4 potential Cleveland Browns scapegoats if things go wrong in 2022
By Greg Newland
Cleveland Browns Scapegoat No. 3 – Joe Woods
I’m still torn on if Joe Woods isn’t that great of a defensive coordinator, or if we have completely overvalued this roster on the defensive side of the ball. This unit got substantially better by the end of the 2021 season, but they struggled in the beginning.
With arguably the best tandem of rushers in the NFL with Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, I am expecting this unit to be elite this year. With a major contract extension for Denzel Ward, and the emergence of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah last season, Woods can no longer make the argument that the roster doesn’t fit his scheme.
The 4-2-5 dime scheme is meant to be played extremely aggressively with blitzes on the outside coming from different angles on every single play. To this point, I remember one game where Woods was ultra-aggressive, and the Browns blew the Bengals out of the stadium in a complete route.
It’s almost like Woods is afraid to give up the big play. Personally, I would love to see a few more three-and-outs and am willing to live with a few big plays as long as we utilize some of this talent on the roster.
I would argue that Woods is on the hottest seats of them all. If things don’t go well and the Browns lose two or three games because the defense couldn’t stop a wet paper bag, he could be looking for a new home next season.