Category: Game Breakdown

Inactives for Browns vs. Ravens includes 3 injured starters

JC Tretter is active and will start at center

Kevin Stefanski didn’t have many tough choices when evaluating who would go on the Cleveland Browns inactive player list for Week 1 in Baltimore. Injuries to several players made it a lot easier to fill out the inactives.

With four players ruled out on Friday due to injury, more than half the list was already known.

  • CB Greedy Williams
  • OT Chris Hubbard
  • CB Kevin Johnson
  • LB Mack Wilson

They are joined by rookie WR Donovan Peoples-Jones and recently claimed DE Joe Jackson.

The good news is that center JC Tretter is indeed active and will start vs. Baltimore.

The Ravens’ inactive for Week 1:

Behind Enemy Lines: Breaking down Baltimore with Ravens Wire

Behind Enemy Lines: Breaking down the Browns matchup in Baltimore with Ravens Wire

The new season is upon us. The Cleveland Browns take on a familiar foe in Week 1 with the trip to face AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens.

Many things remain the same in Baltimore, but this is a different Ravens team that made some significant changes in the offseason. To get more info about Cleveland’s opening foe, I turned to Ravens Wire and editor Matt Stevens for some help.

Stevens graciously provided some great answers that should help Browns fans get a better feel for Sunday’s opponent.

Lamar Jackson is coming off a magical season. How close to replicating his MVP run can he come in 2020?

I think as we saw last year, Jackson has all the tools necessary to win an MVP award. But as physically gifted as he is, there was certainly a little luck and surprise element to last year’s impressive performance that helped get him there. If he wants to repeat in the same way he did last year, it’ll mean he’s running a ton yet again in 2020, which isn’t something the Ravens and even Jackson himself seemed super excited about in their offseason press conferences.

I think we see Jackson’s rushing ability take a backseat to the deep ball this season. He made a conscious effort to improve as a passer last year and we saw the end results. This offseason, he said he spent a lot of time working on the deep ball and believed it’s what’s needed to take the offense to the next level. If he holds true to that, Jackson is going to need to become far more consistent in his mechanics and protect the ball better.

That means not trying to win every game on every play and instead, realizing he can throw the ball away or go with the safer option instead of trying to carry the team himself.

How will the targets in the passing game get divvied up?

This is a really tough question because we’re not entirely sure how this offense will look this season. Last year, there was no mistaking that Baltimore was a run-first team. This year with the addition of two more wide receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Ravens could actually have a surprisingly good passing attack that doesn’t necessarily need the run game to succeed to work.

At the same time, with four running backs capable of starting most places in this league, there’s little reason to go away from what they know works.

Still, I think tight end Mark Andrews is the top dog in this passing attack. He’s got a ton of speed for someone standing at 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds, and he’s a very skilled route runner. But I’d be shocked if Marquise Brown didn’t come close to tying Andrews’ targets in this game. Brown’s finally healthy and he was deadly fast last year with a foot injury slowing him down. With some questions in Cleveland’s secondary, as well as a newly acquired safety, Brown has a real chance to end this game early if he gets going like he did Week 1 last year.

Beyond those two guys, it’s a real guessing game where the targets go. This offense is built upon forcing defenses to choose which player they want to defend and going the polar opposite direction. If the Browns stack the box to stop the run, Jackson is going to air the ball out, which means guys like Devin Duvernay could be in line for more targets. If the reverse happens, Willie Snead and the running backs in underneath routes will be the primary read.

Who are some of the important newcomers to the team, and specifically how will the Ravens replace Marshal Yanda?

The addition of Calais Campbell really can’t be overstated. He was a beast in Jacksonville in 2017 and 2018 before a drop in production last year. But he’s motivated to prove he’s still a 10-plus sack guy and he knows he was brought in to shore up the run defense. He dominated throughout training camp but this isn’t an easy defense to digest even in the best of offseasons, so we’ll see just how quickly Campbell got up to speed and how much he still has in the tank.

The Ravens are hoping Patrick Queen is their next Ray Lewis or C.J. Mosley — the only two other inside linebackers Baltimore has drafted in the first round. His inexperience at LSU was downplayed by the team all offseason and it seems they’re going to let him go out there and rip it up with the understanding he’ll make some mistakes and hopefully quite a few big plays. But with no preseason action, it’s a little muddy just how ready for primetime Queen actually is. But with his speed, he’s liable to make the Browns pay for testing him at some point.

Baltimore is being really coy with their starting offensive line but it seems like it’s D.J. Fluker’s job for right now. Though he had a rough time in recent years, he’s clearly as motivated as ever, dropping 22% body fat this offseason and saying all the right things. He got a ton of reps with the first team throughout training camp and the Ravens almost always go with the veteran option if a rookie is competing for a starting job as well. All offensive linemen are big but Fluker is just a behemoth of a human being and I’m excited to see what Fluker looks like with a chip on his shoulder.

The Earl Thomas saga dominated the headlines. How well-equipped are the Ravens to move on without him in the secondary?

If you listen to the Ravens, you’d think they practically planned it and were moving on from Thomas because they had a better player behind him. But in reality, DeShon Elliott, Thomas’ replacement, is unproven and frequently hurt. He’s ended up on injured reserve in both of the seasons he’s been in the league, playing just six games in a reserve role.

But when healthy, Elliott is a heat-seeking missile. He’s not nearly as adept at Thomas in coverage but you’re not liable to see him become a lead blocker for Derrick Henry either. I have no doubt the Browns will test him early and often but I’d also expect him to blow someone up over the middle at some point in this game. Real boom or bust play from Elliott’s short career, and I mean the “boom” part literally.

Who wins and why?

I think the Ravens walk away with the win but it’s going to be close. Baltimore clearly looked at everything happening this offseason and chose the path with fewer waves. They’ve retained almost all of last year’s 14-2 roster, seeing only one change in the starting lineup on offense. While there are four new starters on defense, they’re all head-and-shoulder better than last year’s counterpart.

The Ravens clearly wanted continuity and I think that’s a strategy to start the season off hopefully more in sync than the rest of the league. While every other team has a bunch of new moving parts or a new coach, Baltimore is effectively going into Week 1 with the same squad that played in Week 17. That’s the difference in this game as the Browns struggle to get on the same page at times. Ravens 23 – Browns 20

Browns Week 1 game strategy: How to slow down Lamar Jackson?

A look at some ways the Browns can try to stop the reigning NFL MVP

The Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns will kickoff their 2020 season at M&T Stadium in Baltimore on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET. The Browns have not been dealt the best of hands as they try to implement new schemes with new coaches, in a limited period of time. To top it all off they have to start by trying to stop one of the league’s best offenses.

When it comes to stopping the Ravens offense, it starts with slowing down the extremely talented and ridiculously quick Lamar Jackson. Teams have tried a number of schemes and methods, but not many have actually generated distinct results. So with the Browns ready to take the challenge first in 2020, let’s look at what has worked in some measure against Jackson and the Ravens.

1. Spy

The Tennessee Titans are one of the few success stories against the Ravens offense, beating them in M&T Bank Stadium during the divisional round of the 2019 playoffs. Titans HC Mike Vrabel put together a masterful game plan that threw anything and everything at Jackson. He still passed for 365 yards and rushed for 143, but they held him to one touchdown and most importantly defeated them 28-12.

The takeaway from what the Titans did against Jackson is the way that they deployed the quarterback spy. Along with Vrabel’s special concoction of different defensive looks, they often had a player assigned to mirror Jackson’s movements. Usually this is a linebacker or box safety, but the Titans switched their spy regularly throughout the game. They used a combination of linebackers, defensive backs and often defensive lineman who would drop into the middle of the field and spy Jackson as he darted in and out of the pocket.

2. Unicorn Defense

One of the other games that is bookmarked as a success in slowing down Jackson was the Ravens 2018 playoff loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. According to Next Gen Stats, the Chargers used seven defensive backs on 58 of 59 defensive snaps versus the Ravens in the Wild Card round. Across the NFL that season, there were only 353 total defensive plays with seven DBs on the field (50 by the Chargers). Los Angeles allowed 3.9 yards per play with seven defensive backs versus the Ravens.

“We needed some fast guys, right? We needed guys who could run sideline to sideline and still help in the passing game if they got fooled,”  Chargers safety Rayshawn Jenkins told MMQB. Not saying our linebackers couldn’t do it, but let’s be honest, DBs are faster than linebackers.”

Strangely enough, teams have rarely been willing to go to the extremes of playing with seven defensive backs on the field against the Ravens, despite the Chargers’ success.

3. Make him throw outside the Numbers

Jackson has thoroughly proved his doubters wrong with his throwing ability. It was on full display last year as he won the NFL’s MVP award. Still, he has areas where he can improve and if we know anything about him, he spent his offseason doing just that.

It is worth noting though that teams have had more success against Jackson when forcing him to throw to the outside, specifically outside the numbers on the field. A good deal of the Ravens pass game action is designed to get players open in the middle of the field.

The Titans did a good job of taking some of this away and forcing Jackson to throw to the sidelines. Until he proves that he can make those throws on a consistent basis, defenses should be trying to take the middle of the field away from him.

Karl Joseph: What the Browns are getting in their new safety

Karl Joseph: What the Browns are getting in their new safety with a scouting report from his days with the Raiders

The Cleveland Browns are killing this free agency period with another big-time signing. GM Andrew Berry added former Raiders first-round selection, Karl Joseph. It is no secret that the depth chart is pretty slim in the safety department for the Browns, but adding a dynamic player like Joseph should no doubt get people excited.

Name: Karl Joseph

Height: 5-10

Weight: 205 pounds

Age: 26 years old

Previous Team: Oakland Raiders

Joseph was drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Despite this being viewed as high at the time, he started his career off with a bang and earned All-Rookie honors and a relatively high PFF grade of 75.5. Joseph continued his impressive level of ply in 2017 as he finished his second season with a PFF grade of 80.8.

In 2018, Joseph had another solid season and actually had the highest PFF grade of any defensive player for the Raiders with 74.5. The writing was on the wall for Joseph during his last season in Oakland as they declined the fifth-year option on his contract and he struggled with a foot injury all season, which led to him being placed on IR.

Despite having decent production throughout his career, Joseph will likely be labeled a bust by most due to him being benched from time to time. With that said, he had some flashes of stardom and is an absolute missile in the defensive backfield. You have to take the bad with the good with a player like Joseph, but his aggressive play style and range results in more positives than negatives.

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Joseph is inconsistent and that was the death of his career for the Raiders, but he checks every box you want in a dominating safety. He also has a bit of a lengthy injury resume with the recent foot issues and the torn ACL in college. Joseph is not a small safety, but he does lack ideal size for his style. Despite his few issues, I do believe adding Joseph to a one year deal is a win and he has the ability to dominate in the NFL.

 

1 year later: Evaluating the Odell Beckham Jr. blockbuster trade

Evaluating who won the Odell Beckham Jr. trade from the New York Giants to the Cleveland Browns one year later

One year ago today the Cleveland Browns shocked the sports world. Then-GM John Dorsey executed a blockbuster trade with the New York Giants to bring high-profile Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns.

In exchange for Beckham, the Browns send two 2019 draft picks (first and third rounds) and 2018 first-round safety Jabrill Peppers to New York.

Beckham had a star-crossed first season in Cleveland. He topped 1,000 receiving yards on 74 receptions, but he got there inefficiently. There were uncharacteristic drops, there were miscommunications with QB Baker Mayfield, there were missed opportunities. Beckham posted his lowest catch rate (55 percent) and catches per game (4.6) of his 6-year career, scoring just four TDs.

He spent the year battling a sports hernia injury that required postseason surgery. Beckham did play all 16 games for the first time in 2016.

Browns fans know very well the Beckham end of the trade. But what about the Giants and how the players they received in exchange fared?

Peppers started 11 games for the Giants in his third NFL season. Playing more of a hybrid LB/strong safety role in the New York defense, Peppers proved to be the same player he was in Cleveland — a solid starter who plays better near the line of scrimmage in both run and pass defense. Peppers racked up 76 tackles in 11 games, just missing his career-high of 79 with the Browns in 2018, a total he posted in 16 games.

His Pro Football Focus grade dropped from Peppers’ last year in Cleveland to his first year in New York, notably in the tackling metric. Per PFF, Peppers missed 12 tackles compared to just 11 in 2018, though he did force three fumbles. He also notched the first pick-6 of his career on his only INT of the season before going on the shelf with the same injury (transverse process fracture) that Browns WR Jarvis Landry played through in 2019.

New York drafted defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence with the No. 17 overall pick acquired in the trade. It was an immediate draft hit for the Giants. Lawrence started all 16 games and played well in his over 700 snaps of work. He wound up earning the third-best PFF grade of any Giants defender (Peppers was 11th) and finished second on the team with 21 QB hurries.

Lawrence finished his rookie year with 38 total tackles, four TFLs and 2.5 sacks. The big man from Clemson also forced a fumble and batted down one pass. Playing roughly the same role for the Giants that Larry Ogunjobi does for the Browns, he looks like a nice long-term starter for New York.

The third-round pick turned into Oshane Ximines, a situational pass rusher who bagged 4.5 sacks as a rookie. Playing mostly as a rush OLB, Ximines struggled against the run and in limited coverage opportunities. He figures to get more looks in his second season after making the big jump from Old Dominion to the NFC East.

The Browns snagged an enigmatic, occasionally brilliant wideout who gutted out a tough season in an unfamiliar offense while playing through a painful injury. The Giants picked up two solid young defensive starters and a useful sub-package player capable of more. The early return favors the Giants, but a healthy Beckham with more familiarity with his QB and teammates still offers a higher impact ceiling in Cleveland. That needs to happen for Beckham in 2020 or else the Giants will claim the win in the blockbuster trade.

 

Browns injury update: Eric Murray, Greg Robinson miss practice

Browns injury update: Eric Murray, Greg Robinson miss practice on Wednesday

The Browns are carrying some injuries into the Thanksgiving holiday with the Pittsburgh Steelers on the table for the weekend. Left tackle Greg Robinson was not practicing after being placed in the concussion protocol after reporting concussion symptoms to the team.

This was further validated when the Browns shared their Week 13 injury report and Greg Robinson was listed as “DNP” due to concussion.

Obviously, this is some of the worst news possible for the Cleveland Browns going into a Week 13 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Robinson likely out, Justin McCray would be thrust into starting duties for the second time this season.

Chad Thomas was the Browns’ top-graded defender vs. the Dolphins

The Browns needed an EDGE to step up and Thomas delivered

Down Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon at defensive end, Chad Thomas needed to step up his game in their absence. And the second-year DE did just that against his hometown team, posting a great game for the Browns against the Miami Dolphins.

Thomas wound up scoring the highest Pro Football Focus grade of any Browns defensive player in the 41-24 home win. In fact, the only EDGE who socred higher in Sunday’s games in Week 12 was Khalil Mack, as in Chicago’s All-Pro Khalil Mack.

The initial grading from PFF credited Thomas with four QB pressures and three tackles. That’s a decent day. Where he thrived was in coverage. Thomas earned a grade over 90 for his effort against screens and the quick passing game.

Thomas’ overall season grade remains mired well below where would be hoped, but a solid game against Miami could be the catalyst he needed to bring more sweet music to the gridiron.

Studs and duds from the Browns’ 41-24 victory over the Dolphins

Jarvis Landry stood out as the biggest stud, while a familiar face once again was an obvious dud

The Cleveland Browns completely dismantled the Miami Dolphins and are now in the thick of the playoff hunt at 5-6. The 2019 season has largely been a disappointment for Cleveland, but they have now strung together three wins in a row and have looked extremely impressive the last couple weeks as the offense has come together.

Miami is one of the lesser teams in the league, but the Browns still exceeded expectations during their showing. Below are just a few players that set themselves apart.

Stud: Jarvis Landry

I will never understand how Landry goes underappreciated and borderline hated week after week after week by a huge chunk of fans, because all this guy does is compete and make plays for Cleveland. Landry just embarrassed a Dolphins defensive backfield with 10 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns. It should surprise no one that one of his best performances of the year was against his former team.

Dud: Chris Hubbard

It feels like Landry is on this list almost weekly, but it also feels like Hubbard is as well and not for good reasons. Even against a terrible Miami team, Hubbard looked atrocious and is practically guaranteed not to be the 2020 starter at right tackle. The offensive line is not as bad as some would lead you to believe, but with the right tackle getting destroyed on almost every down it definitely does not instill confidence.

Stud: Kareem Hunt

Hunt has had a confusing and controversial journey to get to his hometown team, but despite his past off the field, Hunt deserves a ton of credit for transforming this offense and found the end-zone for the very first time as a Brown on Sunday. The Toledo product did not have the most statistically pleasing game with only 37 rushing yards and nine receiving yards, but he still averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

Dud: Greedy Williams

Williams looked like a future All-Pro and potential Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate early in the season, but the last few games have been rough for the former LSU Tiger. Opposing offenses appear to be picking on the young rookie and he has struggled some. Williams has shown that he will give up the inside and a better offense will focus on that.

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3 big takeaways from the Browns’ big win over the Dolphins

Jarvis Landry’s sweet revenge, Baker Mayfield’s boom continues and the defense stepped up

Cleveland blew out visiting Miami, 41-24, in a fun victory at FirstEnergy Stadium in Week 12. Here are three things that stood out while watching the Browns roll to their third victory in a row.

Baker Mayfield is back, baby!

Mayfield continued to play very well since the bye week. He lit up the Miami defense for 327 passing yards and three TDs. All of those touchdowns came in the first half as the Browns rolled to a 28-0 lead.

At one point, Mayfield was 11-for-13 for 168 yards and 3 TDs. He finished the first half 16-for-18 and in complete control of the offense.

He had but one bad throw, an interception that was behind and too hot for Jarvis Landry on a quick slant and was intercepted. But he often stood in the pocket and didn’t see ghosts, standing tall and delivering strikes all over the field. The INT mired a long streak without a turnover dating back to the Patriots game in Week 8, but Mayfield remains on fire lately.

Sweet revenge for Jarvis Landry

When the Browns traded for Landry back before the 2018 season, it seemed crazy the Dolphins were willing to give up such a prolific receiver. Miami gave away Landry for draft picks that netted the Dolphins a backup running back, Myles Gaskin.

Landry was classy in his departure, but it clearly bothered “Juice” the Dolphins sold him off for peanuts rather than paying him for his Pro Bowl production. He exacted some revenge on Sunday.

Landry caught 10 passes for 148 yards and two TDs against his old team. Mayfield kept feeding him the ball and the Dolphins had no answers. His Browns teammates had no complaints, either.

Way to go, Landry!

The shorthanded defense survived

No Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, Larry Ogunjobi or Morgan Burnett? No problem. Well, not much of one anyway.

Missing three normal starters up front and with starting safety Burnett on I.R., the Browns turned to several unproven commodities. Guys like Sione Takitaki (two tackles), Porter Gustin (a sack in his Browns debut) and Bryan Cox (three tackles including a TFL) stepped up. T.J. Carrie played his best game of the season.

Then there’s the two stalwarts from the front six, Joe Schobert and Sheldon Richardson. Schobert picked off two passes for the second week in a row, while Richardson absolutely dominated the Dolphins with two sacks, a forced fumble, a PD and several QB pressures.

Granted the Dolphins aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, but the depleted Browns defense played very well.

Browns made it fun for the fans in 41-24 romp over Dolphins

That was a fun, relatively stress-free win to witness

It’s been a long time since the Cleveland Browns so colorfully, so thoroughly blew out an opponent. It was, in a word, fun.

Beating up an inferior opponent is not a frequent opportunity for the Browns, and they took full advantage of an undertalented Miami squad. Cleveland was up 28-0 before the visiting Dolphins were acclimated to the Lake Erie chill in late November.

The FirstEnergy Stadium crowd loved it. They were rocking in the Dawg Pound and loudly cheering as the Browns scored not one, not two, not three but more TDs in a row than any Cleveland team since the franchise reemerged in 1999.

It was fun to watch Nick Chubb top 100 yards rushing. Smiles abounded when Kareem Hunt scored his first TD in the white and orange for his hometown Browns. Joe Schobert picking off two passes for the second week in a row, yeah that’s fun too.

This season has not gone as scripted, but improving to 5-6 and very much staying alive in the playoff race by lapping the hapless Dolphins is a fun way for the Browns to send the faithful fans into the Thanksgiving holiday.