SB Nation - Simon Fraser

What can we expect from our new defensive coaching squad?

Bernie19Kosar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:04:37 -0000

(Flashback to 2005 offseason)

"He's not like most first-time coaches," said Joe Linta, Crennel's agent. "He's a guy with more credentials.

"Although he hasn't been a head coach, he has five Super Bowl rings. The Browns aren't just getting a coach.

"They're buying into a program. They are getting 25 years of experience and knowledge."

The 2005 off-season was sweet. Butch Davis era was done. The Cleveland Browns needed some new blood. The Browns had hired a hot-shot young GM from Baltimore in Phil Savage. The Browns decided that the newest era of the Browns needed a defensive make-over. Savage went looking for a defensive coach that ran his style. Phil Savage set his gaze on New England. Year in, year out the Pats seemed to have good defenses. Yes New England had a so called "defensive genius" as a head coach, but he couldn’t do all that by himself could he? He had the help of long-time assistant Romeo Crennel. Crennel was chosen to be the 11^th head coach in the history of the Cleveland Browns. We were promised a new team. We were promised a 3-4 defense that would mirror Baltimore and New England. We signed Jason Fisk. We drafted Antonio Perkins. We were about to win a crapload of football games. Times were good.

(Present day)

Romeo Crennel stunk. Todd Grantham was a power hungry fool. Jason Fisk sucked. Perkins never played. Belichick was that ~~smart~~ good at cheating.

Ummm…. Let’s try this again.

We are now being promised a new brand of defense. Once again we dip our collective toe into the Belichick coaching tree, but hopefully in a different end. Romeo Crennel was all about the bend but don’t break defense (BBDBD). Make the offense play well in order to beat you. If your offense is a good one, the BBDBD may be the best way to attack an opposing offense. Look at 2007, our offense was great, so the BBDBD was able to give us 10 wins. Romeo looked like a genius.

I hate BBDBD. I crave an attacking defense. I want a defense that brings the blitz and forces the offense to game plan to the defense. When did you ever think an opposing OC looked at our Romeo Crennel’s defense on tape and worried? Romeo’s defense was bland, no varying our front 7. Wimbley lined up at the same position down in and down out. We rarely brought DB blitzes, and when we did, they never seemed to get to the QB. Our best defensive playmakers would be in the same spots every down, and the same players would rush. It’s not hard to see why this brand of defense was short on making big plays.

So, we start again on defense. Things are not nearly as poor as they were in 2005. We have a bad ass at NT. We have a CB that could be a man-to-man demon. We have a tackling machine at MLB. We have a plan. We have some pieces to build around. We are no longer depending on Jason Fisk and Simon Fraser for minutes.

In the NFL, the most valuable defensive position is a DT that can push the pocket and control the LOS. With Shaun Rogers, the Browns may have the NFL’s greatest athletic force. Albert Haynesworth, a great player in his own right, does not have the pure athletic talent that Shaun Rogers possess. Haynesworth just became the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Great defenses have great DT/NT; for example, Hampton, Wilfork, Williams Wall, Jamal Williams, Haynesworth and Ngata. All of these players teams were at or above .500 last year. The Browns wasted a Pro Bowl season out of Shaun Rogers. I don’t think that Mangini and Ryan will make that same mistake.

Eric Mangini cut his defensive teeth under Bill Belichick. He has named Rob Ryan as his defensive coordinator. Bryan Cox, former bad boy LB under Parcells and Belichick is now the D-Line coach. Matt Eberflus, former University of Missouri DC, is now the LB coach. Jerome Henderson was a DB under Mangini in New York in 1997-98, is now the DB coach in Cleveland. How can these guys make our defense any better?

Freaking sweet.

Rob Ryan, son of legendary defensive wizard Buddy Ryan, has a long history of good defenses. In the NFL he has coached with Mangini in New England where Ryan was the LB coach. In New England he had the knack of getting pressure from his entire defense. Ryan was named DC in Oakland in 2004. Ryan had his problems in Oakland. He clashed with Lance Kiffin. He was accused by Kiffin for going behind his back to Al Davis and changing defensive game plans. It wasn’t all bad in Oak-town. Ryan actually somehow made really bad team look decent on defense at times.

In 2004 the Raiders defense was much better against the run. They went from 4.6 YPC in 2003 to 3.7 YPC in 2004. Good enough for 7^th in the NFL. Rob Ryans best LB that season was Danny Clark. Needless to say, Ryan wasn’t working with much that season. In 2005 the YPC went up to 4.0, same for 2006. In 2007 the rush defense fell apart and fell to the worst in the league at 4.8 YPC. Last year Raiders stayed crappy at 4.7 YPC. How did the Browns stack up?

	Oakland	Cleveland
2004	3.7 YPC*	4.3 YPC
2005	4.0 YPC	4.2 YPC
2006	4.0 YPC	4.4 YPC
2007	4.8 YPC	4.5 YPC
2008	4.7 YPC	4.5 YPC

Some quick facts. 2004 was the first year that Oakland ran a 3-4 defense, it didn't last long though. 2005 and 2006 the Raiders ran some 3-4 but mostly switched back to 4-3 looks. It is nice to see that Ryan was able to use the 3-4 to stop the run. Looking at these numbers, I really wonder why they switched. In 2007 Lane Kiffin was hired and brought his fathers Tampa-2 style defense to Oaktown. Ryan has run almost every defense under the sun, but he got his best results against the run with the 3-4. Sweet. Remember, the Browns weren’t facing LaDainian Tomlinson twice a season in his prime or Larry Johnson twice a season. That can kill a team’s average. It looks like Ryan will be able to help the rush defense for the Browns if he can revert to his early Raider days. I’m not saying that Ryan will be able to work miracles, but with the talent that the Browns have at NT and the tackling machine of DQ, I am thinking we could get the YPC down in the 3.8-3.9 area. That would be a huge help in getting this defense in an attacking mode.

Against the pass, Rob Ryan is a throwback. He loves man-to-man (no wonder Al Davis loved the guy). He had the NFL’s greatest man-to-man (MTM) CB in Nnamdi Asomugha. That makes it pretty easy to put your CB’s on an island. Mangini has also been a fan of MTM. He had Darrelle Revis who is quickly developing into a force. I think that the Browns have a young CB in Eric Wright that could turn the corner into an elite level CB that is able to go toe to toe with the top WR’s in the NFL. I think that Ryan is a great coach for Wright. After seeing how Nnamdi prepares for Sunday, Ryan should have a great insight into making Wright a great CB. If Rob Ryan is going to throw our young CB’s into MTM coverage, we could face some huge breakdowns. I’m willing to risk it if that means that the Browns defense will be bringing those extra defenders in high pressure situations. Jerome Henderson is the DB coach. He has had little experience in coaching but worked under Mangini in NY and helped with the development of Revis. Can Rob Ryan turn Elam and Pool into safeties that can play MTM and be the last line of defense? Can Wright and McDonald/Hood turn into capable CB’s? After all, DeAngelo Hall couldn’t handle the pressure and fell apart and was shipped out.

Rob Ryan has had experience working with talented OLB in a 3-4 in NE. In Oakland Ryan was forced to use mostly a 4-3. He was able to turn Derrick Burgess into a sack machine. This unique background gave Ryan the ability to coach both defenses and decide which defense best suits his personel in Cleveland. I think we can all agree that the 3-4 would be the best approach. Ryan also caused a stir when he and Mangini mentioned that the Browns will be running the 46 defense invented by his father. In case you have no idea what a 46 defense is, Rufio gave a great breakdown a little while ago. Shorthand version is the 46 defense uses safeties and movement of LB’s to create massive disorganization amongst the offense. When it is run correctly it is a sight to behold. Watch the Baltimore defense when it is running on all cylinders. It is fun to watch (unless it is against the Browns).

Those are not isatoners...

Bryan Cox is the new DL coach. Outside of Ryan, I am most pumped about Cox. He is a bad man. He was a player that you hated when your team played against him. He has experience getting to the QB (He had 14 sacks his 2^nd year in the NFL) and his played all over the field in a 3-4. He is experienced and knows how to use his hands to shed blocks, something our defensive players need to learn ASAP. To be honest, Cox is here to kick some ass. He doesn’t handle underperformance well. He was all over his D-Lineman during the OTA’s. He is a screamer and in your face kind of guy. In other words, if Corey Williams doesn’t get his act together under Cox, he may never in a 3-4. D-Lineman in a 3-4 are glorified blockers for LB’s. Great 3-4 linemen not only collect blockers but also make plays on the other side of the LOS. Rogers is a great one. I think that Williams has the talent to be a very good DE, but he has to show it now. I get excited when I think about lining Rogers over the Center with Williams over a guard and a blitzing ILB over the other. That means Rogers is one-on-one with a center. I cannot think of any Center in the NFL that could handle Rogers alone.

I do not think that the Browns have a great defense. I think that they have the talent to be a good too very good defense. Wimbley will have to rebound into a great pass rusher. He has the talent, but he needs to add new moves and get a mean streak. Wimbley should be following Bryan Cox around at all times learning from the veteran coach. We here at DBN have talked about DQ being a tackling machine, but he needs to be making the big plays. Maybe adding some big plays to his normal 10 tackles a game. We will find out in a hurry if Elam and Pool are able to run this defense. From everything that I have read Mangini loves to use his safeties in confusing offenses. Pool and Elam are young, but both very talented. Elam should have a great leg up with experience playing for Mangini in his system.

Mangini and Ryan will make this defense attack. The Browns will be a fun watch one way or another. We could be watching a playmaking defense find its stride, or we could be watching a tire fire. I can’t remember the last time I was excited to see a Browns defense. This year is different. We have a bad man at D-Line coach. We have a mad man at DC. I can’t wait. We will attack on defense. Be warned Minnesota, your first.

Cleveland Browns 2008-2009 Season Preview

Chris Pokorny — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:28:28 -0000

The Cleveland Browns are entering the 2008-2009 with high expectations. With a successful offense returning, a much-improved defensive line, and the fans more excited than ever about the team, anything short of a playoff berth will be a disappointment.

Now, let's take a look at this year's official season preview, brought to you exclusively by Dawgs By Nature.

Note: Due to page-width issues, click the link below to read the full preview. Also, please use the "Yahoo Buzz" feature in the top-right corner to help promote this piece!

Cleveland Browns Season Preview - 2008-2009 Edition

Offensive Depth Chart

Defensive Depth Chart

Pos	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
QB	Derek Anderson	Brady Quinn	Ken Dorsey
RB	Jamal Lewis	Jerome Harrison	Jason Wright
FB	Lawrence Vickers	Charles Ali
WR	Braylon Edwards	Joshua Cribbs	Steve Sanders
WR	Donte Stallworth	Syndric Steptoe	Martin Rucker (TE)
TE	Kellen Winslow	Steve Heiden	Darnell Dinkins
LT	Joe Thomas	Isaac Sowells
LG	Eric Steinbach	Scott Young
C	Hank Fraley
RG	Seth McKinney	Rex Hadnot
RT	Kevin Shaffer	Ryan Tucker

Pos	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
LDE	Corey Williams	Shaun Smith
NT	Shaun Rogers	Ahtyba Rubin
RDE	Robaire Smith	Louis Leonard
LOLB	Willie McGinest	Alex Hall	Shantee Orr
ILB	D'Qwell Jackson	Kris Griffin	Beau Bell
ILB	Andra Davis	Leon Williams
ROLB	Kamerion Wimbley
LCB	Eric Wright	Terry Cousin	Gerard Lawson
RCB	Brandon McDonald	Travis Daniels
FS	Brodney Pool	Mike Adams
SS	Sean Jones	Nick Sorensen

Positional Summaries

Quarterbacks

Defensive Line

Quarterback controversy? For the first time since returning to the NFL, the fans, the coaching staff, and all of the other players on the team have confidence in the starting quarterback. Derek Anderson is coming off of an unprecedented year, throwing for nearly 30 touchdowns. After leading the Browns to a 10-5 record as a starter last year, he'll have to improve his game this season though. With expectations higher, a tougher schedule ahead of him, and a decision needing to be made about backup quarterback Brady Quinn, Anderson now needs to show that he can enter the ranks of the Peyton Manning's, Tom Brady's, and Tony Romo's.

Meanwhile, Quinn can't feel too good about his situation in Cleveland right now. No matter what a quarterback says, they want to play right away. When he looks around the league, all of the other young quarterbacks -- Matt Leinart, Vince Young, JaMarcus Russell, Alex Smith, Joe Flacco, and Matt Ryan -- have received starting opportunities in their first or second years. Quinn has shown the ability to manage the Browns offense if needed though, and third-stringer Ken Dorsey will continue to remain a mentor for him.

Grade: A

I graded the defensive line a D+ last season. Looking back, that was probably being too optimistic. Robaire Smith was a welcome addition to the Browns at the time, but I can't say I'm too upset about seeing guys like Ethan Kelley and Simon Fraser replaced by two potential Pro Bowlers.

When free agency first hit, the Browns didn't make a single move involving the defensive line. Fans were outraged and confused as more and more of the "higher-rated" free agents were being signed by other teams. Then, out of no where, Phil Savage pulled out his bag of magic tricks with two trades. First, he somehow worked a deal to acquire Packers defensive end Corey Williams in exchange for just a third-round draft pick. Then, he paid a lot for Pro Bowl defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, giving up top cornerback Leigh Bodden and a second-round draft pick. We wanted improvement, and we got it.

The optimism for the defensive line is extremely high now. Some fans are dying to see a pass rush, but the thing I'm looking forward to is Rogers' ability to stop the run. I can definitively remember teams like the Houston Texans running their third-string running back against us for 100+ yards with ease. With the versatile Shaun Smith becoming depth as opposed to a starter, the talent of rotation should improve too to ensure everybody stays fresh for four quarters.

Grade: B+

Running Backs

Linebackers

There were a lot of questions surrounding Jamal Lewis prior to last season. He was coming over from a Baltimore Ravens team where he had looked injury-plagued and on the downside of his career. He answered all of his critics by having a tremendous season overall last year, especially by establishing his role as a "closer" against teams like the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. There is still room for improvement though, and that'll have come against the stiffer competition he'll face this year in the NFC East, the AFC South, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

No matter what he does though, there will always be a concern in the back of everyone's mind if Lewis suffers an injury. Phil Savage decided to stick with Jerome Harrison and Jason Wright as the backups for the second year in a row, but their roles have become a little more defined. If Lewis suffers an injury, Harrison will be the starting running back. Whether Lewis is healthy or not, Wright will be the third-down running back. That boils down to Harrison still being a poor blocker -- something you can't afford in third-down passing situations.

Part of the reason I graded the Browns' backs a C+ last season was due to the question marks at the fullback position. In his first season as a starter though, Lawrence Vickers was more than impressive. And, in training camp and throughout the preseason, Charles Ali has looked like one of the best No. 2 fullbacks in the league.

Grade: B

So, what has changed at the linebacker position this year? Absolutely nothing.

Our starters are still Kamerion Wimbley, Andra Davis, D'Qwell Jackson, and Willie McGinest. Leon Williams is still the backup middle linebacker. Antwan Peek still has the injury asterisk next to his name. The lone differences are the rookie draft picks -- Beau Bell and Alex Hall. While there is a lot of excitement surrounding Hall, until he shows what he's capable of on gameday, it's impossible to evaluate his true value.

I've always been negative towards Andra Davis, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he is going to have a break out year. I have criticized him for always making his tackles five yards down the field as opposed to in the backfield or closer to the line of scrimmage. Considering that he's had to suffer through running backs getting through the defensive line so quickly though, a change in talent up front can only be beneficial to him. Wearing the defensive headset this year, he'll also be counted on more than ever to be the leader of the defense.

Wimbley's expectations are also high, but I'm still not sold on him. It's frustrating to see that he has yet to develop a solid inside move -- the better left tackles have had no problem defending him if they know he's one-dimensional. I overrated our linebackers last year with a B+; this year I'm setting my sights a little lower (not because we got worse).

Grade: C+

Receivers

Secondary

Clearly, Dennis Northcutt was a better third wide receiver than Tim Carter (last year's candidate) and Travis Wilson (this year's original candidate). Thankfully, due to the talent at the top two receiver positions and at tight end, the third wide receiver shouldn't be an issue for the second year in a row.

Braylon Edwards is coming off of a career year, and now enters this season as one of the most respected receivers talent-wise in all of football. The impact he has on opposing defenses is greater than anybody else on our team -- just look how sorry the offense looked in the preseason when Wilson was starting as opposed to Edwards. Veteran receiver Joe Jurevicius is still with the team, but unfortunately the soonest he'll be able to come back is after Week 6 as he tries to return from offseason surgery. Replacing Jurevicius in the starting lineup is former Patriots receiver Donte Stallworth, who was one of the top free agent receivers on the market this year. Stallworth adds a different dimension than Jurevicius did -- more catch-and-run, with the deep ball sprinkled in.

Without Jurevicius though, the Browns will be in search of a new go-to-guy on third downs. That man has to be tight end Kellen Winslow. While he's had two consecutive solid seasons, you still get the feeling that he's yet to reach his fullest potential. Around Week 6, the Browns also hope to have rookie tight end Martin Rucker available to open up the offensive playbook even further by being able to shift Winslow to receiver more often while still having a pass-catching threat at tight end.

Grade: A

This is the problem area heading into the season, but with a lot of luck, things don't have to turn out so bad.

When you look up and down the NFL, how many teams actually have a dominant secondary? I can probably count them on only two hands, meaning far less than half of the league. The Browns are receiving so much attention because we're playing young players and we traded away our best cornerback in Leigh Bodden. Since when do two young players, paired with two safeties who are in command of their positions, warrant an automatic notation for failure? The risks are certainly high, but until we see what happens over the first several weeks of the season, it's not time to write the unit off just yet.

Sean Jones had his ups and downs last season, but he really seemed to get things going towards the latter part of the season, as did Brodney Pool. Pool's coverage abilities are still questionable, but he knows how to lay the big hit at the right time. Now, we just have to hope he'll be able to deliver those hits still after sustaining several concussions over the span of his career.

At cornerback, Brandon McDonald's starting role is the our only new dimension in reality. When the team traded Bodden, they envisioned cornerback Daven Holly filling one of the starting role, allowing McDonald to become the nickel back. Holly's injury is what triggered the chain of concerns -- and with Terry Cousin and Travis Daniels being the only depth behind the starters, I am concerned if one of them has to start. The signing of a free agent cornerback like Ty Law isn't completely out of the question still if the unit is unbearably bad to start the season. For depth reasons, the secondary suffers a low grade here.

Grade: D+

Offensive Line

Special Teams

I gave the Browns' offensive line a "B" at the start of last season. Again, I completely underestimated our line's capabilities. Rookie left tackle Joe Thomas exceeded expectations, becoming one of the few rookie tackles to actually live up to his potential. Free agent pickup Eric Steinbach anchored the left side with Thomas very well all season long. Meanwhile, Kevin Shaffer was better at right tackle than he was at left tackle, Hank Fraley held his own at center, and the right guard position was held down by either Seth McKinney or Ryan Tucker.

This year, nothing has changed with the exception of a few backups on the offensive line. Considering that the line only allowed Derek Anderson to be sacked 14 times all season and that Jamal Lewis ran for over 1,300 yards, I think it's safe to say that this unit warrants a higher grade.

Grade: A-

Take a look at this quote from last year's special teams preview I wrote, regarding Browns kicker Phil Dawson:

"Phil Dawson is back for another year, but if he's not able to produce some more "clutch" kicks this year, some of the once loyal fans could finally be giving up on him."

Boy, did I unknowingly foreshadow something at the time? Not only did Dawson have several game-winning field gals last season, he improved his leg strength in the offseason and could be in line to attempt more 50-yarders this season. At punter, Dave Zastudil is healthy again after having somewhat of a down year last season.

The X-factor remains Joshua Cribbs. Sorry Deven Hester, but Cribbs by far has you beat as the best all-around special teams contributor in all of football. Any time he touches the ball, he's a threat to take it the distance. Any time he's a gunner, he'll mow down the opposing returner in a flash.

Grade: A+

How The Season Will Go

Schedule

Divisional Finish

REGULAR SEASON

Date	Opponent	Time
9/7	Dallas - Win	4:15 pm
9/14	Pittsburgh - Win	8:15 pm
9/21	at Baltimore - Win	4:15 pm
9/28	at Cincinnati - Loss	1:00 pm
10/5	BYE WEEK	------
10/13	New York Giants - Loss	8:30 pm
10/19	at Washington - Win	4:15 pm
10/26	at Jacksonville - Loss	4:05 pm
11/2	Baltimore - Win	1:00 pm
11/6	Denver - Win	8:15 pm
11/17	at Buffalo - Win	8:30 pm
11/23	Houston - Win	1:00 pm
11/30	Indianapolis - Loss	1:00 pm
12/7	at Tennessee - Win	1:00 pm
12/15	at Philadelphia - Loss	8:30 pm
12/21	Cincinnati - Win	1:00 pm
12/28	at Pittsburgh - Loss	1:00 pm

REGULAR SEASON

AFC North 2008-2009
Place	Team	Record
1	Cleveland Browns	10-6
2	Pittsburgh Steelers	10-6
3	Cincinnati Bengals	7-9
4	Baltimore Ravens	3-13

I predicted that the Browns would win seven games last season, and at the time, that was a high prediction. After winning ten games, look at the respect we earned on the schedule to the left: five nationally televised prime time games. Forget those typical Ian Eagle/Soloman Wilcots- announced games that we became accustomed to the past several seasons: in our first ten games, only two of them will be played at 1:00 pm.

This season, I expect the Browns to rise to the occasion of a tough schedule. It's time for the Browns to become one of the elite teams in the NFL again rather than always being the underdogs. More important than anything else though, it's time to dethrone the Pittsburgh Steelers from atop the AFC North.