Tag: khadarel hodge

Report card: Grading each Browns position group after third quarter of season

Updated report card on where each position group is at through the first 12 games

The Cleveland Browns have a 9-3 record after the first three quarters of the season. Kevin Stefanski has guided his Browns to the top seeding in the AFC Wild Card race and the team is steaming towards its first postseason berth in almost two decades.

Now it’s time to close on the goals. Put up the four fingers and focus on finishing the season strong. But before the Browns finish, here’s an updated report card on where each position group is at through the first 12 games.

Grading the Browns position by position at the bye week

Browns postgame injury update: Denzel Ward’s status improves

Stefanski had positive news on a few players in his Monday press conference

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski offered an update on the list of injured players during his Monday press conference. Coach Stefanski had some encouraging news on a few fronts.

Most notable is the update on cornerback Denzel Ward. Stefanski used the term “day-to-day” to describe Ward and not the “week-to-week” terming he’s used with the Pro Bowl CB the last two weeks. Ward has a calf strain and has missed the last two games.

Stefanski also advised that linebacker Mack Wilson did not suffer a concussion during Sunday’s win over Tennessee. Wilson left the game and was evaluated for a brain injury but tests cleared Wilson.

On the wide receiver front, Taywan Taylor is still sidelined with a neck injury. The team is “gathering more info” on Taylor but he remains out for the immediate future. KhaDarel Hodge joined Ward in “day-to-day” status after missing Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

Lastly, defensive end Porter Gustin is “making progress” in getting activated from the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. Gustin is the only player still on the list. Stefanski is hopeful Gustin can return for the Week 14 Monday Night Football matchup with the Ravens.

 

 

Anatomy of Three Plays: Kevin Stefanski’s multi-tiered recipe for defensive distress

The Browns got a 75-yard touchdown pass against the Titans on a concept Kevin Stefanski has been using all season in different disguises.

“In order to do it well, it takes 11 guys and there is nuance to it. The team we are playing this week does a very good job of making the run look like the pass and vice versa. There are always different things that that we give to the players as coaching points on all those play actions. Whether it is a keeper, a run action or whatever it may be, there is nuance to it. We just spend a lot of time drilling it into them both within the meetings and then on the practice field.”

That’s what Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said this week leading into his team’s matchup with the Titans. The contest between two 8-3 teams was expected to be close, but Baker Mayfield threw four first-half touchdowns in a 38-7 halftime rout, matching a franchise record that goes back to 1951, including a delightful touchdown pass to offensive lineman Kendall Lamm in which Tennessee’s offense was focused on running back Nick Chubb, and Lamm was wide open.

Big Man Touchdown! Baker Mayfield throws TD pass to OT Kendall Lamm

But the touchdown we want to focus on here for the purposes of this article is Mayfield’s 75-yard touchdown pass to receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones with 3:04 left in the second quarter. Here, the Browns come out in “13” personnel (one running back, three tight ends, one wide receiver), which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Per Sharp Football Stats, the Browns led the league in usage of “13” through Week 12, using it on 14% of their offensive snaps. This looks for all the world like a run play, with tight end Harrison Bryant moving into the backfield, and everyone else involved in a max protect look at the line of scrimmage.

Problem is, the plan is for Mayfield to throw deep to Peoples-Jones against a Tennessee defense that was totally duped by the pre- and post-snap concepts.

This left cornerback Breon Borders as the only line of defense against Peoples-Jones, which did not go well for Mr. Borders. Not only did the run look take every other defender out of the coverage picture, but Peoples-Jones added a nasty double move in the route for good measure.

Bowen, of ESPN and NFL Matchup fame, is absolutely correct here. In fact, there are multiple examples of the Browns using these connected ideas for big gains.

In Week 11 against the Eagles, Mayfield hit receiver KhaDarel Hodge on a 42-yard touchdown based on a similar strategy — this was out of “22” personnel (two running backs, two tight ends, and one wide receiver). Still, it’s second verse, same as the first as regards the overall idea — TE motion, run action, make the defense bite, focus on the one-on-one matchup created, and throw in a killer stutter-go at the bottom of the picture just to top things off.

Our own Mark Schofield pointed this play out after it happened.

And in Week 2 against the Bengals, Mayfield once again had the benefit of this evil combination: Tight end pre-snap movement, run-action, Stefanski’s ability to slow defenses down with layered concepts, and a badass double move from the open receiver on the deep ball. The result? A 43-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. This time, the Browns ran this out of “11” personnel — one running back, one tight end, three receivers, but the concepts — and the effects on the defense — are strikingly similar.

The NFL’s best offensive play-designers are the ones who can not only create defensive hesitation and distress with creative concepts, but can also take winning concepts and package them in different personnel looks. At this point, we need to add Kevin Stefanski’s name to the list of the league’s better playbook guys on the offensive side of the ball.

Browns inactives vs. Titans show 2 starters out with injuries

Denzel Ward will miss his second straight game with a calf strain

The Cleveland Browns inactive player list for Week 13 was a predictable assortment of names. With three players, including two starters, ruled out on Friday due to injuries, there wasn’t a lot of room for drama in coach Kevin Stefanski’s decisions.

Cornerback Denzel Ward and wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge are both out with injuries that aren’t severe enough to land them on the injured reserve. Wideout Taywan Taylor is also out with a neck injury suffered in practice during the week.

The full inactives list:

WR KhaDarel Hodge

DE Joe Jackson

WR Taywan Taylor

CB Denzel Ward

RB Dontrell Hilliard

S Tedric Thompson

Thompson did not pass through the required COVID-19 protocols to practice with the team or make the trip to Nashville. He was claimed off waivers during the week and activated on Friday.

 

Final Browns injury report: Denzel Ward and KhaDarel Hodge OUT

Myles Garrett will play but losing Hodge hurts at WR

Friday’s final injury report from the Cleveland Browns in advance of Sunday’s big AFC matchup with the Tennessee Titans reveals the Browns will be shorthanded at wideout.

The Browns will be without two wide receivers for the trip to Tennessee. KhaDarel Hodge has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and Tayway Taylor is out with a neck issue. Hodge injured the hamstring running a route in Thursday’s practice, per coach Kevin Stefanski in his Friday media session. It’s not the same hamstring that kept Hodge on injured reserve earlier this season, Stefanski also indicated.

With two wideouts ruled out with injuries, expect Derrick Willies to be elevated from the practice squad for the game. The Browns have just three healthy wideouts: Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins and rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Cornerback Denzel Ward will miss his second straight game with a calf strain. He did not practice all week and Ward was not expected to play.

All the Browns activated during the week from the reserve/COVID-19 list, including starters Myles Garrett and Andu Janovich, will play Sunday.

Browns injury update: Sheldrick Redwine returns, KhaDarel Hodge added to the injury list

Hodge has stepped up since Odell Beckham Jr. went on I.R.

Thursday’s practice session in Berea was moved indoors due to inclement weather, which meant no media availability to watch the Browns practice. What we missed was the return of one player to full speed but the addition of another to the limited participant list.

The good news first. Safety Sheldrick Redwine was upgraded from a limited participant on Wednesday to a full participant on the team’s injury report. Redwine is dealing with a knee injury that kept him out of Cleveland’s Week 12 win in Jacksonville.

Alas, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge was added as a limited participant with a hamstring injury. Hodge has stepped up his game since fellow WR Odell Beckham Jr. went on I.R. Hodge spent time earlier this season on I.R. with the same injury.

There were no other changes to the status of any other players from Wednesday’s report.

The season’s 1st snow hits some Browns from the South hard

Cleveland got 8 inches of snow overnight and that was scary for a couple of Browns from the South

The snow was flying in Northeast Ohio on December 1st. For a couple of Browns from the South, the heavy white stuff falling from the sky proved quite an adventure.

Cleveland picked up between five and eight inches of snowfall overnight, the first real snowfall of the 2020 winter season in Northeast Ohio. There were eight inches of snow measured in Berea, the home of the Browns training facility.

Wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge is from Mississippi, where it doesn’t snow very often and certainly never accumulates like it did on Tuesday morning in Cleveland. Hodge was taking it easy on the roads.

Safety Ronnie Harrison, a Floridian who played college ball at Alabama, showed his snow naivete in his feeble attempt to clean off his truck.

Fellow injured DB Greedy Williams captured Harrison on video. The Browns acquired Harrison this summer from Jacksonville, where it snows an average of less than an inch a year. At least Harrison was good-natured about it…

5 Takeaways from the Browns Week 12 win over the Jaguars

On Baker Mayfield, the return game, the pass rush and more

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It’s Victory Monday for Browns fans everywhere, and that is a cause for celebration. In beating the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-25, the Browns elevated themselves to 8-3 and the top of the AFC Wild Card race after Week 12.

Yet the way the team played on Sunday in eking past a 1-10 team starting its third-string quarterback and without several regular defensive starters, it’s hard to feel celebratory about Cleveland. In that spirit, I rewatched the broadcast feed of the game on Monday morning to make sure my snap judgments on Sunday held up.

Here’s what I took away from the Browns’ win over the Jaguars.

Browns snap count notes from Week 10: Stefanski shortens the bench

Browns snap count notes from Week 10: Stefanski shortens the bench

When basketball games are close from the opening tip to the final buzzer, coaches tend to shorten the bench. Fewer players get into the game and the top talents dominate the playing time.

That’s exactly what Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski did in his team’s Week 10 win over the Houston Texans. In a game where weather conditions largely negated the passing game, the snap counts for both teams were abbreviated.

Cleveland ran 65 offensive plays to Houston’s 57. The Browns had just 16 players take an offensive snap, a season-low. The biggest impact came at wide receiver.

Three wideouts all played exactly 38 snaps: Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge and Jarvis Landry. Donovan Peoples-Jones was on the field for 16. Having no single WR play more than 58 percent of the snaps is a testament to the weather and game conditions.

The tight end breakdown continues to establish the status quo: Austin Hooper (55 snaps) is the top dog, followed by rookie Harrison Bryant (36) and then David Njoku (23).

Nick Chubb returned to the lineup and played 28 reps. That’s 10 less than Kareem Hunt, who also missed a few snaps after taking a hard shot in the second half. No other RB was on the field other than for special teams.

On defense, 18 Browns saw action. That’s also a season-low. Four players played all 57 snaps: CBs Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell, LB B.J. Goodson and S Ronnie Harrison.

Myles Garrett continues to play over 80 percent of available reps. The superstar DE logged 46 snaps. Safety Andrew Sendejo was next at 45, his lowest total and percentage of the year. Olivier Vernon also played 45 as the DE opposite Garrett.

Safety Karl Joseph did not play on defense. His regular reps were divided up between safety Sheldrick Redwine (17 snaps) and more usage of the No. 3 LB spot, which rotated between Malcolm Smith (27) and Sione Takitaki (17).

The Texans’ base three-WR offense led to former Houston first-round pick Kevin Johnson playing more than usual as the slot corner. Johnson played 39 reps, more than any linebacker got in the game.

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Browns activate WR KhaDarel Hodge from injured reserve

Hodge missed the last four games with a hamstring injury

The Cleveland Browns officially activated wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge from injured reserve on Saturday. Hodge joins the active roster and is eligible to play in Sunday’s matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday.

Hodge missed the last four games after going on I.R. with a hamstring injury following Week 3. He caught three passes for 51 yards in the first three weeks. Hodge is known for his blocking and has been one of the Browns’ best special teams players over the last year. No. 12 returned to practices this week and showed enough to merit activation.

The Browns had an open spot on the active roster after [lawrence-related id=54368] on injured reserve earlier this week. Cleveland did not sign anyone to Beckham’s spot.