Cleveland Browns: Time to stop talking, start stopping the run
By Thomas Moore
Dec 28, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett (29) gains yards against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
There have been a few constants for the Cleveland Browns in the years since they returned to the NFL in 1999.
One, obviously, has been the continual losing. Another has been the defense’s inability to stop the run. It has been so long since the defense stopped a runner in a big spot that if you told us it last occurred when Robert L. Jackson and Dick Ambrose stopped Mark Van Eeghen in the 1981 playoff game against Oakland, we would probably believe you.
Going hand in hand with the inability to stop the run is a growing list of players and coaches talking about how the Browns are finally going to eliminate the big plays and stop making every opposing running back look like a Hall of Famer – and this time they mean it.
“We just have to tighten it up a little bit and continue to play lights out football.” – Linebacker Karlos Dansby
The latest – and possibly best – opportunity comes on Sunday when the Browns travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens.
Baltimore will be without wide receivers Breshad Perriman (who has yet to play this season after suffering an injury in training camp) and Crockett Gillmore. They also may not have wide receiver Steve Smith – who caught 13 passes for 191 yards against the Browns last season.
That leaves the Ravens with Kamar Aiken (11 catches for 165 yards) and Marlon Brown (eight receptions for 75 yards) as the top two wide receiver options for quarterback Joe Flacco, meaning the Ravens could be looking to rely heavily on running back Justin Forsett, who is averaging 4.2 yards per carry this season but who lit up the Browns last year by averaging 6.5 yards per rush in the two meetings.
“I think the thing that really differentiates (Forsett) is just his vision,” defensive tackle Desmond Bryant said. “He and (Pittsburgh’s) Le’Veon Bell are very good at finding somebody who might be out of their gap and taking advantage of that. Or he might be able to set somebody up and make them think that he’s going one way, then as soon as they commit to that he’s able to cut it back and exploit where he was supposed to be. That’s dangerous for us on defense.”
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Knowing that the Ravens are going to be shorthanded in the passing game, head coach Mike Pettine publicly challenged the defense this week to step it up against Baltimore.
“I think the challenge is clearly on the front seven this game. This is a team that ran the ball successfully against us last year. I think 160 yards in one game and 130 in another,” Pettine said. “We have to play well up front. That was the challenge in the meeting this morning that this is an offensive line and a tight end group. They’re big, physically, we have to focus on technique and winning one-on-one matchups.
“All the things we talk about get off the ball, knock our guy back, separate from a block violently, tackle. If we want to be successful on defense this year – this week – it starts up front.”
The Browns have always been good when it comes to talking about what they need to do on the field. The hard part has always been, to use Pettine’s own words, putting those words into action.
Sunday’s game against the Ravens provides yet another opportunity for the Browns to show they are finally ready to change the direction of the club. Stop the run and beat the Ravens, and suddenly the season takes on a different feel.
Or, as Walt Disney once said, “the way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”