Cleveland Browns: Studs and Duds from thrilling Week 7 victory
By Greg Newland
Dud: Joe Woods, Defensive Coordinator
When Stefanski hired Joe Woods to be his defensive coordinator the media blew up at what a great hire this was. Woods was a major part of the San Francisco 49ers pass rush that was so dangerous in 2019 and destroyed the Browns on a prime-time game.
Now, seven games into the season I’m not convinced this defense could stop anyone if it wasn’t for Myles Garrett. In the beginning, fans gave him a break because of so many injuries, but now it is appearing more and more like this unit is just not very well-coached. Is there a chance that Woods had a ton of talent and isn’t a great coach? I sure hope not.
This Sunday vs. the Bengals there were far too many missed tackles and far too many yards after the catch because of poor scheming and tackling. Yes, a lot of this can be placed on an underachieving linebacker core and injuries in the secondary, but this far into the season, a coach must adjust.
Fans are tired of watching teams just march down the field. The run defense statistics aren’t awful, but only because teams don’t need to run the ball, they can just complete 15-yard passes whenever they want. Woods finally turned up the heat on Joe Burrow Sunday and did cause some pressure, but there were still multiple coverage breakdowns and big yardage plays given up.
The play that stands out the most is the third and long draw play on the Bengals drive where they went ahead 34-21. The CBS announcers were stunned, they literally had nothing to say after watching Burrow run up the middle for 12 yards and a first down. At the time it appeared that play and a dropped interception from Terrance Mitchell would cost the Browns a game