Can Joe Woods be blamed for all the failures of the Cleveland Browns defense?
Joe Woods is a popular name amongst us Cleveland Browns faithful these days. He was brought to Cleveland last year along with Browns coach Kevin Stefanski to serve as the defensive coordinator after making his rounds in the coaching world.
His last stint was with the San Francisco 49ers, where he coached the defensive backs in 2019 when the 49ers blew the lead in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Browns haven’t made it to a Super Bowl yet. They are considered by many to be contenders for the Vince Lombardi Trophy this year. Part of that reason for the optimism this season is because of the supposed upgrades on the defensive side of the ball.
Cleveland has acquired several new players through free agency and the NFL draft. Those players include safety John Johnson III, cornerback Troy Hill, linebacker Anthony Walker, and drafted players, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and cornerback Greg Newsome II.
While on paper this new group of defenders seemed solid and an improvement from previous seasons, so far, the jury is still out on them and the group in general.
Browns fans are starting to chatter about coach Woods and exactly what we have now out there on the field on Sundays.
Is it fair to be asking if coach Woods knows what he’s doing? And is it fair to say that he needs to show this defense is better than what we’ve watched the last two weeks?
There are many questions that need to be answered and if they’re not very soon then the Browns goal of a Super Bowl could be in jeopardy.
The talent is there
These new players on the defense generally haven’t come up with the statistics or highlights on the field that suggest they are as talented as we might have thought. Is that lack of evidence more to do with the defensive schemes we are watching? Or is it just that these players aren’t talented?
I was so excited to see John Johnson III sign with the Browns this offseason. All indications suggested that this safety, coming over from the LA Rams would be a leader on and off the field.
He’d been given the role of play calling for the defense with the Rams so that experience was what I was looking for these first two games and I simply haven’t seen it.
In the Week 1 game against the Chiefs, Johnson was on the wrong end of a big play late where Kansas City wide receiver Tyreek Hill got behind Johnson and caught a pass for a touchdown. That was the beginning of a series of events in that game that cost the Browns the win.
Newly drafted cornerback Greg Newsome II has been burned on a few long balls as well and has picked up a few interference penalties too.
These players were brought here for their talent so what is going on? Did the Browns front office just miss on these players or does coach Woods just not have the ability to coach a defense that knows how to win?
Confusion on the field
In Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, there were many times where Browns defenders seemed out of position or literally looked confused right before plays were called.
Several times in the first half the defense gave up big play after big play allowing the Texans to take the lead 14-7. Coverages seemed too soft again, and the Browns were allowing the Texans all sorts of time to throw the ball as well.
Where has the pass rush been and why hasn’t the defense been trying to blitz more?
Is some of this because the players aren’t doing their job, or is it again the playing calling? How many times have we seen our front four defensemen like Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney be allowed to push the offensive lineman back into the backfield but allowing the opposing quarterbacks to roam free and scamper for first downs?
In the game this past week, when the Texans were trying to score in the 4th quarter, the Browns had stopped them short of the goal line on the first two downs of the series. Coach Woods loves to switch like five or six players at a time for different downs in a series.
But on this specific play when he brought the mass switches, the Browns players in the game had their hands raised to each other and to the sideline as well and simply weren’t ready for the play. The Texans took advantage of this, and quickly hiked the ball and scored on a quick slant to score the touchdown and close the gap early in the 4th quarter.
The coach makes the calls but the players make plays
So where does this put this Browns defense? Technically, not so bad in the grand scheme of things. The team is 1-1 and certainly, you would hope, improve as a unit as we enter Week 3 against their next opponent the Chicago Bears. There are eight new guys out there on defense that weren’t there a year ago so anything that is new in developing, like our defense, is going to take time to gel.
There already has been a key member of that defense, linebacker Anthony Walker who was helping call the plays that has been unfortunately sidelined due to injury. Getting him back in the mix will certainly help especially those younger players on defense.
However, the defense, as we stand today, is the link in the chain that’s not connected to this Browns team making it to a Super Bowl. This defense is designed to try and create turnovers and win games that way, allowing the Browns explosive offense to control the tempo of the game. Those turnovers haven’t occurred yet to the degree that’s needed to win consistently.
On this coming Sunday, I certainly hope to see less confusion by the players. That confusion, in my estimation, is all on the defensive play-calling and communicating in a productive way.
The other part of this debate has to do with these players simply not making plays when they need to.
The jury is still out on this defense and coach Woods, but I’d be watching things very closely over the next several games. If these players don’t make the plays and the coaching play calling continues to confuse the players at critical moments, then coach Woods should be on the hot seat.
If the Browns are serious about reaching for the ultimate prize in the Vince Lombardi Trophy then they must be willing to go a different path with their defensive coordinator.