Tag: zadarius smith

Browns Injury Report: Two get gameday designations while Za’Darius Smith practices in full

The Browns have released their last injury report of the week, including two gameday designations.

The Cleveland Browns will be looking to bounce back in their Week 3 matchup against the Tennessee Titans in a big way. Coming off of a devastating loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, including the loss of running back Nick Chubb for the season, the Browns have the opportunity to prove they are all but out of it this season with a big win. And while cornerback Greg Newsome II will be out against the Titans, they did have a handful of key contributors return to practice in full. This includes defensive end Za’Darius Smith.

All in all, only Newsome II and offensive tackle James Hudson III were given gameday designations, as the reserve offensive lineman is listed as questionable. This is good news for a team that has gotten enough injury news through the first two weeks of the season.

Here is the full injury list released by the Browns after Friday’s practice as they prepare to that on the AFC South opponent at home this Sunday.

Browns Injury Report: Greg Newsome II still out with Titans up next

And the Browns have released Thursday’s injury report.

We are nearing closer to a crucial Week 3 matchup for the Cleveland Browns. As they take on the Tennessee Titans on the heels of a rough loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football, they will have to do so without their best offensive player in running back Nick Chubb as Kareem Hunt has returned to replace him.

Chubb is not the only starter who might miss this game as well, as starting cornerback Greg Newsome II missed Thursday’s practice as they will have just one more before Sunday’s game at Cleveland Browns Stadium. There is still hope, however, that Newsome will practice on Friday and find himself on the field for the Browns on Sunday. If he cannot go, expect rookie Cameron Mitchell to fill in at the nickel cornerback post.

Overall, however, the Browns are relatively healthy heading into this Week 3 much-needed game. Here is the full list of Thursday’s injury report for the 1-1 Browns.

PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns’ defensive players vs. Steelers

It was another great showing for the defense of the Browns as Myles Garrett and Grant Delpit continue to grade out as elite.

The defense of the Cleveland Browns played more than good enough for the team to win this week’s matchup if not for mistakes made by the offense. Grant Delpit continued his impressive start with another great game, including an interception on the first drive and a fumble recovery in the first quarter as well against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Myles Garrett was Myles Garrett again in this one as well.

It was clear that the Steelers didn’t want to let the Browns’ pass rush and defensive line dictate the game as they utilized the short and quick passing game to limit the damage. The defensive tackle room has truly seen a complete turnaround as they continue to shut down the run and rush the passer.

Overall Jim Schwartz has his players playing at a high level to begin the season and if the offense can limit the mistakes moving forward this team can still make the playoffs. Let’s take a look at who PFF believes stood out the most against the Steelers.

Browns Injury Report: Greg Newsome II and Za’Darius Smith start week slow in preparation for Titans

Here are the names that popped up on Wednesday’s injury report

The Cleveland Browns need a bounceback win in a big way as the Tennesee Titans are next on their schedule. They will return to Cleveland Browns Stadium after a demoralizing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game that should have been won by at least two scores if the offense had just protected the football. And as is standard once we get to the middle of the week, the injury reports start to drop, and Greg Newsome II and Za’Darius Smith headlined Cleveland’s Wednesday report.

This is an estimation on the report by the Browns as they did not practice, getting in an extra day of rest on a short week after playing on Monday Night Football. Overall, the Browns are relatively healthy outside of the devastating loss of running back Nick Chubb.

Here is the full list the team reported with those who did not practice (again an estimation if they had played on Sunday last week), who would be limited, and who practiced in full.

Browns: DE Za’Darius Smith leaves game, but returns vs. Steelers

The Browns do not need anymore injuries…

If the night couldn’t get any worse for the Cleveland Browns Za’Darius Smith went down during the third quarter. This comes after running back Nick Chubb was carted off with a serious knee injury. He was later seen on the sideline wearing his helmet as he returned to the game for the Browns. The Browns lost Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury earlier in the evening. 

Smith was the marquee addition this off-season. He was Myles Garrett’s partner in crime against the Bengals, giving their offensive lineman fits last week. The Browns cannot lose more starters on their team. The NFL is a game of attrition and the Browns are starting to lose quickly. Hopefully, Za’Darius can recover from his injury quickly.

Luckily for the Browns, they also have Ogbo Okoronkwo in their stable of stallions. So if Smith needs to sit out an additional series or two later in this one, he can step in for him.

Browns’ defense draws praise from Joe Burrow’s QB coach

Can this front be one of the league’s best?

While appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Joe Burrow’s quarterback consultant Jordan Palmer praised the defense of the Cleveland Browns after stifling his client. In particular, he talked about the team’s pass rush as being one he thinks will be talked about as one of the league’s best a month or so from now.

They were talking about Burrow’s week one struggles and he said he truly believed it was more about the Browns defense playing well than Burrow playing poorly. The weather helped in this game for sure but the pass rush was in Burrow’s face from start to finish last week.

It will be interesting to see if the defense can disrupt Kenny Pickett’s rhythm this week as the Steelers struggled to protect their quarterback last week. The pass rush creates a successful domino effect letting the linebackers feast in the run game and making the defensive backs’ jobs easier as well as they don’t have to cover as long.

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Podcast: Biggest stand outs from the Browns’ blowout win vs Cincinnati

Who stood out the most in the season opener?

The Cleveland Browns are 1-0 for the second straight season after handing the rival Cincinnati Bengals a 24-3 loss in Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday. The defense really stole the show with the defensive line applying a ridiculous amount of pressure on Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offensive line.

The pass-rushing duo of Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith were as advertised with both players having six pressures apiece. It was fun to watch this defense as Grant Delpit played the best game of his career so far.

Jim Schwartz was given good talent to work with and he was creative in capitalizing on the players he had. Watching this defense continue to gel together will be one of the most interesting storylines to follow. If Schwartz can continue to get this level of production out of his players this defense will be a lot of fun.

You can watch this week’s episode to hear all about who stood out and who struggled the most Sunday by clicking here.

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PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns defensive players vs. Bengals

The defense as a whole had a great game against the Bengals

New defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had his defense ready to play Sunday as they limited the defending AFC North champions to just three points. The Cleveland Browns defensive line just wrecked the Cincinnati Bengals as they had 17 quarterback pressures according to PFF.

Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith both had six pressures a piece as they never let the Bengals offense get into any kind of rhythm. This helped the defensive backs who locked down the great wide receiver group and kept Tee Higgins to zero catches on eight targets. Ja’Marr Chase faired only a little better with 39 yards on five catches.

Grant Delpit stood out the most as he was all over the field making an impact as a pass rusher, run defender, and in coverage. The team just seemed like they bought into what Schwartz was preaching and are playing fast and aggressively.

Here are the ten players that played the best on defense according to PFF.

Myles Garrett and the rest of the Browns defensive line dominated Cincinnati

The defensive line had Joe Burrow uncomfortable all game long

It has been well covered this offseason on the amount of talent general manager Andrew Berry collected around Myles Garrett on the defensive line for the Cleveland Browns. Sunday was the first season to see all of that talent together on the field and they did not disappoint. The team kept Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow under pressure and uncomfortable from the first snap when Za’Darius Smith hit him as he threw the ball incomplete.

The weather played a factor but according to PFF, Joe Burrow was pressured on 17 of his 33 dropbacks Sunday. That means the Browns’ defense pressured Burrow over half of the time he dropped back to throw. The Bengals were clearly trying to get rid of the ball quickly to try and neutralize the pass rush and if they weren’t there would’ve been even more pressure.

It was truly impressive to watch as Jim Schwartz was creative moving players around and creating mismatches to create pressure. He trusted his defensive backs who also played well in the blowout win. Let’s take a look at more of the numbers from the Browns’ defensive line.

4 Downs: Grant Delpit shines, Deshaun Watson leaves room for more as Browns beat Bengals

The Browns start the season 1-0 for the second straight years. What can we take away from this dominant showing against the Bengals?

The Cleveland Browns have won a Week 1 home opener for the first time since Jeff Garcia was the quarterback in 2004. While it was ugly in a rain-effected duel of lackluster play between Deshaun Watson and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, Jim Schwartz made his name known. Myles Garrett, Grant Delpit, and others made a statement in this game against the back-to-back AFC North champs.

The Browns now start the season 1-0 in back-to-back seasons. It was not pretty offensively, but the Browns rode Nick Chubb to the finish line, as he rushed for 106 yards on 18 touches. Defensively, the Browns held the highest-paid professional athlete to just 82 yards on 14-of-31 passing as they sacked him twice as well in this slopfest.

What can we take away from this Week 1 victory today before we celebrate a victory Monday tomorrow? Welcome to the first 4 Downs of the 2023 regular season. It is good to be back.