Tag: zadarius smith

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.

Za’Darius Smith named Browns’ X-factor for 2023 season

The Ringer released their X-factors for each team, and Cleveland’s might surprise you.

Adding defensive end Za’Darius Smith was the whipped cream on top of the defensive line renovation that the Cleveland Browns completed this offseason. And The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak believes he will be the X-factor in Cleveland this season.

Here is what Solak had to say about his choice for the Browns’ X-factor in 2023:

“If you’ve consumed any NFL offseason coverage this year, you’ll be familiar with the line of logic here. Myles Garrett is elite. Myles Garrett was getting double-teamed more than any other edge rusher last season. Za’Darius Smith is the best edge rusher Myles Garrett has played with. Za’Darius Smith will make Myles Garrett’s life easier. The Browns defense will improve.

It’s sound logic, and it makes Smith the X factor in Cleveland. On a Jim Schwartz defense, the front four are gonna rush, and they’re gonna do nothing but. I’d imagine that most teams will throw tons of pass-protection attention at Garrett and dare Smith to punish them early in the season. It’s on Smith to do exactly that, forcing offenses to rebalance the scales. If he does, the Browns defense can take a leap.”

Many think that Garrett is destined for his first career Defensive Player of the Year Award, and the addition of Smith is a big reason why. On paper, this Browns’ defensive front is lethal. And now it is just a few short days until we see it on the field.

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Podcast: Evaluating the Browns’ roster after completion of the preseason

How does the roster look heading into cuts on Tuesday?

The Cleveland Browns finished the preseason with a 1-2-1 record after they couldn’t overcome kicking woes in three of the games. The team has already begun making moves trading for Pierre Strong Jr. to help bolster the running back room, a move that makes a ton of sense. The starting defensive line has shown a ton of promise this preseason despite not playing their best player in Myles Garrett.

Though Cade York remains on the roster it would be crazy if the team went into the opener against the Bengals with York as the kicker. Overall the roster is pretty set with a ton of talent that should have fans excited.

Listen to all of these topics in more in this podcast as we evaluate this roster overall by clicking here.

Twitter reacts to the loss vs. Kansas City Chiefs in preseason finale

The preseason is over as Twitter reacts to the finale vs. the Chiefs

The long wait for regular season Cleveland Browns football is almost over as the team finished the preseason with a loss at the hands of the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. The majority of starters played Saturday and showed plenty of promise to get fans excited.

It started with the former Chief Juan Thornhill making a great play to intercept a pass and return it for a touchdown. Deshaun Watson and the offense started a little slow but his touchdown throw to David Njoku was a pretty pass.

Here is how social media reacted to the final preseason game with the regular season just around the corner.

Podcast: Browns standouts and disappointments vs the Commanders

Who stood out and who disappointed the most on Friday

Each preseason game presents opportunities for young players to prove themselves and for veterans to get up to speed for the regular season. The Cleveland Browns played their starters for the first time and the defensive line, even without Myles Garrett, was causing havoc with newcomers Za’Darius Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo making their presences felt.

Deshaun Watson looked miles more comfortable in his one series and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson continued to shine. Rookie Ronnie Hickman Jr might have been the player that shined the most with his two interceptions.

You can watch this episode by clicking here to hear all of the biggest standouts and disappointments from Friday’s game.

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PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns defenders against the Commanders

Who stood out the most according to PFF on defense for the Browns?

The second preseason game is in the books as the Cleveland Browns fell to the Washington Commanders 17-15 on Friday night in Cleveland. The starters that did play showed why fans are excited for the upcoming season. Overall the defense showed up both from a starter standpoint and some of the young depth pieces that saw playing time.

The biggest standout from the defensive side was undrafted free-agent safety Ronnie Hickman Jr. He received the highest grade on the defensive side from PFF. All in all the top 11 graded players on the defensive side received a grade of 70 overall or higher, here are the top 10 graded defenders for the Browns.

Twitter reacts to the loss vs. Commanders in preseason home game

The Browns fall to 1-1 for the preseason with two games to go

The Cleveland Browns played the only preseason game of the year in Northeast Ohio as they fell to the Washington Commanders by a score of 17-15. The team played most of their key starters as Deshaun Watson took the field for the first time this year. He led one drive that moved down the field before stalling on 4th and goal but they showed plenty of promise.

The defensive line without Myles Garrett also made their presence felt including Za’Darius Smith forcing a holding call in the endzone resulting in a safety. Here’s a look at how fans reacted on Twitter to the second preseason game of the year.

WATCH: Za’Darius Smith swarms Washington, forces a safety

Hopefully this is a preview of 2023

Though Myles Garrett isn’t playing, Cleveland Browns fans got a look at the new improved defensive line against the Commanders. On the defense’s third drive, the Browns’ defensive line manhandled the Commanders’ offensive line for three straight snaps. On third down Za’Darius Smith exploded off the line shoving the tackle into the lap of Sam Howell resulting in a holding call in the end zone which is a safety and a 2-0 Browns lead.

If this is any indication of what the defensive line will be in the regular season Browns fans should be smiling knowing what this group is capable of.

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Bucky Brooks: Browns are neck and neck with the Cincinnati Bengals

Brooks believes the Browns could win the AFC North

NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks was asked where he ranked the Cleveland Browns in the division and he responded that on paper they are right there with the Cincinnati Bengals. He mentioned the weapons that Deshaun Watson has at his disposal in Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, David Njoku, and Nick Chubb before saying the defense is what excites him most.

Brooks mentioned the pairing of Za’Darius Smith with Myles Garrett being led by Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Brooks is spot on that on paper they are as good as the Bengals they just need to put it together on the field in September.

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Za’Darius Smith lands at 84 on the annual NFL Top 100 list

The new pass rusher is thought highly of around the league

The Cleveland Browns have a great pass rushing duo on the edge now after adding Za’Darius Smith from the Vikings to play opposite Myles Garrett. With the continued release of the NFL Top 100 list which is determined by votes from the players themselves the new Brown lands at number 84 on the list.

It shows how highly thought of and respected Smith is around the NFL. This duo is by far the most talented the Browns have had in a long time as Smith has had double-digit sacks in the last three seasons he was healthy. Pairing him with Myles Garrett has the potential to help the Browns’ defense be one of the best in the league at rushing the passer.

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