Daily Dawg Tags: Does Cleveland Browns rookie JOK scare Baltimore?
By Randy Gurzi
The Daily Dawg Tags bring you all the Cleveland Browns news you need to know, including the Baltimore Ravens possibly concern about Jeremia Owusu-Koromoah
We already know that everyone in the media is impressed with the Cleveland Browns draft class, but how do their opponents feel? Well, if a recent article from the Baltimore Ravens website is any indication, they think their opponent just got much better on defense.
There was one player specifically mentioned as a piece from Kevin Eck asked if second-round pick Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah was brought in for the sole purpose of containing Lamar Jackson.
Now to be fair, Eck is looking deeper into something said by Steve Wyche of the NFL Network, but anytime you can make your opponent do anything differently due to your talent, that’s a win.
This story and more can be found in today’s Daily Dawg Tags.
Cleveland Browns News
"“Neutralizing a player as special as Jackson is easier said than done, of course. There’s no denying Jackson has been the Browns’ nemesis. In five career games against Cleveland, Jackson is 4-1, has averaged 86 rushing yards, run for four touchdowns and thrown 10 touchdown passes to two interceptions.”"
If JOK was drafted with the sole purpose of stopping Jackson — and Whyce talks about the Panthers doing this with Thomas Davis in an effort to slow down Mike Vick — then Eck is right. That’s much easier said than done. Still, Owusu-Koromoah has the talent and the speed to at least slow him down a little, and that could be a huge benefit to the Browns.
Maybe they don’t fear JOK yet, but they’re well aware of his presence. And that’s the first step.
"“Nearly all opponents set to play the Browns can safely pencil in their starting quarterback, and that’s one reason why Cleveland owns the ninth-hardest schedule in the NFL. The Browns will play teams from the AFC West (34-30 combined 2020 record) and NFC North (33-31 combined 2020 record) in addition to games against the Patriots (7-9), Texans (4-12) and two games each against their AFC North rivals, who combined for a 27-20 record last season.”"
This is a quarterback-driven league and Posial looking at the opposing team’s QB situation is a very wise way to test the strength of schedule. That doesn’t mean there won’t be enough wins on the record but this schedule looks to be tougher right now than the 2020 one — but we all know things also change quickly in the NFL.
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