Time for Browns defense to earn its money
By Thomas Moore
Dec 7, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) fights for extra yards against Cleveland Browns outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo (51) and cornerback Jordan Poyer (33) during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Colts won 25-24. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns will spend 54 percent of their payroll on the defensive side of the ball this year, the only team in the NFL that will spend more than half of its cap space trying to stop the other team from moving the ball, according to Sports Illustrated.
The Browns have a league-high $82.1 million currently invested in a defense that finished last season ninth in the NFL in points allowed at 21.1 per game, tied for 10th by allowing opposing offenses to convert on just 38 percent of third-down attempts, was second in interceptions with 21, was eighth in pass yards allowed per game at 224.5, and was tops in the league in allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete just 57.1 percent of their pass attempts.
Of course, that same defense was last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, 27th in yards per carry, and 28th in runs of 20-plus yards. Opposing teams ran the ball 500 times on the Browns last year, and on 87 of those rushes they gained eight yards or more.
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Conversely, the offense will take up just 42 percent of the payroll, or $64.3 million.
According to the SI article, part of the reason that Browns are a bit unbalanced is because the front office has done a good job managing the payroll:
"Cleveland currently has just $1.9 million of dead money on its 2015 payroll due to former players who were cut or traded. The Browns have largely avoided being hamstrung by unwieldy long-term contracts. Even Ben Tate, who was cut after a massively disappointing first year, is only taking up $750,000 in 2015."
In addition, seven of the team’s 10 highest paid players are on defense, starting with cornerback Joe Haden ($13.5 million in 2015) and closing out at No. 10 with linebacker Barkevious Mingo ($5.2 million and change this upcoming season).
Throw in recent free-agent signings Paul Kruger, Karlos Dansby, Donte Whitner and Randy Starks, along with the fact that there are several younger players on the offensive side still on inexpensive contracts, and it’s not hard to see how the payroll would lean heavily to one side of the ball.
The Browns also have to do something to counteract the other teams in the AFC North, as Baltimore ($69 million), Pittsburgh ($65 million) and Cincinnati ($65 million) have all invested heavily in their offenses.
So while you can rationalize the payroll imbalance, it still doesn’t answer the one key question: can these guys live up to their pay grade?
The Browns are certainly trying to fix the run defense, with the addition of Starks and first-round draft pick Danny Shelton, along with Dansby working hard to make sure he is the right place when the offense snaps the ball. Kruger earned his paycheck last year with a career best 11 sacks, and Mingo continues to be a misunderstood but mostly effective player.
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The secondary, with the addition of cornerback Tramon Williams, the return to health of safety Tashaun Gipson, and the potential of second-year cornerbacks K’Waun Williams and Justin Gilbert, has a real opportunity to be one of the league’s best this fall, giving opposing quarterbacks plenty of nightmares.
But until the defense does it week in and week out it will just be that – potential.
The defense showed what it could be – and what it has been – all in one game last December against Indianapolis. After making Andrew Luck look like every quarterback who has played for the Browns since 1999 for the majority of the game, the defense couldn’t close the deal and allowed Luck to move the Colts on a 90-yard touchdown drive to seal the win.
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They did the same thing in the opener, allowing Pittsburgh to win on a Shaun Suisham field goal as time expired; in Week 3 against Baltimore, allowing a Justin Tuck field goal as time expired; and again in Week 16, when they could not hold a fourth-quarter lead against a Carolina team that finished the year with just seven wins.
Turn two of those three games around and suddenly the Browns are coming off a 9-7 season and feeling a little bit better about themselves.
Maybe the biggest thing the Browns defense has going for it, outside of a growing number of talented players, is the fact that they will be working for the second consecutive year with the same defensive coordinator, meaning they should be able to up their game come the fall.
“Players get better naturally Year 2 in the system and if some guys don’t get it fixed, they are not going to be out there,” defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil told the team’s website. “That’s what we’ve been doing most of the offseason – figuring out each player’s biggest strengths as opposed to installing an entirely new system. And I think guys will feel comfortable in Year 2 knowing when they can take more chances. We will go more graduate level with the material.
“We are going to build a dominating, intimidating group that the Dawg Pound can be proud of. We are going to knock players down and we’re not going to help them up. We are going to build a bully on defense.”
The front office has shown a willingness to make a difference on the defensive side of the ball by investing big dollars.
Now it is up to the players to show they are worth those big paychecks.
How confident are you that the Browns defense can be a difference maker this season?