Cleveland Browns: Top 3 defensive storylines vs. Kansas City Chiefs
By Greg Newland
No. 2 – Don’t give up the easy yards
I know a lot of fans will disagree with me, but I’m tired of teams being willing to give up the run just to stop the big plays. I totally agree, the NFL has moved to a passing league, but if you give up seven yards per carry on every single hand-off, life is extremely difficult on the defense.
I’m in the camp of tightening down the hatches and trying to make the Chiefs work for every yard. I know Mahomes is extremely accurate, but if you double Tyreke Hill, and put a safety on Travis Kelce, there is a lot of added pressure by playing tighter coverage.
This will also take away the dump pass to the running back that goes for five or six yards every single time. Trust me, I know the Browns will give up at least one big play with this strategy, but they also will get a couple of three and outs that they wouldn’t in a soft defensive scheme.
The more the Browns offense is on the field, the better chance they have of wearing down the defense with Nick Chubb and company.
Woods didn’t have near the personnel to effectively run his scheme in 2020, that is totally different in 2021. We saw the Browns defense be extremely aggressive even in the preseason. Defensive tackle was a position of question most of the offseason, we will find out quickly how they hold up against the run.