Tag: Denzel Ward

Baker Mayfield focused on ‘sense of urgency’ during the Browns short work week

Mayfield and Denzel Ward say the focus has quickly turned away from Week 1

The Week 1 loss was a brutal one for the Cleveland Browns. Falling 38-6 and largely failing in all three phases of the game was a tough debut for the Kevin Stefanski era.

There is no time for the team to dwell on the loss, not with the Cincinnati Bengals heading into FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday night. The short turnaround and minimal work week are a good way for the team to shift gears and look ahead to the Bengals.

That’s what quarterback Baker Mayfield is trying to do. A return to the basics and avoiding mental errors is key, according to the young QB.

“I just think there is a sense of urgency,” Mayfield said during his Zoom press conference with reporters on Tuesday. “Shorter week, obviously, there always will be [a sense of urgency], just about the little and things that we can do better to improve. Like I said, I think we hurt ourselves very early on in that game. I think the focus is on eliminating those mistakes and playing our game, especially on a short week. Just do your job, go out there and execute and do not have those missed assignments and mental errors.”

Cornerback Denzel Ward echoed those sentiments during his Zoom session this week.

“We get a chance to go out, play another game, get this last game out our minds, focus on the Bengals and see what we can do to pull out a win and get our first win of the season,” Ward told reporters.

The Browns get their chance to right the Week 1 wrongs on Thursday night at 8:20 p.m. ET.

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Denzel Ward cracks the top 20 on PFF’s list of top CBs

Ward is also the youngest player on the list

Denzel Ward is quickly garnering real respect around the NFL. After just two seasons, the Browns cornerback is consistently mentioned as one of the top young CBs in the NFL.

Pro Football Focus released its top 25 cornerbacks entering the 2020 NFL season, and Ward shows up in the middle of the list. At No. 16 overall, Ward proudly represents the Browns and the promising young premium talent the team has assembled on defense.

Ward’s position is bolstered by his impressive coverage figures,

Denzel Ward’s NFL career is still a work in progress, but he is already on the brink of being one of the very top corners in the game. For his career, he has allowed under 50% of passes thrown his way to be caught, and that dropped to 44.9% in Year 2. He surrendered just one touchdown and was beaten for a mere 58.0 passer rating on the season.

Still just 23 years old, Ward is the youngest player in the top 25, too. If he can stay healthy for a full 16-game season, something he’s yet to do, expect Ward to move up this list in coming years.

Browns DB coach Jeff Howard is big on improving technique

“…working on their craft and working on the details of their positions, unique footwork and eye progressions.”

There was a common theme during Browns defensive backs coach Jeff Howard’s pre-practice press conference on Friday.

Improving technique.

While there was another prevalent theme — injuries — as well, when Howard wasn’t talking about the walking wounded he was harping on the technical prowess of his cornerbacks and safeties. He’s a stickler for proper technique and for improving footwork.

From veteran CB Terrance “Money” Mitchell to young safety Sheldrick Redwine to Pro Bowl CB Denzel Ward, focusing on teaching and improving technique came out in nearly every answer Howard provided on players. It was especially focused with Ward, the unit’s most talented player.

“I always want to try to add value to my players,” Howard said when asked about Ward. “We kind of just went back and looked. I watched all his targets from last year and really just tried to assess him, tell him where I was at and then come up with a plan of ways that we can feel like he can possibly improve on his game.”

Howard is in his first season with the Browns after coaching with Kevin Stefanski in Minnesota for several seasons. His philosophy is best summed up in a quote he offered on Ward and Greedy Williams,

“…working on their craft and working on the details of their positions, unique footwork and eye progressions.”

Denzel Ward learning a new press coverage technique on the fly

Ward is trying to become more well-rounded and versatile in coverage

Denzel Ward has been very successful in coverage in his first two NFL seasons. That Pro Bowl-level play doesn’t stop the Browns cornerback, or his new coaches, from pushing to be even better.

One area in particular where new defensive coordinator Joe Woods is hoping he can help Ward is in the CB’s press coverage technique. Ward talked about it in his Zoom teleconference with reporters on Tuesday.

“They are going to teach new things,” Ward explained. “That is one thing. One thing specifically that I like is they are critiquing my technique, actually. Right now, I am kind of trying to learn a new technique that I played in press coverage a little differently than the years past. I have been working on that. That is one thing that I appreciate so far from Coach Woods and the rest of the staff.”

He admitted it’s not been an easy process to learn and implement a new technique while being away from the team facilities and working remotely with Woods and the coaches.

“Yeah, a little bit, just because I have not really worked that technique before,” Ward said when asked if it’s been hard. “It has been a fun process so far and learning the new technique. Just trying new things out and not really being one dimensional.”

Ward did not elaborate on the exact technique change. Having watched his game tape, I would suspect it involves his transition step(s) when he stops the early press; Ward often takes a deep step that leaves him vulnerable to quicker wideouts.

Denzel Ward on the new-look Browns secondary: ‘I feel like we could be special’

Ward believes in the potential of himself, Greedy Williams, Grant Delpit and crew

Denzel Ward has been the best player in the Cleveland Browns secondary almost from the minute the cornerback walked to the podium as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Despite some big changes around him entering 2020, Ward is pretty confident the new-look secondary is going to be a good one.

Ward is coming off a good-not-great second season after making the Pro Bowl in his rookie year. He gave an honest answer when asked about his 2019 campaign during a Zoom teleconference with reporters on Tuesday.

“I feel that I had a decent season, not the season that I have in my mind when I set my goals and everything that I want to accomplish throughout the year, but I feel that I definitely produced throughout the season and did my job when I was out there on the field, made plays and helped my team,” Ward said.

After talking up fellow starting CB Greedy Williams, Ward turned his attention to the safeties. Cleveland will have three new safeties this year, including second-round pick Grant Delpit. No. 21 is clearly a fan of Delpit, noting,

“He is a tough player. He is going to bring that toughness here.”

Ward understands the high-end potential of the group and he’s ready to show it.

“I feel like we could be special,” Ward said of the secondary. “We just have to play within the defense, play within ourselves, make plays and do what we are supposed to do, and everything else will take care of itself.”

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Eagles’ Darius Slay left off a ranking of the NFL’s 11 best outside cornerbacks

Philadelphia Eagles star Darius Slay left off a ranking of the NFL’s 11 best outside CB’s

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The 2020 offseason has seen a myriad of cornerback rankings from different NFL outlets with the one consistent being the snubbing of the Eagles star cornerback.

Slay is among the top-5 cornerbacks in football and yet has suffered countless disrespect this offseason when it comes to where he stands among the NFL’s elite cornerbacks. Our friends over at Touchdown Wire just released their rankings for the top-11 outside cornerbacks in the NFL and Slay was once again omitted.

11. Bashaud Breeland

10. Steven Nelson

9. Troy Hill

8. Marcus Peters

7.Ross Cockrel

6. Denzel Ward

5. Quinton Dunbar

4. J.C. Jackson

3. Richard Sherman

2. Tre’Davious White

1. Stephon Gilmore

While many of the teams in the NFL primarily play zone coverage, Slay is one of the few players in the NFL that were asked to play bump and run on the majority of their snaps.

Take this tidbit from Packers star DeVante Adams on Slay and the Lions defense last season.

Slay was impressive last year despite some down statistics on a bad team and yet his performance against some of the NFL’s best would be highlight-reel performances for some other cornerbacks.

Slay’s 85 forced incompletions since 2014 are the most in the NFL over that span as well.

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The NFL’s 11 best outside cornerbacks

Boundary cornerbacks who can erase an opponent’s best receiver are more important than ever. Here are the NFL’s 11 best.

Let’s say you’re an NFL team, and you need a bunch of really good cornerbacks. Step one, of course, is determining which characteristics define your version of that ideal. Last season, the Chargers led the NFL by playing 75% zone coverage, so their definitions are going to be different than the ones the Patriots come up with — because the Patriots played man coverage on 54% of their snaps. Only the Lions played more man coverage, and the extent to which the Lions failed to do so at a competent level implies that perhaps they weren’t exact enough with their definitions.

Add in the fact that teams are playing more dime than base defense these days (20.9% dime to 18% base), and it’s an NFL that demands more cornerbacks, and more of those cornerbacks, than ever before. It used to be enough to press up against your receiver and work him to the boundary; now, you may have to move from zone to man to combo with different numbers of defensive backs around you. And you’re doing that against offenses that present more receivers in more complex formations and route concepts than ever before.

The outside cornerback position has never been more valuable than it is now as a result, and here are the 11 best at the position as we head into the 2020 season.

Other Top 11 Lists: Slot defenders | Safeties

Honorable Mentions

(Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports)

Assembling a list of the NFL’s 11 best outside cornerbacks in 2020 is a brutal exercise, because there are so many good cornerbacks in the NFL out of necessity. There were instances in which the players fell just short of the 50-target limit — our apologies to Jason McCourty of the Patriots and Jimmy Smith of the Ravens, who each had 49 targets (including the postseason) and would have challenged for the top 11 with an extra rep or two. Sidney Jones of the Eagles and Jamel Dean of the Buccaneers are two younger players who also didn’t make the target limit, but are excellent talents on the rise. In other instances, overall coverage numbers represented a primary focus on the slot, and while guys like Brian Poole of the Jets, Marlon Humphrey of the Ravens, K’Waun Williams of the 49ers, and D.J. Hayden of the Jaguars also played well outside to a point, it wasn’t their primary focus. So, you’ll find all of those guys on our list of the NFL’s top 11 slot defenders.

There were other cases in which cornerbacks had high interception totals and good overall charting stats, but their touchdowns allowed (stats backed up by tape study) got in the way. So it was for Pittsburgh’s Joe Haden, who allowed 49 catches on 79 targets for 468 yards, 139 yards after the catch, had five interceptions, and allowed an opponent passer rating of 70.0… but also allowed six touchdowns. Marcus Peters of the Ravens barely made this list because of a similar touchdown problem, but the negative plays he did create for opposing offenses were frequent and important enough to be considered.

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Ohio State with 8 of 22 players on ESPN’s All-Big Ten NFL starting squad

ESPN drafted an All-Big Ten starting NFL team using current rosters. Ohio State led the way for the conference with eight of the 22 spots.

Here’s the challenge. Take the complete, current rosters of all the NFL teams and draft a starting team using just Big Ten players. We did the same thing with Ohio State players only, and suffice to say, it would still be one whale of a team. But what would it look like if you had Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin, and yes — even Michigan to choose from?

If you’re wondering what that would look like, ESPN did the work for you and came out with a team that looks awfully dominant. One of the reasons it would be a juggernaut is because over one-third of the starting 22 hail from Ohio State, with eight total. That’s right, Penn State, Michigan and others like to rant and rave about Buckeye bias, but the Big Ten wouldn’t be quite the conference it is without football being played on the banks of the Olentangy. So what players made the cut from the Buckeyes?

Here’s the entire team, with Ohio State players marked with an asterisk.

Next … All Big-Ten NFL starting team according to ESPN

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Eagles CB Darius Slay omitted from a list raking the NFL’s 10 best in coverage

Darius Slay omitted from a list raking the NFL’s 10 best in coverage

The Philadelphia Eagles were able to address their biggest need this offseason, acquiring cornerback Darius Slay from the Detroit Lions for draft picks.

Slay is one of the NFL’s top cover men, yet he’s been disrespected on more than one occasion this offseason. Slay previously stated that he felt his 2019 season was “fantastic” despite critics and analysts suggesting that he was statistically one of the worst in the league.

Now in a list of the top players in coverage from NFL.com, Slay was again omitted for some lesser-known talent.

Using metrics that included passer rating allowed, catch rate allowed below expectation, tight-window percentage, target rate, and average separation yards.

Stephon Gilmore of New England was the No. 1 player on the list and deservedly so. Gilmore was followed by the Patriots J.C. Jackson, Justin Simmons, Tre’Darius White, and Bears safety Eddie Jackson rounded out the top-5.

In 2019 Slay managed a coverage grade of just 56.9, which ranked 92nd in the NFL as he racked up 36 total tackles, 13 pass deflections, two interceptions, and 0 forced fumbles.

Slay allowed 346 yards on 162 press coverage snaps, and 177 yards on 214 off-man coverage snaps.

The numbers are misleading and don’t really tell the full story as Slay was on a Lions team that had the worst pass defense in 2019, giving up almost 2845 yards per game. The Lions also had the second-lowest sack rate (28) in the league, thus forcing Slay in coverage longer than expected.

Even with the numbers, Slay was still one of the best in overall coverage and should make the list on merit alone and should definitely add fuel to his already growing fire.

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Dwayne Haskins, Chase Young, and the Redskins to return to Ohio in Week 3

The Washington Redskins–who have a roster filled with high-profile former Buckeyes–will face the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 this season.

Dawyne Haskins has not played competitive football in the state of Ohio since he finished his Buckeye career in 2018. Terry McLaurin, who earned PFWA All-Rookie Team honors last season, hasn’t played in Ohio since leaving Ohio State either. And, of course, Chase Young has not played football since finishing at Ohio State in December.

The Washington Redskins have a roster studded with high-profile former Buckeyes. Haskins is the only former Ohio State quarterback currently starting in the NFL. After a rough start in his first few games, Haskins became a solid starter for the Redskins, who hope that the former Buckeye will be their leader for the future.

McLaurin, meanwhile, became an instant rookie sensation at wide receiver, hauling in a 69-yard touchdown catch in his first NFL game. McLaurin was a bit of a surprise. He was expected by most to be a solid receiver, but nowhere near the star that he quickly became.

And, of course, Chase Young was just drafted by the Redskins, who expect him to contribute instantly. There is plenty of reason to expect big things from Young from day one, given his skill set and what he showed in his time at Ohio State.

The Redskins also have a fourth Buckeye, tight end Marcus Baugh, on the roster. All four of these former Buckeyes will be returning to play professional football in Ohio when the Redskins visit the Browns in Week 3. It is too soon to tell what sports will be like when September 27th rolls around, but if there are fans in the stands then you can expect whatever fans are in the stands to give these former Buckeye standouts a warm welcome in their return to the Buckeye states.

The Browns, meanwhile, currently have two former Buckeyes on their roster–offensive lineman Malcomlm Pridgeon and cornerback Denzel Ward.

The Redskins will also play the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11 this coming year, but that game will be in Washington.