5 areas to watch during Browns first preseason game

Jul 30, 2015; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Danny Shelton (71) during training camp at the Cleveland Browns practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns open the preseason Thursday night against Washington and it would be easy to say that fans should watch the offense, the defense and the special teams, but that would be a pansy’s way out.

Rather than going that route, let’s examine some more in-depth areas of concern that need to be addressed beginning tomorrow night at FirstEnergy Stadium against the Redskins. (Yes, I said the name of the team out loud.)

A long-standing issue with the Browns that seems to rear its grossly ugly head, body and gnarly feet is the complete inability to defend the run. Every year coaches and players alike profess that “this season” the Browns are going to stop the run, and every year they find themselves floating in the swill of the worst run defenses in the league.

Certainly injuries play a part, but does it seem to anyone else that the Browns always lose a key defender(s) to a season-ending injury?

Related: 2015 Position Preview – Defensive Line

According to Football Outsiders’ Adjusted Games Lost index, the Browns’ defense ranked fifth in the NFL in games lost in 2014, while Baltimore and Pittsburgh ranked ninth and 22nd respectively. Those two teams made the playoffs as they usually do. The Browns? Not so much.

However, the site also shows that Cincinnati ranked worse than the Browns in the same category, but the Bengals still found a way to make the playoffs. So teams can still be successful even if they are hit by injuries, as long as they have solid depth.

There could be a solution developing for the Browns in first-round draft pick Danny Shelton. Shelton thus far in camp has been as advertised, clogging up the middle of the defensive line and moving like a linebacker – one that happens to be 6-foot-2 and 339 pounds. The rest of the defense surely will benefit from Sheltons’ presence, as he is sure to command a double team from opposing offenses.

If Shelton can occupy multiple blockers, that will allow the linebackers and defensive ends to make numerous tackles before the opposing running back can get to the secondary, a primary reason that run defense has been so terrible. We’ll be watching to see if Shelton can change all of that.

Next: The versatile Cameron Erving