Monday leftovers (bye edition)

While many fans and, no doubt, important members of the Browns’ front office are concerned (bordering worry) about the club’s offense, it’s the other side of the football where the real problems lie.

You want proof. I’ve got proof. It lies in the statistics. And you know what they say about statistics. They do not lie. (Okay, bad pun).

First, let’s look at last season for some perspective when it comes to the job of stopping the opposing team’s offense. The numbers will surprise you.

The 2018 Browns, the team that shocked just about everyone on the National Football League landscape, finished eighth in the league in turnover ratio with a +7. This season, they are 28^th at –6 after six games.

Breaking that down, this season’s club has created eight turnovers. Make that eight measly turnovers (four interceptions and four fumble recoveries.) Last season’s unit had 31 takeaways (17 picks and 14 fumble recoveries) under defensive coordinator/interim head coach Gregg Williams. 

Last season’s defensive unit helped the offense immensely, frequently getting the football back from the opposition, often times in plus territory, but mostly handing them a short field with which to work.

It seems this season’s defense cannot keep up with the alarming number of times (14) the offense has lost the football. A dozen of those belong to quarterback Baker Mayfield with 11 picks and a fumble.

It’s almost a sigh of relief when the defense manages to extract the football from the opposition this season.  Last season, it sparked an offense that looked quite different, from a good standpoint, compared to this season edition.

See where this is headed? No? Read on.

The 2019 Browns have owned the football for an average of 28 minutes and 28 seconds a game. Last season, it was 28:39. Hardly any difference there.

But in the last three games, a victory and two losses, the current Browns have possessed the ball an average of 26:17, mainly because the defense cannot get off the field and allow the struggling offense more opportunities to work things out.

At the same time, the opposition plays keep away from the Cleveland offense and tires out a Cleveland defense to the point where it is vulnerable to a grinding ground game.

Only the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins, teams with zero total victories, have allowed more rushing yards per game than the Browns, who have been ravaged for 154 yards a game and sit in 30^th place.

In the last three games before the bye, the Cleveland defense turnstiled the offenses   of Baltimore, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco to the not-so-merry tune of 618 yards. For those who are math challenged, that’s 206 yards a game.

One more relative stat before fingers of guilt are pointed. Last season, the Browns allowed 21 touchdowns through the air. This season, that number is already 12 through six games.

By now, you no doubt have guessed the biggest problem lies with the coach who has title of defensive coordinator in front of his name.  Steve Wilks’ unorthodox 4-2-5 defense, originally installed to combat the many pass-happy offenses the club has faced thus far, has been disastrous.

The secondary makes entirely too many tackles. Four of the top eight tacklers play either cornerback or safety. That’s not right. Why is that the case? Too may runners gain considerable yardage before encountering contact.

There are some who believe the absence of fragile cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams for most of the season has been especially detrimental. We’ll find out soon enough since they have been declared ready to go Sunday in New England.

That could mean a switch to a more conventional 4-3 look, at least in early downs before sub packaging, which means adding a third linebacker to the mix. Question is, if that were the case, who would that backer be?

With Christian Kirksey already out for the season and rookie Mack Wilson still learning on the job at weakside linebacker, candidates for the strong side include rookie Sione Takitaki, veteran Adarius Taylor and – yes he is still on the team – Genard Avery.

Avery, who has become the forgotten man (with no explanation why), had a decent rookie season in 2018, starting five games. He has seen almost no action this season, having been a healthy scratch for half the games.

He is listed officially as a defensive end, one of five on the club’s official roster, but played some linebacker last season. He had 40 tackles. 30 solo. He also ranked third on the club in sacks with 4½. You can count the number of times he has seen the field this season on one hand.

If the Browns don’t want the fifth-round draft selection in the 2018 college draft on the roster, and it sure appears that way, just cut him and move on. No good reason to continue the charade.

Now if Wilks stubbornly clings to the notion his 4-2-5 will work, expect more of the same results on defense. The Patriots love to run the football and dial up Tom Brady to throw every now and then just to mix things up.

Such stubbornness can’t make head coach Freddie Kitchens comfortable, especially since his offense seems to be incapable of successfully getting into a scoring battle with other teams. He needs a better performance from his defense.

(Much more tomorrow)