Cleveland Browns Week 6 failing grades not the mark of playoff team

Cleveland Browns Defense Grade: F

Another lousy performance by the defense, especially in the secondary spelled doom for a second week in a row. This part of the team is the most concerning because the defense can’t stop anything at the moment.

Do you blame the players or the defensive coordinator Joe Woods? I’ve already written of my concerns with coach Woods and his lack of having coached many winning defenses in his past.

With the addition of several new players on defense, it was expected that the team might take some time to gel, but what is continuing to happen with this team in terms of confusion, due to breakdowns in communication, can’t go on much longer if this team wants to stop the bleeding.

The argument to counter this reality is one in which one suggests the defense and its players aren’t tackling properly and that the players are to blame. Free-agent signings such as cornerback Troy Hill and safety John Johnson III were brought here to provide some veteran leadership and experience in the backside of the defense and that hasn’t happened at all.

Again in the game against the Cardinals, Johnson was out of position to help out on the wide receivers for the Cardinals that were catching passes at will. Obviously, Johnson isn’t to blame exclusively, but when deep pass after deep are getting completed by the opponent then you have to question it because he should be the deepest of the players in the secondary and he’s not been there to defend. Why is this happening?

Browns defenders are starting to point fingers at one another after big play after big play as though they still don’t know who was to cover whom. That’s troubling.

There were again several opportunities for the Browns defense to get off the field when the Cardinals faced long 3rd down situations and yet again the Browns defense gave up big plays or were called for a defensive penalty.

Yes, there were penalties, but those penalties didn’t have anything to do with the loss. The fact that there are so many penalties being called on Cleveland should be more of a concern to Browns fans because it says that the team isn’t as disciplined as we had hoped.