Tag: Joe Woods

Browns rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah offers ‘everything’ at LB, expected to play vs. Patriots

Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods gushed about his rookie LB and the versatile skills he brings

Expect to see rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah back in the lineup for the Cleveland Browns this weekend. After returning to practice and being designated to return from Cleveland’s injured reserve, all signs point to “JOK” making his first appearance since Week 6 in the team’s trip to New England in Week 10.

“Yes, I am very optimistic he can play Sunday,” Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods responded when asked if Owusu-Koramoah will be in the lineup.

The Browns can certainly use him. Owusu-Koramoah proved quite adept in coverage and short-area passing game situations, which is a huge staple of the Patriots offensive scheme. Woods knows his LB’s versatility and broad skillset will be important in New England.

“Speed. Coverage ability. Tackling. Blitzing. Everything. He is a very talented player,” Woods stated. “There may be a little bit of rust, and we will see where he is at as we progress through the week. I think he just adds another dimension to our defense for sure.”

The Browns defense has compensated fairly well since losing Owusu-Koramoah to an ankle injury early in the Week 6 loss to the Cardinals. But getting the multitalented rookie back into the middle of the defense is a huge boon for the critical matchup against the 5-4 Patriots.

Is Joe Woods defensive scheme ready to try to slow Chiefs offense?

Cleveland’s front office handed Joe Woods the talent, now can he scheme them well enough to slow down Kansas City?

The Cleveland Browns defense was a weak link for the team in 2020. Despite that, mostly due to a stellar offense, somewhat easy schedule and a few key defenders, the Browns were able to make the NFL playoffs.

In the postseason, Cleveland knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers due to some errors by the Steelers offense that the Browns defense was able to take advantage of. In the following round, the Kansas City Chiefs lost star quarterback Patrick Mahomes early in the game but the Cleveland defense couldn’t do enough to stop the Chad Henne-led Chiefs offense.

This offseason, the Browns front office went about remaking the team’s defense to give defensive coordinator Joe Woods the ability to match up with offenses like the Chiefs. While the NFL has setup rules that mostly favor the offense, having a defense that is talented enough to slow down a high-powered offense is important.

Kansas City saw that in the Super Bowl last year when Tampa Bay’s defense held them in check. The Chiefs upgraded their offensive line, the primary culprit on Super Bowl Sunday, because of that loss.

Now, Woods has the talent. The team added so much talent on his side of the ball that it is often hard to remember all of the new players. They also have a few returning after missing the 2020 season. Andrew Billings, Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams didn’t play last year and could play important roles this year.

On top of those three, John Johnson III, Troy Hill, Greg Newsome II and Richard LeCounte III were added to the secondary, Anthony Walker, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Tony Fields II were added at linebacker and Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley, Malik Jackson, Tommy Togiai and Malik McDowell were added on the defensive line.

That is a lot of additions along with the three returning after missing 2020.

On the other side, only three defensive linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks and two safeties on the current 53-man roster played for the team in 2020.

Cleveland’s front office made sure that Woods had the talent needed to try to succeed against the best offenses in the NFL. While very few defenses can ever stop a very good offense, barring the offense losing their line like the Chiefs did last year, Woods has to build schemes now to use the added talent.

Going into 2021, the success of the Browns defense falls on Woods’ schemes and play calling. Can the second-year Cleveland defensive coordinator deploy his players to the best of their ability and make Kansas City’s job just hard enough to pull off a victory? Time will tell.

Browns defense will be ‘fast, aggressive’ and ‘not really worry’ about opponent

Which side dictates the game? Generally, an offense dictates to a defense what the defense must do. Joe Woods may have other ideas for the Browns this year.

The Cleveland Browns defense got an overhaul this offseason. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods tried to make things work last season with a mismatched group of veterans on one-year contracts and young guys still cutting their teeth in the league.

With the additions of John Johnson III and Troy Hill, the Browns added veterans to be around for a few seasons. With the additions of Jadeveon Clowney, Anthony Walker and Takk McKinley, Cleveland added young veterans to one-year deals who are looking to prove their worth.

On top of them, Malik Jackson was brought in for his experience and the team’s top two draft picks were used to add defenders.

All of those additions, as well as the returns of Greedy Williams, Grant Delpit and Andrew Billings after missing 2020, and the Browns believe they have an identity, says Woods:

“Fast. Hopefully, fast and aggressive. We want to be a fast, aggressive team. We want to be able to take away the ball. We really want to dictate the way the game is played. I want to be aggressive with our game planning, aggressive in terms of getting after the quarterback with blitz packages and not really worry about what they are doing – make them worry about what we are doing. That is the hope.”

While all coaches talk about wanting to be fast and aggressive, it is interesting that Woods noted not wanting to worry about what the opposing team is doing. While that statement is mostly hyperbole (the Browns won’t line up in base defense with three linebackers against a five-wide set), the team does want to try to dictate to the offense instead of the other way around.

It is also a risky proposition that can lead to big plays for both teams. With the quality of offense Cleveland will have on the field, a big-play defense that gives up big plays might just work. The added talent, which added a lot of speed to the defense, will help make that happen.

Browns 2020 pass coverage schemes surprisingly unique

Despite struggling to cover in 2020 the Browns schemes were unique, surprisingly.

In most regards, the Cleveland Browns defense struggled in 2020 but, according to a new study, were unique in their coverages. In base statistics, the Browns were pretty middle to the pack in yards given up but were worse against the pass and a little better against the run.

Part of their success against the run and struggle against the pass, based on yardage, was due to the Browns offense. The Browns defense faced the 22nd most rushing attempts (412) but the eighth-most (585) passing attempts in the NFL last year.

Still, the secondary was also a part of the problem which the team seemed to identify this offseason with their moves. Starters for most or all of the season,  Andrew Sendejo, Karl Joseph, Kevin Johnson and Terrance Mitchell are no longer on the team. In their place are free agents John Johnson III and Troy Hill along with the returning Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit. Top draft pick Greg Newsome II will also fight for the starter position opposite Denzel Ward.

While the secondary was in shambles, that didn’t keep defensive coordinator Joe Woods from showing a variety of coverages, says Pro Football Focus. In a new piece, that is highly data-oriented, PFF notes that the Browns had the ninth most “coverage uniqueness” in 2020:

(The description of how they came to that is very interesting and we encourage reading through it for all the details.)

Later in the piece, they showed that being unique didn’t always lead to great coverage but that some of the best defenses were unique:

What we see with some of the top teams is either uniqueness (Rams and Dolphins) or very good pass rushes (Steelers, Washington, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore).

With significant additions to the secondary, and the defensive line, will Woods continue to be diverse in his scheme calls? If so, could the Browns pull off a great combination of coverage uniqueness and a very good pass rush with Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley and Malik Jackson?

While it may have been frustrating to watch the Browns try to cover folks in 2020 at least Woods was trying to scheme up ways for them to win. With loads of talent added to their coverages, including Anthony Walker and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at the linebacker position, the Browns could be even more diverse in coverages next season.

Can Browns defense control the tempo of opposing offenses?

Can the Cleveland Browns defense actually dictate tempo to offenses in 2021?

In the NFL, offenses tend to dictate to defenses what the tempo of the game will be. Joe Woods wants to reverse that for the Cleveland Browns in 2021.

Outside of a dominant pass rush against a poor offensive line, ala this past Super Bowl, it is often difficult for a defense to control a game. Woods mentioned his history with the Denver Broncos winning the Super Bowl running a lot of nickel and dime packages as noted on the Browns official site:

Woods coached the defensive backs when the Broncos heavily used nickel and dime sets en route to winning Super Bowl 50 in 2015, and he’s hoping to replicate a similar feel to the Browns defense in 2021.

“It probably will not be as much as I ran in Denver,” Woods said, “but it will definitely be a lot more [than last year], especially on third down and maybe two-minute situations.”

Looking back at that Denver team is interesting. While Peyton Manning was their quarterback, he was in his last season in the league and was benched for Brock Osweiler during the year. The defense had quality players on all levels including current Brown Malik Jackson.

The Broncos’ secondary was deep with T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart at safety along with Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby at cornerback. The team also had pass rushers Von Miller, DeMarcus are, Shaquil Barrett and Derek Wolfe to provide pressure.

Woods is hoping his 2021 defense can have that level of success, or more, for Cleveland:

“We’ve already started the process in the offseason of installing some new defensive packages and some new cover schemes, just so we can dictate the tempo a little bit more,” he said.

It will be interesting what “dictate the tempo” means for the Browns on defense. There are a few things Woods could mean including will more defensive backs force teams to run the ball more against Cleveland?

More likely, will the team’s speed and schemes be able to decide where opposing offenses are going to try to target pass-catchers? With so many coverage players, Woods will be able to make it seem like the defense is in one scheme only to shift to another postsnap. The Browns will also be able to bring secondary players on a variety of blitzes.

If the Browns defense can, in fact, dictate tempo in 2021, the team’s ceiling for success is quite high. It will be interesting to be on the lookout for as games start.

Greg Newsome II and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah bring “different element” to Browns

The Cleveland Browns believe they got two first-round picks with cornerback Greg Newsome II and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The team is very excited about what the two will bring to their defense.

The Cleveland Browns believe they got two first-round picks with cornerback Greg Newsome II and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The team is very excited about what the two will bring to their defense.

While the Browns have added a lot of talent to their defense, it is the presence of the two high draft picks that have defensive coordinator Joe Woods excited. The front office has given Woods a lot to work with going into 2021 after spending much of their first season together putting resources mostly toward the offensive side of the ball.

This offseason, the defensive makeover includes the additions of Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley, Malik Jackson, Anthony Walker, Troy Hill and John Johnson III in free agency. In the NFL draft, Newsome and Owusu-Koramoah were joined by Tommy Togiai, Tony Fields II and Richard LeCounte III.

The defense also gets Andrew Billings back from the COVID-19 opt-out list and Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit return from missing 2020 due to injuries.

“They just bring a different element to the team,” he said. “It’s been good having both of those guys involved.”

The “different element” that Woods described is fitting for the pair of rookies. Newsome has a little more size than Denzel Ward and Hill at cornerback and more speed and quickness than Williams. Like Hill, Newsome has excited coaches that he can play inside and out.

Owusu-Koramoah has the speed to match up in coverage with running backs and tight ends, as described in the piece, but has shown enough power to still be effective in the running game.

Relying on rookies to be season-long game-changers isn’t generally a good idea. With all of the additions, and returns, for the Cleveland defense, the Browns won’t have to. Instead, Newsome and Owusu-Koramoah can be utilized to their strengths and minimize areas where their youth creates weaknesses.

Having access to “a different element” from those two rookies could give Cleveland the kind of depth needed to sustain a long run to the Super Bowl in 2021 and beyond.

Joe Woods not concerned about Browns size on defense, likes their speed

Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods isn’t concerned about his defense’s size but is excited about their speed.

The Cleveland Browns added a lot of defenders this offseason. The commonality with most of them was speed. John Johnson III, Troy Hill and Greg Newsome added speed to the secondary. Anthony Walker and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah added speed to the linebacker group.

Even on the defensive line, Cleveland added a number of fast players with Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley and, even, Malik Jackson.

These additions, while talented, are not heavy players for their positions. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods is not concerned.

When asked about the Browns being light on defense, therein being susceptible in the run game, Woods was defensive, especially of his new rookie linebacker.

“I think that a lot of those questions pertain to JOK, but when you look around the league, the league is becoming more of you see teams spreading you out and quick throws. It is becoming more matchups and space,” Woods said. He continued, “Just more of a premium on speed, but there is enough size where those guys can play physical, and we have to be smart in terms of how we use him, as well.”

The Browns hope is that their length on the defensive line will help keep offensive linemen from getting out to the linebackers. In the secondary, both Grant Delpit and Ronnie Harrison are good-sized players at safety and are likely to play in the box as times as well.

As Woods noted, the NFL is more of a passing league. If Cleveland can’t stop the passing attack, it doesn’t matter if they are good against the run or not. If the Browns offense is as good as they hope to be, there will be plenty of times where their opponents will have to abandon the run, anyway.

Woods also noted the lighter linebackers have become more prevalent in the NFL pointing out current Brown Malcolm Smith, Atlanta’s Deion Jones and Kwon Alexander. Woods isn’t concerned about Owusu-Koramoah being a little lighter than more traditional linebackers. Instead, he is excited about the team’s added speed.

Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods ‘fired up’ about all the new additions

Browns staffers spoke about Woods’ excitement over the team’s 2021 draft class

Last year the Cleveland Browns offseason focused on building up the offense. Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods had to cobble together young players and one-year rentals at several spots.

This year, the focus has shifted to Woods’ side of the ball. That was very evident on draft weekend, where the team added instant starters in first-round CB Greg Newsome and second-round LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, as well as other useful young talents who could make immediate impacts.

Woods himself didn’t speak but the Browns staff around him related his excitement about all the new toys at his disposal.

“Joe has been fired up,” director of player personnel Dan Saganey said Saturday about Woods. “I’ve seen him making the rounds. I’ve had my door shut for half of this, but I’ve had a couple of pounds on the door.”

That sentiment was echoed by national scout Charles Walls, who noted Woods,

“Was pretty psyched after the first pick, and then after the second pick, I don’t know if we could keep him together. Yeah, he’s pretty excited.”

Get used to seeing 4-2-5 as the Browns base defense

The Browns ran 4-2-5 more than twice as much as a base 4-3

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One of the decisions Andrew Berry, Kevin Stefanski and the Browns staff made in the past offseason was to deliberately spend less resources at the linebacker position. That’s part of why Joe Schobert is now in Jacksonville. Based on how Stefanski and defensive coordinator Joe Woods deployed the players in 2020, don’t expect a significant investment in the off-ball LB position in 2021 either.

Like most of the rest of the NFL, the Browns used a base defense that had just two LBs on the field. The 4-2-5 or even the 4-1-6 as a base formation was the dominant deployment. Those two made up over half of the total defensive snaps in the NFL in 2020.

Graphic courtesy of r/NFL

For the Browns, it was even more pronounced. Per John Kosko of Pro Football Focus, which tracks personnel on every snap, the Browns defense under Woods broke down like this in 2020:

4-3-4: 267 snaps (24.8%)

4-2-5: 721 snaps (66.9%)

The rest was primarily 4-1-6 though some heavy packages on short-yardage and red zone situations also factored in.

The linebacker snap count breakdown:

B.J. Goodson – 848 (78.7%)

Malcolm Smith – 559 (51.9%)

Sione Takitaki – 434 (40.3%)

Mack Wilson – 372 (34.5%)

Jacob Phillips – 169 (15.7%)

Tae Davis – 25 (2.3%)

Interestingly, Woods actually used three LBs significantly more than predecessor Steve Wilks in 2019. The Browns had a span of seven games in 2019 where there were more than two LBs on the field exactly once.

The relative lack of depth at safety compared to linebacker in 2020 likely contributed to the increased usage. With Grant Delpit, the team’s second-round pick and projected top safety before an injury wiped out his rookie season, coming back, the Browns could lean more on using one LB more than three in 2021.

Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy is a big fan of Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and DC Joe Woods

Bieniemy coached with Stefanski and Woods in Minnesota from 2006-2010

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The way Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy talked about Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and defensive coordinator Joe Woods in his press conference this week, you are forgiven for thinking Bieniemy is trying to join them in Cleveland. Bieniemy heaped praise upon Woods and Stefanski in advance of the AFC divisional round clash in Kansas City this Sunday.

It makes sense. The trio all coached together with the Minnesota Vikings from 2006-2010, with Bieniemy as the RB coach, Stefanski the QB coach and Woods the DB coach.

Bieniemy started off talking about Woods,

“Joe is a laid-back, cool customer. He’s very smart, he’s very intelligent and he’s going to watch everything that we’ve done. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s pulled out tape from the Bronco days and from the Raider days when he coached there, and I know he’s going to pull out some tape from last year’s game in the Super Bowl.

So, one thing about Joe, you don’t have to worry about those guys not being prepared. They’re going to be prepared because that’s who Joe is. And he’s fundamentally sound, he’s going to make sure those guys are focused and locked in on the details of what they need to do.”

Bieniemy continued, bringing up his admiration and respect for Stefanski.

“It’s kind of tough because knowing Joe as well as I do and knowing Kevin Stefanski, all of us have a prior relationship which has grown over the years. I’ve been their biggest fans and just watching those guys, but at some point we have to meet (on the field),” Bieniemy said. “So, this weekend I’m looking forward to that battle, that matchup, but on top of that I do understand this, it’s our job to make sure that our guys are ready, and it’s our job to make sure that we’re putting our guys in the right situations to be successful. So, that’s what we’re looking forward to and I’m fired up. Can’t wait.”

The familiarity between the coaches is separated by a decade of working apart in various places, but there could be some interesting Xs and Os tactics from the former coaching mates.