Jim O’Neil on Danny Shelton, Cardinals
Oct 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Browns lineman Danny Shelton (71) tackles Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett (29) after a short gain at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns face a tough team in the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday.
The coaches spoke today during the annual weekly press conference, and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil had some good things to say about rookie defensive tackle Danny Shelton.
“He’s a guy that we want out there 60, 70 percent of the snaps. We’re hoping that we’re going to keep him building off last week’s performance and get him out there tomorrow now that he’s feeling healthier and all that,” O’Neil said, according to the Cleveland Browns official website.
Having Shelton on the field for the majority of the snaps is an absolute must if the Browns look to improve the worst run defense in the NFL. Just holding a team under 150 yards is an accomplishment at this point, which is, or at least should be, embarrassing for an NFL defense.
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The Cardinals will enter Sunday with the NFL’s 10th-best rushing attack, averaging 125.6 yards a game.
Chris Johnson already has rushed for 100+ yards in three games this season, with none of those coming against the last-ranked run defense.
“I think that they’re doing a really good job building the run game around him,” O’Neil said about Johnson. “He’s showing good patience in their run scheme, and when the hole opens up, he obviously has the speed to hit it and hurt you. He’s been able to break a lot of tackles already this year. We all saw it, I’m sure, on Monday night some of the runs he had. He’s definitely back.”
Danny Shelton also spoke with the media regarding the matchup with Chris Johnson and the Cardinals.
“Honestly, we’re just going to continue to play the way we’ve been playing as a D-line, getting in the backfield, disrupting the play, causing the running back to just jump outside or just get tackled in the backfield,” Shelton said.
Shelton said all the right things, but continuing to play the same way will not be good enough. But I would not expect him to go on the podium and try to dissect why the team has been so terrible stopping the run this season.
The rookie will be focused on as the season progresses, and his personal progress will be correlated with the Browns run defense, whether that is fair or not.
It is easy to see that one player cannot fix this defense. A scheme change, whether it be instituted by O’Neil or a new coordinator, may be the only way to fix the mess that is the worst run defense in the NFL.