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Cleveland Browns: 3 defensive takeaways vs. the Atlanta Falcons

By Thomas Moore

Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Cyrus Gray (30) leaps from the tackle of Cleveland Browns defensive back Rahim Moore (20) during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Cyrus Gray (30) leaps from the tackle of Cleveland Browns defensive back Rahim Moore (20) during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Cyrus Gray (30) runs the ball against the Cleveland Browns defense during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Falcons beat the Browns 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Cyrus Gray (30) runs the ball against the Cleveland Browns defense during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Falcons beat the Browns 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /

Through the first two preseason games, the Browns run defense has given up an average of 187.2 yards per game.

By comparison, the past two seasons, when the Browns were one of the worst run defenses in the league, they gave up an average of 135 yards per game.

Against the Falcons, the starting defense gave up 5.9 yards per carry and the Falcons rushed for 224 yards and 5.5 yards per carry on the night. Those numbers include touchdown runs of 19 and 32 yards as the Browns continually missed tackles.

“We can’t allow someone to come into our house and rush over 200-plus yards,” linebacker Nate Orchard told ohio.com. “We want to be a great defense, and it all starts on the ground. We can’t let someone run that way on us. So we’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and at the same time we have to find who we are, who we want to be and come out and play the way we should.”

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/766515060801798144

“It’s something you can coach and teach, but at the end of the day, we just need to go out and do it.” – Nate Orchard on the team’s tackling woes

Yes, it may “only be the preseason,” but if people can make definitive statements about quarterback Robert Griffin III being back even though it is “only the preseason,” then the play of the run defense deserves the same attention.

“First and foremost, everybody has to just do their job,” head coach Hue Jackson said after the game. “What happens when you start spreading a leak, everybody tries to cover up for another guy because I’m going to cover up for this guy, and I think we need to do that better, but more so than that I think we have got to tackle better.

“There were a lot of missed tackles tonight. I can’t wait to watch the tape to see exactly how many missed tackles we had, but we have to be a better tackling football team. This is a work in progress. We get it, and we have to do it better than what we’re doing.”

Defensive coordinator Ray Horton has always talked a good game when it comes to his defenses, but so far the story remains the same when it comes to stopping the run.

And Browns fans know far too well how that story ends.

Next: Carl Nassib looks like a player

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