championship Games in 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, and 1955 where you won 7 of them?  You won another Championship in 1964. And remind me how far away from Cleveland I placed the Ohio State Buckeyes that you've refrained from on draft day as much as possible.  Today, it's a passing era and you're still avoiding their WRs as frequently as possible.  I let Mike Thomas last all the way until #47 overall in round 2. Last but not least, I sent the devil (Art Modell) to Baltimore in 96 and after 3 years your franchise rose again from the dead.  For the last time, I'm telling you this is a passing era and challenging you to do something about it. Speadsheets don't win football games or hold HUMANS accountable - Coaches like Paul Brown, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Belichick, Don Shula, Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll, Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi do/did.  I've never asked you to think outside the box - I just keep putting it all right on your door-step."

 

Here is the other thing, Tom. I honestly am not trying to revert to being "piss on our parade Ghoolie", but my belief that assistants/coordinators are coffee fetchers is based in what I believe is real life common sense.

1) Over the course of my life I have many times seen the addition of a head coach or a QB change the fortunes of a team. I can't recall where a team made a dramatic change because of a coordinator.

Point of Parlimentary procedure, yes, I have seen a teams problematic unit improve because of a new coordinator, but, arggg.  That really doesn't mean it was the coordinator that made the difference. It could just as easily have bee M that the HC.or higher ups demanded the new guy change things up and gave him different marching orders.

2) Let's say that Woods really is a shit coach. What does that say about ShitMyPantski?

A lot of you guys post as if a coordinator is the dictator of his unit, and the Head coach is just there to what? Take direction from the coordinator? Come on man, however bad Woods was, ShitMyPantski is the Head coach. With the defense making the same mistakes week in and week out, wtf kind of pussy is the HC? He just let it go on for 17 games?

So now we have a new guy? Hired by the same asshole that hired Woods, and he will be managed by the same fucktard who allowed Woods to stink up the field more often than not.

I believe that the new guy's success or failure will be completely dependant upon whether he is given freedom to make changes w ShitMyPantski, or if Depodesta, Berry, and Jethro BoHaslam will robotics him.

A change in DC alone is not going to help the defense become stellar.

[Ghoolie Always Ghoolie]

7 hours ago, SdBacker80 said:

Some of you are saying this happens every year.  No. 
 

I believe we had the entire coaching roster together for three years.  That is unheard of.

 

Yes, because the all take their orders from Depodesta. They are all coffee fetchers so there is no need to fire anyone, UNTIL the fans become pissed, then the FO creates a scapegoat.

[ballpeen]

The thought of blitzing is great, but the reality is i would prefer if we could just rush Garrett and get to the QB and drop 10 in to coverage.  We could play man and zone at the same time.

 

The point is if you can provide solid pressure with a fewer number, the better off you are.  It wouldn't bother me if we never blitzed.

[Korsou Dawg]

Why all the negativity? We fired the (arguably) worst member of the coaching staff, and replaced him with the best possible candidate available. Then we re-sign the best member of said staff, who was in high demand around the league. It is literally the best we could have done. 

[Flugel]

6 hours ago, Ghoolie Always Ghoolie said:

Here is the other thing, Tom. I honestly am not trying to revert to being "piss on our parade Ghoolie", but my belief that assistants/coordinators are coffee fetchers is based in what I believe is real life common sense.

1) Over the course of my life I have many times seen the addition of a head coach or a QB change the fortunes of a team. I can't recall where a team made a dramatic change because of a coordinator.

Point of Parlimentary procedure, yes, I have seen a teams problematic unit improve because of a new coordinator, but, arggg.  That really doesn't mean it was the coordinator that made the difference. It could just as easily have bee M that the HC.or higher ups demanded the new guy change things up and gave him different marching orders.

2) Let's say that Woods really is a shit coach. What does that say about ShitMyPantski?

A lot of you guys post as if a coordinator is the dictator of his unit, and the Head coach is just there to what? Take direction from the coordinator? Come on man, however bad Woods was, ShitMyPantski is the Head coach. With the defense making the same mistakes week in and week out, wtf kind of pussy is the HC? He just let it go on for 17 games?

So now we have a new guy? Hired by the same asshole that hired Woods, and he will be managed by the same fucktard who allowed Woods to stink up the field more often than not.

I believe that the new guy's success or failure will be completely dependant upon whether he is given freedom to make changes w ShitMyPantski, or if Depodesta, Berry, and Jethro BoHaslam will robotics him.

A change in DC alone is not going to help the defense become stellar.

The FO is the disabling disease while Coordinators, players and scapegoats continue to just be the symptoms of the disease at the apex.

1) You play gridiron chess with the people this FO sentences you to.  Anything they neglect is your fault if you're not David Copperfield or a miracle worker.

2) When you lack attack pieces on your DL - you're not gonna beat anyone praying that the pawns upfront are gonna win.  That simple!   This is a paraphrase that Schwartz said he wants to win/pressure the QB with his 4 guys upfront so when that happens - THEN he can enjoy the benefits of blitzing on his/their terms.  Sounded to me like that has to happen first for the cause and effect to unfold.  We didn't win because of our 4 guys upfront except against Baker, Brady and Burrow; and all 3 of those QBs had struggling offensive lines for parts of this season.  Other than that, the Browns rarely ever won BECAUSE of the 4 guys upfront.  However, they sure were a major contributor to the reason we lost.  We have 1 draft pick in the 1st 100 selections this year to help this problem upfront or Schwartz is going to be reminding reporters about the winning upfront first BEFORE they can blitz on the Browns' terms.

From the extensive experience alone, I think Schwartz will be better equipped to make the best of the FO attitude toward the IDL.  For example, he'll move Garrett around a little more than Woods did last year.  The year before, Woods did move Myles and Clowney around like the time he lined them up next to each other on the edge against the Texans.  All that only to watch their side of the field lose outside contain from the play-action that allowed Taylor to bootleg around them very easily.  In fact, Taylor pulled his hammy on the TD run and limped the last 15 yards of it.  

It wasn't our previous DC that said he doesn't believe you should prioritize your IDL.  It was our FO.  Schwartz got his NFL potty training right here in Cleveland when BB drafted Eric Turner in the 1st round.  When asked why a Safety first?  Belichick said he's a big believer in building from the inside/center of your defense first.  That's a more credible football mind than our current FO.  Just take a look at how easily he's beaten Cleveland the last 2 years.

[SdBacker80]

7 hours ago, ballpeen said:

The thought of blitzing is great, but the reality is i would prefer if we could just rush Garrett and get to the QB and drop 10 in to coverage.  We could play man and zone at the same time.

 

The point is if you can provide solid pressure with a fewer number, the better off you are.  It wouldn't bother me if we never blitzed.

Yes yes yes.  
 

If/when we encounter Repeated 3rd and longs and we blitz four with no pressure and give up 1st downs.  Something has to change.  You cant repeated and stubbornly sit in a soft zone with 7/8 guys dropping and tackling WRs after the first down markers

lots of venom spewed at the FO but we had some coaches that begged for help and got it (one guy in particular was excited on draft day to get HIS/THEIR guys) and didn’t really position some of these guys or make necessary in game adjustments.  We tend to focus on what we didn’t have on defense but we made a lot of commitment (I am assuming with the direction/input of some of the coaches) to bringing in guys for their system. 

[tiamat63]

On 1/18/2023 at 11:29 AM, SdBacker80 said:

 

  He stuck with four man pressure packages for the entire game.  If that ain’t working you gotta bring an extra man or men. 

During the 2022 regular season, the Browns were...

- 16th in blitz rate at 22.9%

- 11th in QB hurry rate at 8.4%

 

Respectable numbers.  Considering the Brownies were dead middle of the pack in blitz rate.  Then I looked a QB pressure rates on a game by game basis, and things really got ugly.   All that ugly accumulated over the year ended up like this...

 

- 31st in QB knockdowns

- 27th in total sacks

- 30th in total pressure rate

- 27th in pressure % per snap 

Dug a little deeper into suspected causes and came across this.

 

- Tied for 9th most in rushing attempts against.

- 8th worst in total rushing yards surrendered 

- 8th worst in YP/A surrendered at 4.7 a clip

- 8th worst in Expected Points contributed by rushing defense at -34.44

- 7th worst in first downs given up by rushing attempts 

 

Now you may not believe those things tie directly to each other, but I like said with my foundational analogy - the IDL has layered effect on every level of the defense.  Toss a rock into a calm body of water and you can watch ripples go well beyond the dimensions of the rock you threw.  More rushing attempts against means shorter chains.  Shorter chains means fewer pass rushing opportunities.   Fewer pass rush means less likelihood to generate pressure to turnover ratio.  Porous rush defense means questionable redzone defense where teams most commonly play man coverage.   This also means that teams can dictate angles and techniques for your pass rushers.  Myles being ridden out wide and at depth with no chip help against reduced splits in Woods' Over Front calls is my finest example... I'll find the screenshot and post it here at some point.  But the weakness in run defense benefits offensive pass protection in most cases.      I could go on further but you get the idea here.

 

  To further expand upon that 1st column of numbers....

- From Weeks 4-6 they have the NFL's 5th most man coverage snaps.

 

This ties a lot into what I saw when I did snap charts for the Patriots game week 6.   

6th page, 11th post down.

 Blitz at a near 65% rate.   Enough to make even Gregg Williams cry with joy.   The results were, as most remember, pretty bad vs the Patriots.  

 

 

 

Fans wonder why/how we made a rookie QB look good.   I'll explain it and continue to bullet point the definitive 'why?'

 

- The Browns were at the tail end of their experiments with various blitz packages.  As a result, we had a couple weeks of film worth of seeing tendencies on downs, distances, formations and personnel.    Many of those scouting bits made possible by facing a competent passing team in the Chargers the week previous.  

- The absurd blitz rates cleaned up reads for a young QB. 

- The lack of IDL pressure created a very settled pocket with passing lanes and 2nd/3rd read chance opportunities pre to post snap.

- The increased and unsustainable blitz rates created somewhat predictable calls for the Pats offense to attack.  Meaning what Woods sent on obvious passing downs was countered with man coverage beating concepts.   That little race route to Thornton against Greedy is a great example for the touchdown.

- DB's vunerable to man coverage vs the assignments they drew.  Greedy as I just said above.  I've zero doubt that when the NE coaching staff saw him checked in, their quality control staff and offensive coordinator had plays dialed up specifically to work that assignment.    Then you put the icing on the cake with a safety like The Delpit of Misery, who struggled with coverage at or from depth, getting matched up on a player like Hunter Henry.  While Hunter isn't a dominant TE, he is a more than capable pass catcher who can be average defenders.  I'm pretty sure Grant was beat for 2 TD's that game?   Both on his assignments, one in coverage and the other a run fit against a motion.   Further signaling a younger player whose mind wasn't wrapped around the speed and complexity of the NFL game and was slow to respond.    Book mark this next bit - I can all but guarantee that, provided he's still on roster for training camp, you'll hear quotes detailing or roundabout talking of the game "slowing down" for Delpit as they work to keep him in an expanded (starting) safety role.   

 To put that further in perspective.  The Browns, and really the entire NFL for that matter, plays near 70% of their snaps in nickel.  5 DB's.   So in that game, where I have greedy taking nickel and dime snaps, and I have a further complication with Delpit, that means of those starting 5, 2 DB's are essentially a smell I have to work to cover as a defensive coordinator.   Widen our gaze a bit and put that into percentages - that means 40% of our DB's have deficiencies to their game that can be routinely exploited.  Double that in the case of Grant who, as a safety, is often considered the "last line of defense".    If I said 40% of our offensive line was bad, and the Browns Oline as a whole struggled... would you be the least bit surprised? Hell no.  So this is no different here.    It's chess, only much more violent.  

 

 Now your rebuttal might be the usual "coach it up, scheme it up".  But the reality of the situation is exponentially more difficult than what you're painting it to be,  and I'm showing you the how AND the why.  Browns fans, especially after the Jets and Chargers game, wanted Woods to "simplify things".  Only, by week 5 he already was... and it wasn't working because we have problems in our defensive backfield.    When he did not only what fans wanted, but what was about the only logical reach he could try to play for some type of improvement,  it still backfired in his face because there was still no way of covering up the near fire-able level offense of talent along our DL.  So the blitz rates began returning to normal in a more 'trade-off' type style that echoed similar molds to our 2020 matchup against KC.     At some point, you're only hurting your team further and making explosive passing plays a more efficient and well drawn on source for your opponents offense.  Not a great tactic when your own offense lacks explosive passing structure to keep pace.

 

 At this point, I've typed out a ton put a great deal of effort into boiling down the main theme of this post...   Your perception differs WILDLY what the reality of the situation is/was.   The Browns were top 1/3rd in the NFL for blitz rates for 4 weeks running, and it still didn't work because they have strangely complimentary, yet offsetting defensive weaknesses.  Weaknesses that go just beyond coaching.      Does this make Joe Woods a great DC? No, not really.  You won't see me shedding any tears for him being gone.  Especially since the Browns got, IMHO, a significant upgrade in coaching talent.     

 However where they have yet to upgrade the talent is at the place(s) it matters most.    Which means, without an infusion of young talent combined with skill vets, the Browns defense seeing any type of serious improvement, like how many fans were expecting top 10 this year (good for a laugh) or even modest improvement,  is unlikely to happen at best.     Which re-enforces my belief that Schwartz would not have taken this job without the promise of the Front Office having a heavy hand in both the draft and free agency, upgrading our weakest, and his most focused position group - IDL.

 

 

Good talk.  

 

[SdBacker80]

8 hours ago, Korsou Dawg said:

Why all the negativity? We fired the (arguably) worst member of the coaching staff, and replaced him with the best possible candidate available. Then we re-sign the best member of said staff, who was in high demand around the league. It is literally the best we could have done. 

It seems we have more Joe wasn’t the right guy now.  It only took every excuse known to mankind and a different “Joe needs players in this position group” each year to figure it out 

 

[Flugel]

35 minutes ago, SdBacker80 said:

It seems we have more Joe wasn’t the right guy now.  It only took every excuse known to mankind and a different position group each year to figure it out 

 

I feel really good about Schwartz and the volume of experience he brings.   I think he'll upgrade the teaching and communication with the position coaches and players.  That'll be important because every position group has an assistant except the LBers.  That said, I thought they were pretty well coached considering the revolving door from IR casualties.

These were the position coaches in 2022 (aside from the DC -  Defensive Line: Chris Kiffin, Assistant Defensive Line: Jordan Thomas, Defensive Run Game Coordinator: Ben Bloom, Linebackers: Jason Tarver, Defensive Backs: Jeff Howard, Assistant Defensive Backs: Brandon Lynch, Defensive Assistant: Zach Dunn, Defensive Quality Control: Jeff Anderson...

The set-up doesn't look bad for Schwartz.  I'm sure he'll have a say in who stays or sprays.  I think all my venting is in the rear view mirror unless I have too many cups of coffee.  I'll start to familiarize myself with IDL prospects and Edge Rushers.  I like this time of year...

Edited January 21, 2023 by Flugel
typo

[Orion]

12 hours ago, ballpeen said:

The point is if you can provide solid pressure with a fewer number, the better off you are

Basic logic.  (I use your line now and then, Blitzing is like running 1 or 2 of our guys off the field)    But that was back when we had absolutely no pass rush.  At least now we have Myles.