Cleveland Browns: 3 defensive takeaways vs. the Atlanta Falcons

The Cleveland Browns defense looked very familiar against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday. And that may not be a good thing.

The Cleveland Browns walked off the field at FirstEnergy Stadium late Thursday night with as many unanswered questions still surrounding the defense.

While there were flashes – most notably from rookie defensive end Carl Nassib – the struggles that have plagued the Browns for years were on full display:

• The Browns could not stop the run as the Atlanta Falcons rushed for 224 yards and 5.5 yards per carry.
• The defense could not get off the field on third down, allowing the Falcons to convert on 11-of-18 attempts on third down, including three third-and-1 situations on the opening drive.
• The Browns simply could not tackle anyone when it mattered.

“On defense early, I think we’re seeing a common theme that people are starting to run the ball at us pretty good, and we need to get that shored up fast,” head coach Hue Jackson said after the game. “We obviously have to cover better. We have some work to do on our football team, offensively and defensively.”

Here are xx takeaways, some good and some not so much, from Thursday night’s game.

Next: A familiar look to the run defense

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

While the defense as a whole struggled, the same cannot be said of rookie defensive end Carl Nassib, who was all over the field against the Falcons.

“I don’t really care about stats. I just want to win games and help my team more next time.” – Carl Nassib

Nassib had a strip-sack of Atlanta quarterback Matt Simms in the third quarter (and recovered the fumble for good measure). He had an earlier sack negated by a penalty on cornerback Justin Gilbert, and also tipped a Matt Ryan pass while working with the first-team defense.

“The guy is doing some really good things, and he’s going to be a good football player, obviously,” head coach Hue Jackson said. “He has to keep learning how we do things, how we go about our business on defense and keep getting better, but he has the characteristics that we’re looking for.”

Nassib, who has a sack in each of the two preseason games, is hard to miss when he is on the field as he always seems to be in the middle of things. With the defensive line rotation still very much in doubt, if Nassib keeps playing the way he has, he may be in line for a starter’s nod sooner than expected.

“He has been tremendous for us,” linebacker Christian Kirksey said of Nassib. “A young guy like that can get to the quarterback. He is a big guy that can move. That’s a good thing to have.”

Next: Justin Gilbert? He's still not good

Ever since Hue Jackson took over as head coach the buzz around the Browns has been about “clean slates” for the more disappointing players on the roster.

No one needed their slate wiped clean more than third-year cornerback Justin Gilbert, who can no longer avoid the spotlight now that a certain other first-round draft choice is no longer with the Browns.

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But so far through two preseason games, Gilbert has been the same player everyone has seen for the past two seasons.

He can’t cover. He can’t fight off a block. He can’t tackle.

Other than that, it was a flawless night for Gilbert against the Falcons.

Gilbert’s biggest blunder came on his missed tackle of Devonta Freeman, which resulted in Freeman’s 19-yard touchdown run. It was a tackle attempt in name only and one that will be a staple of tackling clinics for years to come.

Gilbert also continues to be unable to fight off wide receivers that are blocking him, and had a penalty that wiped out a sack by defensive end Carl Nassib.

Veteran cornerback Tramon Williams summed up a big part of Gilbert’s problem earlier in training camp.

“Physically, we all can do it. It’s who can do it mentally,” Williams said. “Who can stay in the game mentally enough to come out and be able to make a career out of it ’cause a lot of guys can’t do it.”

Gilbert has been working with the first-team defense while cornerback Joe Haden recovers from off-season ankle surgery. Haden returned to practice this week and should be back on the field soon, which means the end of Gilbert’s time with the starters.

Next: Browns: 4 offensive takeaways vs. Falcons

Based on what he’s shown so far during the preseason, Gilbert’s time with the first team may not be the only thing that will soon be coming to an end.