Cleveland Browns: Three brutally honest insights
By Joel W. Cade
Jabrill Peppers a liability in the passing game
When the Browns drafted Jabrill Peppers, they knew they were getting a fantastic athlete. He played linebacker at Michigan. During his time in college, he was used primarily in run support and rushing the passer. He was not asked to cover tight ends, running backs or slot receivers.
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Because he was too small to play linebacker in the NFL, the Browns moved him to strong safety. With the move, the Browns began to teach Peppers to play man and zone defense. The experiment is going well enough. Who can say it was bad when the Eagles did not score? But Peppers was clearly the target last night.
If preseason Week 3 is the week that teams game plan for their opponent, clearly the Eagles’ game plan was to attack Peppers. For his part, Peppers held up pretty well. However, he did prove why he was the Eagles main target to pick on by giving up some very bad looking receptions.
If this game was any indication, Browns fans will get to watch a long season of teams targeting Peppers. This raises the question of whether or not Peppers truly deserves to be out there over Derrick Kindred. Kindred was not targeted in the passing game last night and was just as effective against the run.
I am sure the Browns’ coaches see something different on tape, but Peppers looked like the second-best strong safety on the field.