5 takeaways from Browns loss to Falcons in Week 4

3. Joe Woods is not the only problem

The calls for Joe Woods to be fired have grown to a deafening level. Browns fans have completely turned on the defensive coordinator and it’s hard to blame them for their frustrations. Cleveland could very well be 4-0 — and their win in Week 1 would have been far less dramatic — if the defense didn’t give up deep passes while being gashed on the ground.

Woods does have to get something figured out. It’s hard to say if the answer is something such as simplifying the defense or taking out underperforming players. What we can say is this defense doesn’t have to be elite to win, they just have to be average — and it seems as though they have the talent for that to be their floor.

Having said all that, not everything is on Woods. For some reason, the Browns have constantly had one of the longest injury reports in the league every year. They’re continually having to fill in the holes and against Atlanta, there were four starters out. Three were on the defensive line with Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney, and Taven Bryan joining Anthony Walker who was a huge loss as the MIKE linebacker.

They also couldn’t lean on Chase Winovich, the only experienced edge rusher they had on their original 53-man roster since he’s also been out with an injury. On top of this, there’s the aforementioned absence of a run-stuffing defensive tackle.

So while Woods does deserve to be looked at with a magnifying glass, pretending his ouster would fix their issues would be setting yourself up for heartache.